Friday, January 29, 2010

BBC | Chemistry: A Volatile History | Ep2 The Order of the Elements


Play all videos (6) | Episode 1
Aired January 28, 2010 on BBC Four
The explosive story of chemistry is the story of the building blocks that make up our entire world - the elements. From fiery phosphorous to the pure untarnished lustre of gold and the dazzle of violent, violet potassium, everything is made of elements - the earth we walk on, the air we breathe, even us. Yet for centuries this world was largely unknown, and completely misunderstood.

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.

In part two, Professor Al-Khalili looks at the 19th century chemists who struggled to impose an order on the apparently random world of the elements. From working out how many there were to discovering their unique relationships with each other, the early scientists' bid to decode the hidden order of the elements was driven by false starts and bitter disputes. But ultimately the quest would lead to one of chemistry's most beautiful intellectual creations - the periodic table.

4 comments:

  1. saw the first ep of thsi posted on ninjavid last week. its cool as shit. first episode they talk about how some dude discovered phosphorous by heating his urined for days hundreds of years ago.
    FUCK YESA

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  2. I LOVE THE BBC!

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  3. Thank you very much for uploading part II. Looking forward to part III.

    ReplyDelete