In Our Time: Science

By BBC Radio 4History

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In Our Time: Science episodes

July 07, 2016 The Invention of Photography
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the development of photography in the 1830s, when techniques for 'drawing with light' evolved to the stage where, in 1839, both Louis Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot made claims for its invention. These followed the development of the camera obscura, and experiments by such as Thomas Wedgwood and Nicéphore Niépce, and led to rapid changes in the 1840s as more people captured images with the daguerreotype and calotype. These new techniques changed the aesthetics of the age and, before long, inspired claims that painting was now dead.
With
Simon Schaffer
Professor of the History of Science at the University of Cambridge
Elizabeth Edwards
Emeritus Professor of Photographic History at De Montfort University
And
Alison Morrison-Low,
Research Associate at National Museums Scotland
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
49 min
June 09, 2016 Penicillin
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. It is said he noticed some blue-green penicillium mould on an uncovered petri dish at his hospital laboratory, and that this mould had inhibited bacterial growth around it. After further work, Fleming filtered a broth of the mould and called that penicillin, hoping it would be useful as a disinfectant. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain later shared a Nobel Prize in Medicine with Fleming, for their role in developing a way of mass-producing the life-saving drug. Evolutionary theory predicted the risk of resistance from the start and, almost from the beginning of this 'golden age' of antibacterials, scientists have been looking for ways to extend the lifespan of antibiotics.
With
Laura Piddock
Professor of Microbiology at the University of Birmingham
Christoph Tang
Professor of Cellular Pathology and Professorial Fellow at Exeter College at the University of Oxford
And
Steve Jones
Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College, London
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
47 min
April 28, 2016 Euclid's Elements
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Euclid's Elements, a mathematical text book attributed to Euclid and in use from its appearance in Alexandria, Egypt around 300 BC until modern times, dealing with geometry and number theory. It has been described as the most influential text book ever written. Einstein had a copy as a child, which he treasured, later saying "If Euclid failed to kindle your youthful enthusiasm, then you were not born to be a scientific thinker."
With
Marcus du Sautoy
Professor of Mathematics and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford
Serafina Cuomo
Reader in Roman History at Birkbeck University of London
And
June Barrow-Green
Professor of the History of Mathematics at the Open University
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
46 min
April 21, 2016 1816, the Year Without a Summer
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of the eruption of Mt Tambora, in 1815, on the Indonesian island of Sambawa. This was the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history and it had the highest death toll, devastating people living in the immediate area. Tambora has been linked with drastic weather changes in North America and Europe the following year, with frosts in June and heavy rains throughout the summer in many areas. This led to food shortages, which may have prompted westward migration in America and, in a Europe barely recovered from the Napoleonic Wars, led to widespread famine.
With
Clive Oppenheimer
Professor of Volcanology at the University of Cambridge
Jane Stabler
Professor in Romantic Literature at the University of St Andrews
And
Lawrence Goldman
Director of the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
46 min
April 14, 2016 The Neutron
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the neutron, one of the particles found in an atom's nucleus. Building on the work of Ernest Rutherford, the British physicist James Chadwick won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of the neutron in 1932. Neutrons play a fundamental role in the universe and their discovery was at the heart of developments in nuclear physics in the first half of the 20th century.
With
Val Gibson
Professor of High Energy Physics at the University of Cambridge and fellow of Trinity College
Andrew Harrison
Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Light Source and Professor in Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh
And
Frank Close
Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Oxford.
46 min
February 18, 2016 Robert Hooke
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Robert Hooke (1635-1703) who worked for Robert Boyle and was curator of experiments at the Royal Society. The engraving of a flea, above, is taken from his Micrographia which caused a sensation when published in 1665. Sometimes remembered for his disputes with Newton, he studied the planets with telescopes and snowflakes with microscopes. He was an early proposer of a theory of evolution, discovered light diffraction with a wave theory to explain it and felt he was rarely given due credit for his discoveries.
With
David Wootton
Anniversary Professor of History at the University of York
Patricia Fara
President Elect of the British Society for the History of Science
And
Rob Iliffe
Professor of History of Science at Oxford University
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
49 min
February 04, 2016 Chromatography
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the origins, development and uses of chromatography. In its basic form, it is familiar to generations of schoolchildren who put a spot of ink at the bottom of a strip of paper, dip it in water and then watch the pigments spread upwards, revealing their separate colours. Chemists in the 19th Century started to find new ways to separate mixtures and their work was taken further by Mikhail Tsvet, a Russian-Italian scientist who is often credited with inventing chromatography in 1900. The technique has become so widely used, it is now an integral part of testing the quality of air and water, the levels of drugs in athletes, in forensics and in the preparation of pharmaceuticals.
With
Andrea Sella
Professor of Chemistry at University College London
Apryll Stalcup
Professor of Chemical Sciences at Dublin City University
And
Leon Barron
Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science at King's College London.
48 min
January 14, 2016 Saturn
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the planet Saturn with its rings of ice and rock and over 60 moons. In 1610, Galileo used an early telescope to observe Saturn, one of the brightest points in the night sky, but could not make sense of what he saw: perhaps two large moons on either side. When he looked a few years later, those supposed moons had disappeared. It was another forty years before Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens solved the mystery, realizing the moons were really a system of rings. Successive astronomers added more detail, with the greatest leaps forward in the last forty years. The Pioneer 11 spacecraft and two Voyager missions have flown by, sending back the first close-up images, and Cassini is still there, in orbit, confirming Saturn, with its rings and many moons, as one of the most intriguing and beautiful planets in our Solar System.
With
Carolin Crawford
Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge
Michele Dougherty
Professor of Space Physics at Imperial College London
And
Andrew Coates
Deputy Director in charge of the Solar System at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at UCL.
47 min
December 24, 2015 Michael Faraday
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the eminent 19th-century scientist Michael Faraday. Born into a poor working-class family, he received little formal schooling but became interested in science while working as a bookbinder's apprentice. He is celebrated today for carrying out pioneering research into the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Faraday showed that if a wire was turned in the presence of a magnet or a magnet was turned in relation to a wire, an electric current was generated. This ground-breaking discovery led to the development of the electric generator and ultimately to modern power stations. During his life he became the most famous scientist in Britain and he played a key role in founding the Royal Institution's Christmas lectures which continue today.
With:
Geoffrey Cantor
Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at the University of Leeds
Laura Herz
Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford
Frank James
Professor of the History of Science at the Royal Institution
Producer: Victoria Brignell.
46 min
December 17, 2015 Circadian Rhythms
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the evolution and role of Circadian Rhythms, the so-called body clock that influences an organism's daily cycle of physical, behavioural and mental changes. The rhythms are generated within organisms and also in response to external stimuli, mainly light and darkness. They are found throughout the living world, from bacteria to plants, fungi to animals and, in humans, are noticed most clearly in sleep patterns.
With
Russell Foster
Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford
Debra Skene
Professor of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Surrey
And
Steve Jones
Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College London.
49 min