[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.88,0:00:11.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Your cell phone is mainly made\Nof plastics and metals.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.10,0:00:13.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's easy to appreciate \Nthe inventive process
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.67,0:00:18.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by which those elements are made to add up\Nto something so useful and entertaining.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.94,0:00:21.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there's another story \Nwe don't hear about as much.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.75,0:00:24.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How did we get our raw ingredients\Nin the first place
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.93,0:00:28.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the chaotic tangle of materials\Nthat is nature?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.80,0:00:33.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The answer is a group of clever hacks\Nknown as separation techniques.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.43,0:00:37.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They work by taking advantage\Nof the fundamental properties of things
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.49,0:00:40.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to disentangle them from each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.12,0:00:43.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Simple separation techniques\Napply to many physical scenarios,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.96,0:00:45.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like separating cream from milk,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.79,0:00:47.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,extracting water from soil,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.92,0:00:52.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or even sifting out flecks of gold\Nfrom river sand.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.14,0:00:55.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But not all mixtures \Nare so easy to unravel.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.42,0:00:56.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In some of those cases,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.84,0:01:01.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can exploit the differences between\Nphysical properties within a mixture,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.50,0:01:03.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like particle size,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.18,0:01:04.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,density,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.11,0:01:05.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or boiling point
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.68,0:01:07.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to extract what's required.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.71,0:01:08.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take petroleum,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.88,0:01:11.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a mixture of different \Ntypes of hydrocarbons.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.58,0:01:13.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of these are valuable as fuels,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.45,0:01:17.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and others make good raw materials\Nfor generating electric power.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.66,0:01:21.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To separate them, experts rely on one\Nimportant feature:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.49,0:01:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,different hydrocarbons boil \Nat different temperatures.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.68,0:01:29.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,During the boiling process,\Neach type vaporizes at a precise point,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.92,0:01:32.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then gets separately funneled \Ninto a container
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.79,0:01:35.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and collected as a liquid as it cools.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.95,0:01:38.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Separation techniques \Nalso take us to the sea.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.78,0:01:40.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In some drought-stricken countries,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.80,0:01:44.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ocean is the only \Navailable water source.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.02,0:01:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But of course,\Nhumans can't drink salt water.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.88,0:01:48.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One way to get around this problem\N
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.66,0:01:52.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to remove salt from sea water \Nwith reverse osmosis,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.88,0:01:56.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a process that separates \Nwater's ingredients by size.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.87,0:02:00.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A membrane with pores \Nbigger than water particles,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.40,0:02:02.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but smaller than salt particles,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.56,0:02:05.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only lets fresh water pass through,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.43,0:02:09.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,transforming what was once undrinkable\Ninto a life saver.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.26,0:02:11.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meanwhile in the medical world,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.09,0:02:15.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,blood tests are a vital tool \Nfor evaluating a person's health,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.28,0:02:17.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but doctors typically \Ncan't examine blood samples
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.92,0:02:20.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until they've separated \Nthe solid blood cells
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.53,0:02:23.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the liquid plasma \Nthey're dissolved in.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.17,0:02:27.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To do that, a powerful rotational force\Nis exerted on the test tube,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.90,0:02:30.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,causing heavier substances \Nwith higher density,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.86,0:02:32.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like blood cells,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.24,0:02:35.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to move away from the rotational axis.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.24,0:02:38.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meanwhile, lighter substances \Nwith lower density,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.27,0:02:39.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like plasma,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.49,0:02:41.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,move to its center.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.54,0:02:43.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The tube's contents divide clearly,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.61,0:02:48.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the blood cells and liquid plasma\Ncan be tested independently.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.02,0:02:51.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But sometimes, unlike oil,\Nseawater, and blood,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.31,0:02:53.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the parts of mixtures \Nthat we want to separate
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.71,0:02:56.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,share the same physical properties.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.29,0:03:01.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In these cases, the only way to isolate \Ningredients is by chemical separation,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.41,0:03:05.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a complex process that relies \Non unique interactions
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.07,0:03:09.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between components within a mixture\Nand another material.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.32,0:03:11.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of these methods is chromatography,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.100,0:03:16.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a tool forensic scientists use \Nto examine crime scenes.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.02,0:03:18.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They dissolve gathered evidence in a gas,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.57,0:03:21.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and can monitor \Nand analyze the ingredients
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.33,0:03:24.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as they separate \Nand move at varying speeds
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.77,0:03:26.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,due to their unique chemical properties.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.93,0:03:31.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That information then tells scientists\Nprecisely what was present at the scene,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.63,0:03:34.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,often helping to identify the culprit.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.33,0:03:37.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Separation techniques are not just about\Nindustry,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.30,0:03:38.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,infrastructure,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.26,0:03:39.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,medicine,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.20,0:03:40.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and justice.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.52,0:03:43.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the most technically ambitious\Nprojects in human history
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.87,0:03:48.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a separation technique aimed at\Nanswering the fundamental question,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.53,0:03:51.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What is the Universe made of?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.24,0:03:54.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By accelerating particles \Nto extremely high speeds
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.16,0:03:56.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and smashing them into each other,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.19,0:04:00.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can break them into \Ntheir constituent parts ever so briefly.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.44,0:04:02.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if we succeed at that, what's next?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.91,0:04:05.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is there a most elementary particle?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.43,0:04:08.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if so, what's it made of?