Phosphorus and Helium
Phosphorus and helium are two very different chemical elements with one big thing in common - one day the world could find them much more difficult to get hold of.
Helium and phosphorus are two very different elements of the periodic table. One is a highly reactive solid, the other a completely inert gas. Yet they have one big thing in common - mankind is frittering them away and could one day find them much more difficult to get hold of.
Without helium, the fight against cancer would become far more daunting. And a world without phosphorus... well, that hardly bears thinking about! We find out where we get these two critical elements from, and - far more disconcerting - where they end up.
And as for what can be done to conserve them? Listen to find out.
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- Sun 16 Feb 2014 11:32GMT91热爆 World Service Online
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Elements
Chemical elements: where do we get them and how do they fit into our economy?