Chemistry

Protactinium is a rare, radioactive element that has no uses and may be the most boring element, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 65 of Elemental. Audio

Despite its gruesome mythical name, the radioactive element promethium has no particular claim to fame, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 64 of Elemental. Audio

Praseodymium is a metal wirh the second longest name on the periodic table and not many uses, says Prof Alan Blackman from AUT in ep 63 of Elemental. Audio

From levitating burnt buttocks, to excitable nerves and sure-to-rise baking, potassium is highly reactive and vital to life, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 62 of Elemental. Audio

Polonium will be forever linked with the names Curie and Litvinenko and has negligible desirable features, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 61 of Elemental. Audio

A radioactive heavyweight associated with nuclear bombs & power, which is powering the Voyager spacecraft, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 60 of Elemental. Audio

Platinum is useful in catalytic convertors, is used to treat testicular cancer and will be useful in hydrogen fuel cells, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 59 of Elemental. Audio

Phosphorus, chemical symbol P, was first isolated as an element from thousands of litres of urine. Also found in guano, aka bird poo. Allan Blackman from AUT has the full story in ep 58 of Elemental.

Palladium is a pricey precious metal most commonly used in catalytic convertors on car exhausts, says AUT's Allan Blackman in ep 57 of Elemental. Audio

Oxygen is very friendly with other chemical elements & very helpful for life on Earth, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 56 of Elemental. Audio

Osmium is extremely rare and expensive. It is the densest chemical element, rivals diamond as being the least compressible of all known substances & has a distinctive 'pong' according to Allan… Audio

Most important biological molecules contain nitrogen, even though it takes lots of energy to make or break its chemical bonds, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 54 of Elemental. Audio

Niobium is a metal that is useful at both very high temperatures, as in jet engines, and very low temperatures as a superconductor, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 53 of Elemental. Audio

The chemical element nickel is named after a German word for Satan or the Devil, but nickel is now more usually thought of as a North American five cent piece, says Allan Blackman in ep 52 of… Audio

There are no known compounds of the noble gas neon, which does however produce the brilliant crimson of red - and only red - neon lights. Ep 51 of Elemental with Prof Allan Blackman from AUT. Audio

Neodydmium magnets include the strongest permanent magnets known and are found in devices like speakers & headphones, says chemistry professor Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 50 of Elemental. Audio

The Elemental podcast has inspired Prof Allan Blackman from AUT and Dr Rebecca Jelley from the University of Auckland, to publish a paper in the journal Nature Chemistry - here's a quick lowdown on… Audio