What's element 100 called? Quick? It's fermium

The number 100 is a very significant one for human beings. It’s partly because our number system is based on ten – so ten tens seems to have a special significance. In years, it’s around the maximum lifetime of a human being, making a century more than just a useful division in the historical timeline. But in the natural world, 100 isn’t quite so important. There’s nothing about being element 100 that makes fermium stand out – the periodic table doesn’t attach any significance to base 10. But it’s hard not to think that fermium must be special in some way.

So find out if fermium is special in my latest addition to the Royal Society of Chemistry's series of podcasts Chemistry in its Element.

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

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Why I hate opera

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