Technofossils - Sarah Gabbott, Mark Miodownik and Aurie Styla

What It Covers

Paleontologist Sarah Gabbott, materials scientist Mark Miodownik, and comedian Aurie Styla explore what remnants of modern civilization will survive as fossils, from smartphones containing 50% of the periodic table to plastic lasting millions of years.

Key Questions Answered

• •Smartphone composition: Modern phones contain over 50% of the periodic table's elements, with 300 times more gold per kilogram than gold ore, making discarded devices valuable material repositories that future archaeologists may interpret as chemistry worship objects.
• •Plastic preservation: Polyethylene and similar plastics can survive millions of years in ocean sediments without oxygen or sunlight, comparable to algae biopolymers preserved for 48 million years in German Messel Oil Shale, contradicting assumptions about biodegradable materials breaking down quickly.
• •Fossilization probability: If the entire US population of 300 million people died simultaneously, only one quarter of one human skeleton would likely survive in the fossil record, demonstrating the extreme rarity of individual organism preservation across geological time.
• •Self-healing infrastructure: Roads on the M25 now test asphalt containing encapsulated oils and metal nanoparticles that repair cracks through capillary action or electromagnetic heating, potentially extending road lifespan from 10 years to 30-50 years and reducing pothole formation.