Elemental

RNZ•www.rnz.co.nz

To celebrate 150 years of the periodic table, get to know the back story of every element with our intrepid scientific hosts.

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Episodes

Astatine - awfully rare

No one has ever seen astatine, which shares the distinction of being one of the rarest naturally-occurring elements on earth. Find out more with Allan Blackman from AUT in episode 8 of Elemental. Astatine is an enigmatic chemical element whose name means unstable. Along with francium, astatine has the distinction of being the rarest naturally-occurring element on earth. Ironically, element 85 was actually synthesised in the laboratory before it was finally found in nature. Professor Allan Blackm...

Mar 14, 2019•9 min•Ep. 8

Arsenic - the well-known poison

Arsenic is a well-known killer that was once dubbed 'succession powder'. Join Allan Blackman from AUT in episode 7 of Elemental, a journey through the periodic table. Arsenic is probably the most well-known poison, and it is associated with equally famous names, from Napoleon Bonaparte (did his arsenic green wallpaper really kill him?) to the famous race horse Phar Lap (was he deliberately poisoned). Professor Allan Blackman from AUT explores arsenic, and finds out that for a few animals, at lea...

Mar 10, 2019•8 min•Ep. 7

Argon - every breath you take

Argon is in every breath you take and its inertness is its best feature, as we discover with AUT chemistry professor Allan Blackman, in episode 5 of Elemental. Argon is in every breath you take and its inertness is its best feature, says Elemental's in-house chemistry expert Professor Allan Blackman, from Auckland University of Technology. Argon (symbol Ar and number 18) is a noble gas. Its inertness makes it useful in situations such as arc-welding and incandescent light bulbs, to prevent combu...

Mar 07, 2019•8 min•Ep. 6

Antimony - takes lives, saves lives

Antimony can be used to take lives - and to save lives. Check out episode 4 of Elemental with Professor Allan Blackman from AUT. Antimony can be used to take lives - and to save lives. Check out episode 4 of Elemental with Professor Allan Blackman from AUT, as he shares the varied uses of antimony (chemical symbol Sb and element number 51). Compounds of antimony have uses ranging from hardenng lead in printing presses to the black eyeliner beloved of early Egyptians. Antimony might ring bells if...

Mar 03, 2019•8 min•Ep. 5

Americium - a radioactive, domestic do-gooder

Invented during war, radioactive americium has become a bit of a do-gooder that is in most homes. Find out more with AUT's Allan Blackman in episode 3 of Elemental. Invented during war, radioactive americium has become a bit of a do-gooder that is - surprisingly - in most homes. Professor Allan Blackman from AUT tells us how the heavy element 95 was discovered during the Manhattan Project and named geographically - after America - because it sits near the bottom of the periodic table below Europ...

Feb 27, 2019•7 min•Ep. 4

Aluminium - light & versatile

Aluminium is a light, well-known metal with lots of useful properties. Join AUT chemistry professor Allan Blackman for episode 2 of Elemental. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Feb 24, 2019•6 min•Ep. 3

Actinium - rare & radioactive

The first alphabetical element in the periodic table is actinium. It is a heavy radioactive element, as we discover in episode 1 of Elemental, with Professor Allan Blackman from AUT. CORRECTION: In the audio we mistakenly said that Cherenkov radiation happens when particles travel faster than the speed of light. Listener Jennifer Narang wrote in with this helpful and correct explanation: "Cherenkov radiation is not the result of a particle traveling faster than the speed of light (which is physi...

Feb 21, 2019•6 min•Ep. 2

Tales from the periodic table

In the prequel to Elemental, AUT's Allan Blackman introduces us to Dmitri Mendeleev and chemistry's periodic table of elements. Follow and listen to Elemental on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. One hundred and fifty years ago the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev published his version of the Periodic Table of the Elements. To commemorate this, the United Nations has designated 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table. Most of us haven't thought abou...

Feb 19, 2019•11 min•Ep. 1

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