The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements

The ancient Greeks believed that life was comprised of four elements: air, water, fire, and earth. We now know that the physical world is actually made up of over 100 elements, arranged in what is called the periodic table, a simple chart that took hundreds of years of hard effort to compile. Hosted by Michael Emerson, filmmakers Muffie Meyer and Stephen Lyons' PBS-aired documentary miniseries reviews the epic quest to both discover the elements and organize them into a logical system. Although alchemists vainly tried to transmute common minerals into gold, more productive transformations were made by 18th-century scientists and amateurs, who shared information and performed what some dismissed as "parlor tricks." Joseph Priestley, a minister and science enthusiast, studied gases, notably carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Injecting bubbly carbonation into drinks, he created the "windy water" that is now commonly used in soft drinks. Antoine Lavoisier, a tax official with a passion for chemistry, discovered 33 new elements, aided by his young wife. Humphry Davy, still only in his early 20s, pursued inquiry to the point of recklessness, risking death while performing experiments on himself. He stumbled on nitrous oxide—“laughing gas"—noting its potential for pain relief, but failing to follow up on its anesthetic properties. Other major figures include Dmitri Mendeleev, the Russian who essentially created the modern periodic table; Marie Curie, whose discovery of radium led to a Nobel Prize (she was stricken by aplastic anemia brought on by radiation exposure); and Harry Moseley, who made brilliant discoveries about nuclear fission, but died early on the World War I battlefield of Gallipoli. Nicely balancing science with human interest stories, the series includes comments from the late Dr. Oliver Sacks. Extras include bonus segments. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)