Cadmium (Cd)
This toxic metal is slowly being phased out of our lives. But as presenter Justin Rowlatt discovers, while nickel-cadmium batteries may have disappeared from our gadgets, they still help to keep plane...
25 Maj 201630min
Potassium (K)
Potash plumps up fruit, vegetables and grains, and the potassium it contains is an essential nutrient. Yet India is completely dependent on imports of this critical fertiliser to feed its population. ...
18 Maj 201629min
Hydrogen (H) - energy
Is the dream of a hydrogen-fuelled zero-carbon economy achievable? Presenters Justin Rowlatt and Laurence Knight ask where the hydrogen will come from and how we will store it. Professor Andrea Sella ...
10 Maj 201629min
Zinc (Zn)
The metal that brings shelter and good health to India's poorest. Presenter Laurence Knight travels to a bustling Delhi where Rahul Sharma of the International Zinc Association explains how this self-...
4 Maj 201629min
Hydrogen (H) - water (part 2)
As climate change threatens to play havoc with the rain, could we instead draw our water directly from the ocean? In his second gulp of H2O, presenter Justin Rowlatt hears from climatologist Raymond P...
27 Apr 201630min
Noble Gases (Ar, Ne, Kr, Xe)
Neon, argon, krypton and xenon: Laurence Knight investigates their uses, from the blinding light of the arc welder's torch to the dying trade of the neon sign-making. Professor Andrea Sella explains h...
23 Mars 201629min
Germanium (Ge)
Nanotech, virtual reality, Moore's Law - we look at germanium, the substance that could oust the silicon from Silicon Valley, and one day help computers supercede your brain. IBM's head of innovation,...
16 Mars 201629min
