Nuclear Weapons | The Episodic Table of Elements

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90. Thorium: Bright Lights, Big City

February 22, 2022

8:30 am

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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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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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47. Silver: Our Own Image

October 14, 2019

6:00 am

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Atomic Energy Commission, Glass, Johann Heinrich Schulze, Justus von Liebig, Kenneth Nichols, Kodak, Leslie Groves, Medicine, Nuclear Weapons, Oak Ridge National Labs, Photography, Pliny the Elder, Psychology, South America

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Silver is more than just a precious metal. It’s also a reflection of ourselves.

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38. Strontium: Little Town

June 3, 2019

6:00 am

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Atomic Structure, Mining, Nuclear Weapons, Pharmaceuticals, Radioactivity, Russia, Television, Women In Science

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Let’s look past the bad reputation this element has to learn how it’s an essential part of an idyllic childhood.

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