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Best Chemistry videos, as recommended on Hacker News

50 videos about chemistry that Hacker News commenters keep recommending, mentioned between 2010 and 2026. Mostly demo, explainer, documentary. Channels that come up most: Applied Science, Veritasium, NileRed, Google TechTalks. Sorted by how consistently HN recommended them over the years.

The most recommended is Clasp: Common Lisp using LLVM and C++ for Molecular Metaprogramming: HN repeatedly cites it as a striking example of Common Lisp used to push the frontier of science, and as one of the most inspiring tech talks.

• talkClasp: Common Lisp using LLVM and C++ for Molecular MetaprogrammingGoogle TechTalks · 8 HN recommenders · 2015–2024
• interviewRichard Feynman Firenebulajr · 8 HN recommenders · 2010–2023
• explainerI messed up. You're using too much detergent.Technology Connections · 10 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• explainerThe Man Who Accidentally Killed The Most People In HistoryVeritasium · 6 HN recommenders · 2022–2026
• lectureIntroduction: The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday (1/6)engineerguy · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2022
• tutorialRevolutionary Paint: How to Make Surfaces Stay Cool in the SunTech Ingredients · 5 HN recommenders · 2023–2026
• explainerHow Do Nuclear Submarines Make Oxygen?- Smarter Every Day 251SmarterEveryDay · 5 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• tutorialMaking Infrared Cooling Paint From Grocery Store Items (w/Novel CaCO₃ Microsphere Synthesis)NightHawkInLight · 5 HN recommenders · 2023–2026
• tutorialHow To Make Infrared Cooling Paint (Electricity Free Air Conditioning)NightHawkInLight · 4 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• commentaryPFAS: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 4 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• explainerWhy Hershey bars taste like vomit (and I love them)Adam Ragusea · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• documentaryThe Biggest Chemical Coverup In HistoryVeritasium · 3 HN recommenders · 2025–2026
• podcastLee Cronin: Origin of Life, Aliens, Complexity, and Consciousness | Lex Fridman Podcast #269Lex Fridman · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2022
• talkClasp: Common Lisp using LLVM and C++ for Designing MoleculesGoogle TechTalks · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2022
• documentaryAmerica's Nerve Gas ArsenalPeter Klusman · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2020
• documentaryHow Does Kodak Make Film? (Kodak Factory Tour Part 1 of 3) - Smarter Every Day 271SmarterEveryDay · 3 HN recommenders · 2022–2022
• explainerHomochirality: Why Nature Never Makes Mirror MoleculesSteve Mould · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2022
• explainerThe 5 Most Dangerous Chemicals on EarthSciShow · 3 HN recommenders · 2015–2020
• demoEtching small patterns in GlassHuygens Optics · 4 HN recommenders · 2021–2024
• demoDIY mass spectrometer measures potassium in dietary salt substituteApplied Science · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• demoFluorine - Periodic Table of VideosPeriodic Videos · 4 HN recommenders · 2015–2021
• lectureJames Tour: The Mystery of the Origin of LifeDiscovery Science · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• documentaryToxic Propellant Hazards In Rocketry 1966 NASAmarkdcatlin · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2024
• tutorialGlass engineering - designing and making photochromic glassApplied Science · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2022
• demoJet Fuel VS Diesel VS Gasoline how they burn and what color are they.Just Think · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2022
• demoSolar Powered Air Conditioner!Tech Ingredients · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• lectureProfessor Jeff Dahn | WIN Seminar SeriesWaterloo Institute for Nanotechnology · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2017
• musicTom Lehrer - The Elements - LIVE FILM From Copenhagen in 1967The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2023
• documentaryBehind the Film - Inside the ILFORD factoryILFORD Photo · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• demoDemo and teardown of an X-ray fluorescence gun (measures chemical composition)Applied Science · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2024
• explainerHigh speed camera reveals why sodium explodes!Thunderf00t · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2024
• explainerEveryone is Wrong About Mexican Coke (Even @johnnyharris)Reactions · 2 HN recommenders · 2025–2026
• musicThe Molecular Shape of You (Ed Sheeran Parody) | A Capella Scienceacapellascience · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• documentaryUpdated BP Texas City Animation on the 15th Anniversary of the ExplosionUSCSB · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• explainerA Scientist Spilled 2 Drops Organic Mercury On Her Hand. This Is What Happened To Her Brain.Chubbyemu · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2026
• demoMaking uranium glassNileRed · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2024
• explainerMy Video Got 2 Companies Shut Down! (And even worse negative ion products)The Thought Emporium · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2025
• explainerWhat If Alien Life Were Silicon-Based?PBS Space Time · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2025
• talkCANDO: A Compiled Programming Language for Computer-Aided Nanomaterial Design and OptimizationEuropean Lisp Symposium · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2019
• documentaryWhy Farmers Can't Legally Replant Their Own SeedsVeritasium · 1 HN recommender · 2025–2025
• explainerInferno: Dust Explosion at Imperial SugarUSCSB · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2026
• demoWhat salt tastes the best? Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs and moreExplosions&Fire · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2024
• tutorialAntique 4x5 camera creates 20 micron photolithography masks: Super tiny tax formApplied Science · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2025
• demoMaking purple goldNileRed · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2024
• demo[593] Gallium vs. Titalium - Abus Padlock Meets a Gruesome EndLockPickingLawyer · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2024
• comedyDaniel Radcliffe sings "The Elements" - The Graham Norton Show - Series 8 Episode 4 - BBCBBC · 1 HN recommender · 2015–2025
• tutorialMaking YBCO superconductorApplied Science · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2023
• demoSynthesizing Chicken Noodle Soup From Pure ChemicalsThe Thought Emporium · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2024
• demoExperiment: Coca Cola and Drain CleanerHome Science · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2021
• demoAttempting to make transparent woodNileRed · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2021