What’s in a smartphone?

Have you ever wondered what is inside your smartphone? We don’t mean texts and bytes of information, but the chemical elements that make up the device in your hand. Lecturer in Igneous Petrology and Earth Materials Dr Arjan Dijkstra and Lecturer in Economic Geology Dr Colin Wilkins conceived an eye-catching project in which they blended a smartphone down into a fine powder and chemically analysed the results. You can find out more about the results at