Element

Sodium is vital for life & usually found in combinaton with other more interesting elements, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 77 of Elemental.

Silver is widely used in jewellery, has interesting light sensitive abilities and has antimicrobial properties, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 76 of Elemental.

Silicon is a blockbuster metalloid with many uses, from glass to computer chips & bathroom sealants, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 75 of Elemental.

New Zealand soils lack the vital element selenium, which also used to be important in photocopiers and bathroom plumbing, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 74 of Elemental.

Predicted by Mendeleev & useful for alloying with aluminium, scandium was involved in a famous cricket scandal, says AUT's Allan Blackman in ep 73 of Elemental.

Samarium magnets are used in headphones & guitar pickups, and samarium was the first element named after a real person, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 72 of Elemental.

Ruthenium is a 'sort of' precious metal that is a useful catalyst and alloy. It is toxic and smells like ozone, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 71 of Elemental.

Rubidium is a reactive metal with few uses, named 'deepest red' due to its beautiful red spectral lines, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 70 of Elemental.

Rhodium is an expensive precious metal that is used in catalytic convertors, to make the Parkinson's drug L-DOPA, create shiny jewellery and add the menthol taste to toothpaste, says Allan Blackman…

Named after the Rhine river, rhenium is a metal with very high boiling and melting points, and it was the last naturally occuring, non-radioactive element to be discovered, says Prof Allan Blackman in…