Elemental

Oxygen is very friendly with other chemical elements & very helpful for life on Earth, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 58 of Elemental.

Oxygen is one of the few elements that exists as allotropes, which are different forms in the same physical state.

Elemental oxygen is O.

The oxygen that we breath in air is actually dioxygen or O2.

There is also trioxygen, or ozone, O3.

Oxygen is very friendly with other chemical elements as it is very reactive.

Elemental oxygen is paramagnetic as it contains two unpaired electrons.

It is very helpful for life on Earth, as the oxygen cycle drives most life on earth, says Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 58 of Elemental.

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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 Blackman in ep 57 of Elemental.

Osmium is an extremely rare and expensive transition metal, and only a few hundred kilograms are produced annually.

It is the densest chemical element, and rivals diamond as being the least compressible of all known substances.

It doesn't have many uses, although its hardness makes it useful in fountain pen nibs and clock bearings.

The name osmium comes from the Grek osme, meaning 'smell'. Osmium tetroxide has a distinctive 'pong' according to Allan Blackman, in ep 57 of Elemental.

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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 56 of Elemental.

Eighty percent of each breath we take is nitrogen gas.

It is ironic that the French word for nitrogen, azote, means "without life', when most important biological molecules contain nitrogen.

Nitrogen molecules are held together by one of the strongest bonds in chemistry. If you could obtain the energy contained in the bonds in a mere 28 grams of nitrogen gas you could use It boil 3 kg of water (starting at room temperature).

Fortunately, nature can break these bonds using the enzyme nitrogenase.

Nitrogen (symbol N, atomic number 7) is an important component of some vitamins. And the name vitamins, by the way, comes from 'vital amines'; amines being organic compounds containing one or more nitrogen atoms.

Nitrogen is a life-saving explosive that is used in airbags in cars, says Allan Blackman in ep 56 of Elemental.

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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 55 of Elemental.

Niobium was named after Niobe, daughter of King Tantalus in Greek mythology. The element got its name because it lies above the element tantalum, named after said father.

Niobium is a transition metal that is used in alloys such as stainless steel, to add hardness.

It is also being used in qubits in quantum computers.

The elemental metal itself is very high-melting and therefore useful at very high temperatures, and is used in jet engines. At very low temperatures niobium is a superconductor, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 55 of Elemental.

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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 54 of Elemental.

The name nickel for the chemical element comes from a German word Nickel, meaning Satan or the Devil.

The five cent coins of Canada and the United States are known as nickels, even though the coins contain only small amounts of nickel and are in fact mostly made of copper.

Nitinol, which is made from 55 percent nickel and 45 percent titanium, is also known as memory metal. Bend a length of nnitinol into a shape, heat and the cool it, and it will always remember and bounce back into that shape. Great for spectacle frames!

Another nickel alloy is invar, which doesn't expand when heated, as well as nickel chromium which is used in toaster elements.

Nickel is often used in batteries and has important biological roles, says Professor Allan Blackman at AUT.

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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 53 of Elemental with Prof Allan Blackman from AUT.

Coming in at atomic number 10, neon is the first element on the periodic table to have a full outer set of eight electrons. It is a noble gas, highly unreactive and has no known compounds.

Neon gives its name, and the colour red, to neon lights. The other colours of neon lights come from hydrogen (also red), helium (yellow), carbon dioxide (white) and mercury (blue).

Research into neon led to the discovery of isotopes and also the mass spectrometer.

It can be used as a low temperature refrigerant and in diving gases, as it is less soluble in bodily fluid than helium.

Neon has the smallest temperature range (just 2.5 degrees celcius) over which it exists as a liquid, says Professor Allan Blackman from AUT.

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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 52 of Elemental.

Neodymium magnets were invented in 1982, and are the strongest permanent magnets known. A neodymium magnet can lift up to 1000 times its own weight. They are actually an alloy of neodymium, iron and boron.

Neodymium magnets turn up in speakers, headphones, hard drives, guitar pick-ups and microphones.

You can also buy them online as super strong fridge magnets.

Electric cars contain about a kilogram of neodymium.

Some neodymium compounds have the unusual property that they appear different colours to the human eye under different types of lights.

And you can thank neodymium for your green laser pointer, says Allan Blackman from AUT.

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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 'The most boring chemical element.'

Inspired by the Elemental podcast series, Dr Rebecca Jelley, from the University of Auckland, and podcast host Professor Allan Blackman, from the Auckland University of Technology, have just had a paper published in the prestigious science journal Nature Chemistry.

In 'The most boring chemical element' Rebecca and Allan set out to mark the International Year of the Periodic Table by finding the most boring element.

The task turns out to more challenging  - and interesting - than they anticipated.

And? Well, as they say in the 'abstract': "Could it be boron or bohrium that is the most boring? You'll need to read to the end to find out."

Or, you could listen to the podcast first for the spoiler, but then we highly recommend a read - the article is funny and enlightening (and open access). Enjoy!

The most boring chemical element - the podcast

You can subscribe to the Elemental podcast for free, at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and RadioPublic.

The Elemental podcast is celebrating 150 years since the periodic table was first published by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev.

Find out more about events during the United Nation's International Year of the Periodic Table.

Professor Allan Blackman is at Auckland University of Technology.

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Molybdenum has an essential role as a catalyst at microbial and industrial scales and is an important element in enzymes, says Prof Allan Blackman, in ep 50 of Elemental.

Molybdenum's biggest claim to fame is that it is a catalyst for reactions ranging in scale from the bacterial to industrial.

It is a transition metal that is also an essential element. It is vital for life and was also key to the evolution of life.

Molybedenum is found in enzymes, most importantly nitrogenase, which converts elemental nitrogen to useable ammonia. This is why it is found in fertilisers.

Somewhat confusingly, the element molybdenum gets its name from the Greek word molybdos, meaning 'lead'.

Moly-steel is very strong alloy that is used in things like armour plating and rocket engines, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology.

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Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, says Allan Blackman in ep 49 of Elemental.

Mercury is an unusual metal that is liquid at standard room temperature and atmospheric pressure.

Mercury is named after the planet, and its chemical symbol Hg comes from the Latin hydrargyrum or liquid silver.

Its silver-grey colour was a familiar sight in old-fashioned thermometers and in amalgam fillings in our teeth.

Mercury alloys easily with other metals, in a process called amalgamation.

It was widely used to extract gold during mining, and to plate metals with gold in a process known as gilding.

Mercury is highly toxic, and there are many examples of widespread mercury poisoning incidents.

The term Mad Hatter refers to the health consequences of the use of mercury by milliners and hatters in the felting process that was part of making hats, says Professor Allan Blackman from AUT.

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