Obscure Elements
In the final programme in our Elements series, Justin Rowlatt looks at the rarest and oddest members of the periodic table. Selenium, bismuth, molybdenum, antimony, rhenium, hafnium, zirconium, tellurium, thallium, barium. What...
Elements
BBC World Service
Latest available episode Obscure Elements
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30 min 14 s
65 Episodes
Gold (Au)
Why do we value this practically useless metal so highly? And does it bring out the worst in human nature? In a second look at this most coveted of metals, Justin Rowlatt...
Thorium (Th)
This radioactive metal holds the promise of thousands of years of energy for the world. But is it really any cleaner or safer than traditional uranium-based nuclear power?Chemistry Professor Andrea Sella of...
Platinum group (Pt, Pd, Ru, Rh, Os, Ir)
Six extremely rare metals that clean your car exhaust and turbocharge industrial chemistry, but which are also the focus of a violent power struggle in South Africa.Presenter Laurence Knight heads to Johnson...
Arsenic (As)
The macabre poison we know from crime novels and history books has some surprising modern uses.Justin Rowlatt travels the Subcontinent - first to India's Forest Research Institute in the Himalayas where Sadhna...
Silver (Ag)
The shiniest and showiest of metals is still mainly used in silverware. But it also has some surprisingly modern applications.Justin Rowlatt heads deep under the city streets to the sparkling London Silver...
Iodine (I)
Why does iodine deficiency still blight children in developing countries like India?Justin Rowlatt travels to Dehradun in the Himalayas with world expert Chandrakant Pandav to diagnose schoolchildren still suffering from the throat...
Hydrogen (H) - fusion
Could we finally be about to crack this source of potentially unlimited clean energy - thanks in part to a plethora of private sector tech startups? Laurence Knight travels to one such...
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 planes...
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. Presenter...
