The Episodic Table of Elements – Page 2 – A chemistry podcast about the fascinating true stories behind each element on the periodic table.

57. Lanthanum: Hidden In Plain Sight

March 23, 2020

6:00 am

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Let’s uncover element 57, and find out why the “rare earths” are neither rare nor earths nor an empire.

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56. Barium: Glow-Getter

March 9, 2020

6:00 am

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Alchemy, Computers, Electricity, Electronics, Humphry Davy, John Fleming, Lee de Forest, Medicine, Nuclear Weapons, Thomas Edison

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When you really want to suck all the air out of a room, barium will help you out.

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55. Caesium: A Brief History Of Time

February 24, 2020

6:00 am

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Atomic Structure, Benjamin Franklin, Brazil, Chernobyl, Etymology, GPS, Industrial Revolution, Nuclear Accidents, Periodic Table, Radioactivity, Railroads, Roman Catholic Church, Soviet Union, Submarines, Time

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We’ll trace the history of the most important caesium-based technology all the way back to its original roots: a stick.

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54. Xenon: Ignoble Gas

February 10, 2020

6:00 am

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Art & Science, Atomic Structure, IBM, Ions, Movie Science, Neil Bartlett, Oxidation, Photography, Poetry, Russia, Sports, Surgery, Ultracold Experiments, William Ramsay

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Truly strange things start to happen when you breathe this rarefied air.

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