b"#156When smoke alarms aren't beeping at us to replace their batteries, they are sitting, watching, waiting for the perfect moment, waiting for smoke to happen so they can alert us that a fire may be happening. But how on earth do they detect the presence of smoke? How do they only react to smoke and nothing else? What is going on inside of our little circular, protective friends? Let's find out.References from this episodehttps://www.nist.gov/how-do-you-measure-it/how-do-smoke-detectors-work#:~:text=Smoke%20alarms%20detect%20fires%20by,to%20safety%20and%20call%20911.https://www.compoundchem.com/2019/11/20/iypt095-americium/https://cen.acs.org/materials/Chemistry-Pictures-Americium-beautiful/99/web/2021/07https://www.epa.gov/radtown/americium-ionization-smoke-detectorshttps://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Staying-safe/Safety-equipment/Smoke-alarms/Ionization-vs-photoelectricThanks to our monthly supporters\\n\\n Ciara Linville\\n J0HNTR0Y\\n Jeannette Napoleon\\n Cullyn R\\n Erica Bee\\n Elizabeth P\\n Sarah Moar\\n Rachel Reina\\n Letila\\n Katrina Barnum-Huckins\\n Suzanne Phillips\\n Nelly Silva\\n Venus Rebholz\\n Lyn Stubblefield\\n Jacob Taber\\n Brian Kimball\\n Emerson Woodhall\\n Kristina Gotfredsen\\n Timothy Parker\\n Steven Boyles\\n Chris Skupien\\n Chelsea B\\n Bri McAllister\\n Avishai Barnoy\\n Hunter Reardon\\n\\n \\u2605 Support this podcast on Patreon \\u2605\\nCheck out our website at chemforyourlife.comWatch our episodes on YouTubeFind us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it."