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Phosphorus and Helium

Phosphorus and helium are two very different chemical elements with one big thing in common - one day the world could find them much more difficult to get hold of.

Helium and phosphorus are two very different elements of the periodic table. One is a highly reactive solid, the other a completely inert gas. Yet they have one big thing in common - mankind is frittering them away and could one day find them much more difficult to get hold of.

Without helium, the fight against cancer would become far more daunting. And a world without phosphorus... well, that hardly bears thinking about! We find out where we get these two critical elements from, and - far more disconcerting - where they end up.

And as for what can be done to conserve them? Listen to find out.

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27 minutes

Last on

Sun 16 Feb 2014 11:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Sun 16 Feb 2014 11:32GMT

Podcast