Gallium and Indium
LED lighting, solar power and lasers are just some of the electronics revolutionised by two obscure and surprisingly soft metallic elements - gallium and indium.
LED lighting, solar power and lasers are just some of the electronics revolutionised by two obscure chemical elements - gallium and indium. Presenter Laurence Knight hears from Mike Simpson of Philips why we will only need to replace our lightbulbs once every two decades. He also travels to Sheffield University where research centre head Jon Heffernan explains what on earth III-V materials are and why making an LED is like baking a pizza. Meanwhile chemistry stalwart Prof Andrea Sella of UCL demonstrates these two metals' surprisingly buttery melt-in-the-mouth properties.
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Broadcasts
- Sat 5 Mar 2016 22:32GMT91热爆 World Service except News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Sun 6 Mar 2016 05:06GMT91热爆 World Service except News Internet
- Sun 6 Mar 2016 11:06GMT91热爆 World Service Australasia
- Sun 6 Mar 2016 14:06GMT91热爆 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Mon 7 Mar 2016 01:32GMT91热爆 World Service except News Internet
Podcast
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Elements
Chemical elements: where do we get them and how do they fit into our economy?