1 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,920 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. Guess what, Well, what's that mango? So I 3 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: don't mean to alarm you, but do you know we're 4 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: running out of helium? Yeah? 5 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 2: I love it when you start an episode by trying 6 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 2: to scare everybody. It's just a great way to kick 7 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 2: things off. But actually, I think I have heard about 8 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 2: this helium shortage, but one thing I didn't really understand 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 2: is what the real impact is, Like should I start 10 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 2: hoarding balloons. 11 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: Or like, what's the deal? Yeah, so I knew you 12 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: would bring up balloons because obviously that's what most people 13 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: think about when they hear the word helium. But this light, 14 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: odorless gas actually has way more important uses. Like did 15 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: you know that about a third of the world's helium 16 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: consumption is attributed to hospitals. Oh wow, I didn't know that. Yeah, 17 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: that's because it's used cool magnets and things like MRI machines. 18 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: And helium is also part of the gas mixture that 19 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:09,320 Speaker 1: inflates car airbags, and it's used in the manufacturing processes 20 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: for computer chips and electric vehicle batteries. So global demand 21 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: for helium has been expanding faster than a balloon. 22 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 2: All right, so this is definitely not a joke. But 23 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 2: should we actually be scared about this shortage? 24 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: I mean, it's true that we have a supply problem 25 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: and we can't artificially create helium, so the only way 26 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:29,919 Speaker 1: to get it is by drilling deep into the ground. 27 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: And because it's so light, it's actually difficult to store 28 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: without leakage loss. So over the past twenty years we've 29 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: had four major helium shortages. But the good news is 30 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: that's actually a major incentive to develop products that use 31 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: less of the stuff. For example, some hospitals have started 32 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: replacing their existing MRI machines with a new low helium model. 33 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 2: All right, that makes sense. So if you can't get 34 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 2: more of this stuff, you have to find ways to 35 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 2: use less of it, which which I get that. But 36 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 2: it is kind of wild that we have so many 37 00:01:57,520 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 2: things that rely on this one hard to get gas. 38 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: I know, and helium's been part of our lives since 39 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty eight when it was first observed by this 40 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: French astrophysicist. His name is Pierre Jansen, and he was 41 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: running around the world watching eclipses with this device called 42 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 1: a spectroscope, which is kind of like a fancy prism 43 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: that separates light into wavelengths. Early scientists used it to 44 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: determine the chemical composition of the sun because as different 45 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: gases burn, they give off light. And Jansen was looking 46 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: at an eclipse in India actually when he saw this 47 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: bright yellow line that didn't match any known elements, and 48 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: he immediately reported his discovery to the French Academy of Sciences, 49 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: who was like, yeah, someone else saw that too. 50 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 2: Oh no, I know that had to feel heartbreaking, but 51 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 2: you know what, I'm guessing this actually happens a lot 52 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 2: in science, Like you think you've discovered something and then 53 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 2: you discover there were other discoverers. 54 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 1: Yeah, So Jansen ends up sharing the credit for discovering 55 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: helium with the English astronomer, this guy in Norman Locke here, 56 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: he's the one who came up with a name from 57 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,679 Speaker 1: the Greek word helios or sun. And although Jansen and 58 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: Lockyer would probably share your concern about the shortage, I 59 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,080 Speaker 1: think they'd be psyched that their discovery has improved medical 60 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: care and birthday parties. But that's just the first of 61 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: nine great stories we're going to tell today. All rip 62 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 1: from the pages of the Periodic Table. Let's dive in. 63 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 2: Hey, their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm 64 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 2: Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good 65 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 2: friend Mangesh Hot Ticketer. And there on the other side 66 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 2: of the soundproof glass that's our pal and producer Dylan Fagan. 67 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 2: I knew he wouldn't disappoint today. He's wearing a lab coat, 68 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 2: which I have to say I kind of predicted that one. 69 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 2: And this is, of course, because today's episode is all 70 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 2: about the periodic Table. But what I didn't expect He's 71 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 2: always got some and I'm actually a little bit nervous 72 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 2: about this is he's about to light a Bunsen burner. 73 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 2: You see that, Yeah, And he's got six other burners going, 74 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 2: six other burners and I don't think I've seen one 75 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 2: of these since I was in a chemistry class. And 76 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 2: I'm not really sure where he got this. 77 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure you can get them online, because of 78 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 1: course you can buy anything online that is true, like 79 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,559 Speaker 1: this fire extringuisher I ordered online just the case Dylan 80 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,039 Speaker 1: never decided to do anything. Call good Call, Good call. 81 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 2: All right, Well, speaking of where to get things, when 82 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 2: we came up with the idea for this episode. The 83 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 2: thing I really wanted to know was where did we 84 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 2: get the periodic table? Like where did this whole thing come? 85 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: Which sounds like a Seinfeld bit? But did you figure 86 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: it out? 87 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:42,839 Speaker 2: Of course I did so. Starting in the early eighteen hundreds, 88 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 2: various scientists played around with ways of classifying elements, but 89 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 2: the periodic table we know and love today was developed 90 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 2: by a Russian chemist named Dmitri Mendealaev. 91 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 1: You know, it is so funny. There are all these 92 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: names you learn in school, and I think if it 93 00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: was on a multiple choice test, like I could have 94 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: guessed it if you had beten me one hundred dollars 95 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,720 Speaker 1: two minutes ago. There's no way I would remember that name. 96 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 2: That's very true. That's a good way to describe it. 97 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: Well. 98 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 2: Mendelayev was a professor at the University of Saint Petersburg, 99 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 2: and while creating a textbook for his students, he realized 100 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 2: that the atomic weights of different elements followed a pattern. 101 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,279 Speaker 2: Now he called this discovery periodic law. So in eighteen 102 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 2: sixty nine, mendelaye Have used this pattern of atomic weights 103 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 2: to draw up a table of seventy elements known at 104 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 2: the time, and this was the original periodic table. Now 105 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,160 Speaker 2: some say his table was visually inspired by one of 106 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 2: his favorite card games, which was Solitaire, but that's actually unconfirmed. 107 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 2: But I think it's kind of a fun story. 108 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 1: That's funny. I never would have figured that out, yeah, and. 109 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 2: I love little details like that, so I choose to 110 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 2: believe that it may be true. But what's really impressive 111 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 2: about this is that the periodic law enabled Mendelayev to 112 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 2: predict elements that actually hadn't been discovered yet. So he 113 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 2: noticed some discrepancies in the pattern of atomic weights, and 114 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,840 Speaker 2: he figured that meant there were more elements out there 115 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 2: and that once they were added to the table, pattern 116 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 2: would resolve. He actually left a few gaps at his 117 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 2: table that were later filled in with the discovery of 118 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,600 Speaker 2: elements like scandium, germanium, and gallium. 119 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's pretty genius. Now. I remember when we used 120 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: to have the Metal Flow store. I was always looking 121 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: for fun things to put in there, and there were 122 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: people who used to make a periodic table table, which 123 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: is right. That's a much funnier thing to talk about 124 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:26,359 Speaker 1: than to furnish your house. I am so glad you 125 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: mentioned gallium, because that's actually what I wanted to talk 126 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: about next. Apparently, chemists love gallium because of its great 127 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: prank potential. Now, gallium looks like aluminum and it's easy 128 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: to mold. It also melts at eighty four degrees fahrenheit. 129 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,599 Speaker 1: So chemists have been known to mold gallium into a 130 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: spoon and serve it with tea, and when an unsuspecting 131 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,239 Speaker 1: person puts that gallium spoon into their piping hot cup, 132 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,359 Speaker 1: it dissolves and disappears. 133 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 2: Never drink tea with chemists, probably for many races, or 134 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 2: if you do, just bring your own spirit. 135 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a good way to deal with that anyway. 136 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:06,279 Speaker 1: Gallium was discovered in eighteen seventy five by Frenchman named 137 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: Paul Emil Francois Lecoque de Wadra braun well done and 138 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: like a true patriot. He named it after Gallia, which 139 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: is the Latin word for France. But some people say 140 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: this was him being sneaky and sort of naming it 141 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 1: after himself because the name Lecoq means the rooster and 142 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: Gallis is Latin for rooster. Ah. 143 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 2: Well, that's pretty interesting actually. The naming of elements hasn't 144 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 2: always gone so smoothly. So go back to the twentieth century, 145 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,560 Speaker 2: there was a tumultuous time for the periodic table known 146 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 2: as the transfermium Wars. Have you ever heard of this before? 147 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 2: So this name refers to the fact that it concerned 148 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,120 Speaker 2: elements one O two through one oh nine, which have 149 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 2: higher atomic numbers than fermium. This was actually considered part 150 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 2: of the Cold War because it was a battle of 151 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 2: element naming rights between scientists in Russia and those in 152 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 2: the West. 153 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: That's incredible. That wasn't on my AP chemistry test or 154 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: my AP history. I don't think. 155 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 2: I don't think mine either. But it actually all began 156 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 2: in nineteen fifty seven, when there were one hundred and 157 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 2: one known elements at least until a collective of researchers, 158 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 2: including some at the Nobel Institute for Physics in Sweden, 159 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 2: they created element one to two and they gave it 160 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 2: the name Nobelium after Alfred Nobel. Now, back then there 161 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 2: were two sort of gold standard labs equipped to detect 162 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 2: or create those super obscure heavy elements. There was one 163 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 2: at the University of California, Berkeley and the other at 164 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 2: the Joint Institute for nuclear research in the Soviet Union. 165 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 2: So both of these labs tried to create element one 166 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 2: O two to confirm the existence of nobelium, but they 167 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 2: couldn't do it following the Swedish team's methods. Now, eventually 168 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:44,840 Speaker 2: using their own techniques, both the Americans and the Soviets 169 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 2: independently arrived at element one oh two and both claimed 170 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 2: to have discovered it. Now, the Americans kept the name nobelium, 171 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 2: but the Soviets went with a different name, Joliotium, after 172 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,559 Speaker 2: Frederick Jolio Cui, a French chemist and a loyal Communist. 173 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: So were there like two different versions at the periodic 174 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: table during the time, like one with nobelium and one 175 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: with chiliodium. 176 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 2: Actually there were, and this problem just kept getting worse 177 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 2: his new elements were added. The Soviet and American labs 178 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,079 Speaker 2: were raising each other to find the next heaviest element, 179 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 2: and they kept making these new discoveries, and many of 180 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 2: these pretty much simultaneously. So when element one O four 181 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 2: was confirmed, the Soviets wanted it to be called Kirchatovium 182 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 2: for Igor Kirshatov, father of the Soviet atomic bomb, and 183 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:32,359 Speaker 2: in the US scientists wanted to name it ruther Fordium 184 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 2: for Ernest Rutherford, who discovered the atomic nucleus. Now, if 185 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 2: you were talking about element one oh five in the US, 186 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 2: you'd call it hanium after German chemist Otto Hahn. In 187 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 2: the USR it was nils borium. You can actually figure 188 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 2: out where this one probably comes from, for the nuclear 189 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,320 Speaker 2: physicist Nil's board that we probably do remember from our 190 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 2: high school chemistry or physics classes. Now, they couldn't agree 191 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,959 Speaker 2: on anything, and in fact, the countries had different element 192 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:00,319 Speaker 2: names on the table through nineteen nine. 193 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: Actually, so how did they finally come to a consensus. 194 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 2: Well, they leaned on the International Union of Pure and 195 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 2: Applied Chemistry the IU PACK. Now they resolve this and 196 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 2: tried to give everyone a win, Like element one oh 197 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 2: four did become ruther fortium, and they gave the Russians 198 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 2: element one oh five, making its official name Dubnium for 199 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 2: the city of Dubna, where the Joint Institute of Nuclear 200 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:24,439 Speaker 2: Research was located. 201 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:26,440 Speaker 1: I thought I had a pretty good idea of what 202 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: went on during the Cold War, but I'd never heard 203 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,560 Speaker 1: of any of this. Also, can I just say the 204 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:35,079 Speaker 1: transfermium war sounds like it could be a blockbuster action 205 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: movie that's only played in chemistry classes. Well, we have 206 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,560 Speaker 1: many more incredible stories from the periodic table coming up, 207 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:47,320 Speaker 1: including copper goblins, humor pills, and cyclotrons. But first we've 208 00:10:47,320 --> 00:11:04,439 Speaker 1: got to take a quick break. Welcome back to Part 209 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,959 Speaker 1: Time Genius, where we're celebrating some of the most fascinating 210 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: corners of the periodic table. So you know what's funny is, 211 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: years and years ago, our friend Adam and I started 212 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,840 Speaker 1: writing a ridiculous and nerdy crime novel using the periodic 213 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 1: table and elements as characters. 214 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 2: I remember this, Yes, it was painful to hear you 215 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:22,199 Speaker 2: guys talk about it. 216 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,960 Speaker 1: Hydrogen was a crime boss and Helium was his scheming 217 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:29,199 Speaker 1: number two who was always trying to rise to the top. 218 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 2: I remember this. 219 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:31,960 Speaker 1: We had Florine. 220 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 2: I was gonna say, I remember Florine. 221 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:36,079 Speaker 1: She was like a fifties dame who like walked into 222 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,840 Speaker 1: a private eye office because fluorine is the most attractive element. 223 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, there was a period of time where this is 224 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 2: all you guys wanted to talk about. It was pretty 225 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 2: rough for the rest of us. But actually I don't 226 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 2: remember what happened to that story. 227 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 1: We kind of quit what we realized we'd have to 228 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: know more about chemistry. Yeah, yeah, makes sense, But it 229 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: was this, you know, fun weird bit of a thing 230 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: that we used to do anyway before the will you 231 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: mentioned I you pack or the International Union of Pure 232 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:08,600 Speaker 1: and Applied Chemistry, which is such an interesting organization, and 233 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: I also decide to read up on it. It's been 234 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: around since nineteen nineteen and as they put it, they're 235 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:19,400 Speaker 1: quote the World Authority on Digital Standards in Chemistry, chemical 236 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:23,719 Speaker 1: nomenclature and terminology, including the naming of new elements in 237 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:27,160 Speaker 1: the periodic table, on standardized methods for measurement, and on 238 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: atomic weights. 239 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 2: So if you want to name an element like after 240 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 2: yourself for some city in Russia, you actually have to 241 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 2: go through them. 242 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 1: That's right. And they have rules for what new elements 243 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,439 Speaker 1: can be named after. It can be a scientist, a mineral, 244 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: a place, a mythological concept or character, or one of 245 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:45,440 Speaker 1: the element's properties nothing else. 246 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:48,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, it actually seems fair like we don't need chemist 247 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:51,120 Speaker 2: getting too wacky naming elements after I don't know, like 248 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 2: reality TV stars or something like that. 249 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: I don't know the situation, or that you're pumpium like that. 250 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 1: Those are great, that's name. But the most recent elements 251 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: IPAC has accepted into the fold where one thirteen, one fifteen, 252 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: one seventeen, and one eighteen. In twenty sixteen, it was 253 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: announced that these would be niholium, moscovium, Tennesseine, and Oganessennonium 254 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,839 Speaker 1: is named for the Japanese word for Japan, Moscovium is 255 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:27,200 Speaker 1: obviously for Moscow, Tennesseine is after Tennessee, and Oganessen is 256 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,080 Speaker 1: named after the scientist Yuri Oganessen. 257 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 2: I'm just suppressed by your ability to pronounce all of these. 258 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: That's terrible. 259 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, apparently it used to be okay to name 260 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 2: an element after a goblin, because that's probably what happened 261 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 2: with nickel, which I'm sure you know is atomic number 262 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 2: twenty eight. So Swedish mineral expert Axel Frederick Krunstead named 263 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 2: the element in seventeen fifty four, and he was likely 264 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 2: inspired by a story about German miners who encountered a 265 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 2: mineral that looked like copper, but they couldn't extract metal 266 00:13:57,200 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 2: from it. They called it kop for nickel, which meant 267 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:04,480 Speaker 2: goblin or the devil's copper. So when Kronstad isolated a 268 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:06,880 Speaker 2: new white metal from the mineral he gave it the 269 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 2: shortened named nickel. Now some have argued that the nickel 270 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 2: part might be an abbreviation for arsenic, but it's more 271 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:14,439 Speaker 2: fun to stick with the goblin explanation. 272 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: I definitely agree with that, and I kind of love 273 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:20,120 Speaker 1: thinking about people hundreds or even thousands of years ago 274 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: encountering these elements for the first time and also figuring 275 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,920 Speaker 1: out what to do with them, though they weren't always 276 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 1: adhering to modern safety standards. For example, take element fifty one, 277 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: which is antimony. This is a brittle metallic element with 278 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:36,880 Speaker 1: a silvery blue color. As far back as four thousand 279 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: years ago, people carved vases out of it, and ancient 280 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: Egyptians used it to make their eyeliner and mascara black. 281 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 1: It's even said that Jezebel from the Bible used it. 282 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: But things got pretty weird in the Middle Ages when 283 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: people started turning antimony into a reusable laxative. 284 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 2: Oh, I have to stop you right there. 285 00:14:55,720 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 1: A reusable laxative. Yeah, so you swallow up it's made 286 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: of metal so it doesn't break down, and when it 287 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,760 Speaker 1: passes through your system you retrieve it and use it again. Yeah. 288 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 2: I really don't like the use of the word you here, 289 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:11,000 Speaker 2: that's fair enough. 290 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 1: But back then antimony phills were believed to remove bad 291 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: humors from the body. As an alternative, if one wanted 292 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,320 Speaker 1: to induce vomiting, one could drink wine that had been 293 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: sitting in a cup made from antimony. Actually, Mozart, who 294 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 1: was known to be pretty sickly, was treated with something 295 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: called tartar emetic, and this was in the eighteenth century. 296 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,760 Speaker 1: This was an antimony tar crate that actually caused vomiting. 297 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 1: Of course, today we know that none of that is 298 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: good for you, so please do not swallow metal. People. 299 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 2: If there's one thing you take away from this episode 300 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:44,800 Speaker 2: that is wise wise advice, mango. 301 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:45,200 Speaker 1: Well. 302 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 2: Phosphorus, which is of course number fifteen on the periodic table, 303 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,600 Speaker 2: is another element that people had fun with before they 304 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 2: really knew what was in it. So in sixteen sixty nine, 305 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 2: Hinnig Brandt was an alchemist living in Hamburg and he 306 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 2: was doing what alchemists. He was trying to find the 307 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 2: Philosopher's Stone. Now, this was a hypothetical powder that would 308 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 2: turn metal into things like gold and silver and also 309 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 2: maybe like an elixir of life. Anyway, this was an 310 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 2: honorable quest and Brandt ended up distilling something he called 311 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 2: cold fire. So it was foamy and it glowed in 312 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 2: the dark, and sometimes it was yellow, sometimes it was black, 313 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 2: depending on how he prepared it. But what he had 314 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 2: really discovered was phosphorus, and how he made it is 315 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 2: absolutely disgusting. So he left out fifty buckets of urine 316 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 2: until they quote bread worms, or as we know it today, 317 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,280 Speaker 2: attracted maggots. I love that this was just an experiment. 318 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 2: It's like, I'm going to take these fifty buckets a 319 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 2: urine and I'm just going to set them outside. It no, 320 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 2: fifty buckets a urine, and then he boiled the urine 321 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 2: into a paste and he heated it with sand. 322 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: It sounds like what a four year. 323 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 2: Old to do, right. They're like, I'm a chemist, this 324 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 2: is science. I'm gonna put these buckets out there and 325 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 2: then I'm gonna put sand in it. And he was 326 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:01,600 Speaker 2: distilling the phosphorus from the mixture in that process. So 327 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 2: one observer of Brant's phosphorus said, quote, if anyone had 328 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 2: rubbed himself all over with it, his whole figure would 329 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 2: have shown as once did that of Moses when he 330 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,520 Speaker 2: came down from Mount Sinai. 331 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,360 Speaker 1: On one hand, that is like incredible, right, that visual 332 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: of this glowing person. And also I can't imagine how 333 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: bad that must have smelled. 334 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I would rather not think about it. But 335 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 2: you'll be relieved to know mego. These days we get 336 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 2: phosphorus from normal places. I don't think it's buckets of 337 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 2: urine anymore, you know, like going to the Earth's crust. 338 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: Actually, well, I am certainly glad that over time we 339 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 1: have moved from alchemists with buckets to people figuring out 340 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: how to produce elements artificially in labs. And that is 341 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: the case with Ernest Lawrence, who was at the University 342 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: of California, Berkeley in the nineteen thirties when he began 343 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: his hunt for new elements. You'll remember him as the 344 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,360 Speaker 1: guy played by Josh Harnett in Oppenheimer. 345 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. They were only about six million characters in that movie, 346 00:17:58,240 --> 00:17:59,879 Speaker 2: but I think I remember it. 347 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, he's the only one who looks like Josh Harnt. 348 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: But Lawrence created these devices called cyclotrons, and they allowed 349 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: scientists to blast protons into foil targets in metal chambers, 350 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: and every once in a while this process would create 351 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: a new element. Albert Einstein described it this way, quote 352 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,199 Speaker 1: it is like shooting birds in the dark in a 353 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: country where there are only a few birds. But in 354 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,919 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty seven, two Italian chemists named Carlo Perier and 355 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 1: Emilio Segre shot a bird metaphorically. Using one of these cyclotrons, 356 00:18:35,119 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 1: they created technitium, which is atomic number forty three, the 357 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 1: first artificially produced element, which was one of those mystery 358 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: elements that Medalev had predicted. People have been looking for 359 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,399 Speaker 1: it for around seventy years by this point, and it 360 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 1: turns out it was hard to discover because technichium is 361 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 1: radioactive and all versions of it decay into other elements 362 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 1: really really quickly. We've since learned that it does exist 363 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:01,919 Speaker 1: naturally in the Earth's crust, but in quantity is so 364 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: small it is incredibly rare. We're talking nanograms. That is 365 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 1: an incredible discovery, though, Yeah, and it's complicated stuff. Like 366 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 1: imagine these guys sitting at a bar after a hard 367 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 1: day on the job, like just so excited to talk 368 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,600 Speaker 1: about creating techniqian with the cyclotron, and no one has 369 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: any idea what they're talking about, Like, I really have 370 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:21,360 Speaker 1: any idea of the time. 371 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,480 Speaker 2: Oh that was enough for me because you shouted out 372 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 2: real scientists at work and managed to bring it all 373 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:31,679 Speaker 2: back to Mendalayev. So, Mango, I think you've earned today's trophy. Congratulations. 374 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,159 Speaker 1: Oh I love it. Well, that's all for today's episode, 375 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: but we'll be back next week with another new one 376 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,959 Speaker 1: for you. In the meantime, find us on Instagram at 377 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,399 Speaker 1: part Time Genius. Call us and leave a message on 378 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 1: our brand new hotline, and if you enjoy the show, 379 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,240 Speaker 1: subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave as a 380 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: five star rating and review. This episode was written by 381 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:55,720 Speaker 1: the wonderful, wonderful Meredith Danko. Thank you so much, Meredith, 382 00:19:55,960 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: and from Dylan Gabe, Mary, Will and myself, thank you 383 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:16,440 Speaker 1: for listening. Part Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope 384 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,200 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. This show is hosted by Will Pearson and 385 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:24,400 Speaker 1: me Mongaish Heartikler and research by our good pal Mary 386 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:28,159 Speaker 1: Philip Sandy. Today's episode was engineered and produced by the 387 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:32,119 Speaker 1: wonderful Dylan Fagan with support from Tyler Klang. The show 388 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:36,119 Speaker 1: is executive produced for iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Ali Perry, 389 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:40,160 Speaker 1: with social media support from Sasha Gay trustee Dara Potts 390 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: and Viney Shorey. For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, 391 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,960 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 392 00:20:49,000 --> 00:21:00,119 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows. H