In Our Time

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the physics, biology and chemistry of the element silicon which is at the heart of some of the most useful and beautiful objects on the planet. While it is still being created throughout the universe, the silicon we have here was made billions of years ago in dying stars. In its compounds we have long used silicon for glass and, more recently, purified silicon has become the foundation of modern electronics. Perhaps less appreciated is the role silicon compounds play in the biology of life on Earth, on the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the cycling of elements between land, oceans and atmosphere that sustains us.With Kate Hendry Oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey and Bye-Fellow of Queen’s College, University of CambridgeAndrea Sella Professor of Chemistry at University College LondonAnd Monica Grady Professor Emerita in Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open UniversityProduced by Martha OwenReading list:Christina De La Rocha and Daniel J. Conley,