In Our Time: Science

By BBC Radio 4History

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In Our Time: Science episodes

October 30, 2014 Nuclear Fusion
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss nuclear fusion, the process that powers stars. In the 1920s physicists predicted that it might be possible to generate huge amounts of energy by fusing atomic nuclei together, a reaction requiring enormous temperatures and pressures. Today we know that this complex reaction is what keeps the Sun shining. Scientists have achieved fusion in the laboratory and in nuclear weapons; today it is seen as a likely future source of limitless and clean energy.
Guests:
Philippa Browning, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Manchester
Steve Cowley, Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
Justin Wark, Professor of Physics and fellow of Trinity College at the University of Oxford
Producer: Thomas Morris.
47 min
September 25, 2014 e
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Euler's number, also known as e. First discovered in the seventeenth century by the Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli when he was studying compound interest, e is now recognised as one of the most important and interesting numbers in mathematics. Roughly equal to 2.718, e is useful in studying many everyday situations, from personal savings to epidemics. It also features in Euler's Identity, sometimes described as the most beautiful equation ever written.
With:
Colva Roney-Dougal
Reader in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews
June Barrow-Green
Senior Lecturer in the History of Maths at the Open University
Vicky Neale
Whitehead Lecturer at the Mathematical Institute and Balliol College at the University of Oxford
Producer: Thomas Morris.
46 min
July 10, 2014 The Sun
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Sun. The object that gives the Earth its light and heat is a massive ball of gas and plasma 93 million miles away. Thanks to the nuclear fusion reactions taking place at its core, the Sun has been shining for four and a half billion years. Its structure, and the processes that keep it burning, have fascinated astronomers for centuries. After the invention of the telescope it became apparent that the Sun is not a placid, steadily shining body but is subject to periodic changes in its appearance and eruptions of dramatic violence, some of which can affect us here on Earth. Recent space missions have revealed fascinating new insights into our nearest star.
With:
Carolin Crawford
Gresham Professor of Astronomy and Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Yvonne Elsworth
Poynting Professor of Physics at the University of Birmingham
Louise Harra
Professor of Solar Physics at UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory
Producer: Thomas Morris.
48 min
June 12, 2014 Robert Boyle
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Robert Boyle, a pioneering scientist and a founder member of the Royal Society. Born in Ireland in 1627, Boyle was one of the first natural philosophers to conduct rigorous experiments, laid the foundations of modern chemistry and derived Boyle's Law, describing the physical properties of gases. In addition to his experimental work he left a substantial body of writings about philosophy and religion; his piety was one of the most important factors in his intellectual activities, prompting a celebrated dispute with his contemporary Thomas Hobbes.
With:
Simon Schaffer
Professor of the History of Science at the University of Cambridge
Michael Hunter
Emeritus Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London
Anna Marie Roos
Senior Lecturer in the History of Science and Medicine at the University of Lincoln
Producer: Thomas Morris.
47 min
May 15, 2014 Photosynthesis
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss photosynthesis, the process by which green plants and many other organisms use sunlight to synthesise organic molecules. Photosynthesis arose very early in evolutionary history and has been a crucial driver of life on Earth. In addition to providing most of the food consumed by organisms on the planet, it is also responsible for maintaining atmospheric oxygen levels, and is thus almost certainly the most important chemical process ever discovered.
With:
Nick Lane
Reader in Evolutionary Biochemistry at University College London
Sandra Knapp
Botanist at the Natural History Museum
John Allen
Professor of Biochemistry at Queen Mary, University of London.
Producer: Thomas Morris
47 min
April 03, 2014 States of Matter
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the science of matter and the states in which it can exist. Most people are familiar with the idea that a substance like water can exist in solid, liquid and gaseous forms. But as much as 99% of the matter in the universe is now believed to exist in a fourth state, plasma. Today scientists recognise a number of other exotic states or phases, such as glasses, gels and liquid crystals - many of them with useful properties that can be exploited.
With:
Andrea Sella
Professor of Chemistry at University College London
Athene Donald
Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge
Justin Wark
Professor of Physics and Fellow of Trinity College at the University of Oxford
Producer: Thomas Morris.
48 min
February 27, 2014 The Eye
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the eye. Humans have been attempting to understand the workings and significance of the organ for at least 2500 years. Some ancient philosophers believed that the eye enabled creatures to see by emitting its own light. The function and structures of the eye became an area of particular interest to doctors in the Islamic Golden Age. In Renaissance Europe the work of thinkers including Kepler and Descartes revolutionised thinking about how the organ worked, but it took several hundred years for the eye to be thoroughly understood. Eyes have long attracted more than purely scientific interest, known even today as the 'windows on the soul'.
With:
Patricia Fara
Senior Tutor of Clare College, University of Cambridge
William Ayliffe
Gresham Professor of Physic at Gresham College
Robert Iliffe
Professor of Intellectual History and History of Science at the University of Sussex
Producer: Thomas Morris.
43 min
February 20, 2014 Social Darwinism
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Social Darwinism. After the publication of Charles Darwin's masterpiece On the Origin of Species in 1859, some thinkers argued that Darwin's ideas about evolution could also be applied to human society. One thinker particularly associated with this movement was Darwin's near-contemporary Herbert Spencer, who coined the phrase 'survival of the fittest'. He argued that competition among humans was beneficial, because it ensured that only the healthiest and most intelligent individuals would succeed. Social Darwinism remained influential for several generations, although its association with eugenics and later adoption as an ideological position by Fascist regimes ensured its eventual downfall from intellectual respectability.
With:
Adam Kuper
Centennial Professor of Anthropology at the LSE, University of London
Gregory Radick
Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds
Charlotte Sleigh
Reader in the History of Science at the University of Kent.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
42 min
January 30, 2014 Catastrophism
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Catastrophism, the idea that natural disasters have had a significant influence in moulding the Earth's geological features. In 1822 William Buckland, the first reader of Geology at the University of Oxford, published his famous Reliquae Diluvianae, in which he ascribed most of the fossil record to the effects of Noah's flood. Charles Lyell in his Principles of Geology challenged these writings, arguing that geological change was slow and gradual, and that the processes responsible could still be seen at work today - a school of thought known as Uniformitarianism. But in the 1970s the idea that natural catastrophes were a major factor in the Earth's geology was revived and given new respectability by the discovery of evidence of a gigantic asteroid impact 65 million years ago, believed by many to have resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs.
With:
Andrew Scott
Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London
Jan Zalasiewicz
Senior Lecturer in Geology at the University of Leicester
Leucha Veneer
Visiting Scholar at the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Manchester
Producer: Thomas Morris.
42 min
December 19, 2013 Complexity
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss complexity and how it can help us understand the world around us. When living beings come together and act in a group, they do so in complicated and unpredictable ways: societies often behave very differently from the individuals within them. Complexity was a phenomenon little understood a generation ago, but research into complex systems now has important applications in many different fields, from biology to political science. Today it is being used to explain how birds flock, to predict traffic flow in cities and to study the spread of diseases.
With:
Ian Stewart
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick
Jeff Johnson
Professor of Complexity Science and Design at the Open University
Professor Eve Mitleton-Kelly
Director of the Complexity Research Group at the London School of Economics.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
42 min