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Elements

Factual: Science & Nature

Chemical elements: where do we get them and how do they fit into our economy?

A close look at chemical elements, the basic building blocks of the universe. Where do we get them, what do we use them for and how do they fit into our economy?

Elements: Elements: Episode 2: Calcium (Ca)

Episode 2

Episode 2: Calcium (Ca)

Calcium (Ca)

BBC World Service - Elements, Elements, Calcium (Ca)

The great structural element - both in the natural world and in modern engineering

Calcium is the great structural element - the basis of much of the great architecture in nature as well as many of the incredible structures made by man.

Calcium is the great structural element. It is the basis of much of the great architecture in nature as well as many of the incredible structures made by man. Presenter Justin Rowlatt hears from chemistry supremo Andrea Sella at the Royal Institution in London, where calcium was first isolated two centuries ago. He visits the obscure birthplace of the biggest modern-day use of calcium - cement - and sees that use in action at London's giant Crossrail construction project. And, if that weren't enough, we also hear from Professor Serena Best of Cambridge University about how she is trying to replicate the way the human body uses calcium to construct bone.

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Episode 2: Calcium (Ca)

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