Elements - Oxygen (O) - oxidation

The “element of life” also makes the air that we breathe a perilous and costly atmosphere in which to operate.
Prof Andrea Sella of University College London provides presenter Justin Rowlatt with a characteristically striking argument for why oxygen is so “incredibly dangerous”, and how its advent turned Planet Earth into a snowball.
Pawanexh Kohli, in charge of India’s national cold chain strategy, explains over a cup of chai why the oxygen needs of fresh vegetables and fresh meat are very different.
Physics polymath Baldev Raj unpicks the mystery of Delhi’s 1,600-year-old iron pillar, and explains just how damaging rust and corrosion can be.
And former “smoke-jumper” Frankie Romero explains the mesmerising attraction of wildfires, and why stamping them out isn’t always a good idea.
(Photo: Wildfire in Los Alerces National Park, Argentina; Credit: Emiliano La Salvia/AFP/Getty Images)

Published on Wednesday, 29th July 2015.

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