Mythology – The Episodic Table of Elements

94. Plutonium: Weapons-Grade

March 3, 2025

6:00 am

7 Comments on 94. Plutonium: Weapons-Grade

Astronomy, Glenn T. Seaborg, Harry Daghlian, Harry Truman, Japan, Jons Jacob Berzelius, Los Alamos, Louis Slotin, Mythology, Nuclear Accidents, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Weapons, Radioactivity, Russia, The Demon Core, The Manhattan Project, United States, World War II

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Element 94 causes a bit of a crisis for our collections.

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The exterior of Primo Autobody Repair shop.

90. Thorium: Bright Lights, Big City

February 22, 2022

8:30 am

19 Comments on 90. Thorium: Bright Lights, Big City

Alsos, Alvin Weinberg, Auergesellschaft, Candoluminescence, Carl Auer von Welsbach, Illumination, India, Jons Jacob Berzelius, Leslie Groves, Mythology, Nazis, New York City, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Weapons, Oak Ridge National Labs, Radioactivity, The Manhattan Project

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Sure, thorium could provide practically limitless clean energy, but then we couldn’t build weapons of mass destruction.

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61. Promethium: What A Friend We Have In Prometheus

May 18, 2020

6:00 am

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Art & Science, Henry Moseley, Illumination, Italy, Mythology, Radioactivity

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We’ve met mythological light-bearers before, but this one possesses a decidedly nobler spirit.

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40. Zirconium: Burning Up, Melting Down

July 1, 2019

6:00 am

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Earthquakes, Electricity, Fukushima, Martin Heinrich Klaproth, Mineralogy, Mythology, Nuclear Accidents, Nuclear Power, Radioactivity, Tsunamis

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Today, we reach the last element on the periodic table — but only alphabetically speaking.

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