{"id":3843,"date":"2016-02-17T08:18:51","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T07:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cienciagandia.webs.upv.es\/en\/?p=3843"},"modified":"2016-02-17T08:43:46","modified_gmt":"2016-02-17T07:43:46","slug":"what-is-chemistry-mr-white","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cienciagandia.webs.upv.es\/en\/2016\/02\/what-is-chemistry-mr-white\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Chemistry, Mr. White?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Breaking Bad<\/u><\/strong><\/em><\/a> is all about the midlife crisis, and what better way to explore it than a burned-out high school teacher who was meant to be a multimillionaire business tycoon, but took a wrong turn along the way. This is the story of Walter White<\/strong>, the lead character of the series, but that\u2019s not why he’s a bad teacher<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The writers cleverly show him giving class in the first episode, setting us up for the sheer decrepitude of his current life<\/strong>. A teacher. Twenty listless students. The feeling that what you’re doing is useless… The scene only lasts a minute, but what a minute!<\/p>\n

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Walter begins by defining what chemistry is: “it is the science of matter.”<\/strong> The students don\u2019t seem interested. Then he offers his personal thoughts on chemistry: “It is the science of change.”<\/strong> That’s what’s important, how things change and how change means everything. The cycle of life itself. His eyes shine; you can tell that he loves chemistry, that what he’s telling them fascinates him. The students, however, are yawning<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Then he gives a demonstration<\/strong> by lighting a bunsen burner and spraying chemicals into it, producing colored flames. And while he does this, he continues to talk about the idea of \u200b\u200bchange<\/strong>, how the elements combine to transform into those vivid colors, managing to grab the halfhearted attention of a few of the students. The scene ends with a broad yet fleeting smile on Walter’s face as he says, “It’s really fascinating.”<\/strong><\/p>\n