Elemental
98 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 14 ratingsA journey through the periodic table of elements with chemistry professor Allan Blackman, from AUT, and Alison Ballance
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Episodes
Zirconium - shape-shifting time capsule
December 22, 2019 19:00 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBZirconium is a shape-shifting tough cookie, that is a tale of gemstones, medical implants and nuclear reactors, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 96 of Elemental.
Zinc - more useful than you realise
December 19, 2019 19:00 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MBZinc is a very useful metal that turns up in everything from sunscreen to paint, & galvanised metals to cereals, as well as brass instruments, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 95 of Elemental.
Yttrium - here's that village Ytterby again
December 15, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 7.8 MBYttrium is yet another element named after the village of Ytterby and is important in the development of high temperature superconductors, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 94 of Elemental.
Ytterbium - yet another element named after Ytterby
December 12, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 7.57 MBYtterbium is yet another lanthanoid named after the Swedish village of Ytterby, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 93 of Elemental.
Xenon - a stranger in search of strange particles
December 10, 2019 19:00 - 9 minutes - 9.14 MBXenon is a noble gas that turns up in various lights, gets used in xenon ion propulsion systems for spacecraft & plays a key role in the search for dark matter, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 92 of Elemental.
Vanadium - Model T Fords, big batteries & sea squirts
December 08, 2019 19:00 - 9 minutes - 8.79 MBVanadium makes steel stronger & lighter, is being used in what will be the world's largest battery, and sea squirts are full of it, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 91 of Elemental.
Uranium - first radioactive element to be discovered
December 05, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 7.8 MBNamed after the planet Uranus & associated with Hiroshima & nuclear bombs, uranium is the highest-numbered element found naturally in significant quantities on earth, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 90 of Elemental.
Tungsten - highest melting point of any metal
December 01, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 8.09 MBTungsten's very high melting point made it an ideal filament for incandescent light bulbs, & as it is in some enzymes it is the heaviest element used in nature, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 89 of Elemental.
Titanium - light, strong & quite pretty
November 28, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 7.89 MBTitanium is light, strong, corrosion resistant & is used to repair broken limbs as it is able to get integrated into the bone, says Allan Blackman from AUT speaking from personal experience in ep 88 of Elemental.
Tin - from whistles to organ pipes & anti-fouling paint
November 26, 2019 19:00 - 10 minutes - 10 MBThe element tin turns up in all sorts of alloys, but tin cans are - mostly - not made from tin, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 87 of Elemental.
Thulium - the most laborious of the lanthanoids
November 24, 2019 19:00 - 9 minutes - 8.99 MBIsolating the element thulium was a truly laborious process that took many years, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 86 of Elemental.
Thorium - potential source of cleaner nuclear energy
November 21, 2019 19:00 - 9 minutes - 8.44 MBNamed after Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, thorium could provide a cleaner source of nuclear power in the future, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in episode 85 of Elemental.
Thallium - the poisoner's poison
November 17, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 7.8 MBThallium is most famous for some infamous poisoned family cases & its appearance in an Agatha Christie novel solved a medical mystery, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 84 of Elemental.
Terbium - turns up in old TVs & new Euro notes
November 14, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 8.2 MBA discovery from the chemically prolific Swedish village of Ytterby, terbium produced the green on old TV sets & adds security to Euro notes, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 83 of Elemental.
Tellurium - usually associated with gold
November 10, 2019 19:00 - 9 minutes - 8.62 MBTellurium is a metalloid often found with gold and the US town Telluride is named after it, says Prof Allan Blackman, in ep 82 of Elemental.
Technetium - the first synthetic element
November 07, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 8.07 MBTechnetium was the first element on the periodic table to be synthesised. It is rare, radioactive and has only a few uses, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 81 of Elemental.
Tantalum - a tantalising chemical element
November 03, 2019 19:00 - 7 minutes - 6.81 MBThe metal tantalum is usually found with the element niobium, has a very high melting point but is a 'conflict mineral', says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 80 of Elemental.
Sulfur - king of bad smells
October 31, 2019 19:00 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBSulfur is responsible for some very bad smells, is the number one industrial chemical and is also an essential element, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 79 of Elemental.
Strontium - from sensitive teeth toothpaste to nuclear fission
October 27, 2019 19:00 - 9 minutes - 8.48 MBNamed after a Scottish town, strontium can be highly radioactive & glow-in-the-dark, but also used in toothpaste, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 78 of Elemental.
Sodium - a salt of the earth spectator
October 24, 2019 19:00 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBSodium is vital for life & usually found in combinaton with other more interesting elements, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 77 of Elemental.
Silver - a popular noble metal
October 22, 2019 19:00 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBSilver is widely used in jewellery, has interesting light sensitive abilities and has antimicrobial properties, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 76 of Elemental.
Silicon - a ubiquitous part of modern life
October 20, 2019 19:00 - 10 minutes - 9.51 MBSilicon is a blockbuster metalloid with many uses, from glass to computer chips & bathroom sealants, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 75 of Elemental.
Selenium - good reason to eat seafood & Brazil nuts
October 17, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 7.64 MBNew Zealand soils lack the vital element selenium, which also used to be important in photocopiers and bathroom plumbing, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 74 of Elemental.
Scandium - the scandal of the scandium cricket bat
October 15, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 7.73 MBPredicted by Mendeleev & useful for alloying with aluminium, scandium was involved in a famous cricket scandal, says AUT's Allan Blackman in ep 73 of Elemental.
Samarium - magnets for making & listening to music
October 13, 2019 19:00 - 6 minutes - 6.27 MBSamarium magnets are used in headphones & guitar pickups, and samarium was the first element named after a real person, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 72 of Elemental.
Ruthenium - a 'sort of' precious metal
October 10, 2019 19:00 - 8 minutes - 7.56 MBRuthenium is a 'sort of' precious metal that is a useful catalyst and alloy. It is toxic and smells like ozone, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 71 of Elemental.
Rubidium - expensive and not very useful
October 06, 2019 19:00 - 9 minutes - 8.47 MBRubidium is a reactive metal with few uses, named 'deepest red' due to its beautiful red spectral lines, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 70 of Elemental.
Rhodium - used in cars, drugs ... and aftershave
October 03, 2019 19:00 - 7 minutes - 7.19 MBRhodium is an expensive precious metal that is used in catalytic convertors, to make the Parkinson's drug L-DOPA, create shiny jewellery and add the menthol taste to toothpaste, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 69 of Elemental.
Rhenium - has a number of claims to chemical fame
October 01, 2019 19:00 - 7 minutes - 6.67 MBNamed after the Rhine river, rhenium is a metal with very high boiling and melting points, and it was the last naturally occuring, non-radioactive element to be discovered, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 68 of Elemental.
Radon - radioactive basement risk
September 29, 2019 19:00 - 9 minutes - 8.81 MBThe radioactive gas radon can be a risk in the basements of stone houses and used to, erroneously, be touted for its health benefits, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 67 of Elemental.
Radium - famous but not very useful
September 26, 2019 20:00 - 10 minutes - 9.31 MBRadium was famously found by the Curies, and was once widely used in face creams, drinks and luminous watch dials, despite being highly radioactive, says Allan Blackman in ep 66 of Elemental.
Protactinium - a very dull chemical element
September 22, 2019 20:00 - 6 minutes - 6.45 MBProtactinium is a rare, radioactive element that has no uses and may be the most boring element, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 65 of Elemental.
Promethium - rare and unremarkable
September 19, 2019 20:00 - 11 minutes - 10.8 MBDespite its gruesome mythical name, the radioactive element promethium has no particular claim to fame, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 64 of Elemental.
Praseodymium - a long name but not many uses
September 15, 2019 20:00 - 6 minutes - 5.88 MBPraseodymium is a metal wirh the second longest name on the periodic table and not many uses, says Prof Alan Blackman from AUT in ep 63 of Elemental.
Potassium - a matter of life and death
September 12, 2019 20:00 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBFrom levitating burnt buttocks, to excitable nerves and sure-to-rise baking, potassium is highly reactive and vital to life, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 62 of Elemental.
Polonium - few redeeming features
September 08, 2019 20:00 - 10 minutes - 9.47 MBPolonium will be forever linked with the names Curie and Litvinenko and has negligible desirable features, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 61 of Elemental.
Plutonium - nuclear bombs & nuclear power
September 05, 2019 20:00 - 9 minutes - 8.32 MBA radioactive heavyweight associated with nuclear bombs & power, which is powering the Voyager spacecraft, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 60 of Elemental.
Platinum - another pricey precious metal
September 01, 2019 20:00 - 8 minutes - 8.27 MBPlatinum is useful in catalytic convertors, is used to treat testicular cancer and will be useful in hydrogen fuel cells, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 59 of Elemental.
Phosphorus - P was discovered in pee
August 29, 2019 20:00 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBPhosphorus, chemical symbol P, was first isolated as an element from thousands of litres of urine. Also found in guano, aka bird poo. Allan Blackman from AUT has the full story in ep 58 of Elemental.
Palladium - cleaning up your car's exhaust
August 25, 2019 20:00 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MBPalladium is a pricey precious metal most commonly used in catalytic convertors on car exhausts, says AUT's Allan Blackman in ep 57 of Elemental.
Oxygen - the friendly element
August 22, 2019 20:00 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MBOxygen is very friendly with other chemical elements & very helpful for life on Earth, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 56 of Elemental.
Osmium - heavyweight champion of the elements
August 18, 2019 20:00 - 8 minutes - 8.28 MBOsmium is extremely rare and expensive. It is the densest chemical element, rivals diamond as being the least compressible of all known substances & has a distinctive 'pong' according to Allan Blackman in ep 55 of Elemental.
Nitrogen - a vital powerhouse
August 15, 2019 20:00 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBMost important biological molecules contain nitrogen, even though it takes lots of energy to make or break its chemical bonds, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 54 of Elemental.
Niobium - useful at high & low temperatures
August 11, 2019 20:00 - 9 minutes - 9.12 MBNiobium is a metal that is useful at both very high temperatures, as in jet engines, and very low temperatures as a superconductor, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 53 of Elemental.
Nickel - more than just a 5 cent coin
August 08, 2019 20:00 - 9 minutes - 9.17 MBThe chemical element nickel is named after a German word for Satan or the Devil, but nickel is now more usually thought of as a North American five cent piece, says Allan Blackman in ep 52 of Elemental.
Neon - the red of neon lights
August 04, 2019 20:00 - 10 minutes - 10 MBThere are no known compounds of the noble gas neon, which does however produce the brilliant crimson of red - and only red - neon lights. Ep 51 of Elemental with Prof Allan Blackman from AUT.
Neodymium - the secret behind supermagnets
August 01, 2019 20:00 - 9 minutes - 8.41 MBNeodydmium magnets include the strongest permanent magnets known and are found in devices like speakers & headphones, says chemistry professor Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 50 of Elemental.
The most boring chemical element
July 31, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutes - 7.25 MBThe Elemental podcast has inspired Prof Allan Blackman from AUT and Dr Rebecca Jelley from the University of Auckland, to publish a paper in the journal Nature Chemistry - here's a quick lowdown on 'The most boring chemical element.'
Molybdenum - a catalyst at bacterial to industrial scales
July 28, 2019 20:00 - 10 minutes - 9.5 MBMolybdenum has an essential role as a catalyst at microbial and industrial scales and is an important element in enzymes, says Prof Allan Blackman, in ep 49 of Elemental.
Mercury - mesmerising quicksilver
July 25, 2019 20:00 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBMercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, says Allan Blackman in ep 48 of Elemental.