The previous post examined the dirtiest of the so-called dirty bombs, which, if ever built, would release high-energy radioactivity by converting cobalt-59 into cobalt-60. This post examines an ...

Do you have a favorite chemical element? Neurologist Oliver Sacks did—he was partial to dense, high melting-point metals, especially those metals between hafnium and platinum on the periodic table.

It is amazing to think that everything around us is made up from just 90 building blocks – the naturally occurring chemical elements. Dmitri Mendeleev put the 63 of these known at the time into order ...

In the final programme in our Elements series, Justin Rowlatt looks at the rarest and oddest members of the periodic table. Selenium, bismuth, molybdenum, antimony, rhenium, hafnium, zirconium, ...

In the final programme in our Elements series, Justin Rowlatt looks at the rarest and oddest members of the periodic table. What are they, and what are they used for? Show more In the final programme ...