Elemental

RNZ Originals
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To celebrate 150 years of the periodic table, get to know the back story of every element with our intrepid scientific hosts.

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    Zirconium - shape-shifting time capsule

    Zirconium is a shape-shifting tough cookie, that is a tale of gemstones, medical implants and nuclear reactors, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 98 of Elemental. Zirconium is a metal that is a shape-shifting tough cookie. It is found in gemstones - think zircons and cubic zirconia, often known as 'fake diamond.' Zirconia is nearly as hard as diamond and it is a refractory material that is pretty impervious to heat and pressure. Zircons are tiny geological time capsules containing trace amounts of uranium and thorium that geologists can use to work out how old they are. Zirconium alloyed with tin is used in nuclear reactors as it doesn't corrode and isn't itself radioactive, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, in episode 98 of Elemental. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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    Zinc - more useful than you realise

    Zinc is a very useful metal that turns up in everything from sunscreen to paint, & galvanised metals to cereals, as well as brass instruments, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 97 of Elemental. The major use of zinc is to galvanise steel in order to stop it corroding. This is because zinc oxidises more readily than iron, meaning it loses electrons more easily; chemists describe zinc as acting as the sacrificial anode, as oxidation occurs at the anode. The transition metal was well-known to the ancients who alloyed zinc and copper to make brass. Zinc is also well-known as a UV protector and turns up in sunblock (think cricketers' noses) as well as paint. You can also find zinc in car tyres, added to foods such as cereals and in anti-dandruff shampoo, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, in episode 97 of Elemental. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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    Yttrium - here's that village Ytterby again

    Yttrium is yet another element named after the village of Ytterby and is important in the development of high temperature superconductors, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 96 of Elemental. Here we go again - yet another element named after the Swedish village of Ytterby with a suitably tortuous extraction process, although surprisingly it is actually not a lanthanoid; it is a transition metal. It is used in camping gas mantles along with thorium, is added to cast iron to make it more ductile, and appears in alloys used in cutting tools, bearings and jet engines. When used with ytterbium, barium, copper and oxygen, it creates a high-temperature superconductor that operates at much warmer temperatures than most superconductors. Kiwi scientists Jeff Tallon and Bob Buckley are at the forefront of high temperature superconductor research, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, in episode 96 of Elemental. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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    Ytterbium - yet another element named after Ytterby

    Ytterbium is yet another lanthanoid named after the Swedish village of Ytterby, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 95 of Elemental. Ytterbium is yet another lanthanoid named after the Swedish village of Ytterby. It is a sister element to erbium, terbium and yttrium. The ytterbium lattice clock is one of the world's most accurate clocks, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, in episode 95 of Elemental. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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    Xenon - a stranger in search of strange particles

    Xenon is a noble gas that turns up in various lights, gets used in xenon ion propulsion systems for spacecraft & plays a key role in the search for dark matter, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 94 of Elemental. Xenon is a noble gas that turns up in various lights. It gets used in xenon ion propulsion systems for spacecraft. Xenon plays a key role in the XENON detector which is used in the search for dark matter. Xenon is also the 'perfect' anaesthetic, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, in episode 94 of Elemental. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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    Vanadium - Model T Fords, big batteries & sea squirts

    Vanadium makes steel stronger & lighter, is being used in what will be the world's largest battery, and sea squirts are full of it, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 93 of Elemental. Vanadium is a transition metal used to make steel stronger & lighter. It is named after the Scandinavian goddess of beauty and fertility Vanadis. Vanadium is being used in what will be the world's largest battery, and sea squirts are one of a small handful of organisms that contain large amounts of vanadium used in some enzymes, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, in episode 93 of Elemental. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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    Uranium - first radioactive element to be discovered

    Named after the planet Uranus & associated with Hiroshima & nuclear bombs, uranium is the highest-numbered element found naturally in significant quantities on earth, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 92 of Elemental. Uranium is named after the planet Uranus. Uranium (atomic number 92) is the highest-numbered element found naturally in significant quantities on earth It is associated with Hiroshima and nuclear bombs, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, in episode 92 of Elemental. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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    Tungsten - highest melting point of any metal

    Tungsten's very high melting point made it an ideal filament for incandescent light bulbs, & as it is in some enzymes it is the heaviest element used in nature, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 91 of Elemental. Tungsten is the metal with the highest melting point and this made it an ideal filament for incandescent light bulbs. It also has the highest tensile strength of any metal. It occurs in some enzymes (in a few bacteria and archaea only), making it the heaviest element used in nature, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, in episode 91 of Elemental. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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To celebrate 150 years of the periodic table, get to know the back story of every element with our intrepid scientific hosts.

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