SellaTheChemist3d ago
I’ll be talking about the very serious helium shortage that is looming (actually, it’s already upon us) and risks crippling semiconductor chip production and diagnostic instruments like MRI scanners, not to mention low temperature science.. It’s maddening because we’ve known that helium is very limited but it’s cheap so no one recovers it. It’ll be on BBC World Service Newshour around 13:45 BST.
#elements #chemistry #economics #profligacy
Show threadColin the Mathmo3d ago

@sellathechemist I may have missed it ... doing other things, recording the last 10 minutes, but I may have missed it.

I'm aware of the problem and it quietly makes me very angry every time I think of it.

Nothing I can do ... I try not to let it upset me.

Show threadColin the Mathmo2d ago

@sellathechemist Yeah ... reviewed the recording and I missed it.

8-(

Oh well ...

Show threadMartin Whitworth2d ago
@ColinTheMathmo @sellathechemist It’s on BBC Sounds. I just listened. I know how important helium is, but didn’t know about this crisis. Thank you Andrea for enlightening me.
Show threadSellaTheChemist2d ago
@Martin_Whitworth @ColinTheMathmo I cannot tell you the pressure of trying to say everything you can about helium in the right order in under two minutes… live.
Show threadColin the Mathmo2d ago

@sellathechemist Absolutely it's a challenge. I remember "preparing" (thinking hard in advance) for television, expecting it to be 20 minutes of recording, then to be edited down to 2 minutes, only then to discover it was:

(a) Live, and

(b) 30 minutes.

So the stress is real ... I've experienced similar.

CC: @Martin_Whitworth

Show threadSellaTheChemist
@ColinTheMathmo @Martin_Whitworth No safety net. Even with a few words scribbled onto a scrap of paper while waiting for the questions the tension of trying to make sure you line up the thoughts in the right order is substantial.
One thing that makes it easier is knowing the presenter and being in the studio – you can see if they are following you, and you can sense if they need you to shut up.
Mar 30 at 9:33amWeb
Show threadSellaTheChemist2d ago
@ColinTheMathmo @Martin_Whitworth Year ago a presenter – Quentin Cooper - held up his fingers to count me down to the second at the end of the segment. I still can't figure out how I managed to thread that needle.
Show threadColin the Mathmo2d ago

@sellathechemist The "no safety net" is something I recognise ...

I'm going to have to go and find it now and listen! Very well done in surviving the experience ...

(Oh, and yes, having a good presenter makes a huge difference, especially if you end up having a genuine connection with them)

CC: @Martin_Whitworth