Friday, January 22, 2010

BBC | Chemistry: A Volatile History | Ep1 Discovering the Elements


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Aired January 21, 2010 on BBC Four with Professor Jim Al-Khalili
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.

Just 92 elements made up the world, but the belief that were only four - earth, fire, air and water - persisted until the 19th Century. Professor Al-Khalili retraces the footsteps of the alchemists who first began to question the notion of the elements in their search for the secret of everlasting life.

He reveals the red herrings and rivalries which dogged scientific progress, and explores how new approaches to splitting matter brought us both remarkable elements and the new science of chemistry.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the link!

    For those interested in exploring the early Renaissance, I highly recommend Neal Stephenson's Baroque Trilogy, a fictionalized re-telling of history.  "Quicksilver" is the first in the trilogy.  Stephenson is a far-sighted writer; if verbose, it is usually erring on the side of caution and entertainment.

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  2. Absolutely fantastic. A+. THIS is how science programming is done right.

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  3. Thank You Very much for the link. Please also upload remain two parts of this serial as they are telecasted.
    Unfortunately here in the US, TLS (the learning channel) is showing soaps 24X7!

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  4. Absolutely brilliant and exciting! I'm looking forward the other episodes already!

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