Ri favourite and science icon Andrew Szydlo takes you on a tour of the amazing, and sometimes explosive, chemistry of sulfur.

Join this channel to get access to perks:
   / @theroyalinstitution  
Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe

This talk was recorded at the Royal Institution on 2 December 2023.

Discover more about the history of this curious element, from it’s discovery in 2000BCE to the present day, recreating some longlost experiments along the way.

Sulfur has played an important role in science and culture over thousands of years, from creating gold, extracting metals and even creating sweets! Andrew explores the amazing 4000 year history of this fascinating element in his usual inimitable style, and of course with a desk filled with exciting chemical demonstrations.


Andrew Szydlo is a chemist and secondary school teacher at Highgate School, wellloved by pupils and Ri attendees alike. He has given public lectures around the country, been featured on TV shows and has become a popular part of the Ri's YouTube channel in recent years, where his videos have over 16 million views in total.

When Andrew started giving chemistry lessons to friends some 50 years ago, he would bring a pocketfull of chemicals to illustrate the principles of chemistry.

Today, these chemistry lessons have evolved into demonstration lectures which he gives to audiences in a wide variety of locations. During the past 40 years he has given over 500 talks, in addition to teaching chemistry fulltime at Highgate School in London. Today he is still based at Highgate School, delivering chemistry lectures to local schools.

The Royal Society of Chemistry included Andrew as one of their 175 Faces of Chemistry.



The Ri is on Twitter:   / ri_science  
and Facebook:   / royalinstitution  
and TikTok:   / ri_science  
Listen to the Ri podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
Donate to the RI and help us bring you more lectures: https://www.rigb.org/supportus/donat...
Our editorial policy: https://www.rigb.org/editingritalks...
Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter

Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.