Thorium (Th)

The “element of life” also makes the air that we breathe a perilous and costly atmosphere in which to operate. Prof Andrea Sella of University College London provides presenter Justin Rowlatt with a c...

29 Juli 201538min

Cobalt, the metal in magnets and phone batteries, is synonymous with the colour blue. But what exactly are magnets, how do they work and where are they used? And is some of the cobalt being mined by c...

22 Juli 201546min

Copper has long been the metal of electricity generators and wiring. But presenter Justin Rowlatt asks whether new technologies herald the death of the old-fashioned electricity grid. Prof Andrea Sell...

25 Juni 201538min

Copper is the distinctive red metal in pots, pans and water pipes, and also plays a central role in whisky distillation. Presenter Laurence Knight and chemistry guru Professor Andrea Sella of Universi...

17 Juni 201545min

Boron is the mineral from the Wild West that stops glass from shattering and stops bullets in their tracks. Presenter Laurence Knight visits the Dixon Glass works to see why borosilicate glass is perf...

11 Juni 201542min

LED lighting, solar power and lasers are just some of the electronics revolutionised by two obscure chemical elements - gallium and indium. Laurence Knight hears from Mike Simpson of Philips why we wi...

3 Juni 201549min

Iron is the chemical element at the heart of steel, and by extension of industrialisation, so what does the collapse in iron ore prices say about the economic progress of China and India? Is the steel...

1 Apr 201531min

The two key ingredients that enabled the mass production of steel. We travel to Sheffield - the birthplace of modern steelmaking - to get up close to the technological mid-wife, a Bessemer converter. ...

25 Mars 201531min