In Their Element

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Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Scientists tell stories of the elements, explaining how chemistry made the modern world.

Scientists tell the stories of different elements, explaining why these well-known substances matter for chemistry and also for the development of modern civilisation.

In Their Element: Series 4: Gold

Gold

Series 4

BBC Radio 4 - In Their Element, Series 4, Gold

Chemist Andrea Sella celebrates how the element gold enhances our lives.

Andrea Sella, Professor of Chemistry at UCL, celebrates five elements that enhance our lives. Today he explores why we've always put a high value on gold.

Human fascination with gold goes back a long way. For the Egyptians it was the ultimate symbol of wealth, power and eternal life. For this reason they buried their Pharaohs with extraordinary amounts of gold artifacts. It was craftsmanship beyond anything the world had seen before. As a noble metal, gold doesn’t tarnish which added to its status and association with the sun god Ra and the afterlife.

However, gold is not universally loved. Around the same time as the Egyptians were perfecting their goldsmithing skills, in China, the ruling class preferred jade.  For a while, the native people in the Americas preferred other metals over gold, like brass. Ships would sail from Europe, across the Atlantic Ocean to deliver brass to Cuba and sail back with a hold full of gold. 

The extraction of gold has an unpleasant past and continues in some areas of the world to be cloaked in controversy. Traditionally the method has been to dissolve gold in mercury. But mercury is poisonous to living things and its leakage into the environment is a cause for concern. Gold offers more than decoration – its excellent electrical conductivity and softness are needed for electrical connections. Scientists are inventing ways to recycle gold from our electronic waste using bacteria. The method offers a greener way to satisfy our lust for gold. 

Presenter: Andrea Sella.
Producer: Louisa Field.

In Their Element: Series 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Andrea Sella, Professor of Chemistry at UCL, on five elements that enhance our lives.

In the 150th anniversary year of the publication of Mendeleev's Periodic Table, Professor of Chemistry at UCL Andrea Sella celebrates five elements that enhance our lives.

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