What makes nonstick pans not sticky?

#040

Who you calling sticky? This week, Melissa and Jam open up another two-part series about nonstick pans, aka teflon. What keeps food from sticking to them? How did scientists figure out how to create it? How can something that doesn't stick to anything be coated on the bottom of a pan? Are there any potential downsides to teflon? Let's get nonsticky.

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References from this episode

1. Organic Chemistry, Edition 11 - Solomon
2. If nothing sticks to Teflon, how does it stick to pans? - Scientific American
3. DuPont Faces Class-Action Lawsuits Over Teflon - Reich, Chemical and Engineering News
4. Perspective on Fluorocarbon Chemistry - David M. Lemal
5. Teflon’s Toxicity Level - Sharon Kelley
6. PTFE-coated non-stick cookware and toxicity concerns: a perspective - Muhammad Sajid & Muhammad Ilyas
7. The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare - The New York Times Magazine, Rich
8. Teflon’s Toxic Legacy - Earth Island Journal, Kelly

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