Radioactives (Po, Ra, Rn)
Radium, polonium and radon may be names to make your hair stand on end, but are they actually useful for anything? And is our fear of them overbaked? Laurence Knight gets the chemistry rundown from Pr...
9 Mar 201630min
Tantalum & Niobium (Ta, Nb)
Is coltan - the notorious conflict mineral from which these two metals are derived - still being smuggled from DR Congo into Rwanda, to evade taxes and sourcing controls? Laurence Knight investigates ...
2 Mar 201630min
Beryllium (Be)
Rare and toxic, beryllium can do serious damage to your lungs. Presenter Laurence Knight explores whether and how we can make use of this metal safely. Prof Andrea Sella of University College London e...
22 Okt 201521min
Magnesium (Mg)
This metal played a part in the worst car crash in history, the 1955 Le Mans disaster, helping to make the resulting inferno explosively dangerous. Yet despite its fiery reputation, and its proneness ...
30 Sep 201534min
Titanium (Ti) - catalysts
Titanium is the magic metal that made possible the mass production of plastics and paints, as well as buildings that clean both themselves and the air around them. Presenter Laurence Knight heads to t...
16 Sep 201528min
Hydrogen (H) - acids
These powerful chemicals are essential to obtain the minerals that build our world, the fertilisers that feed the planet, and the fuels that propel our vehicles - as presenter Laurence Knight discover...
19 Aug 201539min
Oxygen (O) - industrial uses
Why is oxygen essential to steelmaking, how do you extract it from the air, and can you inhale too much of it? Answering these questions leaves presenter Justin Rowlatt almost breathless. Prof Andrea ...
12 Aug 201533min
Titanium (Ti) - materials
Stronger and more durable than steel, this glamorous metal crops up in sportscars, hip replacements and jewellery - but a new chemical process hopes one day to make it as common as steel. Prof Andrea ...
5 Aug 201532min
