Hydrogen
Joanna Buckley
All alone and fearfully unstable,
A gas atop the Periodic Table.
As tiny bubbles, you were barely viewed,
Until years later we could finally conclude
You were a unique gas all along,
And Boyle and Paracelsus were both proved wrong.
Fame and recognition were your real wish,
Bestowed on you by Henry Cavendish.
For one so small, you’re so diverse,
The most abundant element in our universe.
With an atomic mass of 1.008,
You reacted with oxygen whilst trying to inflate
The Hindenberg airship and keep it afloat,
Which lead to your most infamous anecdote.
A mistake, sadly, you couldn’t repeat
And for that application, you’re now obsolete.
Today, in fuel cells you’re novel and green
And help to form fats found in margarine.
You help make fertiliser, drugs and plastic,
As elements go, you’re rather fantastic.
You’re also used to make large sheets of glass,
Because of your protective atmosphere, and tiny mass.
I’ve only scratched the surface of your potential,
For one so small, you’re completely essential!
About the Author
I’m Jo and I work for the Royal Society of Chemistry and teach in the Kroto Schools Lab in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I enjoy sharing my love of food chemistry here www.sheffield.ac.uk/chemistry/edibleexperiments
I’m a Chocolate Orange hoarding gym addict who enjoys cricket, artisan gin, touring car racing and long-distance swimming. I have an 85-year-old tortoise called Fred who wreaks havoc when the weather is warm!
Helium
Amanda Fray
Although its taste, colour and odour are none,
With high voltage its colour emulates the Sun.
Reddish Orange, at this point, non toxic and inert,
Unlike Helios’ radiant crown and fire darting steeds, himself no introvert.
Its yellow spectral line was what Lockyer saw and named,
Second lightest, second abundant, atomic number 2 is how this element is framed.
About the Author
I’m Amanda and I’m the Student Support Assistant in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I love Shakespeare and all things Renaissance!
Lithium
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Beryllium
Soneni Ndlovu
I am a life- changer
Mixed with copper, or nickel, I elevate their conductive abilities.
Situated in the second period of the second group, I am neither silver nor white,
Just found in between,
Several different mineral species
I am soft and light weight,
Though beware, I am heavy weight,
When it comes to toxicity.
Inhalation comes with inflammation,
But I am not all bad,
I am a transparent reflector
The x-factor for any x-ray
About the Author
I’m Soneni, a fourth year MChem student who originally comes from South Africa. I spent last year in industry with Scott Bader making polymeric thickeners. I’m passionate about all things Chemistry. I laugh a lot and never take myself too seriously.
Boron
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Carbon
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Nitrogen
Tony Ryan
The farmers of 1902
Were lacking supplies of bird poo
They needed a fix
New Nitrogen tricks
Fritz Haber knew just what to do.
About the Author
Oxygen
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Fluorine
PRIYANKA CHOHAN
I am a halogen.
A pale yellow-green gas who’s dangerously reactive,
With a pungent smell that’s definitely not attractive.
Derived from the Latin word fluere, meaning to flow,
I’m a rare find-being so difficult to discover you know.
Many have tried and failed in the past,
But Henri Moissan got me at last.
It was 1886 when I was finally freed,
Isolated by KHF2 in liquid HF-it took a while indeed!
I can launch you to space as I’m in your fuel,
As I’m highly explosive, but that’s what’s so cool!
I’m in your toothpaste and water supply too,
I’ll fight those cavities despite the controversial view.
I have many uses-I’m world famous you see,
The title for world’s most slippery solid goes to PTFE.
I am fluorine.
About the Author
I’m Priyanka, a second year Undergraduate student studying Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I love to get involved with anything creative but don’t usually write poems, so here goes!
Neon
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Sodium
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Magnesium
Adrien Chauvet
Like the jewel in the middle of the chlorophyll crown,
You enable photosynthesis.
And besides giving plants their pretty green tone,
You have many health advantages.
Indispensable for building neurons and bone,
You prevent heart diseases.
Even as a building material, you’re light and strong,
I can’t give you enough emphasis.
I do exalt when looking at you in the sky at dawn,
In fireworks and artifices.
But it is in the lab, when I shine at you photon,
That you revealed your inner most mysteries.
About the Author
I’m Adrien and I’m a physical chemistry lecturer at the University of Sheffield. I am fascinated by nature and always want to know how things work. Whether it is at the macro-, cellular or atomic level, it’s the goal of my research group to learn from nature with the hope that it will help us face today’s grand challenges (food, energy, health). In this aim, I use high power lasers to make molecule speak and to control diverse chemical reactions.
Aluminium
Sharon Jia
After protecting the steak in your oven
Litter bin of recycling waste is its heaven
Up to 8.1％ of the crust occupied by it though
More expensive than gold 200 years before
In the form of ruby the price is still high in modern time
Noble in concentrated sulfuric acid because its surface is oxidised
Insane during the redox reaction with iron oxide
Used widely from soft drink cans to aeroplanes as it is ductile
Metal name can be found from the initial of each line.
About the Author
I’m Sharon and I’m a third-year undergraduate in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. My hobbies include travelling, handcraft and deduction.
Silicon
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Phosphorus
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Sulfur
Mike Weir
This is a poem for sulfur
A dazzling story to write
An element known since prehistory
Now useful in harvesting light
In stories of fire and brimstone
And smouldering visions of hell
Sulfur is blamed for creating a stink
But only its compounds smell
In human minds since antiquity
The alchemists valued it dearly
They uncovered a few of its secrets
But chemistry now sees it clearly
Sulfur burns bright in the faces
In the subjects of old photographs
A reaction called the barking dog
And its startling sulfurous flash
Now, if sulfur should react with lead
(an ancient substance too)
And form the appropriate crystal
There are incredible things we can do
We’ll need some other molecules
Semiconductors in fact
And build some crazy structures
That keep the lead sufhide intact
If the energy levels are optimal
(I won’t try and rhyme how that’s done)
The proper arrangement of crystals
Harvest light from our very own Sun
This poem is therefore a story of how
A sustainable trick has been learned
From the sum of humankind’s knowledge
Of the yellow stone that burns.
About the Author
I’m Mike and I’m a post-doc in the Department of Physics and Astronomy working on coatings to improve the efficiency of solar cells, along with my excellent colleague Dr. Dan Toolan in the Department of Chemistry. In my research, I like to use X-rays and neutrons to look inside materials and see what makes them up. I once took to my guitar to sing a polymer song under my mysterious alter ego, Mike Monomer. (It’s on YouTube!)
Chlorine
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Argon
Hubert Buksa
(Sulfuric acid) Rain or (UV) shine, cold temperatures or hot,
argon is bovvered not.
When everyone is studying but you are not,
chill out like argon and inertly float.
About the Author
I’m Hubert and I’m studying for an MChem in Chemistry with a Year in Industry at The University of Sheffield. I love eating all the time!
Potassium
Jonny Gregg
Potassium metal, silver and soft,
curiously burns with a lilac glow.
The nature of this is considered oft,
the 4s1 electron makes it so.
Group 1 row 4, potassium features,
denoted by the single letter K.
Ubiquitous in all living creatures,
vital to keep kidney disease at bay.
19 protons comprise its centre
with 20 electrons to separate charge.
Isolated by Davy, inventor.
An incredible chemist, by and large.
One last point to this sonnet I will add;
potassium benzoate – that’s bad!
About the Author
I’m Jonny and I’m a PhD student researching polyurethanes for use in adhesives, with an aim of making them easily reusable. I have the same birthday as Bilbo Baggins!
Calcium
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Scandium
Ellen Wilson
When Nilson found me in 1879 there’s no way he would’ve guessed,
That in decades to come, as an alloy, I’d be used in fighter jets.
He couldn’t have imagined a film crew, shooting movies all through the night,
Mixing me with mercury vapours to bring out colours without sunlight,
Or using my radioactive isotope for oil pipe leak detection,
Added to the mix during oil refining to monitor each fraction.
But Mendeley spotted my gap, in row four, after calcium,
For one with 45 protons- I fit the bill, it’s the place for Scandium.
About the Author
I’m Ellen and I’m a first year PhD student in the Ryan-Mykaylyk group, making and characterising hybrid polymer particles for Dulux paint. I’m originally from the Isle of Man and along with my husband, we’re both permanent Sheffield residents as we love the city. It’s ideal for all my hobbies- trail running, hiking in the peaks and playing with Stannington Brass Band.
Titanium
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Vanadium
Callum Johnston
Colourful – both literally and figuratively.
A silent part of everyday life,
an unsung hero
No surprise then,
It’s named after a Greek goddess.
Its range and versatility
takes my breath away
quite literally;
vanadium causes lung defects.
About the Author
I’m Callum and I’m a 4th year undergrad chemist at the University of Sheffield. In my spare time I play bass and paint.
Chromium
Melody Obeng
Named after the Greek name Chroma,
This element is nothing short of a borer.
It was discovered by the French chemist, Nicholas. Vauquelin,
He was intrigued by the minerals bright red gleam.
Today, we understand that he saw a form of lead chromate,
The toxic compound he used to isolate…
Chromium.
About the Author
I’m Melody, an epoxy resin researcher with a background in biomedical materials science. Outside of the lab, I’m an avid reader of African literature, karaoke enthusiast and a foodie at heart.
Manganese
Helen Teasdale
I’ll give you several clues to identify me,
number one is that I’m in block d.
First isolated by a Swedish Man,
a chemist named Johan Gottlieb Gahn
Discovered prior though by Carl Wilhelm Scheele,
and I’m a brittle solid at STP.
Fifth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust,
and for the majority of enzymes I’m absolute must.
Used throughout history to make colourless glass,
and more modernly fixing sulfur in steel – I’m top class
Most stable as an isotope with atomic number 55,
I’m difficult to fuse but easy to oxidize.
Through photosynthesis, your atmosphere I help restore,
Find me in Mendeleev table – group 7, period 4.
If you haven’t guessed me yet here the final clue,
my electron configuration is [Ar] 3d5 4s2
There is 118 elements to name as you please,
but I am the one and only the mighty Manganese.
About the Author
I’m Helen and I’m a West Cumbrian, outdoorsy, Widening Participation Officer for The Faculty of Science at the University of Sheffield. In my spare time I chase a rugby ball for Featherstone Rovers RFLC and bake a lot of cake!
Iron
Annabelle Mirfield
Iron is the strongest metal
Rust is what I do
Old, I date back to 1200BC
Nobody can live without me, I am used more than any other metal
About the Author
I’m Annabelle. I’m 9 years old and I go to Grenoside Primary School, in Sheffield. I love science and I really want a pet dog!
Cobalt
Niall Ward-O’Brien
The first metal discovered by modern science was cobalt, in 1735
But its history runs much earlier, from China to Rome to Egypt
It is not hard to imagine the wonder of our ancestors when they first saw its vivid blue,
Staining glass or pottery.
Cobalt means ‘goblin’ in the tongue of German miners,
Maybe for its habit of ruining their silver,
Or for belching arsenic fumes when smelted,
The goblin waited beneath the earth in cattierite or glaucodot, in Saxony and Buskerud,
To be sintered with alumina or quartz, to make Cobalt Blue or smalt
Now, though, the goblin is all around us – in magnets, batteries, hip replacements
Now, we need more.
Now, beneath the Congolese hills, child miners delve deep, or cut trenches
Or dredge the mineral slurry,
For precious grains of his ore, to feed our ever-growing hunger.
Tech firms say they are responsible purchasers:
Apple is the ‘industry leader’
Microsoft ‘doesn’t tolerate child labour’
Samsung is ‘mapping their supply chain’
But in the markets of the DRC, one sack of ore looks much like another
And their middlemen are not paid to be discerning.
Humans have always desired the goblin’s powers:
His blue pigments for our porcelain and glass,
To make gamma rays or for electroplating;
He powers our electric cars, he hardens our turbine blades
He gives us our cheap plastic bottles and strips sulfur from our fuel
But for these services he has always asked a price.
As we drive towards a green future – of electric cars and cheap smartphones, powered by lithium-cobalt batteries
We should consider – who will pay the goblin’s fee?
About the Author
I’m Niall and I’m a PhD student in Tony Ryan’s research group. I’m working on improving alcohol-based foams for hand hygiene by studying the behaviour of soap films. In my spare time I play the saxophone, climb and write about music on the Internet.
Nickel
Huda Hassan Dasuki
The thought of nickel feels me with awe its promising strength, lustre and grace.
Though a traitor to his own people he may seem, but Mond paved the way to its gleam for the world.
Through thick and thin together they toiled but alas came aboard its carbonyl form.
Nickel carbonyl as fierce as it is, yet fragile, shattering into bits by bit.
So CAUTION is the word here, be on guard.
Held with contempt in women’s world, the nickel jewellery no matter how it looks,
The metal on its own is a joy to be reckoned,
‘Cause a catalytic amount goes a very long way, stitching bits of carbon chains.
The alloys of nickel have promising traits like invar and monel just to mention but a few.
The memory metal is humble in its right never forgetting its original form.
Not a push nor a pull, a squeeze or a twist wow what great tensile strength it has!
So remember this dear when next you fly.
The friendship of nickel, aluminium and boron,
makes super alloys in aircrafts so light though tough,
and rocket turbines smile with might.
About the Author
I’m Huda from Kano, Nigeria. A mother of 3 wonderful girls and 2 amazing boys. Doing my PhD in Prof. Simon Jones group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I’m trying my luck with asymmetric catalysis to replicate nature’s wonders in laboratory flasks.
Copper
Joe Harrity
I see you Cu
A red-head in your element
A catalyst for change
A soft centred soul who
lives with silver and gold
About the Author
I’m Joe and I’m Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. In my spare time I enjoy cooking and convincing my two daughters that they don’t actually need a pet.
Zinc
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Gallium
Beth Ritchie
Discovered in Paris in 1875,
Gallium is more useful than some may realise,
The element is used in high temperature thermometers,
And even had its uses for Italian astronomers,
Studying neutrinos, while looking at the stars,
Or in the solar panels of the rover on Mars,
The element has semiconducting properties,
So it’s used in mobile phones, and in LED’s,
Every single element has its own story,
And that is Gallium, in all of its glory!
About the Author
I’m Beth. I’m a first year PhD student in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I recently SCUBA dived in the Red Sea!
Germanium
Xander Praet
The depths give this frail ore
Which helps us see considerably more
In the dark, luminous bulbs fluoresce
Light rays arch, silverware tarnish less
Though in presence it is not galore
About the Author
I’m Xander and I’m a PhD Researcher in the Slark Group, from Belgium. I enjoy rugby and surfing and my pastimes include technology, classical music, watching films and making them.
Arsenic
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Selenium
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Bromine
Lukas Jasaitis
Liquid state at twenty
Fiery sky in your eye
Bromine persists in your nose
About the Author
I’m Lukas and I am a fourth (final) year PhD student in the Department of Chemistry at the University Of Sheffield. I am actually a biologist spy!
Krypton
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Rubidium
Harry Robson
There was an element rubidium
It’s abundance ninety per million
It melts in a bath
But don’t follow this path
It will not find equilibrium
About the Author
I’m Harry and I’m a PhD student researching organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), with a focus on their synthesis. I really like pies, and always have done. In my late teens, I spent all my pocket money on them!
Strontium
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Yttrium
Dan Reader
Flames in air
It is not so rare
Dug from the earth
Yet of stellar birth
With Swedish heritage
And strontium parentage
But German extractor
Named Friedrich Wohler
More common than silver
It is no friend of the jeweller
Superconducts with barium
Element number 39, yttrium
About the Author
I’m Dan and I’m studying for a PhD in biomedical chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. In my spare time, I really enjoy scuba diving.
Zirconium
Sara Meijer
Sparkling and shining,
Silver grey and hard to melt
Used as fake diamonds
About the Author
I’m Sara, also known as Rowan and I’m a student. I love reading and one of my favourite authors is Brandon Sanderson.
Niobium
Devanshi Singh
There is an element called Niobium,
Who suffered because nobody had heard of him.
With great dismay,
He went to the doc yesterday,
And was told he was like Tantalium!
On a serious note,
I am kind hearted, strong minded Niobium,
Or call me beautiful ‘Columbium’.
With wings of inspiration, flying high,
Celebrating my success, beaming with joy.
Try to match it,
All thanks to Charles Hatchett!
About the Author
I’m Devanshi, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. Currently, designing a polymer matrix consisting of reversible networks along with highly functional polymers towards sustainable applications. Applying the 4 Rs of sustainability-Reduce, Reuse, Re-manufacture and Recycle! Yorkshire lass in the making!
Molybdenum
Evelin Csanyi
Scheele first said
I’m not your common graphite
Lead may have my looks
but I melt at higher Fahrenheits
Who am I? Simply –
A catalyst of lives
without me evolution
would not have thrived
one could say
42 is truly the answer to life.
Yet much of my time
I spent singing lullabies
of missiles,
to put the art in artillery
hidden role in history –
Forcing Constantinople
on its knees
with gunpowder and blood
a cannon with a price tag
I have led the way
out of the medieval sieging wars.
Who am I?
Underappreciated metal
until steel failed to provide:
I sailed the Atlantic sea
to strengthen the bones
of a high temperature
mass destruction device –
Before me, Big Bertha
was still infant and fragile.
Fighting on both sides
I have been the blade,
the bullet and the projectile
for my alloys aided allies
under tired busy hands
before the 9-5 . 95
million Reichsmarks
have marked my price.
Who am I?
I was there in every sigh
behind boastful smiles
and fearful eyes
in trace amounts
for without me
you cannot survive
my request to you is
to use Molybdenum
for engines, lubricants or satellites,
A vessel of damage – I won’t allow –
It is time
to take off the camouflage.
About the Author
I’m Evelin and I’m a PhD researcher in the Leggett Group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield, working in nanochemistry. I enjoy nature, hiking and getting my friends to sign up to things with me for fun.
Technetium
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Ruthenium
Charlotte Kiker
Rare is the Russian named ruthenium,
Unknown to the universe until the,
Time that it was tumbled upon,
Hardening platinum and palladium
Ensures its continued extraction from
Nickel refining.
Ingenious is ruthenium
Unlike any other
Metal
About the Author
I’m Charlotte. I work for the Thomas group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield and we all work on making ruthenium complexes. I write poetry in my spare time and love art.
Rhodium
Simon Fawcett
Rhodium, rhodium, wherefore art thou rhodium?
While palladium did William Hyde Wollaston seek,
Instead he found some metal chloride and sodium
Together as an ore so red that he named it rose in Greek.
However once alone, red no longer is shown,
Brilliance in shine and tarnishing it resists,
Earth’s rarest precious metal often seen on a throne,
Rhodium, the perfect metal to adorn one’s wrists.
Great heat is required to melt this noble metal,
Found within automobiles in quantities catalytic,
Best put to use when preventing fumes that settle,
The reduction of nitrogen oxide, which to breathe would be impolitic.
So when next breathing fresh air that keeps one alive,
Give thanks to the element, atomic number 45.
About the Author
I’m Simon and I’m a 2nd year PhD student studying reversible adhesives to enable recycling. Originally from the North East of England, I enjoy sports, travelling and art.
Palladium
Pyo Lee
I am all around
I protect life on earth
from harmful gases
I am all around
hydrocarbon
carbon monoxide
nitrogen dioxide
I purify all that nasty stuff
into less noxious gases
I am all around
In each and every car
In their catalytic converters
Even though you are not really aware of me
I will be there for you
‘til you don’t need me anymore
‘til we don’t use fossil fuel anymore
About the Author
I’m Pyo and I’m currently working for Unilever as part of my degree in chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I have a huge interest in fragrance chemistry. I love cooking, climbing, animals, nature and beer!
Silver
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Cadmium
Jasmine Malee
they called you mad for trying to save me
you may as well save me with poison
cover my face with metals and alloys and
let everyone know of your remedy
let us hope this is a form of medicine
not myrrh
and before it’s exhausted
brandish righteously your strigil
lest the poison penetrate my skin
and forever mar your gifted idyll
i trust that you’re not carelessly caustic
so keep my blue complexion pure
About the Author
I’m Jasmine and I’m a 2nd year BSc chemistry student at the University of Sheffield, originally from Stratford-Upon-Avon. I spend my free time writing love poetry and playing quidditch. I still dab!
Indium
Csilla György
A colour-blind German chemist, Reich discovered my existence,
By asking his selfish colleague, Richter for assistance.
A small piece of zincblende was analysed by spectroscopy,
where a blue line within the green helped them to find me.
During the Second World War, I was used in aircraft,
Nowadays, I’m mainly found in indium tin oxide.
It is not just transparent but conduct electricity,
that is why it deserves to be in your LCD TV.
At very low temperature I can preserve my softness
which makes me a perfect choice for high vacuum systems.
A noble metal, platinum is often alloyed with me
As a small amount of indium improves its property.
About the Author
I’m Csilla and I’m from Budapest. I’m a second year PhD student in the Armes group and my project is about making diblock copolymer nanoparticles via RAFT PISA for lubricant additives. I’m not very good at cooking! During the first morning when I moved into my flat in Sheffield, I woke up all my neighbours with the smoke alarm when I tried to make my breakfast. As people say, first impressions are important…
Tin
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Antimony
Jona Foster
Stibium as she used to be known,
Felt it was a name that she had outgrown,
You see she’d been a recluse,
Until she met Bruce,
And now she is ‘against being alone’.
Or if that sounds a bit too vanilla,
There’s a tale that is more of a thriller,
Of how she changed her name,
When she came to fame,
As the notorious ‘monk killer’.
Perhaps the real mystery,
Of this elements long history,
Is why she insists,
On appearing on lists,
By her former initials “Sb”.
About the Author
I’m Jona and I’m a lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. My research group is pioneering a new class of graphene-like 2D materials called ‘metal-organic nanosheets’ (MONs) and exploring their use in sensing, catalysis, solar cells and water purification. I love nothing more than scrambling about on rocks with my two sons in the glorious Sheffield countryside.
Tellurium
Kezia Sasitharan
Abundant in the Universe,
rare in the Earth’s crust;
My volatile hydrides disperse.
And escape as gas, into space and are lost.
Commonly found in mines of gold,
As gold telluride;
If humans to me get accidentally exposed,
I metabolize as dimethyl telluride.
Silvery-white when crystalline,
And when amorphous, black brown;
Fungi can use me as Telluro-cysteine,
My polymorphs sparked a gold rush in the mining town.
Principally sourced from copper refining,
I love forming interesting Zintl ions;
My native crystals – lustrous and shining,
When combined with Selenium, I form interchalcogen cations.
Used in machinable parts,
I make alloys- strong;
In nature, I assemble on quartz,
In industry, I enable products live-long.
My biggest contribution,
Is the difference I made in solar panel advancement;
Cadmium telluride- the solution,
To stability and efficiency enhancement.
Cd-Zn-Te X-Ray detectors,
And a whole new range of thermo-electric device capabilities;
Acousto-optic modulators,
Thus keep expanding my abilities.
I am atomic number 52-Tellurium,
And this is my story;
Me and my best friends – Cadmium and Selenium,
On our path to revolutionize semiconductor Industry.
About the Author
I’m Kezia and I’m a final year PhD student in the Foster Group in Chemistry at the University of Sheffield working on new generation 2D nano-materials for organic photovoltaics. When I’m not testing new solar cell prototypes, I love to sing, cook and travel.
Iodine
Julie Hyde
There is a purple element called iodine
But let me take you back to when it was first seen
Discovered by Bernard Courtois in Paris
Trying to make salt petre he instead made this
Looking to use the potassium in seaweed
To make the salt petre that the people would need
Adding acid to seaweed he had a surprise
A purple vapour appeared right before his eyes
Which condensed to crystals of metallic lustre
To work out what it was took all he could muster
A new element they chose to call iodine
As purple, in Greek, is what iodine does mean
And iodine also helps with our protection
An antiseptic that can prevent infection
Iodine helps with the function of the thyroid
Which is key to many illnesses you avoid
Now I come to the end of this iodine rhyme
Solid, purple vapour, solid. It is sublime!
Written by Julie and an anonymous contributor!
About the Author
I’m Julie and I’m a Senior University Teacher in Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I am passionate about teaching chemistry and have recently been awarded a National Teaching Fellow fellowship and in my spare time, I’m involved with the Royal Society of Chemistry, delivering many external public and outreach activities. I love purple! I deliver a “Perkins Purple” lecture, have a purple office and a purple car and some students even call me the “Purple Professor” – I have not changed colour yet… Iodine was the perfect element for me!
Xenon
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Caesium
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Barium
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Hafnium
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Tantalum
Will McMahon
Tantalum can fix your skull,
Its other uses are kind of dull.
This element, found in the back of your phone,
Can also be used to replace your bone.
Often found at the tip of a rocket,
As well as part of a capacitor in your plug socket
About the Author
I’m Will and I’m a first year undergraduate In the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. In my free time, I enjoy rock climbing out in the Peak District as well as watching Formula 1 at the weekends.
Tungsten
Debbie Hammond
My high strength alloys are the engineers darling,
For blades tipped with tungsten have teeth that are snarling.
In argon and helium, I can help you to weld.
Or be a life proof wedding ring to promise you’ll be held.
But my light bulb filaments have long been replaced,
As more heat than light is seen as a waste
About the Author
I’m Debbie and I’m the experimental officer for the surface analysis facility at the University of Sheffield. I’m an enthusiastic Scottish country dancer and fiddler.
Rhenium
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Osmium
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Iridium
Matt Ball-Jones
There once was the man Smithson Tennant
Who discovered a new metal element
The second densest they claim
And iridium’s the name
Its inertness is particularly evident
About the Author
I’m Matt and I’m a post-doctoral research assistant in synthetic organic chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield, looking at the formation of novel organoboron compounds. I pursued a career in my field of least incompetence after many hours of inspiring undergraduate lectures by Dr. Andy Russell (Reading).
Platinum
Anna Newman
Named “little silver” but more precious than gold
Found in your jewellery as I’m nice to behold
I’m really quite durable, don’t tend to react
But you’re after a catalyst? Well I’m great at that!
I’m a transition metal so complexes I form
As cisplatin against cancer I really perform
I do all these and more, I’m quite skilled, me
Atomic number 78, Platinum, Pt.
About the Author
I’m Anna and I’m a second year undergraduate by day, Sheffield Drag Society sensation Jamie Pizzazz by night. I love science (obviously), arts and crafts, and all things nerd.
Gold
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Mercury
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Thallium
Zoe Smallwood
The element of Thallium
Is found in group 13,
Named after “thallos”, Greek for “green twig”,
From its spectral line in the green.
Its discoverer is contentious…
Crookes versus Lamy- who won?
Lamy’s premier took place one year after
The work of Crookes in 1861.
Thallium is toxic,
It displaces K+ in a cell,
“The poisoner’s poison”, as it was nicknamed
Possesses no taste and no smell.
Nowadays its uses are few
(Banned from rat poison, for a start)
Although a particular isotope is still used today
To medically image the heart.
About the Author
I’m Zoe and for the last five years I studied for my PhD in synthetic inorganic chemistry at the University of Sheffield, specialising in main group coordination chemistry. I now work as a Specialist Junior Demonstrator in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Oxford. Alongside inorganic chemistry, I also have interests in spectroscopy and crystallography, and can often be found figuring out how an instrument works or looking at nice crystal structures! Outside of chemistry, I enjoy sport, photography and learning a language.
Lead
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Bismuth
Marta Martinez Alonso
Basic metal in the table,
but not in transition,
Bi as your label
close to the new addition.
The characteristic shape
as you grow so fast,
and your iridescent cape,
which is your oxide
place you, with pride,
in the cutest cast
of the elements worldwide.
This is Bismuth
low toxic and cheap
that’s the truth,
this element keep(s).
About the Author
I’m Marta, a postdoctoral researcher in Julia Weinstein’s group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I’m working in the synthesis of organometallic complexes as photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy (PDT).
I’m a riddle lover, and apparently I win something in all draws, bingos and raffles!
Polonium
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Astatine
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Radon
David Ashworth
This silent assassin is colourless
Dorn’s radium emanation, no guess.
Its radioactive daughters
Could take you for slaughter
Breathe them in and you’ll be in distress.
About the Author
I’m Dave and I completed an MChem in 2016 at The University of Sheffield and continued to study for a PhD under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Foster (antimony’s author!), working on 2D nanomaterials. I completed the Edinburgh marathon in 2018.
Francium
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Radium
Rory McBride
In period seven radium is found,
It’s present in uranium ores in the ground,
T’was discovered by the Curies, just before nineteen-hundred,
Got its name from Latin – if anyone wondered…
It’s radioactive and has luminescence,
Was painted on watches by young adolescents,
Although it looked great and could be read in the night,
It caused people harm, which was not a delight.
2-2-6 is most stable: for thousands of years,
On the Curie’s lab-books long after their careers!
Although it seemed great, its uses have declined,
It’s just too dangerous, so very little’s mined.
About the Author
I’m Rory and I’m a first year PhD chemistry student at the University of Sheffield in Prof. Steve Armes’ research group. I enjoy running and mountain biking around Sheffield. My musical interests have led me to start playing the organ in recent years.
Rutherfordium
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Dubnium
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Seaborgium
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Bohrium
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Hassium
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Meitnerium
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Darmstadtium
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Roentgenium
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Copernicium
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Nihonium
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Flerovium
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Moscovium
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Livermorium
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Tennessine
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Oganesson
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Lanthanum
Nick Williams
A supporting role,
Hidden deep in camera,
Escaping notice.
About the Author
I’m Nick and I’m Professor of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. For me, this means discovering and understanding how the world works in molecular terms, and educating students to be able to do the same. I’m very proud of my family, a committed platelet donor and classic car owner.
Cerium
Sophia Durham
Stumbled upon,
an accidental discovery to ameliorate society.
Misbehaving.
Strike for sparks.
Dense and grey
(an asteroid in space…?),
to a shower of light.
Perhaps a goddess?
A honeycomb architecture
to sweeten the sourest taste
of veils of soot
that encompass our harrowing future
of a polluted Earth.
Cerium;
an unsung hero.
Maybe we should stumble upon another happy little accident?
About the Author
I’m Sophia and I’m a final year Master’s student in Chemistry, specialising in Organic Synthesis. I enjoy everything artsy, I’m obsessed with dogs, and I love to be adventurous with my cooking as I’m equally obsessed with food.
Praseodymium
Anthony Meijer
Higgledy Piggledy
Auer von Welsbach saw
Lanthanides all in one
Rock from a mine
He found the element
Praseodymium
Named cause its oxide is
Leek-green in shine
About the Author
I’m Anthony and I’m Professor of Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. My favourite poet is Drs. P, whose favourite type of poem (and inspiration for this poem!) was the Ollekebolleke, a Dutch take on the “Double Dactyl”. He even wrote the announcement of his own death in this verse style!
Neodymium
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Promethium
Charlie Croft
Unbeknown to the Gods,
a gift given from above.
To control scorching flames,
saved a child from monsters of the night.
Prometheus was punished,
fire was not meant for them.
He was bound,
given everlasting suffering.
Once again, the Titan came down,
having escaped his eternal binds.
The world was a different place,
another gift was needed.
New monsters had appeared;
concrete, steel and smoke.
Painting luminous stars, planets, galaxies
on her ceiling, saved a child from monsters of the night.
About the Author
I’m Charlie and I’m a fourth year Master’s student in Chemistry with interests in health, our climate and science education. Outside of the lab, I enjoy going to museums and music festivals, as well as hunting for vintage vinyl records.
Samarium
Sarah Patrick
Though we saw of you in 1853, it wasn’t until 1879 that we found you.
Here long after the rest of us, long enough that the life of our universe so far is only a mere 1/8 of your half life.
Wise but still modern, along with your friend cobalt you stop our magnets dying.
Perfect for headphones, you are closer to us than we know.
Samarium.
About the Author
I’m Sarah and I’m 4th year MChem Chemistry undergraduate in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I love singing and sing in a choir of over 100 members.
Europium
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Gadolinium
Arthur Graf
Who is this?
Great!
Swiss it is
But the clock is not
Ambitious!
In the past produced colours
In your TV you could watch for hours
Maybe a little auspicious?
Ductile!
Swiss it is
But chocolate is not
Ouch!
Don’t worry, it will find your pain
Just let it check your brain!
Touch!
Light!
Swiss it is
But cheese is not
Incomparable
As energy can produce
And some smiles can induce
Turns into something even more admirable
Notable!
Swiss it is
But mountain is not
Interacts
As alloy can endure
As a magnet it sure
Know what attracts
Unique
Swiss it is
But army knife is not
Magic?
Shiny and rare
How it dare?
Maybe a bit tragic?
Swiss?
Oh, Gadolinium it is!
About the Author
I’m Arthur and I’m in my 3rd year of my PhD in Chauvet Research Group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield. I’m a science enthusiast and bad at making poems. I’m always up for desserts, horror films and pet animals (rabbits and alpacas especially!).
Terbium
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Dysprosium
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Holmium
James Jennings
How would Jacques-Louis Soret like to be remembered?
Ozone’s structure and the Soret band were arguably his more significant discoveries.
Laser surgeons may disagree though,
Micron-scale wavelength emission is ideal for tissue ablation.
If I had to describe Holmium in just two words:
Unmatched
Magnetism!
About the Author
I’m James and I work in foam research in the Department of Chemistry at he University of Sheffield. I try to apply the physical chemistry principles I learn in the lab to the kitchen!
Erbium
Joe Mangan
Tarnished by air and attacked by water,
Erbium metal would not be very useful as a quarter,
When absorbed in glass we see a pink tinge,
It’s used in fibre optics so we can log into Netflix and binge.
About the Author
I’m Joe and I’m a first year Chemist at the University of Sheffield. I play football and unfortunately, I’m an Arsenal fan. I’m also a recovering Netflix addict!
Thulium
Marika Meijer
somewhere in the farthest reaches of the medieval north,
in the vast, deep, dark unknown
lies a mystical silvery metal,
rarest of the rare earthen elements.
there she waits,
a Cinderella element,
for a prince determined enough to find her.
1879, the year was,
when at last he came, on his silver horse;
a dapper Swedish bloke
named Per Teodor Cleve.
took one look at this substance, he did,
and declared it thulium,
after the land from whence it came:
Ultima Thule,
the farthest corner of the ancient world.
About the Author
I’m Marika and I’m an exchange student from the USA studying chemistry. I’m in my 3rd year back home, so somewhere between 2nd and 3rd year over here. I collect little pewter monuments from places my family has travelled all around the world. I have quite a few!
Ytterbium
Beth Crowston
In the year 1878, de Marignac discovered something really great.
Ytterbia is what he founded, but suspected it was compounded.
Georges Urbain did separate the two, and Ytterbium came into view.
Named in honour of a Swedish village, do stand back if there’s a spillage.
Soft and malleable; silvery white, it shines brightly in the light.
Reacts with chlorine to form a halide; Ytterbium is a lanthanide.
Its many uses are diverse; I’ll try to list them in this verse.
Stainless steel it sometimes dopes; it has seven isotopes.
Found sometimes in optic cable, element 70 is quite stable.
A source of gamma rays as well, Ytterbium is really swell!
About the Author
I’m Beth and I’m the Widening Participation Activities Officer at the University of Sheffield. I once met Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut, and a fellow alumnus of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield.
Lutetium
Freya Cleasby
This metal found silvery and white,
Discovery led to a fight
Chemists all started to bicker
But just who found it quicker?
In the end it was Urbain who was right!
About the Author
I’m Freya and I’m a PhD researcher in the Foster Group. My research focuses on using metal-organic framework nanosheets in membranes for water purification. A fun fact about me is that I am climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro for charity in August!
Actinium
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Thorium
Grant Hill
The element thorium really is a marvel
An actinide with no f electrons, that really makes you wonder
Molecules shaped like sandwiches, piano-stools and tricapped trigonal prismatic
It is radioactive, paramagnetic and also superconducting
Of its near neighbour uranium I’m much less enthusiastic
Sad then, that its origins led to Berzelius’ less famous blunder
Glad then, that it takes its name from the Nordic god of thunder.
About the Author
I’m Grant and I’m a Lecturer in Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Sheffield, with research interests in developing and applying quantum mechanical methods to answer fundamental questions about how and why chemistry happens. Some of my work on radium was featured in the Journal of Physical Chemistry virtual issue celebrating the International Year of the Periodic Table. I am terrible at poetry!
Protactinium
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Uranium
Josh Nicks
Klaproth.
From Pitchblende mines,
to Fermi’s fission – fuel.
Chicago Pile, then Little boy.
What next?
About the Author
I’m Josh and I work in the research group of Dr Jona Foster (antimony’s author!) as a PhD student. My research focuses on the functionalisation of metal-organic nanosheets to develop new catalytic systems. I am learning German, and went to the same school as Jeremy Corbyn (though a bit later than he did!).
Neptunium
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Plutonium
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Americium
Tom Anderson
Trinity forged
Delirium despite
Western counterweight
Vespucci’s namesake
Smoker’s bane
Explorer’s heart
Radioactive, radio-proclaimed
Berkeley born, ’44.
About the Author
I’m Tom and I’m Senior Tutor and Level 1 Lab Director at the Department of Chemistry. I’m also a writer in my spare time, being nominated for the Sidewise Award in 2018. My books can be found on Goodreads here: goodreads.com
Curium
Michael Harris
Named after Marie and Pierre Curie,
Both known for their research on radioactivity.
Discovered in ’44 but kept secret,
Only in ’47 was it released from concealment.
In the dark, purple it glows,
Lighting up the darkest shadows.
Hard, dense and silvery,
It’s used in spectrometry.
Artificially made by firing neutrons at uranium,
An alpha source is Curium.
About the Author
I’m Mike and I work in the Foster Group in the Department of Chemistry at Sheffield, working on nanocomposites of polyurethane foams. I won a Gold medal at the British Student Taekwondo Federation.
Berkelium
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Californium
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Einsteinium
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Fermium
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Mendelevium
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Nobelium
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Lawrencium
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Special thanks for supporting this project to:
- Anthony J Ryan
- Nick Williams
- Steve Arms
- Julia Weinstein
- Adrien Chauvet
- The Royal Society of Chemistry
Thanks also to:
- Andrew Newby for website design
- Joanna Buckley for the original idea and managing the project