Protactinium

Nottingham fashion designer Sir Paul Smith founded his reputation on his designs for men’s clothing.

He was born in Beeston in 1946 and his first shop opened in Nottingham city centre in 1970. His brand continued to grow after he travelled to Paris to showcase his first men’s collection, and he opened his flagship store in Covent Garden in 1979.

Sir Paul recently visited the University of Nottingham to deliver a public lecture and to visit the University’s Ingenuity Lab. He spoke about his belief that inspiration can be found in everything, explaining that he once created a knitwear range based on the colour scheme of a Parisian apartment that he’d seen in an interiors magazine in a dentist’s waiting room.

Protactinium is a radioactive and rarely used element. It is very toxic.

The dense, silver-grey metallic element, ranks high among some of the costliest elements that occur naturally.

The name originates from the Greek word ‘protos’ meaning first, and actinium. In effect, it means ‘parent of actinium’ because actinium is a decay product of protactinium’s radio decay.