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Oxygen

The 'element of life' also makes our atmosphere very dangerous and costly to operate in

• 26 mins

Iron

How the abundant metal lron became the very stuff of modern industrial life

• 26 mins

Cobalt

The metal in magnets and phone batteries - but is some of it being mined by children?

• 26 mins

Boron

The mineral from the Wild West that toughens glass and stops bullets in their tracks.

• 26 mins

Tantalum & Niobium (Ta, Nb)

Are these notorious conflict minerals still being smuggled into and laundered in Rwanda?

• 30 mins

Gallium and Indium

LED lighting and the other electronics revolutionised by the elements Gallium and Indium

• 26 mins

Radioactives (Po, Ra, Rn)

Radium, polonium and radon sound frightening, but are they actually useful for anything?

• 30 mins

Titanium

It's stronger than steel, but could this glamorous metal become as common as steel?

• 26 mins

Germanium (Ge)

Nanotech, virtual reality, and the stuff that could oust the silicon from Silicon Valley.

• 29 mins

Magnesium and Beryllium

Two metals with sinister reputations - one for flammability, the other for lung disease

• 26 mins

Noble Gases (Ar, Ne, Kr, Xe)

Neon, argon, krypton & xenon: From blinding arc lights to the dying trade of sign-making.

• 29 mins

Copper

Why copper wires? And do solar power and batteries herald the death of the old AC grid?

• 26 mins

Hydrogen (H) - water (part 1)

Northwest India is fast running out of groundwater. Is migration and conflict inevitable?

• 30 mins

Hydrogen (H) - water (part 2)

As climate change plays havoc with the rain, could we draw water directly from the ocean?

• 30 mins

Zinc (Zn)

The self-sacrificing metal that brings shelter and good health to India's poorest.

• 29 mins

Hydrogen (H) - energy

Is the dream of a hydrogen-fuelled zero-carbon economy achievable?

• 29 mins

Potassium (K)

India is completely dependent on imports of potash, a fertiliser essential for crops.

• 29 mins

Cadmium (Cd)

This toxic metal is being phased out of our lives, but still keeps planes up in the air.

• 30 mins

Hydrogen (H) - fusion

Could we finally be about to crack this source of potentially unlimited clean energy?

• 30 mins

Iodine (I)

Why does iodine deficiency still blight children in developing countries like India?

• 29 mins

Silver (Ag)

The shiniest and showiest of metals has some surprisingly modern applications.

• 29 mins

Arsenic (As)

The poison in everything from paint and sweets, to telegraph polls and drinking water.

• 30 mins

Platinum group (Pt, Pd, Ru, Rh, Os, Ir)

Six rare metals that clean the air but are the focus of violent conflict in South Africa.

• 30 mins

Thorium (Th)

This metal offers thousands of years of nuclear energy, but is it any safer than uranium?

• 29 mins

Gold (Au)

Why do we value this useless metal? And does it bring out the worst in human nature?

• 29 mins

Obscure Elements

In the final programme in the series we look at the rarest members of the periodic table.

• 30 mins