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How do we separate the seemingly inseparable? - Iddo Magen

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Your cell phone is mainly made of plastics and metals. It’s easy to appreciate the process by which those elements add up to something so useful. But there’s another story we don’t hear about -- how did we get our raw ingredients in the first place, from the chaotic tangle of materials that is nature? Iddo Magen uncovers the answer in a group of clever hacks known as separation techniques.


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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Iddo Magen
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Director Katie Wendt
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Interested in learning more about how crude oil is separated into its constituent parts? Watch this video to find out more. Refinery Crude Oil Distillation Process Complete and Fractional Distillation also discuss this process. 

Desalination may well be an important process in the near future. This video is a great place to start to learn a bit more about this process. Need a bit more review about desalination? Watch this video: How Seawater Desalination Works. Any ideas about where and why this may be an important concept to be aware of? Need a hint? Check out this article: Desalination: the quest to quench the world’s thirst for water .

How does a centrifuge work? This site will give you some more ideas! Now, take a look at a great physics video explaining the process, Centrifugation Separation Methods. Lastly, the separation of blood assists technicians in finding out more about a person’s health. For more details, check out this video: Blood Testing Facts: Blood Test Tube Separation.


Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Iddo Magen
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Director Katie Wendt
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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