LuxeSci

Hello! We've have been seriously influenced this week. Not by anything on social media but by all the amazing sculpture, ancient and modern that we've been seeing around Greece. Consequently, we will be focusing on Greek sculpture. We know that there are beautiful and important sculpting traditions in many cultures and we wish we could cover them all but that wasn't possible in a rough...

This week we're stepping away from painting and into the world of clay. We're talking about ceramics. What is clay made of? What scientific processes happen when clay is shaped and heated to make ceramics? What's the difference between ceramics and pottery? And most importantly, why does the handle of some of our coffee cups get hot in the microwave? Find out the answer to those questi...

This week we look at a very different style of painting and a very different type of paint.  We've seen some incredible street and that got us wondering, what makes spray paint spray?  Does each paint can have it's own molecular signature?  How can you get spray paint off? Join us this week for all things aerosolized as we explore the science behind spray paint.  Listen in as D...

And we're back to our regularly scheduled programming!  This week we're discussing the ever-evolving science behind art conservation and restoration.  Dr. Dimos leads down a very technological pathway of imaging techniques and paint analysis.  Dr. Lex discusses art restoration, making this worse before making them better and of course, there's a manage of poisonous paints. We even t...

Join us in welcoming a very special guest for this episode, Sam Boyd.  Aside from being related to one of the hosts, Sam is an artist who works in oils and figurative art.  We talk with Sam about his artistic journey, how his process works and of course perspective.  There is so much math and science that underlies art and this conversation opened our eyes to the intricacies of inte...

Hello!  Well we thought we had gone through all the colors we were going to discuss but as has often happens in science, we found something new and interesting and we just had to share!  So after going through the entire rainbow and black and white, what is left?  Well the colors brown and pink and while these might not leap to the mind when thinking about paintings, or colors you l...

Hello! This week's episode is about the quintessential Christmas colors: red and green.  Now we know that it's past the holiday season (even by the most generous definition) but we still wanted to share this episode since it features some exciting science and interesting tidbits. Dr Dimos walks us through red dyes, including more toxic pigments.  He also discusses how a little beetle got...

Hello!  This week's episode is about two bright and sunny colors, yellow and orang Dr. Dimos walks us through numerous ways to make yellow, most of which are toxic. He talks about all the toxic ways you can make yellow pigment, and few relatively safe ones, including feeding mango leaves to cows (though that's not recommended). Dr. Lex tackles orange pigments, which are unsurprisingly similar...

Hello!  This week's episode is about some colors that were highly symbolic in the Roman Empire (and elsewhere), we're taking a splash around the science behind white and purple pigments.   Dr. Dimos is blinded by the white but not so much that he can't provide some cool fun facts about white pigment.  Find out about why Romans wore white togas when running for office and the very me...

Hello!  We're back on track with our visual arts series. This time we go from how we see color to how color, specifically pigments, are manufactured. The science behind paint is a fascinating one indeed. Dr. Dimos goes deep into the deepest blacks to talk about some fascinating black pigments, including one that uses a perennial podcast favorite, nanotechnology! Dr Lex is blue, but not sad, a...

Hello Again - Welcome back to LuxeSci, the podcast to re-ignite your wonder by exploring the science behind luxury items. We've taken a bit of a detour away from our regularly (or not-so-regularly) scheduled programming because it's our anniversary!  Not our wedding anniversary but our podcast anniversary.  One year ago (approximately) we launched this podcast.  It started with Dr....

Hello!  It's been a little bit but we're back with a new season of LuxeSci.  A new season means a new focus and we're switching from talking about the science behind fine jewelry components to the science of visual arts.  To start of this season, we deep straight into how we see and perceive color.  Dr. Dimos gives us a physics lesson all about photons and wavelengths and how o...

Time sure does fly.  We've been in Greece in a little over a month and we're still getting settled and still exploring.  If you'd like to follow our Greek adventures, check out our Instagram and Youtube. For our last installment of the fine jewelry series, we're turning our curiosity and sense of humor on to a bit of an oddball in the gemstone world, Amber.  Dr. Dimos does a deep di...

We're so excited about this episode!  For our 20th episode, we interviewed the intelligent, charming and fun, Lauren.  She is the Director of Gemstones and Diamonds at Valerie Madison Jewelry and share our love of the science behind beautiful stones.  Our conversation covered her journey from a geology major to a gemologist, where the best blue sapphire comes from and even a plug fo...

Well that didn't go they way we wanted it to.  We prerecorded some episodes so that we could publish through our transition to living overseas but didn't account for the editing time.  If you'd like to follow our Greek adventures, check out our Instagram and Youtube. Not to worry though, we have a great new episode for you now and just in time for us to take a little beach vacation on th...

Better late than never, here's our episode on the king of gems, rubies!  We're a little delayed since we're still packing up our house in preparation for our move abroad.  Don't worry though, the science, the fun and the glamour will follow us across the Atlantic.   On this episode we discuss the differences between rubies and pink sapphires, we rubies are so good for making la...

Just in time for the 4th of July here in the US, we're talking about everyone's favorite explosive aerial show, fireworks!   Discover everything about how these festive sparklers work right along with Dr. Dimos and Dr. Lex.   On this episode we discuss the components of fireworks that make them combust, how the colors are formed and even how to make shapes (guess which shapes a...

If you've been following our Instagram or Twitter, then you know what this episode topic is...pearls! Discover everything from the basic science to biomedical applications of the jewels of the sea along with Dr. Lex and Dr. Dimos.   On this episode we discuss how pearls are made, what structural coloration is, why pearls may be helpful in wound healing and more.  Of course we  ...

Learn all about the chameleon of the gem world, sapphires!  On this episode we discuss how sapphires gain the array of colors, electrical engineering uses of sapphires and even delve into the world of photonic biosensors.  Of course we also have our helpful glossary of scientific terms and a fun fact for your next cocktail party. If you like LuxeSci, we'd love for you to help us spread t...

Learn all about the quintessential green gemstone, emeralds!  On this episode we discuss how emeralds are created synthetically in the lab, how fossilized seashells can be completely replaced by emerald crystals and a side-track into why ouzo turns milky when you add water.  Of course we also have our helpful glossary of scientific terms and a fun fact for your next cocktail party. If yo...

Join Dr. Lex and Dr. Dimos as we discuss all things related to the queen of all gemstones, diamonds!  We discuss how diamonds are born, how they can be colored and how engineers and biologists are using diamonds in unique and fascinating ways.  We hope this episode expands your perception of this glamorous stone.

Why is platinum is so ubiquitous in electronics?  What does this metal have to do with cancer treatments?  Join Dr. Lex and Dr. Dimos for an electrical engineer's and microbiologist's exploration into the science of this rare earth metal.

Did you know that silver is almost everywhere? This metal's high conductivity, malleability and natural antibiotic properties make it useful in many settings.  Join us for a scientific romp through the world of silver.  

How does amethyst get it's purple color?  Why is quartz so prevalent in electronics?  Join us in our podcast time machine as we go back a month to explore February's birthstone.

Hello! We're taking a short break to re-imagine and solidify our format and content a bit.  In the meantime, you can find us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at LuxeSciPod where we'll continue #littleluxurymondays, #shelfcare and #sciencesip. While you wait, subscribe so you don't miss our next episode, review wherever you listen to podcasts and, as always, reach out with ideas or suggestio...