Periodic Success: The Hidden Beauty of the Periodic Table

Join a guided tour of science’s most iconic image with chemical physicist and material scientist Jamie Gallagher, geek songstress Helen Arney and nanoscientist Suze Kundu.
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The periodic table is an emblem of science. Explosions, poisonings, space exploration and novelty Victoria parlour games are all contained within the chemist's favourite poster. Discover the stories and wonder behind the elements in this family-friendly talk.
Jamie Gallagher is a science communicator and part-time comic, touring the country with his own science shows while also working as the public engagement officer at the University of Glasgow.
He appears on BBC radio, has performed for Bright Club and speaks at various science festivals and comedy shows around the UK.
Helen Arney is a self-professed geek songstress, who writes maths and science-inspired comedy songs and performs across the UK.
Suze Kundu is a materials nanochemist, Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London, and science presenter.
This event was filmed at the Royal Institution on 19 February 2015.
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[@jorgethomson8788]

as a non-native english speaker i would really much appreciate to have subtitles available, even if they are just in english! also thinking of the hearing impaired community, it's weird that something as big as Ri can't put subtitles available in their videos, it would be a small gesture that would help your message get through so much easier!

[@athb4hu]

I understand what you mean, but personally, and I am English, I find Scottish accents far more pleasant than, say RP, and American is just gross.

[@jorgethomson8788]

Adrian Bury I'm not talking accents here, is not that i can't understand​, it's just that it would make it easier to, that's all.

[@bertaga41]

You can get subtitles from the 3dots on the right hand top corner under captions.

[@celtgunn9775]

On the right hand upper corner, there should be 3 dots. Click on it, then choose the very bottom option. It will give you the opportunity to choose captions. That should fix your problems. I speak English, but I am Scottish descent and find his accent very pleasant.

[@HanrongTham]

Loved it! Kudos to Jamie, Suze and Helen.

[@MikkoHaavisto1]

I was wondering what kind of ailments he is talking about.

[@thedelta88]

he's totally saying ailment.

[@jadpapi]

LOL

[@athb4hu]

No, he is saying elements, it's just that he's Scottish, and personnally I think his accent is lovely.

[@judith8161]

Helen Arney really rocks it, yeah!

[@SaloniMistry.Gotilo]

This session was absolutely underrated

[@filthyfilter2798]

slightly cringy when she sinks but WHAT AN AMAZING SPEACH!!! i almost cry :'D

[@filthyfilter2798]

althought the second song was fun :D

[@farlahore]

Beautifully engage almost everyone specially the kids! Liked it will definitely have a lasting impact on the young. thanks a lot Ri and the learned presenters lots of respect for you all.

[@Archangelm127]

Jamie to kid: You're now Sodium! Me to screen: Don't dunk him in water!

[@sidarthur8706]

just don't do that to any child as a general rule

[@nohatarek6153]

If only all of the education at schools are provided like this, the world would be so much different!

[@blenderpanzi]

Oh he says elements! I always understood ailment and wondered what he was talking about. (My native language isn't English.)

[@lovethepnw]

I love this! Thank you so much for your intelligence and time and creativeness. I love your accent. I love your timing. This is the way to reach people about a subject that many people shy away from..

[@ashoknaganur8551]

Nice information of periodic table

[@DavidDavida]

So Is Carbon a MultiplePersonality Analogy In Biology?

[@albertdumont4977]

would you please active automatic subtitles ? I can read english but struggle in listening yet.

[@MrChemistt]

If someone at the RI could just ask him where he got that shirt, that'd be great.

[@jamiegallagher8591]

MrChemistt Hi, it was from ThinkGeek, It is the electron configuration of radium but I'm not sure they still sell it.

[@ZealousHangar]

,luxury them the iLife Raise's y

[@bensubendran5363]

one Atomic mass unit (amu)is not 12 carbon as Suze Kundu said. 1 amu weighs 1/12 th of a Carbon-12 atom(17:51).

[@IceBrys]

This is in fact what she said. Thank you for pointing this out

[@novajohansson3194]

He's mixing up Big Bertha and the Paris Gun, showing a picture of the former but giving info about the latter.

[@erictaylor5462]

1:13:45 Tom Lehrer would be proud!

[@tncorgi92]

That backdrop always makes me think of Q*bert.

[@DavidDavida]

whats If we slant The table ..

[@Semtx552]

@6:50 & @7:17 adding an electron? that should be proton. or am I wrong?

[@knampf9779]

I know the answer is late but it's both an electron and a proton. Which element it is is defined by the amount of protons. In its natural state, an element has as many protons as electrons. How "big" in size the atom is heavily depends on the amount of electrons because there is much more space. A whole hydrogen atom for example (protons and electrons) is about 100 thousand times as wide as only the proton core. Imagine an atom as big as a football stadium. Then the proton core (nucleus) would just be as big as a marble. The rest would be the space preserved for the electrons. The electrons themself are smaller than protons.

[@user-tf6pg7jj6c]

The best think of the video is the contact with the students and is kind of interesting. But the level of the information is very low, almost everithing i already knew. And it is too childish, i know that there were too much children in the public, but still think you over do it, the games were too simple and unpurposing. It was more kindergarden party show than a lecture fot the periodic table. The begining was very promising, especially the game with envelopes, but i am dissapointed from the rest. I was expecting serious university lecture with the participation of the students. And still i think the video will be interesting and informative for children under 12, but not for adults.

[@jamiegallagher8591]

Hi, sorry you weren't keen. It was designed to be a family friendly event for 7+ so we weren't really targeting adults this time around.

[@oliviasvahn4090]

Петър Петров i

[@kurtbjorn]

What prompted me to a chemistry degree was the day in high school, when I finally understood how the periodic table order and organization related to THE FILLING OF ELECTRON ORBITALS. If it's just mass, you could have them all in a row, 1 - 110+ But the jagged and odd structure of the table relates to electron orbitals, not just mass, and it is the electrons that define ALL of chemistry; mass has almost nothing to do with it. They didn't touch on this. Oh well, it did seem directed at kids.

[@lesbooth9454]

Петър Петров I agree I can see why our kids are struggling with education he's hopping around like he's on speed he's probably got to do 15 shows a day most of these kids learned absolutely nothing they walked out with the same understanding is they want in with

[@SS-bi5hr]

What can we say in seminar on Periodic table of chemical elements impact on human welfare

[@pranjalpal8626]

You are talking bout national science seminar huhhh

[@SS-bi5hr]

@@pranjalpal8626 yeah what do you think??

[@erictaylor5462]

1:10:00 If a 3-year-old can do it, surely a person with a PhD should have no trouble at all. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4TEk42ee8Z1Y68

[@rohitchat5538]

❤️❤️🙏🙏❤️❤️👏👏

[@quill444]

By age sixty, most of us will have way more AILMENTS 0:42 than you have listed on that chart! - j q t -

[@Kreller4241]

I don't usually post more than one comment, but.... what he has said about the elemental composition of stars is so misleading. The colors of stars (if you don't disperse the light according to wavelength with a spectrometer) is indicative of the temperature of the star. Only if you disperse the radiation into separate wavelengths can you see what kinds of atoms are in the region of the star that is emitting radiation. Also, the stars are not 'burning' any elements, which implies combustion. The energy is given off by fusion reactions. I know it's a general audience, but a person of a high enough caliber to be trusted with a Royal Institution audience should be more exact. This is constructive criticism. Science is not a 'mutual admiration society'. I'd have a beer with him.

[@sockington1]

what is he saying ?

[@Kreller4241]

I am very surprised that this lecturer would imply more than once that the elements on the right of the periodic table are physically large. I think it's better to say that they are 'higher' elements, with more and more protons in the nucleus and more electrons around the nucleus (balanced electric charge), but in reality, the atoms become smaller when you go across a period. It is a very clear trend from Li to Ne. It is an effective nuclear charge issue. No chemistry instructor is perfect (I am a perfect example..), but when he talks about physical size increasing across a period, it made me cringe. If he knows so much about the periodic table, why couldn't he be more clear, or at least less misleading?

[@wierdalien1]

David Kreller the mass does increase left to right and they do get bigger in that sense. the further down the groups the less the electronegativity pulls in the shells.

[@darrenmarchant1720]

carbon is fantastic I am grateful that I am alive because of carbon!

[@DanielKarbach]

Nobody doesn't like Molten Boron

[@MrCGangsta]

what dialekt is this irish ?

[@jamiegallagher8591]

It's Scottish, Glaswegian.

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

it's called english...a dialect that hasn't been spoken in the uSA for at least 150 years..

[@MrCGangsta]

not everything is about the united states .... Wim V

[@mariaobrien8228]

Raft koby no it’s Scottish you ignorant fool

[@buckding7169]

After watching this I know awesome is not an element but jeez guys we need to stick it in there somewhere!

[@vincentzimmerman2011]

Dmitri Mendeleev, the bastard who made one of my science classes totally miserable!!!

[@major_kukri2430]

Nice lecture. The singing lady was kind of annoying though.