Imperialism – The Episodic Table of Elements

91. Protactinium: Decolonize Science

October 19, 2022

6:00 am

25 Comments on 91. Protactinium: Decolonize Science

Agriculture, Alchemy, Dmitri Mendeleev, Eugenics, George Washington Carver, Imperialism, Kasimir Fajans, Lise Meitner, Multiple Discovery, Otto Gohring, Otto Hahn, Ronald Ross

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Sometimes we need a quiet moment in order to step back and look at the bigger picture.

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60. Neodymium: Anarchy And Order

May 4, 2020

6:00 am

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Atomic Structure, Belgium, Congo, Electronics, Imperialism, Magnetism, Mining, United States

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Decades of complex geopolitical chaos ultimately result in one afternoon’s rather embarrassing hospital visit.

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An illustration of cretinism from the 1800s, with an emphasis on goiter.

53. Iodine: Purple Haze

January 27, 2020

6:00 am

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Bernard Courtois, England, Etymology, Fallout, France, Gandhi, Gunpowder, Humphry Davy, Imperialism, India, Joseph Gay-Lussac, Medicine, Michael Faraday, Napoleon, Psychiatry

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We’ll pull in our elemental haul from the sea while Lady Jane Davy spits in the ocean.

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49. Indium: The Spectre Of Isaac

November 11, 2019

6:00 am

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Alchemy, Color, Crime, East India Company, England, Etymology, Ferdinand Reich, Hieronymus Richter, Illumination, Imperialism, India, Isaac Newton, Numismatics, Optics, Perception, Spectroscopy, Television, William Chaloner

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The story of indium is pretty straightforward, but its namesake is practically impossible to pin down.

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