Periodic Videos

Periodic Videos, also known as The Periodic Table of Videos, is produced by the video journalist Brady Haran. It mainly features Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff and other chemists at the University of Nottingham.

The project began in 2008 with a video for every element in the periodic table. It has grown to include science news, interesting molecules and visits to labs and facilities. The style is informal and good-humoured, with real experiments and plenty of conversation. Videos are widely used in classrooms.

Some highlights include:

A visit inside a nuclear reactor explains how it works and how the fuel and radiation are controlled.

A look at uncut diamonds explains their structure and why carbon can form such a hard material.

An explanation of how plutonium is made, and why its production is so tightly controlled.

The channel has over 1.6 million subscribers.

This channel links chemistry to chemical, nuclear and materials engineering. Professor Poliakoff’s own research sits where chemistry meets engineering, in greener ways of making chemicals. It is also a UK-made channel, filmed at a UK university, which makes it a natural fit for students thinking about degrees here. The relaxed conversations with working scientists give an honest picture of life in a university lab. Teachers often use the short element videos as starters, and the longer features suit students wanting more depth.