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Gallium & Indium (Ga, In)

LED lighting and the other electronics revolutionised by two obscure chemical elements.

• 49 mins

Boron (B)

The mineral from the Wild West that toughens glass and stops bullets in their tracks.

• 42 mins

Copper (Cu) - materials

The distinctive red metal that distills whisky and kills hospital super-bugs.

• 45 mins

Copper (Cu) - electricity

Why copper wires? And do solar power and batteries herald the death of the old AC grid?

• 38 mins

Nickel

The economy of Nickel, the metal and element that made the jet age possible

• 23 mins

Chromium

The metal of modernity - think Harleys and skyscrapers - chromium also has a dark side.

• 23 mins

Fluorine

The key building block for CFCs and a string of other gases posing a threat to mankind

• 23 mins

Cobalt (Co)

The metal in magnets and phone batteries - but is some of it being mined by children?

• 46 mins

Technetium

Essential for medical imaging, supplies of this manmade element are far from guaranteed.

• 23 mins

Oxygen (O) - oxidation

The 鈥渆lement of life鈥� also makes our atmosphere very dangerous and costly to operate in.

• 38 mins

Titanium (Ti) - materials

Stronger than steel, could this glamorous metal eventually become as common as steel?

• 32 mins

Oxygen (O) - industrial uses

Why is oxygen essential to steelmaking, and can you inhale too much of it?

• 33 mins

Hydrogen (H) - acids

These powerful chemicals are essential for industry, but are dangerous to handle.

• 39 mins

Titanium (Ti) - catalysts

The metal behind plastics, paints, and buildings that clean both themselves and the air.

• 28 mins

Magnesium (Mg)

The metal that overcame a fiery reputation to regain its role in making planes and cars.

• 34 mins

Beryllium (Be)

This toxic metal can do serious damage to your lungs, so is it safe to use?

• 21 mins

Oxygen

The 'element of life' also makes our atmosphere very dangerous and costly to operate in

• 26 mins

Iron

How the abundant metal lron became the very stuff of modern industrial life

• 26 mins

Cobalt

The metal in magnets and phone batteries - but is some of it being mined by children?

• 26 mins

Boron

The mineral from the Wild West that toughens glass and stops bullets in their tracks.

• 26 mins

Tantalum & Niobium (Ta, Nb)

Are these notorious conflict minerals still being smuggled into and laundered in Rwanda?

• 30 mins

Gallium and Indium

LED lighting and the other electronics revolutionised by the elements Gallium and Indium

• 26 mins

Radioactives (Po, Ra, Rn)

Radium, polonium and radon sound frightening, but are they actually useful for anything?

• 30 mins

Titanium

It's stronger than steel, but could this glamorous metal become as common as steel?

• 26 mins

Germanium (Ge)

Nanotech, virtual reality, and the stuff that could oust the silicon from Silicon Valley.

• 29 mins

Magnesium and Beryllium

Two metals with sinister reputations - one for flammability, the other for lung disease

• 26 mins

Noble Gases (Ar, Ne, Kr, Xe)

Neon, argon, krypton & xenon: From blinding arc lights to the dying trade of sign-making.

• 29 mins

Copper

Why copper wires? And do solar power and batteries herald the death of the old AC grid?

• 26 mins

Hydrogen (H) - water (part 1)

Northwest India is fast running out of groundwater. Is migration and conflict inevitable?

• 30 mins

Hydrogen (H) - water (part 2)

As climate change plays havoc with the rain, could we draw water directly from the ocean?

• 30 mins