Episodes

• 2019

• Zirconium - shape-shifting time capsule

  Zirconium 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.
  December 22, 2019

  13 min

• Zinc - more useful than you realise

  Zinc 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.
  December 19, 2019

  13 min

• Yttrium - here's that village Ytterby again

  Yttrium 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.
  December 15, 2019

  9 min

• Ytterbium - yet another element named after Ytterby

  Ytterbium is yet another lanthanoid named after the Swedish village of Ytterby, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 93 of Elemental.
  December 12, 2019

  9 min

• Xenon - a stranger in search of strange particles

  Xenon 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.
  December 10, 2019

  10 min

• Vanadium - Model T Fords, big batteries & sea squirts

  Vanadium 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.
  December 8, 2019

  10 min

• Uranium - first radioactive element to be discovered

  Named 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.
  December 5, 2019

  9 min

• Tungsten - highest melting point of any metal

  Tungsten'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.
  December 1, 2019

  9 min

• Titanium - light, strong & quite pretty

  Titanium 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.
  November 28, 2019

  9 min

• Tin - from whistles to organ pipes & anti-fouling paint

  The 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.
  November 26, 2019

  11 min

• Thulium - the most laborious of the lanthanoids

  Isolating the element thulium was a truly laborious process that took many years, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 86 of Elemental.
  November 24, 2019

  10 min

• Thorium - potential source of cleaner nuclear energy

  Named 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.
  November 21, 2019

  10 min

• Thallium - the poisoner's poison

  Thallium 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.
  November 17, 2019

  9 min

• Terbium - turns up in old TVs & new Euro notes

  A 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.
  November 14, 2019

  9 min

• Tellurium - usually associated with gold

  Tellurium 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.
  November 10, 2019

  10 min

• Technetium - the first synthetic element

  Technetium 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.
  November 7, 2019

  9 min

• Tantalum - a tantalising chemical element

  The 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.
  November 3, 2019

  8 min

• Sulfur - king of bad smells

  Sulfur 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.
  October 31, 2019

  15 min

• Strontium - from sensitive teeth toothpaste to nuclear fission

  Named 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.
  October 27, 2019

  10 min

• Sodium - a salt of the earth spectator

  Sodium is vital for life & usually found in combinaton with other more interesting elements, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 77 of Elemental.
  October 24, 2019

  12 min