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...
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Elemental
A journey through the periodic table of elements with chemistry professor Allan Blackman, from AUT, and Alison Ballance
Elemental Podcast Guide
Listen to Elemental, a Science & Medicine podcast by RNZ. Stream 98 episodes in English, follow new audio stories, and play episodes online on Radio and Podcast.
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Episodes
20 of 98 episodesZinc - 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 instrument...
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, s...
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 95 of Elemental. Ytterbium is...
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 sea...
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 Pro...
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 signif...
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 ele...
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 Bl...
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 89...
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 88 of Elemental. I...
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...
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...
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...
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 84 of Elemental....
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 B...
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 Bla...
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 Blac...
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 f...
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 79 of Elemental....