Duration: 2'47''
Lavoisier was the first scientist to define what an element was.
Licence: ERA Licence required
UK only Staff and students of licensed education establishments only Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
1: Discovering the Elements | Chemistry: A Volatile History
The story of how the elements were discovered and mapped begins with the alchemists who questioned that the world...
Hydrogen | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Cavendish accidentally discovered hydrogen, the first elemental gas, when experimenting with air.
Mercury | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Mercury is fourteen times heavier than water, and so dense even a steel bolt will float in it.
Oxygen | Chemistry: A Volatile History
The story of how Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen.
Properties of Potassium | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Spec references J248: C4.1a J250: C4.1a. Professor Jim Al-Khalili describes properties of potassium and some of its u...
The discovery of phosphorus | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Phosphorus was discovered when Brandt was attempting to isolate gold from his urine.
2: The Order of the Elements | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Professor Jim Al-Khalili looks at how the early scientists' bid to decode the order of the elements was driven b...
Arrangement of the Periodic Table | Curriculum Bites
Spec references J248: C2.2a, C2.2b, C2.2c J250: C2.2a, C2.2b, C2.2c. This video explains the arrangement of the periodic...
Bunsen Burner | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Robert Bunsen was a German chemist responsible for the invention of the Bunsen Burner.
Gallium | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Gallium is in a liquid state over the widest range of temperatures than any other element.
Helium | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Norman Lockyer recorded a new yellow line by observing the sun through London smog and, assuming the new element to be a metal, named ...
Mendelleev's Periodic Table | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Spec references J248: C2.2i J250: C2.2i. An account of how Mendeleev arranged the elements by atomic mass to crea...
Periodic Table Overview | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Spec references J248: C2.2i J250: C2.2i. A quick recap of how the periodic table is arranged including groups, period...
Properties of Group 1 Metals | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Spec references J248: C4.1a. Demonstration of reactions of lithium, sodium and potassium with water (Contains hi...
Silicon | Chemistry: A Volatile History
Silicon was discovered by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist, in 1824 by heating chips of potassium.
Einstein and the beetle | Gravity and Me: The Force that Shapes our Lives
Professor Jim Al-Khalili explains Einstein's analogy of gravity that he told his son to explain his...
Prof Jim Al Khalili goes inside Calder Hall for his first look inside the core of a nuclear reactor | Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield
Nuclear physicist Professo...
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore on teenage brains | The Life Scientific
Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore talks to Jim Al-Khalili about her research on the developing teenage brain.
The race to prove Maxwell's theory | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity
Jim Al-Khalili explains how physics professor Oliver Lodge proved Maxwell's theory that electrom...
Fukushima: Is Nuclear Power Safe? | Horizon
Six months after the explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, Professor Jim Al-Khalili sets out to discover whether nu...
Al-Khwarizmi's digit and numerical system | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili explains how our numerical system spread to Europe through the work of the Arabic mathematician ...
The big bang and the creation of hydrogen and helium | Atom
George Gamow believed that helium existed in the universe before the sun and the stars were formed.
Electrolysis - Discovery of Potassium | Curriculum Bites
Spec references J248: C3.4b J250: C3.4b. Professor Jim Al-Khalili recreates the electrolysis experiment that lead to...
Cookies help us run our services and give you a better experience. For the full details please read our Cookie Policy.
