This For Knowledge: Lead the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Dr Mike Palin from the Department of Geology presents Lead - the good the bad and the ugly.

Lead (chemical symbol Pb) lies at the far end of the periodic table as one of the heaviest elements in nature. With three isotopes produced by radioactive decay (208Pb, 207Pb, and 206Pb), lead provides the most accurate and precise means to date rocks and minerals. Lead is the most easily smelted and malleable metal as well as one of the most harmful to human health and cognition.

Come and hear how lead provided the first accurate age for the Solar System and Earth and about the epic struggle that ensued as the scientist involved searched for the reason the measurements were so difficult. Learn how good science triumphed over bad scientists and why we still live in the ugly shadow of the element that gave plumbing its name.

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