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Explosions&Fire

Tom is the Australian chemist behind Explosions&Fire and Extractions&Ire, sharing energetic chemistry, ambitious shed experiments and the long road from an idea to a result.

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Tom’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.

Known for

Overview

Creator: Tom, the Australian host of Explosions&Fire and Extractions&Ire
Focus: Home chemistry, energetic compounds and detailed synthesis projects
Started: The original Explosions&Fire channel ran from 2011 to 2017
Early standout: White Phosphorus (2018), now watched more than four million times
Alongside YouTube: PhD graduate who also writes about postdoctoral life

Mini bio

How it started.

Tom’s original Explosions&Fire channel ran from 2011 to 2017. In a Chemistry World interview, he recalled building an audience of about 8,000 subscribers before YouTube suspended the channel after a series of strikes. He started again with a replacement channel.

Two ways into the shed.

Explosions&Fire focuses on energetic chemistry, its history and unusual reactions. Extractions&Ire is his home for more detailed synthesis videos and longer conversations about life. White Phosphorus, released in 2018, became one of his widely watched works, reaching more than four million views.

Following the experiment.

His cubane project follows the effort to make the cube-shaped molecule across successive videos, with a renewed Big Cubane run introduced in December 2024. Other projects explore perovskites, fluorescent nanocrystals, pigments and glass. The appeal is seeing the question, the setbacks and the next attempt.

Beyond the bench.

Tom also shares the experience of academic science. In 2026 he discussed finishing his PhD, publishing papers and postdoctoral life on Patreon, then released Academia is strange . He has collaborated with That Chemist and filmed at the Hasenstab-Riedel lab in Berlin.

Creditschronological, newest first

Videos and collaborations

2026Academia is strange .Creator and host
2025Big Chem ain’t Easy-Big Cubane 2025Creator and host
2024beating Chlorine Trifluoride…Creator and visiting host; filmed at the Hasenstab-Riedel lab
2022Ranking Energetic Compounds with Explosions&FireGuest with That Chemist

Writing

2024Experimental Observations on the Mysterious Explosions from 'Yellow Powder' to enable Yet More SpeculationAuthor, credited as E. Fire; preprint

Quotes

The thing I don’t like is the idea that information is the danger, more than the act itself.Tom, Chemistry World

Discussing YouTube’s removal of chemistry videos and his concern that detailed explanations were being penalised.

Trivia

He released a Yellow Powder preprint under the name E. Fire and linked it from the accompanying video.
His silicon carbide video uses Extone’s bird-themed album Beak & Feather; he points out the birds in the video, too.
He credits Indigo for editing help on multiple recent videos, including GLS glass and Academia is strange .
He filmed a lead cube with NileRed during a lab visit after Open Sauce, as shared in his August 2026 Patreon update.