Nitrogen (N) - explosives
Some 78% of the Earth's atmosphere is nitrogen. Yet this seemingly inert gas is the key component of bombs and explosives. It has brought life and death on an epic scale since mankind first unlocked i...
26 Jul 201435min
Carbon (C) - plastics
Polymers – or plastics – are enduring, cheap, mouldable and versatile. Yet their very durability mean they litter our landscapes. And their main raw material - crude oil - will not last forever. So co...
25 Jul 201434min
Sodium (Na)
What links soap, paper, heart disease and murder? Sodium. In the latest in our series of programmes looking at the world economy from the perspective of the elements of the periodic table, Justin Rowl...
24 Jul 201432min
Chlorine (Cl)
Chlorine is more than just a chemical used in swimming pools. This poisonous green gas is the great enabling element of the chemicals industry, used in creating your clothes, computer chips, medicines...
23 Jul 201433min
Lithium (Li)
Lithium is the electro-chemical element - big in batteries and bipolar disorder. Over two decades it has shot from obscurity to become almost synonymous with the way we power our gadgets. Presenter Ju...
22 Jul 201432min
Rare Earth Elements (Ce, Nd, Dy, Er, etc)
Neither rare nor earths, these 17 elements are nonetheless difficult and unpleasant to mine and refine. Chemically near-identical, these metals have unique magnetic and optical properties, making them...
21 Jul 201432min
Carbon (C) - diamonds
Diamonds are not forever. They can be burned, and these days they can be mass-produced in a factory. So can your jeweller tell the difference between a natural and chemically identical "fake"? And can...
20 Jul 201431min
Calcium (Ca)
Calcium is the great structural element. It is the basis of much of the great architecture in nature as well as many of the incredible structures made by man. Presenter Justin Rowlatt hears from chemi...
19 Jul 201427min
