Neptunium - the element with a name issue

Here we go with another element. My latest addition to the Royal Society of Chemistry's series of podcasts Chemistry in its Element is live and it's all about Neptunium, element 93.

We’re so familiar with uranium and plutonium that it’s easy to miss that they are named after the seventh and ninth planets of the solar system. (At least, Pluto was the ninth planet until it was stripped of its status in 2006.) Between those planets sits Neptune, and the gap between the two elements leaves a space for their relatively unsung cousin, neptunium – element number 93 in the periodic table.

Take a listen, or select it in from the list of my element podcasts below:

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Why I hate opera

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