Investigating the World's Elements | BBC Earth Science

This paragraph provides an overview of where gold comes from and how it is formed in stars through nuclear fusion. It highlights gold's rarity in the universe and its significance for humans across history, being used in currency, artifacts, jewelry and electronics. The paragraph notes that gold's origins extend back billions of years to supernovae, and traces the element through recycling and use across human civilizations.

This paragraph focuses on modern gold rushes and their social and environmental impacts. It contrasts the 1848 California gold rush, which led to development but also conflict and harm to Indigenous populations, with present-day gold mining in the Amazon rainforest, which has caused deforestation. The paragraph emphasizes the human and ecological costs that have accompanied major gold discoveries globally.

This paragraph discusses how scientists like Isaac Newton tried unsuccessfully to create gold artificially through alchemy. It notes that producing gold atom-by-atom with a particle accelerator remains extremely slow and energy-intensive. Potential future sources could include extracting gold from seawater or asteroids, but practical challenges around mining in space and oceans exist.

This paragraph provides an overview of helium's rarity on Earth and essential modern uses, from MRI machines to space exploration, despite an impending shortage as supplies diminish. It notes that most helium today is derived as a byproduct of natural gas extraction. The paragraph also explains helium's unique properties that allow it to escape Earth's atmosphere.

This paragraph traces the history of helium extraction in the US and privatization leading to shortages. It provides the example of University of Nebraska football releasing thousands of helium balloons, now halted for conservation. The paragraph contrasts balloon usage with helium's scientific importance, arguing it should be shared judiciously.

This paragraph focuses on helium-3, a rare isotope on Earth but abundant on the Moon, as a potential fuel for nuclear fusion. But mining the Moon for helium-3 raises environmental concerns similar to resource extraction on Earth. The paragraph also explains how nuclear fusion with helium-3 could provide clean energy, in contrast to current fission techniques.

This paragraph focuses on the significance of reactive nitrogen for life and the Haber-Bosch process that enabled large-scale fertilizer production. It notes that half the global population depends on this invention but also that nitrogen pollution from fertilizers and fossil fuels causes environmental and health problems.

This paragraph suggests that nitrogen pollution could serve as a biosignature that reveals the presence of life on other planets. Since humans use reactive nitrogen intensively for agriculture and industry in ways that impact our atmosphere, nitrogen pollution accumulating in an exoplanet's atmosphere could signal advanced alien civilizations.

This paragraph examines the speculative practice of cryonics, preserving bodies in liquid nitrogen at very low temperatures in hopes of future reanimation. It notes the challenges of reviving frozen tissues, profiles a scientist who plans to freeze his head, and discusses cryonics as an attempt at immortality between life and death.

This paragraph overviews how phosphorus forms in supernovae but is rare on Earth. It explains phosphorus' essential biochemical role for all lifeforms. But human disruption of phosphorus cycles through agriculture and poor waste management is polluting waters with algal blooms and exacerbating food security challenges.