27 Oct 2019

Have we reached the end of the Periodic Table?

From Sunday Morning, 11:05 am on 27 October 2019

You mightn't know that 2019 is the International Year of the Periodic Table, marking the 150th anniversary of Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev's periodic table. Professor Allan Blackman from Auckland University of Technology is doing all he can to ensure people can enjoy the Periodic Table in all its glory. For instance, did you know that diamonds -- which are widely known as the hardest material in the world -- are actually unstable at room temperature? (Also, did you know that our own Ernest Rutherford did not, in fact, win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for splitting the atom?)

Professor Blackman presents the RNZ podcast series Elemental, featuring all the chemical elements.

Professor Allan Blackman is a chemist at the Auckland University of Technology.

Professor Allan Blackman is a chemist at the Auckland University of Technology. Photo: Auckland University of Technology