Discoverers of chemical elements
The discovery of the 118 chemical elements known to exist as of 2022 is presented in chronological order. The elements are listed generally in the order in which each was first defined as the pure element, as the exact date of discovery of most elements cannot be accurately determined.
4 episodes
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Lise Meitner
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the only woman to have an atomic element named solely after her (Meitnerium), in recognition of her role in solving the question of nuclear fission.
08 May 2025
Featuring: Jess Wade, Frank Close, Steven Bramwell
ScienceFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesJewish women scientistsWinners of the Max Planck MedalForeign members of the Royal SocietyAustrian LutheransConverts to Lutheranism from JudaismMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesWomen nuclear physicistsDiscoverers of chemical elementsRecipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and ArtRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Robert Boyle
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Robert Boyle, a pioneering scientist and one of the first Fellows of the Royal Society.
12 June 2014
Featuring: Simon Schaffer, Michael Hunter, Anna Marie Roos
ScienceFluid dynamicistsIrish Anglicans17th-century English writers17th-century Anglo-Irish peoplePeople educated at Eton CollegePhilosophers of scienceWriters about religion and science17th-century English philosophers17th-century English male writersDiscoverers of chemical elementsIndependent scientistsEnglish physicistsEnglish alchemistsRutherford
Melvyn Bragg discusses Ernest Rutherford. He is seen as the father of nuclear science, a great charismatic figure who mapped the landscape of the sub-atomic world.
19 February 2004
Featuring: Simon Schaffer, Jim Al-Khalili, Patricia Fara
ScienceHonorary Fellows of the Royal Society of EdinburghPersons of National Historic Significance (Canada)Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences19th-century British physicistsKnights BachelorAcademics of the Victoria University of ManchesterBurials at Westminster AbbeyExperimental physicistsRecipients of Franklin MedalNobel laureates in ChemistryRecipients of the Copley MedalFellows of Trinity College, Cambridge20th-century British physicists, Members of the Pontifical Academy of SciencesRadio pioneersCorresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)Honorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci MedalBritish Nobel laureatesDiscoverers of chemical elementsRecipients of the Dalton MedalCavendish Professors of PhysicsMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyEnglish Nobel laureates20th-century British scientistsThe Curies
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the scientific achievements of the Curie family, Marie and Pierre and their daughter Irene Joliot-Curie, all three of whom won Nobel Prizes.
26 March 2015
Featuring: Patricia Fara, Robert Fox, Steven T Bramwell
HistoryFrench atheistsNobel laureates in PhysicsFrench Nobel laureatesFormer Roman CatholicsLegion of Honour refusalsBurials at the Panthéon, ParisExperimental physicistsCorresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesNaturalized citizens of FranceNobel laureates in ChemistryFrench women physicistsWomen Nobel laureatesAcademic staff of the University of ParisCorresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)Honorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci MedalDiscoverers of chemical elementsFrench agnostics19th-century French chemistsUniversity of Paris alumniWomen inventorsWomen nuclear physicists