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 96 of Elemental.

Zinc - more useful than you realise

Dec 19th, 2019 12m 30s

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 95 of Elemental.

Yttrium - here's that village Ytterby again

Dec 15th, 2019 8m 27s

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 94 of Elemental.

Ytterbium - yet another element named after Ytterby

Dec 12th, 2019 8m 11s

Ytterbium is yet another lanthanoid named after the Swedish village of Ytterby, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 93 of Elemental.

Xenon - a stranger in search of strange particles

Dec 10th, 2019 9m 54s

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 92 of Elemental.

Vanadium - Model T Fords, big batteries & sea squirts

Dec 8th, 2019 9m 32s

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 91 of Elemental.

Uranium - first radioactive element to be discovered

Dec 5th, 2019 8m 27s

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 90 of Elemental.

Tungsten - highest melting point of any metal

Dec 1st, 2019 8m 45s

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 89 of Elemental.

Titanium - light, strong & quite pretty

Nov 28th, 2019 8m 33s

Titanium is light, strong, corrosion resistant & is used to repair broken limbs as it is able to get integrated into the bone, says Allan Blackman from AUT speaking from personal experience in ep 88 of Elemental.

Tin - from whistles to organ pipes & anti-fouling paint

Nov 26th, 2019 10m 53s

The element tin turns up in all sorts of alloys, but tin cans are - mostly - not made from tin, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 87 of Elemental.

Thulium - the most laborious of the lanthanoids

Nov 24th, 2019 9m 45s

Isolating the element thulium was a truly laborious process that took many years, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 86 of Elemental.

Thorium - potential source of cleaner nuclear energy

Nov 21st, 2019 9m 8s

Named after Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, thorium could provide a cleaner source of nuclear power in the future, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in episode 85 of Elemental.

Thallium - the poisoner's poison

Nov 17th, 2019 8m 26s

Thallium is most famous for some infamous poisoned family cases & its appearance in an Agatha Christie novel solved a medical mystery, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 84 of Elemental.

Terbium - turns up in old TVs & new Euro notes

Nov 14th, 2019 8m 53s

A discovery from the chemically prolific Swedish village of Ytterby, terbium produced the green on old TV sets & adds security to Euro notes, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 83 of Elemental.

Tellurium - usually associated with gold

Nov 10th, 2019 9m 20s

Tellurium is a metalloid often found with gold and the US town Telluride is named after it, says Prof Allan Blackman, in ep 82 of Elemental.

Technetium - the first synthetic element

Nov 7th, 2019 8m 44s

Technetium was the first element on the periodic table to be synthesised. It is rare, radioactive and has only a few uses, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 81 of Elemental.

Tantalum - a tantalising chemical element

Nov 3rd, 2019 7m 22s

The metal tantalum is usually found with the element niobium, has a very high melting point but is a 'conflict mineral', says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 80 of Elemental.

Sulfur - king of bad smells

Oct 31st, 2019 14m 24s

Sulfur is responsible for some very bad smells, is the number one industrial chemical and is also an essential element, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 79 of Elemental.

Strontium - from sensitive teeth toothpaste to nuclear fission

Oct 27th, 2019 9m 11s

Named after a Scottish town, strontium can be highly radioactive & glow-in-the-dark, but also used in toothpaste, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 78 of Elemental.

Sodium - a salt of the earth spectator

Oct 24th, 2019 11m 18s

Sodium is vital for life & usually found in combinaton with other more interesting elements, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 77 of Elemental.

Silver - a popular noble metal

Oct 22nd, 2019 11m 14s

Silver is widely used in jewellery, has interesting light sensitive abilities and has antimicrobial properties, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 76 of Elemental.

Silicon - a ubiquitous part of modern life

Oct 20th, 2019 10m 19s

Silicon is a blockbuster metalloid with many uses, from glass to computer chips & bathroom sealants, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 75 of Elemental.

Selenium - good reason to eat seafood & Brazil nuts

Oct 17th, 2019 8m 16s

New Zealand soils lack the vital element selenium, which also used to be important in photocopiers and bathroom plumbing, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 74 of Elemental.

Scandium - the scandal of the scandium cricket bat

Oct 15th, 2019 8m 22s

Predicted by Mendeleev & useful for alloying with aluminium, scandium was involved in a famous cricket scandal, says AUT's Allan Blackman in ep 73 of Elemental.

Samarium - magnets for making & listening to music

Oct 13th, 2019 6m 46s

Samarium magnets are used in headphones & guitar pickups, and samarium was the first element named after a real person, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 72 of Elemental.