"How do we measure the age of the Universe?" asks Simon Whitehead.A hundred years ago this wouldn't even have been considered a valid question, because we didn't think the Universe had a beginning at all. Even Einstein thought that space was eternal and unchanging.This is the tale of how we discovered that the Universe had a beginning, and why calculating its age has been one of the greatest challenges in modern astronomy. We also uncover the mysterious dark energy that pervades the cosmos and discover why it's been putting a scientific spanner in the works.Helping to unravel today's question are physicists Andrew Pontzen, Jo Dunkley and Jim Al-Khalili.Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford
Producer: Michelle Martin.
Comedy & KabarettWissenschaft & Technik
Curious Cases Folgen
Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain tackle listeners' conundrums with the power of science!
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165 Folgen
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Folge vom 02.03.2018The Cosmic Egg
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Folge vom 28.02.2018The Atomic Blade"What makes things sharp? Why are thinner knives sharper? What happens on the molecular level when you cut something?" All these questions came from Joshua Schwartz in New York City.The ability to create sharp tools allowed us to fashion clothing, make shelters and hunt for food, all essential for the development of human civilisation, according to materials scientist Mark Miodownik.We hear from IBM scientist Chris Lutz, who has used one of the sharpest blades in the world to slice up individual atoms.Plus palaeoarchaeologist Becky Wragg Sykes reveals the sharpest natural object in the world, a volcanic glass used by the Aztecs called obsidian.Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford Producer: Michelle Martin.
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Folge vom 23.02.2018The Tiniest Dinosaur"What is the tiniest dinosaur?" asks younger listener Ellie Cook, aged 11. Today's hunt takes us from the discovery of dinosaurs right up to the present day, which is being hailed as a 'golden age' for palaeontology. One new species of dinosaur is currently being unearthed on average every single week. But what's the smallest dino? And what can size reveal about the life of extinct animals?Hannah goes underground at the Natural History Museum to look through their vaults in search of the tiniest dinosaur with palaeontologist Susie Maidment.Meanwhile Adam chats to dinosaur expert Steve Brusatte from Edinburgh University about why size really does matter, especially when it comes to fossils.Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford Producer: Michelle Martin.
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Folge vom 16.02.2018The Enigma of Sex, Part 2The second instalment in our double bill on the science of sex, answering this question from Robert Turner, a Curio from Leeds: "Why do we only have two sexes?"Drs Rutherford and Fry look for anomalies in the animal kingdom that go beyond the traditional mechanics of human reproduction. Biologist and author Carin Bondar describes some of the wild and somewhat disturbing ways other animals like to do it. Take the hermaphrodite sea slug who races to stab its penis into its partner's brain during sex, or the female redback spider who loves to indulge in a spot of post-coital cannibalism.But the greatest number of different sexes is found in the world of fungi. Some species can have hundreds of distinct mating types. Fungal ecologist Lynne Boddy explains how mushrooms have sex and why on earth they need so many polygamous partners.Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford Producer: Michelle Martin.