logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2019
55m 25s

Periodic Table: 150 Au Years

THE NAKED SCIENTISTS
About this episode
This week we're celebrating 150 years of the Periodic Table - we'll find out how scientists uncovered the elements in the first place and what other mysterious materials may be waiting to be discovered. Plus a way to power up the body's own morphine-like chemicals, how microbes are gluing microplastics back together in the ocean, and post-Valentine's Day, some dating do's and dating dont's to bear in mind for next year! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Up next
Today
Chasing fire clouds, and nanoparticles blitz brain cancers
In this week's show, wildfires have now spread to Italy, Canada, and the wine-producing region of France, Bordeaux. These fires produce a peculiar cloud phenomenon called pyrocumulonimbus and scientists plan to fly a jet over these clouds to determine how they operate. Also, we h ... Show More
28m 57s
Jul 28
Titans of Science: Sara Wickstrom
This week, our Titan of Science is cell biologist Sara Wickstrom. Her work focuses on how cells communicate with one another to coordinate growth, development, and movement. These insights have just won Sara the Koerber European Science Prize, and, in this episode, she tells us h ... Show More
29m 41s
Jul 24
Wildfires worldwide, and algae microbots for drug delivery
In this week's show, wildfires continue to race across the world in Canada, Ireland, Scotland and Italy. Why are they happening, and what can we do to prevent them? Plus, scientists track neighbourhood food consumption from DNA in sewage, the first evidence of an "exomoon" orbiti ... Show More
31m 13s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2019
Anniversary of the Periodic Table
The Periodic Table How well do you know your Fe from your Cu, and what the heck is Np?? Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by comedian Katy Brand, Prof Polly Arnold and Prof Andrea Sella to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Dmitri Mendeleev's great achievement. They find out ho ... Show More
37m 2s
Oct 2010
We Love the Periodic Table
<p>The periodic table is an invaluable tool for scientists across the planet -- but how does it work? In this episode, Allison and Robert explore the creation of the periodic table. Tune in to learn more about the history and structure of the periodic table.</p><p> </p> Learn mor ... Show More
30m 9s
Oct 2010
Episode 105: Periodic Table Contents
tail spinning
14m 4s
Mar 2021
Elements
<p>Scientists took about 300 years to lay out the Periodic Table into neat rows and columns. In one hour, we’re going to mess it all up.  This episode, we enlist journalists, poets, musicians, and even a physicist to help us tell stories of matter that matters. You’ll never look ... Show More
1h 13m
Dec 2019
The Elements Song 2019: Chemistry in its Element
<p>To celebrate 2019 – the International Year of the Periodic Table – we're joined by Helen Arney and the Waterbeach Brass Band with an updated version of Tom Lehrer's elements song.<br /> <br /> See the video, featuring contributions from chemists around the world, here: <a href ... Show More
4m 5s
Jul 2025
9 Highly Reactive Facts About the Periodic Table
Grab your lab goggles and gloves, because today we’re taking a close look at the periodic table! From the visionary scientist who created it, to a 1980s war over element names, to the very strangest elements on the chart, Will and Mango have nine facts that’ll melt your brain lik ... Show More
21m 6s
Mar 2019
The periodic table turns 150
Are chemical elements critical for the modern economy in dangerously short supply? It's a question that Justin Rowlatt poses a century and a half after the Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev published the original periodic table.Justin speaks to two chemists - Andrea Sella of Unive ... Show More
19m 21s
Dec 2019
Tennessine's Wild Ride To The Periodic Table
There are rare chemical elements, and then there is tennessine. Only a couple dozen atoms of the stuff have ever existed. For the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, NPR science correspondent Joe Palca shares the convoluted story of one of the latest elements to be added. Fo ... Show More
9m 45s
Jul 2019
What is Chemistry For Your Life?
tail spinning
30s
Apr 2025
Explosive Science with Kate the Chemist
<p>What are chemical reactions like in space? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice team up with Kate the Chemist to explore how cesium helps us tell time, the elusive quest for the periodic table’s “island of stability,” how AI is revolutionizing chemistry, and more!</p><p>NOTE: St ... Show More
54m 29s