WEBVTT - 9 Highly Reactive Facts About the Periodic Table

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope

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<v Speaker 1>and iHeartRadio. Guess what, Well, what's that mango? So I

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<v Speaker 1>don't mean to alarm you, but do you know we're

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<v Speaker 1>running out of helium? Yeah?

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<v Speaker 2>I love it when you start an episode by trying

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<v Speaker 2>to scare everybody. It's just a great way to kick

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<v Speaker 2>things off. But actually, I think I have heard about

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<v Speaker 2>this helium shortage, but one thing I didn't really understand

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<v Speaker 2>is what the real impact is, Like should I start

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<v Speaker 2>hoarding balloons.

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<v Speaker 1>Or like, what's the deal? Yeah, so I knew you

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<v Speaker 1>would bring up balloons because obviously that's what most people

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<v Speaker 1>think about when they hear the word helium. But this light,

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<v Speaker 1>odorless gas actually has way more important uses. Like did

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<v Speaker 1>you know that about a third of the world's helium

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<v Speaker 1>consumption is attributed to hospitals. Oh wow, I didn't know that. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that's because it's used cool magnets and things like MRI machines.

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<v Speaker 1>And helium is also part of the gas mixture that

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<v Speaker 1>inflates car airbags, and it's used in the manufacturing processes

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<v Speaker 1>for computer chips and electric vehicle batteries. So global demand

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<v Speaker 1>for helium has been expanding faster than a balloon.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, so this is definitely not a joke. But

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<v Speaker 2>should we actually be scared about this shortage?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's true that we have a supply problem

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<v Speaker 1>and we can't artificially create helium, so the only way

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<v Speaker 1>to get it is by drilling deep into the ground.

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<v Speaker 1>And because it's so light, it's actually difficult to store

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<v Speaker 1>without leakage loss. So over the past twenty years we've

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<v Speaker 1>had four major helium shortages. But the good news is

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<v Speaker 1>that's actually a major incentive to develop products that use

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<v Speaker 1>less of the stuff. For example, some hospitals have started

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<v Speaker 1>replacing their existing MRI machines with a new low helium model.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, that makes sense. So if you can't get

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<v Speaker 2>more of this stuff, you have to find ways to

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<v Speaker 2>use less of it, which which I get that. But

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<v Speaker 2>it is kind of wild that we have so many

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<v Speaker 2>things that rely on this one hard to get gas.

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<v Speaker 1>I know, and helium's been part of our lives since

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen sixty eight when it was first observed by this

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<v Speaker 1>French astrophysicist. His name is Pierre Jansen, and he was

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<v Speaker 1>running around the world watching eclipses with this device called

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<v Speaker 1>a spectroscope, which is kind of like a fancy prism

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<v Speaker 1>that separates light into wavelengths. Early scientists used it to

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<v Speaker 1>determine the chemical composition of the sun because as different

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<v Speaker 1>gases burn, they give off light. And Jansen was looking

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<v Speaker 1>at an eclipse in India actually when he saw this

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<v Speaker 1>bright yellow line that didn't match any known elements, and

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<v Speaker 1>he immediately reported his discovery to the French Academy of Sciences,

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<v Speaker 1>who was like, yeah, someone else saw that too.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh no, I know that had to feel heartbreaking, but

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<v Speaker 2>you know what, I'm guessing this actually happens a lot

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<v Speaker 2>in science, Like you think you've discovered something and then

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<v Speaker 2>you discover there were other discoverers.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, So Jansen ends up sharing the credit for discovering

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<v Speaker 1>helium with the English astronomer, this guy in Norman Locke here,

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<v Speaker 1>he's the one who came up with a name from

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<v Speaker 1>the Greek word helios or sun. And although Jansen and

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<v Speaker 1>Lockyer would probably share your concern about the shortage, I

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<v Speaker 1>think they'd be psyched that their discovery has improved medical

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<v Speaker 1>care and birthday parties. But that's just the first of

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<v Speaker 1>nine great stories we're going to tell today. All rip

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<v Speaker 1>from the pages of the Periodic Table. Let's dive in.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good

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<v Speaker 2>friend Mangesh Hot Ticketer. And there on the other side

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<v Speaker 2>of the soundproof glass that's our pal and producer Dylan Fagan.

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<v Speaker 2>I knew he wouldn't disappoint today. He's wearing a lab coat,

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<v Speaker 2>which I have to say I kind of predicted that one.

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<v Speaker 2>And this is, of course, because today's episode is all

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<v Speaker 2>about the periodic Table. But what I didn't expect He's

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<v Speaker 2>always got some and I'm actually a little bit nervous

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<v Speaker 2>about this is he's about to light a Bunsen burner.

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<v Speaker 2>You see that, Yeah, And he's got six other burners going,

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<v Speaker 2>six other burners and I don't think I've seen one

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<v Speaker 2>of these since I was in a chemistry class. And

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not really sure where he got this.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm pretty sure you can get them online, because of

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<v Speaker 1>course you can buy anything online that is true, like

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<v Speaker 1>this fire extringuisher I ordered online just the case Dylan

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<v Speaker 1>never decided to do anything. Call good Call, Good call.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, Well, speaking of where to get things, when

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<v Speaker 2>we came up with the idea for this episode. The

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<v Speaker 2>thing I really wanted to know was where did we

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<v Speaker 2>get the periodic table? Like where did this whole thing come?

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<v Speaker 1>Which sounds like a Seinfeld bit? But did you figure

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<v Speaker 1>it out?

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<v Speaker 2>Of course I did so. Starting in the early eighteen hundreds,

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<v Speaker 2>various scientists played around with ways of classifying elements, but

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<v Speaker 2>the periodic table we know and love today was developed

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<v Speaker 2>by a Russian chemist named Dmitri Mendealaev.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it is so funny. There are all these

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<v Speaker 1>names you learn in school, and I think if it

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<v Speaker 1>was on a multiple choice test, like I could have

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<v Speaker 1>guessed it if you had beten me one hundred dollars

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<v Speaker 1>two minutes ago. There's no way I would remember that name.

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<v Speaker 2>That's very true. That's a good way to describe it.

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<v Speaker 1>Well.

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<v Speaker 2>Mendelayev was a professor at the University of Saint Petersburg,

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<v Speaker 2>and while creating a textbook for his students, he realized

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<v Speaker 2>that the atomic weights of different elements followed a pattern.

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<v Speaker 2>Now he called this discovery periodic law. So in eighteen

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<v Speaker 2>sixty nine, mendelaye Have used this pattern of atomic weights

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<v Speaker 2>to draw up a table of seventy elements known at

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<v Speaker 2>the time, and this was the original periodic table. Now

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<v Speaker 2>some say his table was visually inspired by one of

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<v Speaker 2>his favorite card games, which was Solitaire, but that's actually unconfirmed.

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<v Speaker 2>But I think it's kind of a fun story.

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<v Speaker 1>That's funny. I never would have figured that out, yeah, and.

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<v Speaker 2>I love little details like that, so I choose to

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<v Speaker 2>believe that it may be true. But what's really impressive

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<v Speaker 2>about this is that the periodic law enabled Mendelayev to

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<v Speaker 2>predict elements that actually hadn't been discovered yet. So he

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<v Speaker 2>noticed some discrepancies in the pattern of atomic weights, and

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<v Speaker 2>he figured that meant there were more elements out there

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<v Speaker 2>and that once they were added to the table, pattern

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<v Speaker 2>would resolve. He actually left a few gaps at his

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<v Speaker 2>table that were later filled in with the discovery of

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<v Speaker 2>elements like scandium, germanium, and gallium.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's pretty genius. Now. I remember when we used

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<v Speaker 1>to have the Metal Flow store. I was always looking

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<v Speaker 1>for fun things to put in there, and there were

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<v Speaker 1>people who used to make a periodic table table, which

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<v Speaker 1>is right. That's a much funnier thing to talk about

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<v Speaker 1>than to furnish your house. I am so glad you

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned gallium, because that's actually what I wanted to talk

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<v Speaker 1>about next. Apparently, chemists love gallium because of its great

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<v Speaker 1>prank potential. Now, gallium looks like aluminum and it's easy

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<v Speaker 1>to mold. It also melts at eighty four degrees fahrenheit.

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<v Speaker 1>So chemists have been known to mold gallium into a

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<v Speaker 1>spoon and serve it with tea, and when an unsuspecting

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<v Speaker 1>person puts that gallium spoon into their piping hot cup,

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<v Speaker 1>it dissolves and disappears.

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<v Speaker 2>Never drink tea with chemists, probably for many races, or

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<v Speaker 2>if you do, just bring your own spirit.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's a good way to deal with that anyway.

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<v Speaker 1>Gallium was discovered in eighteen seventy five by Frenchman named

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<v Speaker 1>Paul Emil Francois Lecoque de Wadra braun well done and

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<v Speaker 1>like a true patriot. He named it after Gallia, which

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<v Speaker 1>is the Latin word for France. But some people say

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<v Speaker 1>this was him being sneaky and sort of naming it

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<v Speaker 1>after himself because the name Lecoq means the rooster and

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<v Speaker 1>Gallis is Latin for rooster. Ah.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, that's pretty interesting actually. The naming of elements hasn't

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<v Speaker 2>always gone so smoothly. So go back to the twentieth century,

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<v Speaker 2>there was a tumultuous time for the periodic table known

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<v Speaker 2>as the transfermium Wars. Have you ever heard of this before?

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<v Speaker 2>So this name refers to the fact that it concerned

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<v Speaker 2>elements one O two through one oh nine, which have

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<v Speaker 2>higher atomic numbers than fermium. This was actually considered part

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<v Speaker 2>of the Cold War because it was a battle of

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<v Speaker 2>element naming rights between scientists in Russia and those in

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<v Speaker 2>the West.

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<v Speaker 1>That's incredible. That wasn't on my AP chemistry test or

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<v Speaker 1>my AP history. I don't think.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think mine either. But it actually all began

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<v Speaker 2>in nineteen fifty seven, when there were one hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>one known elements at least until a collective of researchers,

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<v Speaker 2>including some at the Nobel Institute for Physics in Sweden,

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<v Speaker 2>they created element one to two and they gave it

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<v Speaker 2>the name Nobelium after Alfred Nobel. Now, back then there

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<v Speaker 2>were two sort of gold standard labs equipped to detect

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<v Speaker 2>or create those super obscure heavy elements. There was one

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<v Speaker 2>at the University of California, Berkeley and the other at

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<v Speaker 2>the Joint Institute for nuclear research in the Soviet Union.

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<v Speaker 2>So both of these labs tried to create element one

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<v Speaker 2>O two to confirm the existence of nobelium, but they

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<v Speaker 2>couldn't do it following the Swedish team's methods. Now, eventually

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<v Speaker 2>using their own techniques, both the Americans and the Soviets

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<v Speaker 2>independently arrived at element one oh two and both claimed

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<v Speaker 2>to have discovered it. Now, the Americans kept the name nobelium,

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<v Speaker 2>but the Soviets went with a different name, Joliotium, after

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<v Speaker 2>Frederick Jolio Cui, a French chemist and a loyal Communist.

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<v Speaker 1>So were there like two different versions at the periodic

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<v Speaker 1>table during the time, like one with nobelium and one

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<v Speaker 1>with chiliodium.

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<v Speaker 2>Actually there were, and this problem just kept getting worse

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<v Speaker 2>his new elements were added. The Soviet and American labs

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<v Speaker 2>were raising each other to find the next heaviest element,

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<v Speaker 2>and they kept making these new discoveries, and many of

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<v Speaker 2>these pretty much simultaneously. So when element one O four

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<v Speaker 2>was confirmed, the Soviets wanted it to be called Kirchatovium

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<v Speaker 2>for Igor Kirshatov, father of the Soviet atomic bomb, and

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<v Speaker 2>in the US scientists wanted to name it ruther Fordium

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<v Speaker 2>for Ernest Rutherford, who discovered the atomic nucleus. Now, if

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<v Speaker 2>you were talking about element one oh five in the US,

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<v Speaker 2>you'd call it hanium after German chemist Otto Hahn. In

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<v Speaker 2>the USR it was nils borium. You can actually figure

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<v Speaker 2>out where this one probably comes from, for the nuclear

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<v Speaker 2>physicist Nil's board that we probably do remember from our

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<v Speaker 2>high school chemistry or physics classes. Now, they couldn't agree

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<v Speaker 2>on anything, and in fact, the countries had different element

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<v Speaker 2>names on the table through nineteen nine.

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<v Speaker 1>Actually, so how did they finally come to a consensus.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, they leaned on the International Union of Pure and

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<v Speaker 2>Applied Chemistry the IU PACK. Now they resolve this and

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<v Speaker 2>tried to give everyone a win, Like element one oh

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<v Speaker 2>four did become ruther fortium, and they gave the Russians

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<v Speaker 2>element one oh five, making its official name Dubnium for

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<v Speaker 2>the city of Dubna, where the Joint Institute of Nuclear

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<v Speaker 2>Research was located.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought I had a pretty good idea of what

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<v Speaker 1>went on during the Cold War, but I'd never heard

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<v Speaker 1>of any of this. Also, can I just say the

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<v Speaker 1>transfermium war sounds like it could be a blockbuster action

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<v Speaker 1>movie that's only played in chemistry classes. Well, we have

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<v Speaker 1>many more incredible stories from the periodic table coming up,

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<v Speaker 1>including copper goblins, humor pills, and cyclotrons. But first we've

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<v Speaker 1>got to take a quick break. Welcome back to Part

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<v Speaker 1>Time Genius, where we're celebrating some of the most fascinating

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<v Speaker 1>corners of the periodic table. So you know what's funny is,

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<v Speaker 1>years and years ago, our friend Adam and I started

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<v Speaker 1>writing a ridiculous and nerdy crime novel using the periodic

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<v Speaker 1>table and elements as characters.

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<v Speaker 2>I remember this, Yes, it was painful to hear you

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<v Speaker 2>guys talk about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Hydrogen was a crime boss and Helium was his scheming

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<v Speaker 1>number two who was always trying to rise to the top.

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<v Speaker 2>I remember this.

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<v Speaker 1>We had Florine.

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<v Speaker 2>I was gonna say, I remember Florine.

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<v Speaker 1>She was like a fifties dame who like walked into

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<v Speaker 1>a private eye office because fluorine is the most attractive element.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, there was a period of time where this is

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<v Speaker 2>all you guys wanted to talk about. It was pretty

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<v Speaker 2>rough for the rest of us. But actually I don't

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<v Speaker 2>remember what happened to that story.

0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:50.160
<v Speaker 1>We kind of quit what we realized we'd have to

0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:54.120
<v Speaker 1>know more about chemistry. Yeah, yeah, makes sense, But it

0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:56.920
<v Speaker 1>was this, you know, fun weird bit of a thing

0:11:57.000 --> 0:12:00.800
<v Speaker 1>that we used to do anyway before the will you

0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:04.600
<v Speaker 1>mentioned I you pack or the International Union of Pure

0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:08.600
<v Speaker 1>and Applied Chemistry, which is such an interesting organization, and

0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:11.240
<v Speaker 1>I also decide to read up on it. It's been

0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:15.120
<v Speaker 1>around since nineteen nineteen and as they put it, they're

0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:19.400
<v Speaker 1>quote the World Authority on Digital Standards in Chemistry, chemical

0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:23.719
<v Speaker 1>nomenclature and terminology, including the naming of new elements in

0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:27.160
<v Speaker 1>the periodic table, on standardized methods for measurement, and on

0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:28.280
<v Speaker 1>atomic weights.

0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:30.560
<v Speaker 2>So if you want to name an element like after

0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:33.040
<v Speaker 2>yourself for some city in Russia, you actually have to

0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:33.800
<v Speaker 2>go through them.

0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:36.360
<v Speaker 1>That's right. And they have rules for what new elements

0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:39.439
<v Speaker 1>can be named after. It can be a scientist, a mineral,

0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:43.480
<v Speaker 1>a place, a mythological concept or character, or one of

0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:45.440
<v Speaker 1>the element's properties nothing else.

0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:48.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it actually seems fair like we don't need chemist

0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.120
<v Speaker 2>getting too wacky naming elements after I don't know, like

0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:53.200
<v Speaker 2>reality TV stars or something like that.

0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:57.640
<v Speaker 1>I don't know the situation, or that you're pumpium like that.

0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:02.800
<v Speaker 1>Those are great, that's name. But the most recent elements

0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:07.400
<v Speaker 1>IPAC has accepted into the fold where one thirteen, one fifteen,

0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:11.520
<v Speaker 1>one seventeen, and one eighteen. In twenty sixteen, it was

0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:19.360
<v Speaker 1>announced that these would be niholium, moscovium, Tennesseine, and Oganessennonium

0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.839
<v Speaker 1>is named for the Japanese word for Japan, Moscovium is

0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:27.200
<v Speaker 1>obviously for Moscow, Tennesseine is after Tennessee, and Oganessen is

0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:30.080
<v Speaker 1>named after the scientist Yuri Oganessen.

0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:33.160
<v Speaker 2>I'm just suppressed by your ability to pronounce all of these.

0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:34.280
<v Speaker 1>That's terrible.

0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.520
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well, apparently it used to be okay to name

0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.760
<v Speaker 2>an element after a goblin, because that's probably what happened

0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:43.240
<v Speaker 2>with nickel, which I'm sure you know is atomic number

0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:47.600
<v Speaker 2>twenty eight. So Swedish mineral expert Axel Frederick Krunstead named

0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:50.760
<v Speaker 2>the element in seventeen fifty four, and he was likely

0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.640
<v Speaker 2>inspired by a story about German miners who encountered a

0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:57.160
<v Speaker 2>mineral that looked like copper, but they couldn't extract metal

0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:59.760
<v Speaker 2>from it. They called it kop for nickel, which meant

0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:04.480
<v Speaker 2>goblin or the devil's copper. So when Kronstad isolated a

0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:06.880
<v Speaker 2>new white metal from the mineral he gave it the

0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:09.960
<v Speaker 2>shortened named nickel. Now some have argued that the nickel

0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.720
<v Speaker 2>part might be an abbreviation for arsenic, but it's more

0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:14.439
<v Speaker 2>fun to stick with the goblin explanation.

0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:16.880
<v Speaker 1>I definitely agree with that, and I kind of love

0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:20.120
<v Speaker 1>thinking about people hundreds or even thousands of years ago

0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:23.320
<v Speaker 1>encountering these elements for the first time and also figuring

0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:25.920
<v Speaker 1>out what to do with them, though they weren't always

0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:30.160
<v Speaker 1>adhering to modern safety standards. For example, take element fifty one,

0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:33.640
<v Speaker 1>which is antimony. This is a brittle metallic element with

0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:36.880
<v Speaker 1>a silvery blue color. As far back as four thousand

0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:40.640
<v Speaker 1>years ago, people carved vases out of it, and ancient

0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:43.760
<v Speaker 1>Egyptians used it to make their eyeliner and mascara black.

0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:46.240
<v Speaker 1>It's even said that Jezebel from the Bible used it.

0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.280
<v Speaker 1>But things got pretty weird in the Middle Ages when

0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:52.840
<v Speaker 1>people started turning antimony into a reusable laxative.

0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:55.640
<v Speaker 2>Oh, I have to stop you right there.

0:14:55.720 --> 0:15:00.880
<v Speaker 1>A reusable laxative. Yeah, so you swallow up it's made

0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:02.640
<v Speaker 1>of metal so it doesn't break down, and when it

0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:06.760
<v Speaker 1>passes through your system you retrieve it and use it again. Yeah.

0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:09.000
<v Speaker 2>I really don't like the use of the word you here,

0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:11.000
<v Speaker 2>that's fair enough.

0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.280
<v Speaker 1>But back then antimony phills were believed to remove bad

0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:17.680
<v Speaker 1>humors from the body. As an alternative, if one wanted

0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:20.320
<v Speaker 1>to induce vomiting, one could drink wine that had been

0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:24.640
<v Speaker 1>sitting in a cup made from antimony. Actually, Mozart, who

0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:26.800
<v Speaker 1>was known to be pretty sickly, was treated with something

0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:30.280
<v Speaker 1>called tartar emetic, and this was in the eighteenth century.

0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:34.760
<v Speaker 1>This was an antimony tar crate that actually caused vomiting.

0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:37.360
<v Speaker 1>Of course, today we know that none of that is

0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:40.640
<v Speaker 1>good for you, so please do not swallow metal. People.

0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:42.840
<v Speaker 2>If there's one thing you take away from this episode

0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:44.800
<v Speaker 2>that is wise wise advice, mango.

0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:45.200
<v Speaker 1>Well.

0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.640
<v Speaker 2>Phosphorus, which is of course number fifteen on the periodic table,

0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.600
<v Speaker 2>is another element that people had fun with before they

0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:54.360
<v Speaker 2>really knew what was in it. So in sixteen sixty nine,

0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:58.240
<v Speaker 2>Hinnig Brandt was an alchemist living in Hamburg and he

0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:01.760
<v Speaker 2>was doing what alchemists. He was trying to find the

0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:05.640
<v Speaker 2>Philosopher's Stone. Now, this was a hypothetical powder that would

0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:09.200
<v Speaker 2>turn metal into things like gold and silver and also

0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.160
<v Speaker 2>maybe like an elixir of life. Anyway, this was an

0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:15.520
<v Speaker 2>honorable quest and Brandt ended up distilling something he called

0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:18.560
<v Speaker 2>cold fire. So it was foamy and it glowed in

0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:21.760
<v Speaker 2>the dark, and sometimes it was yellow, sometimes it was black,

0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:24.240
<v Speaker 2>depending on how he prepared it. But what he had

0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.360
<v Speaker 2>really discovered was phosphorus, and how he made it is

0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:31.680
<v Speaker 2>absolutely disgusting. So he left out fifty buckets of urine

0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:35.320
<v Speaker 2>until they quote bread worms, or as we know it today,

0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:38.280
<v Speaker 2>attracted maggots. I love that this was just an experiment.

0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:40.600
<v Speaker 2>It's like, I'm going to take these fifty buckets a

0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:43.160
<v Speaker 2>urine and I'm just going to set them outside. It no,

0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:47.120
<v Speaker 2>fifty buckets a urine, and then he boiled the urine

0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:49.480
<v Speaker 2>into a paste and he heated it with sand.

0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:51.640
<v Speaker 1>It sounds like what a four year.

0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:53.560
<v Speaker 2>Old to do, right. They're like, I'm a chemist, this

0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:55.640
<v Speaker 2>is science. I'm gonna put these buckets out there and

0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:57.640
<v Speaker 2>then I'm gonna put sand in it. And he was

0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:01.600
<v Speaker 2>distilling the phosphorus from the mixture in that process. So

0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:05.240
<v Speaker 2>one observer of Brant's phosphorus said, quote, if anyone had

0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.280
<v Speaker 2>rubbed himself all over with it, his whole figure would

0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:10.879
<v Speaker 2>have shown as once did that of Moses when he

0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:12.520
<v Speaker 2>came down from Mount Sinai.

0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:16.360
<v Speaker 1>On one hand, that is like incredible, right, that visual

0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:20.480
<v Speaker 1>of this glowing person. And also I can't imagine how

0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:21.800
<v Speaker 1>bad that must have smelled.

0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:25.240
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, I would rather not think about it. But

0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:27.800
<v Speaker 2>you'll be relieved to know mego. These days we get

0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:30.600
<v Speaker 2>phosphorus from normal places. I don't think it's buckets of

0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.720
<v Speaker 2>urine anymore, you know, like going to the Earth's crust.

0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:37.080
<v Speaker 1>Actually, well, I am certainly glad that over time we

0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:40.000
<v Speaker 1>have moved from alchemists with buckets to people figuring out

0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:43.720
<v Speaker 1>how to produce elements artificially in labs. And that is

0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:46.159
<v Speaker 1>the case with Ernest Lawrence, who was at the University

0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:49.280
<v Speaker 1>of California, Berkeley in the nineteen thirties when he began

0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:52.040
<v Speaker 1>his hunt for new elements. You'll remember him as the

0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.360
<v Speaker 1>guy played by Josh Harnett in Oppenheimer.

0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:58.200
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. They were only about six million characters in that movie,

0:17:58.240 --> 0:17:59.879
<v Speaker 2>but I think I remember it.

0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:03.359
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well, he's the only one who looks like Josh Harnt.

0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:09.600
<v Speaker 1>But Lawrence created these devices called cyclotrons, and they allowed

0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:13.280
<v Speaker 1>scientists to blast protons into foil targets in metal chambers,

0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:16.000
<v Speaker 1>and every once in a while this process would create

0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:19.720
<v Speaker 1>a new element. Albert Einstein described it this way, quote

0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.199
<v Speaker 1>it is like shooting birds in the dark in a

0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:26.040
<v Speaker 1>country where there are only a few birds. But in

0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:29.919
<v Speaker 1>nineteen thirty seven, two Italian chemists named Carlo Perier and

0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:35.080
<v Speaker 1>Emilio Segre shot a bird metaphorically. Using one of these cyclotrons,

0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.840
<v Speaker 1>they created technitium, which is atomic number forty three, the

0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:42.520
<v Speaker 1>first artificially produced element, which was one of those mystery

0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:45.600
<v Speaker 1>elements that Medalev had predicted. People have been looking for

0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:48.399
<v Speaker 1>it for around seventy years by this point, and it

0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:51.280
<v Speaker 1>turns out it was hard to discover because technichium is

0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:56.080
<v Speaker 1>radioactive and all versions of it decay into other elements

0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:59.320
<v Speaker 1>really really quickly. We've since learned that it does exist

0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:01.919
<v Speaker 1>naturally in the Earth's crust, but in quantity is so

0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:06.000
<v Speaker 1>small it is incredibly rare. We're talking nanograms. That is

0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:09.000
<v Speaker 1>an incredible discovery, though, Yeah, and it's complicated stuff. Like

0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:11.320
<v Speaker 1>imagine these guys sitting at a bar after a hard

0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:13.760
<v Speaker 1>day on the job, like just so excited to talk

0:19:13.800 --> 0:19:17.600
<v Speaker 1>about creating techniqian with the cyclotron, and no one has

0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:20.280
<v Speaker 1>any idea what they're talking about, Like, I really have

0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:21.360
<v Speaker 1>any idea of the time.

0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:24.480
<v Speaker 2>Oh that was enough for me because you shouted out

0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:27.160
<v Speaker 2>real scientists at work and managed to bring it all

0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:31.679
<v Speaker 2>back to Mendalayev. So, Mango, I think you've earned today's trophy. Congratulations.

0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:35.159
<v Speaker 1>Oh I love it. Well, that's all for today's episode,

0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:37.200
<v Speaker 1>but we'll be back next week with another new one

0:19:37.200 --> 0:19:39.959
<v Speaker 1>for you. In the meantime, find us on Instagram at

0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:42.399
<v Speaker 1>part Time Genius. Call us and leave a message on

0:19:42.440 --> 0:19:45.359
<v Speaker 1>our brand new hotline, and if you enjoy the show,

0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:48.240
<v Speaker 1>subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave as a

0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:51.560
<v Speaker 1>five star rating and review. This episode was written by

0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:55.720
<v Speaker 1>the wonderful, wonderful Meredith Danko. Thank you so much, Meredith,

0:19:55.960 --> 0:20:00.520
<v Speaker 1>and from Dylan Gabe, Mary, Will and myself, thank you

0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:16.440
<v Speaker 1>for listening. Part Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope

0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:20.200
<v Speaker 1>and iHeartRadio. This show is hosted by Will Pearson and

0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:24.400
<v Speaker 1>me Mongaish Heartikler and research by our good pal Mary

0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:28.159
<v Speaker 1>Philip Sandy. Today's episode was engineered and produced by the

0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:32.119
<v Speaker 1>wonderful Dylan Fagan with support from Tyler Klang. The show

0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:36.119
<v Speaker 1>is executive produced for iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Ali Perry,

0:20:36.400 --> 0:20:40.160
<v Speaker 1>with social media support from Sasha Gay trustee Dara Potts

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<v Speaker 1>and Viney Shorey. For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

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<v Speaker 1>to your favorite shows. H