The Oklo sake vase made for me

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The Atomic Weights Commission publicises atomic weight changes

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The Oklo sake vase made for me

Norman Greenwood Scientist

	Views	Duration
101. My graduate students: Peter Perkins and Ian Worrell	85	02:18
102. Expansion of the Department of Chemistry at Nottingham University	71	03:44
103. My role in IUPAC	44	02:22
104. Establishing atomic weights	48	03:35
105. Forming a team at IUPAC	37	01:22
106. How isotopes affect atomic weight	49	01:27
107. Geochemistry determining atomic weight	43	02:14
108. How radioactivity affects atomic weight	45	04:36
109. The Oklo Phenomenon	94	05:28
110. The Oklo sake vase made for me	52	01:10

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Let me show you something. This lovely little Japanese sake vase. One of the members of our commission, Fujiwara was on the commission at this time, and he, in his retirement, took up ceramics and made, for some of his friends, these little sake glasses. And because we were interested in the Oklo Phenomenon at this stage, he got from the French Atomic Energy Commissariat, a small sample of the Oklo uranium ore – it’s not dangerous because, of course, it’s in very low concentration – and he smeared that on the glaze – you can see there.

So this is part of the Oklo phenomenon, part of the Gabon natural nuclear reactor incorporated into a modern Japanese ... I thought you might like to see that.

[Q] Yes, that’s lovely.

Norman Greenwood (1925-2012) was born in Australia and graduated from Melbourne University before going to Cambridge. His wide-ranging research in inorganic and structural chemistry made major advances in the chemistry of boron hydrides and other main-group element compounds. He also pioneered the application of Mössbauer spectroscopy to problems in chemistry. He was a prolific writer and inspirational lecturer on chemical and educational themes, and held numerous visiting professorships throughout the world.

Title: The Oklo sake vase made for me

Listeners: Brian Johnson

Professor Brian FG Johnson FRS, FRSE, FRS Chem, FAcad Eu, FAS. Professor of Inorganic Chemistry University of Edinburgh 1991-1995, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry University of Cambridge 1995-2005, Master Fitzwilliam College Cambridge 1999-2005. Research interests include studies of transition metal carbonyls, organometallic chemistry, nano- particles and homogeneous catalysis. Professor Johnson is the author of over 1000 research articles and papers.

Tags: Oklo Phenomenon, French Atomic Energy Commissariat, Fujiwara

Duration: 1 minute, 10 seconds

Date story recorded: May 2011

Date story went live: 25 November 2011