I was never very good at Chemistry. I cherry picked my way around it for the Junior Cert and didn’t take it for the Leaving Cert or as part of my science degree. I never really got beyond the three types of bond and the fact that electrons are in shells and that the amount of them on the outer shell is very important. I don’t think I ever considered Chemistry fun. However, I was really impressed by the work of the Chemistry department in the University of Nottingham when I stumbled across it last month. They have created a YouTube video about every single element in the periodic table! I’ve watched them all over the space of a few weeks (a few a day) and I learned a lot as well as being entertained. You get to see real chemists talking about the elements, as well as doing experiments with some (often involving explosions), and you get to see samples of most of them. Although I always knew what Gold and Silver looked like, I had no idea what Bismuth looked like! What’s also cook is that these videos are still being updated and expanded so you can watch the project grow.

You’ll find the periodic table of videos at www.periodicvideos.com. They also have a channel on YouTube where you can see all the videos and subscribe to their feed so you never miss an update!