Chemistry - A Volatile History

If you have an interest in science, or chemistry, or simply very well produced factual TV, then you should watch Chemistry: A Volatile History, that's been on BBC 4 recently.

In this three-part series, professor of theoretical physics Jim Al-Khalili traces the extraordinary story of how the elements were discovered and mapped. He follows in the footsteps of the pioneers who cracked their secrets and created a new science, propelling us into the modern age.

Chemistry: A Volatile History is available through BBC iPlayer here.

The Periodic Table of Elements

Back in 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist, came up with the idea of presenting all chemical elements as a table, to illustrate recurring trends in the properties of the different elements. As new elements have been discovered, the layout of the table has been refined and extended.

But I have never seen it represented like this before...

Putting the bang back into Chemistry

For many of a certain age, Chemistry at school conjures up images of flaring magnesium whizzing around a bowl of water, tests for hydrogen resulting in satisfying explosions and exciting reactions which result in a change of colour or, even better, an exothermic reaction!

But living in the decade of Health & Safety as we are, all that might be about to come to an end, as Mike Kent writes in the TES.