The Episodic Table of Elements

6. Carbon: The Circle Of Life

February 12, 2018

6:00 am

5 Comments on 6. Carbon: The Circle Of Life

Allotropes, Anthropology, Archaeology, Atomic Bonding, Atomic Structure, Biology, Carbon Dating, Energy, England, Gilbert Lewis, Harold Urey, Industrial Revolution, Irving Langmuir, Isotopes, Mineralogy, Nobel Prizes, Pollution, Prehistory, Radioactivity, Stanley Miller, Thermodynamics

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Learn why carbon is the foundation of all life on Earth as we investigate a chemist’s suicide, death by air pollution, and one very, very cold murder case.

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5. Boron: Working Hard, Or Hardly Working?

by trappleton

February 5, 2018

6:00 am

1 Comment on 5. Boron: Working Hard, Or Hardly Working?

Podcast

Crystal Structure, Glass, Hardness, Joseph von Fraunhofer, Laboratory Equipment, United States, World War II

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Today, we look past boron’s hard exterior to get acquainted with its softer side. Its confusing, gooey, softer side.

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4. Beryllium: The Modern Sisyphus

by trappleton

January 29, 2018

6:00 am

8 Comments on 4. Beryllium: The Modern Sisyphus

Podcast

Enrico Fermi, Etymology, Italy, IUPAC, Labor, Los Alamos, Mineralogy, Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin, Nuclear Weapons, Pliny the Elder, Rome, United States

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As we try to dive deep into beryllium, we discover its irritating tendency to send us back to the beginning.

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3. Lithium: The Element Of Surprise

by trappleton

January 22, 2018

6:00 am

4 Comments on 3. Lithium: The Element Of Surprise

Podcast

Atomic Structure, Australia, Bolivia, Energy, Ernest Rutherford, Fission, Guano, Imperialism, Mining, Nobel Prizes, Paracelsus, Particle Accelerators, Pharmaceuticals, Psychiatry, Salts, Singapore, Spain, Television, World War I, World War II

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We cautiously approach this explosively reactive element and learn about its surprising ability to stabilize moods, with a brief foray into Bolivian economics along the way.

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