Philip Morrison discusses the arithmetic of large and small numbers, the geometry of size, and the nature of length, area and volume.
Could Gulliver have eaten the food of 1728 Lilliputians? Philip Morris explores big and small systems, using mice, men and elephants as models.
Philip Morrison studies the walking, running, floating, and swimming, by large animals and small, and in man-made vehicles of all kinds.
What would our technology look like if we were the size of men in Gulliver's voyages?
From the arithmetic of ratios to the science of numbers themselves, Philip Morris explores the importance of small and large numbers.
By working with scales, we have seen that the laws of mechanics and electricity are not the only laws of physics. In the final lecture, Philip Morris explores a new physics, voyaging far beyond where Gulliver's ship could sail.
Nowadays, we all take for granted our transistor radios, hi-fi, and colour television sets. Yet to people 50 years ago all these things would have appeared absolutely fantastic. With the use of many fascinating experiments GEOFFREY GOURIET takes us back even farther-to those first exciting responses of magnetism and electricity which meant the birth of radio as we know it today.
Geoffrey Gouriet, Chief Engineer, BBC Research and Development, explains and demonstrates how electricity and magnetism can 'leapfrog' to form radio waves, the 'ripples in the ether.'
Nowadays when we listen to the radio not only do we understand the words but we can identify the persons speaking; not only do we recognise the tune, but we enjoy the quality. Geoffrey Gouriet , Chief Engineer, BBC Research and Development, demonstrates how this has been achieved.
How was the great leap from radio to television achieved? GEOFFREY GOURIET , Chief Engineer, BBC Research and Development, shows how the pioneers of television solved their problem of transmitting pictures at fantastic speeds.
So far Geoffrey Gouriet , Chief Engineer, BBC Research and Development, has shown us that electric signals can easily ' see' light and shade; but how much more difficult it must be to reproduce the subtleties of colour. He now demonstrates how electric signals can measure and transmit accurate colour pictures.
Geoffrey Gouriet , Chief Engineer, BBC Research and Development, shows us some recent discoveries and helps us to appreciate the exciting possibilities that lie ahead.
Sir David Attenborough looks back almost four decades to the week in 1973 when he took up the mantle of Royal Institution Christmas Lecturer. Billed as the "One hundredth and forty-fourth course of six lectures for young people" the series was made up of six hour-long lectures and filmed live between Friday 23 December 1973 and Friday 4 January 1974. Speaking in the Faraday Theatre, Sir David describes the difficulty of working with animals in a live broadcast and the trepidation he felt on taking on the project.
Sir David Attenborough explains how animals that threaten in strength and numbers are more effective than those that turn to physical violence.
How do animals go about attracting a mate? Sir David Attenborough reveals the secrets of courtship in the animal kingdom.
In his third lecture, Sir David Attenborough explores the relationship between animals and their infants.
Royal Institution of Great Britain Christmas Lectures 1973: The Languages of Animals
In his first lecture, Professor Eric Laithwaite explores the concept of 'reflection', from concepts of the smallest particle to those of the whole universe.
Through the title of this third lecture and the theme of chess running through Alice's adventures, Professor Eric Laithwaite introduces the concept of 'odds and evens'.
In his fifth lecture, Laithwaite uses the concept of analogies (fairy stories) as a way to explain complex topics in science.
In the final talk of his 1974 Christmas lecture series, Professor Eric Laithwaite explores the concept of scientific invention.
The body can be regarded as a rather special internal combustion engine, insofar as its ability to perform mechanical work is concerned. Some of this work is expended to keep it alive, for instance by pumping the blood round and breathing, whilst the rest appears as external activity. Walking, running and lifting sacks of coal all involve the expenditure of energy which ultimately has to be derived from the fuel, i.e. the food supplied to the body. Just as in a car engine, not all the energy contained in food can be converted into mechanical work; at best only about 20% appears as work, the rest being converted into heat. There are many occasions when one wants to measure how hard an individual is working or more correctly how much energy he is consuming. This is important in fields as diverse as the organisation of some industrial production processes in order to minimise the load on the worker, and the investigation of the factors causing obesity. In a petrol engine we could measure the rate at which fuel is being consumed quite easily but in man it is impossible to measure fuel consumption directly, because our bodies contain large and variable energy stores on which we draw to supply our immediate needs. However, we cannot store any substantial amounts of the oxygen which is required to 'burn' the fuel, and if therefore we were to measure the amount of oxygen removed from the inspired air this would provide an indirect but convenient method of measuring energy expenditure. This procedure is known as 'indirect calorimetry' and is performed these days by using interesting and complex physical methods of air flow measurement and gas analysis. We will endeavour to measure the efficiency of the human engine and compare it with that of a small petrol driven generator.
The heart was at one time thought to be the very seat of life and personality, and indeed we still speak of black hearted villains and soft hearted aunts. This was so presumably because the most obvious immediate sign of death was cessation of the heart beat. We now know that the heart is just a blood pump, or more correctly a pair of pumps, which are responsible for keeping the major transport system of the body in continuous motion. This knowledge has not decreased the importance of the heart because at normal body temperature we cannot survive a cardiac arrest of more than a few minutes. The blood is the distribution system which supplies every cell in the body with nutrients and oxygen; the refuse collection agency which removes carbon dioxide and waste products from the cells; a branch of the post office which carries chemical messages from one organ or tissue to another, and the central heating or cooling system which ensures that heat is taken away from hard working parts of the body and supplied to other parts which only work correctly if kept at a constant temperature. The demands of the body can vary considerably between say sleep and running as hard as you can. These can be met by increasing the speed and stroke volume of the pump, and also by adjusting the diameter of the blood vessels so that the blood can be directed to where it is needed most. Because one does not normally want to puncture the system one has to use indirect methods in order to find out what goes on inside it; for instance at what pressure is the heart delivering the blood, how fast is it flowing in different large arteries or veins, or even how much oxygen is being carried? One of the more difficult measurements is to find out how much blood the heart is actually pumping and how efficiently it does it. We shall try and find out all these things without spilling a drop!
It is one of the properties of muscle and nerve cells that their activity is accompanied by electrical events which can be detected outside the cells. An extreme manifestation of this effect is found in electric fish where special cells similar to muscle cells are connected in series like a multi-cell battery to produce external voltages sufficient to stun other fish. This does not mean that muscles are in any sense electrically operated, or that nerves convey signals in the same way as copper wires, but only that chemical changes which take place at cell membranes when they are active also produce electrical signals. These sometimes may start further chemical changes in neighbouring cells thus stimulating them into activity or in the case of a nerve fibre will stimulate the next section of fibre thus causing the activity to travel along it. Tissue in bulk is quite a good conductor of electricity because it consists mainly of salty water, and skin can be made reasonably conductive by appropriate treatment. In consequence electrodes applied to the skin can pick up signals from tissues deep inside the body. There are problems, however, just due to the fact that the whole of the inside of the body is conducting, because signals from many different sources can be mixed up with one another at the site of the electrodes. It is rather like fixing a microphone on to the outside wall of a large room in which there is a noisy party. Individual conversations, unless they happened to be very close to the microphone, would be impossible to distinguish, but you might be able to say that a lot of talking was going on. The band which produces a large and organised signal would come through quite clearly, and if a number of the party-goers all started to do the same thing like shouting 'fire', or encouraging the teams in a tug-of-war, then their collective signal would become apparent. If one wants to investigate the electrical activity of the body one faces exactly the same p
If one had to associate a particular instrument with doctors in general, it would certainly be the stethoscope. It enables him with convenience and decorum to listen to the noises inside his patient. Most of the interesting noises occur in the chest and in particular in or close to the heart, though bowel sounds have also received some attention. The interpretation of the sounds takes experience, but this can be supplemented by detecting the sounds electronically and displaying them as a picture, when it also becomes possible to measure the time relationship between them. Man is really a tube about 10 metres long, if one considers the path between mouth and anus in which all our food is digested. It is not easy to explore the inside of this tube except close to the two ends. One way of measuring some of the physical conditions inside it such as pressure, temperature, movement, and even acidity is to swallow a very small radio-transmitter equipped with means to modultate the radio signal in accordance with the conditions it encounters. Such a transmitter can be allowed to pass right through the system, transmitting as it is moved along. Another way of exploring the alimentary canal, which is also applicable to the tubes in the lung, is to use an endoscope. This is an optical system which can allow one to see round corners and also to examine in detail whatever is close to the tip of the device. When great flexibility is required endoscopes can be made out of bundles of special glass fibres, where each fibre carries one image point from the input end of the bundle to the viewing end. It is important therefore that the geometrical arrangement of the ends of the fibres at the two ends is identical in order to avoid scrambling the image, a requirement which makes them difficult and expensive to construct.
To be asked to diagnose a fault inside such a complex system as the human body without being able to look inside it would appear to make the task very difficult, yet this is a problem doctors had to face until the advent of X-rays at the turn of the century. Tissue and bone, except in very thin layers, are opaque to visible light; we cannot therefore look through or into the body in the ordinary sense at all. Other forms of electromagnetic radiation can penetrate tissue and bone to varying degrees, and with their aid avisible image can be reconstructed. The most common form are X-rays which, until recently. Were only capable of producing a shadow picture in which fine detail could be obscured by denser shadows. Recent developments in X-ray scanning and subsequent construction of the image point by point, with the aid of a computer, have produced a spectacular improvement. Gamma-rays, of even shorter wavelength than X-rays, are emitted by certain radioactive isotopes. Some of these isotopes are taken up preferentially by particular tissues or organs when introduced into the body. The gamma-rays can pass through tissue and with appropriate equipment a crude image can be obtained which shows where in the body the isotope has accumulated. Then there is infra-red radiation, of rather longer wavelength than light, which can penetrate tissue to a small extent. However it is also emitted from the skin surface in relation to its temperature, and therefore an infra-red picture of a portion of the body will really be a temperature map of the surface and structures just beneath it. This is useful because inflammation or abnormal rate of growth will result in high temperature areas, and lack of blood supply in low temperature regions. Lastly there is ultrasound, not an electromagnetic radiation, but just a mechanical vibration in a material at a much higher frequency than ordinary sound. A beam of ultrasound aimed into the body will be partially reflected whenever it
It is part of everyday social experience that we receive and send out signals indicative of our emotional or mental state. 'He looked happy' ... 'she sounded rather anxious' ... 'he parted with a confident handshake' ... 'there was the smell of fear about' ..., are all phrases which we use without really thinking about the nature of the signals involved. Most of the code, irrespective of the sense through which the message is received, almost certainly has to be learned. If we are faced with an individual whose social training has been entirely in another culture, such as a Japanese who has never been to Europe before, only very elementary signals get through in either direction. Perfume, make-up, and even hair styles may be used as signal flags which reinforce the impression we would like to create, probably by imitating and exaggerating the natural code. So far there is very little about this which we can measure, though there are people like caricaturists and actors who have obviously identified some of the important parts of the code and can produce the signals at will. On the other hand emotion also affects many of the physiological factors mentioned in the previous lectures. This is a disadvantage to the doctor who may be misled by a temporary, emotion induced, abnormality, but also provides the basis for the work on 'lie detectors'. Some are obvious to the naked eye. a blush or a sudden pallor are no more than a change in the blood supply to the skin for instance. During this course of lectures you, the audience, will get some impression of the personality and mood of the speaker, try to identify the clues on which you base your conclusions!
Sir George Porter explores light's structure in this 1976 CHRISTMAS LECTURE packed with live demos. Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue or why sunsets are red? Porter explains how colour is created through light 'scattering' which John Tyndall discovered. Porter also demonstrates how light is made up of frequency, waves and molecules. He presents Thomas Young’s light source experiment on a grand scale using light and cameras.
The relationship between light and life is explored in this 1976 CHRISTMAS LECTURE from chemist Sir George Porter. George explains the theory of life spontaneously generating. He shows the audience how these theories were rejected with various demos including the design of Louis Pasteur’s swing neck flask. Using fossils and the visual aid of a clock George explains how old the earth is, and how molecules from sunshine helped form the very basis of life during this period.
Sir George Porter delves into the link between food and energy in relation to sunlight. A cake is used to demonstrate how we get energy from our food with an explanation of how this happens. George also looks at how various catalysts aid this, by describing what they are and how they work. There is also a selection of plant-based experiments which explain how light helps fuel energy and photosynthesis, and a demo illustrating 'cold light' that female fireflies produce.
Nobel prize-winning scientist Sir George Porter explores the science behind man-made light and heat in this 1976 CHRISTMAS LECTURE. He recounts the history of artificial light sources such as lamps and the formation of natural fuel sources such as coal and oil. The Humphry Davy Lamp's role in saving the mining industry from explosions is explained. While the work of Count Rumford founder of the Ri’s work on convection and James Dewar’s Flask are also illustrated.
Thermodynamics and its role in helping to power our lives are explored in this 1976 CHRISTMAS LECTURE presented by chemist Sir George Porter. Porter takes the audience through the laws of thermodynamics with a series of demos that explain how they work in real-life settings, such as a heat pump for a refrigerator and how to warm a swimming pool using sunlight and black screens. George uses models to introduce different types of renewable energy sources like wind and wave power.
Methods in which sunshine can create electricity and fuel are investigated in this 1976 CHRISTMAS LECTURE from chemist George Porter. Harnessing the sun's energy for power using the chemical element silicon is explored. Porter demos how silicon can be used to create solar panels for satellites which run off energy from sunlight. Using a timeline as a visual aid, Porter talks about the eradication of fossil fuels and how the sun can continue to supply us with power in the future.
In his first Christmas Lecture, American astronomer and cosmologist Carl Sagan explores planet Earth and the place, scale and geometry of the “pale blue dot” in the Solar System. Sagan provides a unique insight into the history of our knowledge of the third planet from the Sun, formed 4.5 billion years ago. Using images and models of the planets in our Solar System, Sagan reveals how the heliocentric model of our universe, in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun, came to replace the earlier Aristotelian idea that our planet was at the centre and everything orbited around it. As the complexity of observational tools has developed from simple telescopes to complex spacecraft, so too has our understanding of the world we inhabit. Looking back on the evolution in space science in the years since Sagan’s lectures we have made huge advances in our understanding of our planet’s environment, climate, weather, geology and biology – as well as our relative place in the universe.
From ancient organisms to the plants and animals we see today, our planet showcases a spectacular array of life. But beneath such diversity lies an underlying unity. All life on Earth is based on two molecules (the proteins and the nucleic acids) and the origin of these molecules in the early stages of our planet’s development is inextricably linked to the origin of life. In his second Christmas Lecture, Carl Sagan travels beyond Earth to explore the possibility of life in outer space. To find the answer, he looks back to the early stages of the development of our atmosphere. The hydrogen from this atmosphere has since escaped to space from Earth, but not from bigger planets like Jupiter. When the hydrogen-rich gases of the early Earth are mixed together and supplied with energy, the essential molecular building blocks of the proteins and nucleic acids are formed. As Sagan suggests, although this process no longer occurs on Earth, such organic chemistry should be occurring in the outer solar system on Jupiter, and Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The NASA twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and 2, launched a few months prior to these Lectures in 1977, were sent to space to explore this hypothesis.
Cold, arid, and tens of millions of miles away from Earth, Mars has intrigued scientists for centuries. The existence of liquid on its surface was confirmed by NASA’s flyby mission, Mariner 4, in 1965, but the question of whether life exists on our neighbouring planet has remained a subject of much speculation. In the 19th and 20th centuries, observers using only the naked eye and a telescope saw features on Mars which they interpreted as evidence for a dry but Earth-like climate, for vegetation which grew and decayed with the seasons, and for a great Martian canal network designed by a heroic but dying race of hydraulic engineers. In the third of his Christmas Lectures, Carl Sagan explores the mystery of the Red Planet. From its rocky craters to its polar ice caps, Sagan describes our understanding of the geology and chemistry of Mars, revealing the discovery of its two moons, Phobos and Deimos, in 1877, and the bizarre one-time suggestion that these moons were artificial satellites launched by an ancient but not extinct Martian civilisation.
Observing the planets in our solar system from Earth provided limited scope for astronomers wishing to explore them in more detail. To get a better understanding of planets such as Mars, astronomers needed to get a closer look through the use of unmanned space probes which could beam data back remotely. In this Lecture, Carl Sagan explores the surprising discoveries made by Mariner 9, the first unmanned space probe to orbit another planet. This mission went on to provide scientists with a glimpse at Mars that was wildly different from their expectations. Sagan explores the features of Mars as uncovered by Mariner 9, including the formation of craters, presence of volcanoes, polar regions and the significance of its winding sinuous valleys and tributaries. These findings point towards a planet that has undergone considerable climate change, with early evidence that it might once have been conducive to terrestrial life.
In his fifth lecture, Carl Sagan takes a look at the design, launch and accomplishments of the Viking mission, a major chapter in the history of planetary exploration. After Mariner 9s remote orbital inspection of Mars, the Viking program finally allowed scientists to study the Martian surface in detail. The photography of the terrain, the chemical analysis of the soil and testing for microbiological life yielded stunning, yet enigmatic results. Results returned from the microbiology experiments gave signs consistent with life, however the search for organic molecules in the Martian soil turned up completely negative. The conflict between these results suggested either the presence of microbiological life or a non-biological, inorganic process occurring within the Martian soil. Four decades later – following the success of subsequent Mars rovers – the question concerning life on Mars is one that still remains unanswered.
Theoretical work on the origin of solar systems suggests that planets are a frequent, if not invariable, accompaniment of stars. If there are billions of planets, if the origin of life occurs readily under general cosmic conditions, and if there are many worlds much older than the Earth for evolution to work upon, why shouldn’t the galaxy be brimming over with life? At the time Sagan delivered his Christmas Lectures in 1977, the only known planets were the ones in our own solar system. There was no evidence to suggest planets existed outside our solar system, or that there was a star other than our own sun producing planets. This was to change just over a decade later when the first evidence of planets orbiting a star was detected by radio astronomers in 1991. In the last of his six Christmas Lectures, Carl Sagan explores the concept of solar systems outside our own, and asks if this were the case, how similar they might be to ours. With more than 450 extra-solar planets discovered in the past twenty years, Sagan’s final lecture serves as a reminder of how far we’ve come in our understanding of what exists beyond Earth.
To infinity and beyond.
Winning at Game Theory.
Creating mathematical harmony with music.
Modelling catastrophe through mathematics.
In the first lecture, Eric Rogers introduces us to the world of atoms and the unusual properties of liquids.
In this lecture we explore the nature of gaseous substances.
Ions are atoms or molecules that have gained an electric charge — by gaining or losing a spare negative electron.
Some atoms are radioactive, waiting to explode and hurl out a small 'chip' thus becoming quite a different atom — an atom of a different chemical element.
EM Rogers' fifth lecture explores the structure of atom and the ability to extract energy from them via fission.
Through indirect means we are able to observe atoms that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye
In his first lecture, Sir David Phillips goes past ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ and asks what they’re both made of.
In the second lecture in the series, Sir Phillips investigates the power of enzymes.
In his third lecture, Sir David Phillips explores the science of muscles.
Measurement enables us to express our observation of objects in precise terms by converting into numbers. Using these numbers, be they inches, feet or millimetres, it is possible to duplicate exactly something we have measured in another place at another time. Without this capability our modern, industrial society could not have evolved.
Time and its measurement has always preoccupied man. First he utilised natural time keepers: the rotation of the earth round the sun, giving the day and the year. But to divide the days into minutes and hours an accurate device was required. Galileo realised that he had one available in his own body-his heartbeat; and by counting his pulses while watching the incense-burning pendulum swinging in Padua Cathedral he made a fundamental discovery.
Today we can measure with such a high degree of precision that one might ask the question, ' Is there a limit to the smallness of things we can measure? '
The range of measurement now possible has enabled us to know not only the size of atoms only a few 100-millionths of a centimetre across, but also the distance of galaxies so far away that light travelling from them takes thousands of millions of years to reach us. Between these extremes we shall see how the scale of our everyday life fits intricately into the immensity of the universe.
During World War II, scientists on both sides were much concerned with the difficult problem posed by accurate navigation. However, as with so many war-time inventions, the consequent improvement in navigational methods were also used to drop bombs precisely and to guide long-range missiles to their distant targets. The subsequent development of early radio and radar guidance systems, today enables intercontinental rockets to be aimed with an accuracy of a few hundred yards from their intended target at a range of 8,000 miles.
In this lecture we shall look at two triumphs of modern technology which enable us to measure and to control mechanisms with a precision of better than one ten thousandth of a centimetre. The first is familiar enough - the video disc - which gives us an instant replay of a football goal, or records a whole television programme. And the second is the microchip which involves the manufacture and positioning of minute stencils to etch electronic circuits - parts of which may be less than one thousandth of a centimetre across - and to reproduce them precisely by the million. Without such accuracy the microchip revolution could never have occurred.
In his first lecture of the series, Leonard Maunder explores the kinematics that make up the geometry of motion.
How do Newton's laws apply to motion both familiar and strange, from bows and arrows to rockets and gyroscopes.
We speak and hear by the vibrations of air as sound waves, but to engineers vibration can be dangerously destructive. As machines grow in size and power, their designers have to assess and counter their tendency to self-destruction.
In his fourth lecture, Leonard Maunder explores the various ways in which systems can be controlled by monitoring inputs and outputs and adding self regulation.
How is our knowledge of fluid dynamics harnessed in setting machines in motion?
How do animals move on land, sea and in the air, and we shall look in particular at how the understanding of human locomotion contributes to the growing and important subject of biomechanics.
Everybody looks different, apart from identical twins, and many of the differences are inherited.
Living matter is made from a complex mixture of chemicals, some small like salts, sugars and fats and others large and complicated such as protein and DNA.
How can we isolate and study genes one at a time?
The body protects itself against infection by bacteria, viruses, molds and parasites by having a system for recognising these invading organisms as foreign.
Cancer can occur when the regulation of cells in the body goes astray. Any tissue can be affected but some are more likely to become cancerous than others.
Genetics will eventually identify all the human genes and their functions. How far will this take us in explaining the infinite variety of mankind?
Life itself, our very existence, would fail without communication, since no man can be entirely independent of others. Professor David Pye presents the 156th series of these lectures. With a variety of demonstrations and experiments, he explores how humans use their senses, sometimes with the help of technology, to send and receive messages.
Like humans, animals depend on communication for reproduction, and often for a complex social life. But the methods they use are widely different, because their sense organs work in a variety of often surprising ways. Using fishes, snakes, dogs and ducks Professor David Pye explains how some animals can communicate with 'sounds' and 'colours' that we cannot hear or see. Sometimes man can even communicate with his domestic beasts.
Humans and animals can use echoes to replace sight when visibility is poor. The ability to use echoes accounts for the unusual faces of many bats. Professor David Pye constructs his bionic bats and compares them with live bats.
Modern man needs to communicate quickly and over greater and greater distances. Since the invention of lasers and fibre-optics, spectacular feats of communication are now commonplace. In today's lecture Professor David Pye trys to make the world's longest phone call and to receive a signal live from Pioneer 10 as it heads out of the solar system.
The most complex of all communication systems is the one that operates inside the human body, which is made up of enormous numbers of living cells that are tightly co-ordinated to perform as an individual person. Professor David Pye uses animals and humans to demonstrate how nerve cells conduct messages around the body. Ultimately, the brain is responsible for maintaining the human body as well as reacting to the outside world.
One day computers and robots may be able to do all our work and chores. Is this a real vision of the future or just a fantasy? In the last of this year's lectures, Professor David Pye explores the fantastic development of computers in recent years. If computers are fitted with sensors, so that they can touch, see and even speak, they become robots. On earth robots are still primitive, but in other galaxies....
A visit to the extraordinary micro-world of crystals and lasers where atoms are only l/10,000th of a millionth of a metre apart, and laser light pulses only l/100th of one millionth of one millionth of a second. In their first lecture, John Meurig Thomas and David Phillips examine the symmetry and other striking physical characteristics of minerals and gemstones.
How does a crystal look like up close? John Meurig Thomas uses optical and electron diffraction to reveal the crystal architecture and explains how the architecture of proteins links to their function.
From seeing in the dark to ultra high-speed trains, new uses of crystals will soon revolutionise our world. Levitating with superconductors, charging with semiconductors and combusting with catalysts. John Meurig Thomas demonstrates the use of these materials in our everyday life.
How do you Amplify Light with Stimulated Emission of Radiation? In this lecture David Phillips shows us step by step how to construct a LASER.
LASERs are not just for pointing at the board. David Phillips shows us the different applications of LASERs from their use in research to detecting pollutants in the atmosphere.
An exploration of major advances in modern medicine, which depend on revolutionary new discoveries about crystals and the use of LASERs. LASER technology is being used in medicine to investigate, diagnose and cure. David Phillips shows us the different uses of LASERs on the human body.
Professor Gareth Roberts, FRS, conducts his audience from the oil lamp and the cooking range through modern appliances to the future of cooking and lighting using novel methods.
Since the first caveman and hut-dweller, man has developed better protection from the elements with ever more complex homes. Today's programme traces developments in building technology: 'smart' glass and locks with 'smart' keys.
Home entertainment is simple for the talented - and the rich have had their jesters and musicians. For the rest of us, recorded sound has been developed, and now television moves into a new era.
Since Nelson signalled to his fleet with flags, we have progressed through simple telegraphy, and the old steam wireless, to reading the meter remotely and switching on the electric blanket by cordless telephone.
Silicon technology can give us a miniature gas meter and help us with interior design - but now come the organics! Molecular electronics will bring both beauty and brains.
Music is one of the most familiar features of everyday life and in all cultures since time immemorial people have danced and sung in rituals, in celebrations, as an expression of joy, or just for fun. Whenever the pressure of the air is changed rapidly, by beating a drum, by rattling a stick in a tin can, or by plucking a string stretched across a box, our ear-brain system detects the pressure changes as sound. The sound travels from the source to the listener as sound waves, but what are they really like? And why are some sounds musical and others just noise? The answer that we shall find for simple, single sounds is fairly easy: if the vibration is very regular the sound is more musical than if it is irregular. But, as soon as we move to the more complex sounds and mixtures that occur in the real world of music, the difference is far less easy to describe in any scientific way. The answer to the question of why some combinations of sounds seem more pleasant to the ear than others is not easy to find. Some musical instruments (talking drums and trumpets of Africa) are used for sending information from one place to another. Is all music concerned with passing on information? Why do some people love a piece of music that other people hate? There are obvious differences in the musical likes and dislikes of people of different cultures and yet some people say that music is a universal language. How much of what we like is determined by our experience and upbringing and how much arises from the physics of the ear-brain system? What part does memory and conditioning play in our appreciation of music? Why do some sounds make us laugh and why can music have such a powerful effect on our moods? It is unlikely that we shall find very clear cut answers to these questions, nor indeed to the general question posed by the title of this lecture. But we should have a good deal of fun exploring the subject with experiments and recordings and, hopefully, we shall know a lit
The origin of musical instruments is lost in the mists of time. It has been suggested that the strings developed from the twang of a bow string and the wind section seems very likely to have developed from the pan-pipes made with lengths of hollow reeds or from the sounds that can be produced by blowing into an animal horn. We shall be more concerned, however, with the essential features that have to be present in any instrument if a usable musical sound is to be produced. The characteristic of a simple musical note is regularity of the pressure changes and the necessity for their frequency to be within the range to which human ears are sensitive. So we must obviously start with a device that will produce such regularity. It could be a vibration (or "wobble") or it could be rotation (like the wheel of a siren). Most instruments depend on vibration of air in pipes, of tightly stretched strings, of more-or-less flat plates, or of hollow shapes like bells. So we shall need to start by thinking about how such things vibrate. And we shall have to consider how the vibrations are started and what effect this has on the notes. Pulling a cork out of a bottle makes a musical sound, but it is very short lived; how can we keep feeding in energy to make a continuous note? Clearly plucking a guitar string, or striking a piano key make quite different sounds from those made by bowing a violin, even though the primary source is in each case a stretched string; so we shall ask how bowing can feed in energy to keep the sound going. Frequently we find that, even if we can keep it going, the sound is too quiet to be heard (a violin string without a body is almost inaudible). So we need to amplify the sound and this can be done by adding a soundboard (e.g. in the piano), or a hollow body (e.g. in the acoustic guitar), or, in more recent times, by electronic means (e.g. in the electric guitar). But, as soon as we add an amplifier, complications arise. The amplifier does not
All stringed instruments start out with very quiet string vibrations that have to be amplified and we shall start by looking at the way in which flat plates and hollow bodies work in amplifying sounds. Our exploration of real musical instruments will cover two quite different groups both of which use strings as their primary source of sound. The first group uses plucking as the way of setting the strings in vibration and includes all the fascinating instruments like lyres and lutes that have eventually led up to modern harps and guitars. Science has begun to contribute to our knowledge of the way in which guitars work and computer techniques are now being used to show visually exactly how the top plate of a guitar vibrates when a string is plucked. The second group is one of the largest families of instruments, bowed strings, which derive from the quiet viols. Then came the baroque violins, cellos and other related instruments. But as orchestras became larger and the composers of symphonies and concertos demanded a more powerful sound, the baroque instruments were rebuilt to give our present day violins and cellos. Even the great instruments of Antonio Stradivari are no longer in their original form. And yet there is still a magic about them. Can science help to reveal the secret of the "Strad"? How far can scientific methods complement the skill of the craftsman in making instruments? Among other, modern developments we shall see how the latest advances in laser interferometry can reveal not only how instruments behave, but how the body of the player is involved too.
Although we have mentioned only trumpets in the title this lecture is really about all the wind instruments, including the pipe organ. One of the main considerations will be the way in which the actual technology involved in making instruments has affected the whole course of musical development. The early trumpets without valves could play tunes with only very high notes; the development of valves has, however, made it possible to play tunes at a much lower pitch. On the early woodwind instruments it was quite difficult to play very rapid passages but the introduction of Boehm's marvellous system of keys has made the instruments much more flexible. The opening clarinet glissando of the "Rhapsody in Blue" would be very difficult on a baroque instrument! The simple ideas of vibrations in tubes soon have to be modified to explain the behaviour of real instruments and there are quite a few surprises. For example it is often said (frequently by the Lecturer!) that the trombone uses the various modes of vibration of the tube to produce the main pitch changes and then, in order to play tunes, the gaps are filled in by altering the overall length with the slide. But a good player can fill in the gaps without using the slide, apparently in defiance of the physics! The design and manufacture of wind instruments is every bit as complicated as that of the string family. For example, in a clarinet the finger holes may seem to be there just to enable tunes to be played; but they perform a vital function in the maintenance of the vibrations, in determining the quality of sound produced and in controlling the way in which the sound produced inside the instrument gets out to the ears of the listeners. The tone quality of the woodwinds makes a fascinating study and we shall find, for example that the note of a bassoon contains virtually no fundamental. The way in which the ear-brain system makes up for this loss is well worth studying. The largest and most splendid of
Harpsichords and spinets are mechanised members of the plucked string family and it is well known that the major problem with these instruments is that it is difficult to make the sound vary in loudness. In the harpsichord the problem is partly solved by having more than one keyboard, each playing an instrument of different loudness. But if, instead of using the keys to pluck a string, we use them to hit the string, some variation is possible, as in the clavichord. It is with the piano, however, that the full range of loudness is possible, and indeed the modern piano is a most extraordinary piece of mechanical engineering. Any one learning to play a keyboard instrument has to practise scales and this is often regarded as the most boring part of the learning process. The origin of musical scales, however, is quite fascinating. They have often been likened to the grammar of music since they tend to emerge only after primitive compositions have been played or sung for a long time. Our concern will be mainly with a problem that arises with all keyboard instruments - it is impossible to play scales in all the different keys exactly in tune and a compromise is needed. Fortunately the synthesizers that form the main material of this last lecture also provide us with convenient ways of demonstrating the problem and its solution. The extraordinary world of synthesizers and computers has developed explosively in the last few years. One could call an electronic organ a synthesizer though of course it does not have the enormous flexibility of recent synthesizers. Classification is difficult but broadly speaking one can trace a line of development from electronic organs to analogue synthesizers,because in both we start with purely electronic oscillations and then add, subtract, multiply, mix and perform many other functions to make up the complex sounds of useful music. A second line of development involves digital processing in which even the basic sounds are
Malcolm Longair , Astronomer Royal of Scotland, takes a grand tour that begins in our own 'backyard' - our solar system - and ends at the very edge of the universe, showing the different views that we get from looking at the universe through different wavelengths.
Most of the visible light in the universe is starlight. What are stars? How are they born? How do they generate their immense energy? How do they fade and die? Professor Malcolm Longair probes deep into the regions where stars are forming, and examines their birth and violent death.
After the Second World War, the development of radio astronomy led to the discovery of Quasars, the nuclei of galaxies that generate such immense luminosities. The 60s and 70s led to the revelation of pulsars and black holes, potentially the most powerful sources of energy in the Universe. Professor Malcolm Longair explores what is known about these remarkable phenomena.
Astronomers believe that they understand the great cosmic cycle of the birth, life and death of stars. But Professor Malcolm Longair, Astronomer Royal of Scotland, explains that some great questions remain: how did the great gas clouds from which stars may form come about?
Professor Malcolm Longair leaves the biggest problem of the lot to his last lecture. In his explanation of some of the most puzzling aspects of the structure of the universe, he illustrates how modern particle physics - the pursuit of the very small - is providing some remarkable new theories to explain the evolution of the very large.
Professor Richard Dawkins discusses the amazing capabilities of the human body and contrasts these with the limited capabilities of computers and other man-made machines. He uses a small totem pole (which is used in ancestor worship) to illustrate the importance of studying our ancestors to understand how we've evolved.
Dawkins' second lecture of the series examines the problem of design. He presents the audience with a number of simple objects, such as rocks and crystals, and notes that these objects have been formed by simple laws of physics and are therefore not designed. He then examines some designed objects - including a microscope, an electronic calculator, a pocket watch, and a clay pot - and notes that none of these objects could have possibly come about by sheer luck.
Professor Richard Dawkins starts the lecture coming in with a stick insect on his hand. He describes with how much details such a being imitates its environment, its almost like a key that fits a lock. He then shows another insect, namely a Leaf Insect, which basically looks exactly like a dead leaf.
Dawkins begins by relating the story of asking a little girl "what she thought flowers were 'for'." Her response is anthropocentric, that flowers are there for our benefit. Dawkins points out that many people throughout history have thought that the natural world existed for our benefit, with examples from Genesis and other literature.
Professor Richard Dawkins opens by talking how organisms “grow up” to understand the universe around them, which requires certain apparatus, such as a brain. But before brains can become large enough to model the universe they must develop from intermediate forms.
As humans we are a lot less symmetrical than we appear. We have dominant hands, ears and even eyes. How did that evolve and why does it matter?
Chirality confers individuality, recognition, and specificity. All of these qualities are vital in the struggle for existence.
A look at the way in which the handedness of molecules governs the interaction between chemicals.
Our sensory mechanisms are all handed, with smell and sight being just two that are affected.
In this talk Charles Stirling examines handed giants - carbohydrates and proteins - whose building blocks are glucose and amino-acids.
A journey through time - from seconds after the Big Bang to the present day. In his first lecture, Frank Close takes a look at the electromagnetic spectrum beyond the rainbow, from infrared to ultraviolet, from radio waves to gamma rays.
By learning how atomic nuclei behave, form and change, we begin to understand how the stars, and particular, our Sun produce their power.
In his third lecture Frank Close looks at the various methods of imaging fundamental particles. Millions of cosmic particles rain down on us with clues to the first moments in time.
Before the Large Hadron Collider, there was the Large Electron Positron collider, the largest electon accelerator ever built.
In his final lecture, Frank Close looks at the symmetry of the early universe and the reasons behind its current asymmetrical state. According to the leading theories, the Big Bang produced matter and anti-matter in equal proportions. How is it that the "matter" won out?
Dr Susan Greenfield is the first woman to present the lectures since they were introduced by Faraday in 1826. She asks how what we do, think, feel and experience is related to electrical signals travelling to and from the brain.
Dr Susan Greenfield looks at how people have studied the brain, from the Victorian craze of interpreting the bumps on the skull to the latest images of the brain at work.
Dr Susan Greenfield looks at how the brain handles all the signals streaming in from the body's sensors.
Dr Susan Greenfield shows how the brain is shaped and changed, from before birth to old age.
In the last of the series, Dr Susan Greenfield investigates how children master language.
The first of five daily science lectures which are intended to be of particular interest to children. Dr James Jackson, a geologist from Cambridge University, looks for clues in what explorers, meteorites, volcanoes and earthquakes tell us about the make-up of Planet Earth.
Dr James Jackson reveals that the key to understanding how the Earth moves lies not above the sea but deep in the oceans.
Dr James Jackson investigates how solid rock is turned to molten lava and explains how volcanoes are a planet's way of keeping cool. The lectures continue tomorrow and Sunday.
Dr James Jackson draws on evidence from sunken cities and sea shells found high in mountain ranges to explain what happens when continents stretch and collide.
In his final lecture, Dr James Jackson describes how water has affected the history of Earth and looks at the moon, Venus and Mars to imagine what life would be like without it.
Fossils and evolution are themes covered by this series of science lectures, showing over the next five days. which are intended to be of particular interest to children. Professor Simon Conway Morris guides his audience through billions of years of fossil history.
Professor Simon Conway Morris reveals how inert records such as fossil bacteria, gut contents and footprints can bring ancient times to life.
Professor Simon Conway Morris relates the turbulent history of life on Earth.
Professor Simon Conway Morris uses fossil evidence to demonstrate some of the laws governing evolution.
In the final lecture, Professor Simon Conway Morris traces human evolution.
This opening Lecture introduces the concept that far from being a dusty collection of rules about angles and equations, mathematics is the magic thread which binds our universe.
Professor Ian Stewart shows how, although animals appear to walk in a huge variety of ways, there are some strange similarities.
Professor Ian Stewart explains how a little knowledge of maths increases the chance of winning in game-shows.
Professor Ian Stewart looks for order in chaos, and asks if fractals are the key to the irregular Shapes of nature.
Why do tigers have stripes, while leopards have spots? Professor Ian Stewart explores the patterns in nature.
In the first of her lectures, Dame Nancy Rothwell reveals how we are endowed with a multitude of sensors that help us regulate our bodies.
In her second lecture, Nancy Rothwell explores how much energy is in the different foods we eat, and what happens to our body weight when we eat it.
In the third of her Christmas Lectures, Dame Nancy Rothwell reveals how humans and animals alike have evolved to keep their body temperatures constant, even when the temperature of their habitats is changing.
In her fourth lecture, Nancy Rothwell explores how our bodies and those of animals are trained by sunlight. The human body has a clock of its own and every creature works to a rhythm controlled by its genes. Professor Nancy Rothwell explains why the iguana has a third eye and how migrating birds navigate.
In her final Christmas Lecture, Nancy Rothwell reveals some of the incredible adaptations that animals have evolved to cope with life in the extremes. From anti-freeze blood to double-layered fur, each animal has found its own way to overcome the extremes.
In his first lecture, Neil Johnson looks into the relativistic nature of time.
In his second lecture, Dr Neil Johnson measures the waves that travel through time and space, and sets out to test Einstein's theory of relativity with an experiment that uses an atomic clock.
Why is the quantum world so weird and what are some of the applications of what we now know about it? Dr Neil Johnson explores the mystery within the atom, where events occur faster than anywhere else in the universe, to offer a glimpse into the strange quantum world that lies around us. Harnessing these effects has led to the modern-day world characterised by high-speed communications.
From traffic jams to financial markets - how does self-organised behaviour emerge in time despite a seemingly chaotic environment? Dr Neil Johnson analyses how a greater understanding of the cycles and patterns favoured by the natural world could help in efforts to predict such events as the swings of the stock market and changes in weather conditions.
What can quantum physics reveal about the future? Will we be able to teleport or travel in time? Dr Neil Johnson concludes the series of lectures with a look at how space and time are linked in a way that may transform the concept of teleportation into a reality.
Anatomy of an Android investigates the way robots have been developed to assist humans. But as the level of sophistication of these robots rockets ahead are we humans being left behind? The machines we have designed and built are taking on more and more tasks for themselves. If we have designed robots to be better, faster and stronger than us, who will be best suited to thrive in the technological world of the future? The adventure begins with perhaps the most famous robots of all - Androids - machines built in the image of the human body. If such machines have a number of physical advantages over humans, and can think for themselves, what does this mean for the future of the human race?
Humans dominate this planet because of their intelligence but what do we mean when we say 'human intelligence'? The first step is for robots to be able to experience the world around them. Things that Think explores what it must be like for a robot to 'see' its surroundings using ultrasonic sensors - but it doesn't stop there - other sensors can be used to equip robots so that they can cope with environments which we can't even see. But being able to see is not enough. Robots need to be able to react both with their environment and with us, on a human level, and to do so, they need to be given an artificial form of our own intelligence. This lecture shows how the science of cybernetics is using artificial intelligence to bring robots to life.
Humans may be intelligent and adaptable but there are environments which are simply too dangerous for the human body to cope with. There are some procedures which are too complex for us to perform or need a level of precision which humans just don't possess. Clearly, in these situations robots are our best allies. But there is a new breed of robots, which not only venture into these environments but work tirelessly and precisely, hour after hour. In Remote Robots we meet the robots that can defuse bombs, travel to distant planets or perform complex surgery on a patient on the other side of the world. We also link, live via satellite to the virtual reality assisted robot astronaut which will control space shuttle missions in the future.
What are cyborgs and what would they look like? Would they resemble Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator or might they be more like The Borg from Star Trek? Are they just science fiction or are they already here? Some of the answers in "Bionic Bodies" might surprise you - cyborgs are not just possible, but a reality! After all, many humans are already being fitted with machines which help them to live normal lives, things like replacement limbs, heart pacemakers, cochlea implants for the deaf, even an electronic "eye" for blind people. These men and women are technically, cyborgs! But what of the rest of us? Would you want to be a cyborg of the future? Well you may well have the chance! Microchips are being developed which can deliver medicine in precise amounts, they can be put onto clothes or jewellery as wearable computers.
For centuries humans have used their ingenuity to develop machines capable of improving on, replacing and outperforming human physical skills. Machines have reduced the drudgery of many tasks by taking on boring jobs. But now, as robots are being given artificial intelligence, the machines are no longer limited to 'boring' jobs. Automated computer systems now trade on stock markets, run trains and even fly passenger aircraft. Some robots can now think for themselves and function independently of humans. They can even communicate with other robots on the other side of the world via the internet. Is there a danger that we giving too much control to these machines? In I, Robot, Professor Warwick considers the dangers of allowing robots too much power to develop their own artificial intelligence. But he also acknowledges that the 21st century - the 'cyber century', as it has been called - is a very exciting time for science. How far can we go with cyborgs? Only the future will tell.
Explores the marvellous phenomenon of life from its origins to the present day.
Explores the miracle of life - how a body grows from a single cell into a body made up of one hundred million million cells.
Explores the passage of human evolution to discover how humans became the unique creatures they are today.
Explores what can go wrong with human genes and how we are slowly learning how to fix them
The series of lectures concludes with an odyssey into the not too distant future, to explore what our growing power to control life will mean for our species and for human individuals.
Spider silk is an engineering marvel, stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar. Everything about a spider's web - from the material it is spun from, to the glue that binds it together - is an engineering masterpiece. Built in seconds, each strand in the web is a highly engineered polymer fibre, 10-times stronger than steel. Like spiders, we use a wide range of polymer fibres to build the world around us. This lecture explores how chemistry is trying to mimic the natural world and construct a more ambitious and efficient man-made one.
What connects the trainers on your feet to a jumbo jet flying 40,000 feet up in the air? The trainer is a miracle of modern science. The average pair lasts just six months, but in that time, they will have run 3,000 miles, absorbed 400 litres of sweat and withstood 400 tonnes of impact. How they survive this battering is down to some miraculous chemistry that lurks beneath their flashy skin - a hidden world of impact cushioning gel, moisture absorbing insoles, and breathable foot-hugging coatings. So tune in and explore the chemistry that propels us around the planet.
What connects the mobile phone in your pocket with the web of surveillance cameras that span the world? Ten years ago mobile phones were the size of bricks, as heavy as a bag of sugar and the property of only the very rich. Now they are everywhere, smaller than a credit card and lighter than a Mars bar. But what shrunk the mobile phone, and how come we all have one? Join Tony as he explores the chemistry that connects people and asks what does the electronic chemistry have in store for us?
What connects the sticky plaster with replacing damaged parts of our bodies? The humble plaster is one of the simplest steps on the road to repairing the damaged body, yet it is a marvel of chemical engineering - a miniature hospital, dispensing everything from antibiotics to aftercare. But how does the plaster stick, and how does it allow the wound to breathe, while at the same time keep it dry? Our knowledge of the chemistry of our bodies now extends far beyond plasters. Now we have soap, toothpaste & shampoo that make us smell nice, our parents look younger and our teeth last as long as we do. Check out the lecture to discover more!
What connects creating the perfect tasting ice cream with bringing people back to life after cryogenic freezing? Creating ice cream that will re-freeze time after time but still remains as tasty as the day it was made, is a major culinary conundrum. New ways of conjuring up this faultless cuisine may come from the most unlikely places - serving up the perfect ice cream may depend on understanding how Arctic fishes stop themselves from freezing in their icy homes. But if we can mimic this seemingly magical feat, could we do far more than make the perfect raspberry ripple? Could we cryogenically freeze your granny and then defrost her back to her radiant self again?
This is the first in the 2003 series of Christmas Lectures.
Second in the 2003 series of Christmas Lectures, 'Voyage in space and time'.
First lecture in the 2004 Christmas Lecture series 'To the ends of the earth: surviving antarctic extremes'.
Second lecture in the 2004 Christmas Lecture series 'To the end of the earth: surviving antartic extremes'.
Third lecture in the 2004 Christmas Lecture series 'To the end of the earth: surviving antartic extremes'.
What did you have for your Christmas dinner? The traditional turkey? A vegetarian meal? And how did the turkey tradition start? What did people have for Christmas dinner 500 years ago? Just how is your Christmas meal turned into you? John takes us on a journey through time from our earliest ancestors, on the way exploring how scientists have come to understand the diets of our fossil ancestors from studying their teeth and bones and how differences in food habits among populations and cultures have arisen. We ask whether our diets today are a result of evolutionary adaptations or chance, and how origins of agriculture 10,000 years ago transformed the food habits of our ancestors as we moved from hunting and gathering to growing crops and keeping livestock. We humans are unique in the animal kingdom because we cook much of our food before we eat it. What has been the impact of cooking both on the range of foods we can eat and on our evolution? In this lecture we learn about genetic differences among populations in ability to deal with certain foods and come to understand why some like it hot, spicing up their food with chillies and other hot spices.
What is your favourite food? What are the things you wouldn't touch with a barge pole? Food may be fuel, but it's also something we really enjoy - unless it's one of those foods you can't stand. What is it about some food that makes it irresistible, while other food is a real turn off? In 'Yuck or yummy' we explore the sensory world of food. How do taste, appearance, texture, smell and even the name of the food affect our enjoyment? What goes on in the brain when we enjoy, or are revolted by particular foods? We ask whether or not we are programmed by our evolutionary past to like some foods more than others and how our own experiences early on might affect our preferences for life. One person's pleasure in food may be another's disgust. How do individual differences arise? We also enter the kitchen and explore the chemistry of cooking: for example what is it that happens to food when we grill it to make it so tasty? There are some real surprises in discovering how different flavours work together, and this can be used to create unexpected dishes for our enjoyment.
Our bodies are made from the food we have eaten during our lifetime. To survive and grow we need to eat enough of each of the essential building blocks of the human body. How did scientists discover the right mix of nutrients and how does what we eat match up? Is it true that eating fish makes you brainier, carrots help you see in the dark and spinach will make you stronger? John takes us through the maze of diet and health. We uncover the truth behind the claims for different kinds of foods, including organic food, and ask whether we instinctively tend to choose the balance of nutrients our bodies need. In different parts of the world, people eat remarkably different diets, some entirely vegetarian, some largely meat or fish. How do these different populations manage to get the building blocks they need when they eat such different things? Lots of people try to lose weight by dieting. But does it work? And if so, what is the secret of successful dieting?
We uncover the hidden and not so hidden dangers that might lurk in our food and explode some of the myths that surround these risks. Are you or any of your friends allergic to one kind of food or another? Perhaps as many as one in ten children has a food allergy and allergies can sometimes kill. What happens when people react to food with an allergy? Why is food allergy apparently on the increase? Have you ever suffered a bout of food poisoning? We take a look at that two-month old piece of cheese you find at the back of the fridge. It's covered in blue mould. It may look unappetising but is it dangerous? What are the microbes in food that could harm you? How do they get there? If you get food poisoning you might throw up: why does the body react like this? Food is made up of chemicals but you often read that 'chemicals in food' are dangerous, whether they are pesticide residues or artificial colours or flavourings added to our food. What is the truth behind this?
Most of us get enough to eat, but roughly 800 million people in the world go hungry every day. The world's population is set to increase from about six billion today to nearly ten billion by 2050. Will more people inevitably go hungry? Is the earth capable of producing enough food for the future? In the 20th century the green revolution produced a lot more food for the world's rapidly expanding population, through a mixture of better crops, more fertilisers and pesticides and more efficient machinery. Is the same solution going to work in the 21st century? What will be the impacts on the environment? Many people rely on fish for their survival, but already the world's oceans are over-exploited. What will happen to fish stocks in years to come? In this glimpse of the future, John asks whether new farming methods such as genetically modified crops will be the solution, or whether we will all have to become vegetarians. Science is also blurring the boundaries between food, medicines and drugs. Will the future bring us the chocolate bar that treats heart disease or the mood-enhancing potato crisp?
The secret life of numbers has fascinated people ever since humans learned to count. Join Marcus as he investigates where our numbers came from and where they are going, how big they can get and whether infinity is really a number. Explore the mysterious primes, the indivisible numbers. Just why did Beckham choose the number 23 shirt? And why do sunflowers have 89 petals? Find out how to try for the $1 million prize for cracking mathematics' biggest mystery.
Ever wondered why bubbles are always round even if you blow them with a square frame? Or why footballs are made out of pentagons and hexagons? Take a tour through the mathematical and cultural world of shapes - from pyramids in Egypt to the domes of Italy, and from the shape of good dice to the smell of symmetry. We'll even take a trip into hyperspace and reveal how to see in four dimensions.
Place your bets as we use maths to win at games. Logic is an important part of playing games and mathematics can help you plan the best strategy to win. Explore why some games are won or lost on the first move, how lateral thinking unlocks fiendish brainteasers, and why the economy, the law courts and even human relationships are one big game.
From the Caesar Cipher to the Da Vinci Code, people have been fascinated by secret messages. The mathematics of codes lets us to do everything from photographing the surface of Mars to shopping securely on eBay. Find out how prime numbers are now the key to codes which protect credit cards from internet hackers, and how, in the digital age, i-pods and digital TV are just a load of 0s and 1s.
Mathematics is the ultimate fortune teller. It can predict if a new plane design will make it off the ground. It can plan the path of a spacecraft so it passes close to every planet on its journey through the solar system. But some of nature's equations are more tricky. Why is weather so hard to forecast? How will world populations evolve? The mathematics of chaos theory helps explain why problems like these are so challenging.
Dr Montgomery examines the theme of respiration. Just like racing car engines, humans use oxygen to burn fuels and release the energy that powers each function in every cell. So how do we get the oxygen from the air to the cell, and what happens when oxygen levels in the air are dramatically reduced? Dr Montgomery looks at the airways that carry the oxygen, and the rib-and-muscle bellows which drive air through them. He examines the lung and explains how it passes the oxygen on to the blood cells which grab and hold that oxygen. Then, viewers are shown how the heart pumps these cells around the body through a complex system of blood vessels, where the oxygen is passed onto the cells for another phase of processing. In the second half of the lecture, Dr Montgomery meets some mountaineers who have climbed Everest where there is three-times less oxygen than at sea level. What happens to these people’s bodies when they struggle to stand at the very top of the world?
Tonight’s lecture examines how food is processed and used by our cells. The food we eat contains the fuel we need to power our bodies. But what are these fuels? How do we get them from our dinner plates to our cells? And what other things are there in the food apart from fuel? Dr Montgomery explains what happens to the fuel and oxygen in a cell, describing how food is converted into an energy currency to be spent in different ways around the body. As well as focusing on normal function of the body, the lecture also explores how the body reacts to abnormal levels of food intake. What effect does gluttony have on the body? What happens when we are starved of food, or deprived of water? What happens when we become dehydrated? How long can someone survive without any fluids? And what happens if we miss some key bits of food out of our diet? Finally, Dr Montgomery turns his attention to people who have survived on the edge of existence as he meets some real-life castaways. How did their bodies cope without access to food or water for so long?
How the body copes with extremes of temperature. Humans live in some extraordinary places –from the middle of the Sahara desert to the frozen wastelands of Alaska. Take a snake to the North Pole, and it will stop moving in minutes; take a cat to the desert and it will be dead in hours. So how can some humans survive such extremes, and could anyone? Dr Montgomery explains how our bodies burn fuel using oxygen to create an energy currency, which in turn creates heat. Viewers will discover whether shivering really works, whether a hot meal makes a difference to our internal body temperature and whether mothers are right when they say that you should wear a hat on a cold day. But what about when it is too hot? Where is the blood diverted in order to cool the body down? What is sweat and how does it work? And why do dogs pant, and humans not? Finally, Dr Montgomery meets some people who have survived in the very coldest places and the hottest places on Earth. What are the limits to human survival, and how close did these people come to death?
The focus of tonight’s presentation is stress and exertion. When faced with a threat like the approach of a predator, a human’s natural response is to turn and flee. Yet a soldier facing enemy guns can choose to stand and fight. Such a decision and the subsequent physical work required involves burning a huge amount of energy. So how does the body deliver such a large amount of energy so rapidly? What happens to the heart, lungs and blood vessels used to transport the energy, and how is it used once it is delivered? In addressing some of these questions, Dr Montgomery takes a close look at the workings of the amazing, high-performance, all-terrain vehicle that is the human body. Viewers will learn what the skeleton is made of, how muscles move the skeleton, what these muscles are made of, how they create force, and how they are controlled by the computer in our skulls. With the help of some intrepid and athletic volunteers, Dr Montgomery explores if all muscles are the same and why it is that some people can sprint well, while others are adept at running for long distances. He then introduces somebody whose ability to keep going despite physical exhaustion saved his life.
Tonight’s presentation examines the part genetics has to play in our ability to survive. Is everyone’s ability to survive the same? Faced with the same perils, would we all cope just as well? And if not, is it down to luck or relative toughness, or is there such a thing as the will to live? Dr Montgomery’s main focus tonight is the complex world of genes –what are they and how do they make us different. How much of the way we are is ‘nature’ and how much ‘nurture’? Do our genes influence our chances of survival? Can they protect us from infections, or help us survive them? Can they allow us to run further and faster? Can they even make us feel more or less pain? In the second half of his lecture, Dr Montgomery talks to some people who have survived in the face of adversity. To what degree do they credit their endurance to training and preparation, toughness, the will to live, genetics or just good, old-fashioned luck?
This year’s lectures are conducted by Professor Chris Bishop, chief research scientist with Microsoft Research and Professor of Computer Science at Edinburgh University. After graduating with first class honours in Physics from Oxford, Professor Bishop went on to earn a PhD in theoretical physics from Edinburgh University. His research interests include probabilistic approaches to machine learning, as well as their application to fields such as computer vision. Professor Bishop goes on a fascinating exploration of the extraordinary world of the silicon chip and attempts to answer the plethora of questions associated with this technology. How is it possible to build a machine as complex as this with a billion tiny components packed into a space the size of a postage stamp? What are the challenges that are making it harder to continue the incredible improvement in speed, and what ideas are being explored to overcome them? Can new kinds of computers be built that are based on individual molecules? Can single electrons be used to store information? Could computation machines exist without consuming energy? As scientists race to make computers faster and cheaper than ever before, Professor Bishop also asks whether scientists will eventually hit a wall. After decades of continuing enhancements and ever-increasing processing speeds, is there anything of significance that is yet to be achieved in the world of computing?
Computers now outnumber people throughout the world. But less than one per cent of these machines take the form of desktop or laptop computers. As microchips get smaller and faster, they are being built into a huge range of objects and devices, including such everyday items as washing machines, toys and even clothing. People interact with dozens if not hundreds of computers on a daily basis, often without even realising it. But very few of these have mice and keyboards. As computers become more widespread, new ways of communicating with them are needed. In this lecture, Professor Bishop reveals state-of the-art advancements in computer interaction, including new touch-screen technology. Surface computing allows people to manipulate documents just as they would pieces of paper on a table. Users are able to perform a host of functions, including organising and resizing photos, poring over maps and making selections from takeaway menus. The interface is capable of processing the requests of multiple users. Professor Bishop also demonstrates 3-D displays and flexible screens that can be rolled up when they are not being used. However, it is not just displays that are being revolutionised. As the number of computers grows, their power will be further exploited via networking – both with each other and the internet. In the future, the traditional shopping list looks set to become a thing of the past as microchips may be included in the packaging of consumables. When a pint of milk expires or pantry supplies are running low, a shopper will receive a text message or email informing them that they need to top up on certain items.
Computers are the most versatile machines ever invented, and the same piece of hardware can be used for thousands of different purposes. They can create virtual worlds with extraordinary realism, play chess better than almost any human, and even isolate a person’s position to within a few metres anywhere on the planet. What makes this possible is something that cannot be seen, felt or touched, but without it the digital revolution would never have happened. Professor Bishop investigates the software that brings a machine to life, and turns it into a phone, a music player, a game, or any number of other devices – including ones not even imagined by the creator of the hardware. So what is software, and how is it stored inside the computer? Is data the same thing as information? Why are some problems just too hard for any computer to solve, and how can this be used to a scientist’s advantage? To answer these questions, Professor Bishop explores how software has touched almost every aspect of life. He finds out how powerful new computers running sophisticated programs are able to do thousands of tasks at once, and why the simultaneous calculations made by a quantum computer may outnumber atoms in the universe. Finally, with the help of a live satellite link, the studio audience will put their burning questions about software to one of the pioneers of computing – co-founder of Microsoft and the world’s third richest man, Bill Gates.
The impact of computers increased dramatically when they were connected together to form the internet. Millions of users around the world log on to the web every day, forming part of a network that has revolutionised how people communicate, live, work and shop – yet few people could actually explain the inner workings of the system. Just how does information make its way across the web, through hundreds of computers to the right destination? How does a search engine find the desired page amongst billions of possibilities in a fraction of a second? What will the web be like in years to come? And are credit card numbers safe when they are sent out into the ether? In this lecture, Chris Bishop untangles some of the mysteries of the web. He reveals one of the most surprising results in computer science, and shows how it is used to make web pages secure. He also studies the different ways of scrambling information to stop eavesdroppers from reading it, and explains how quantum physics can provide a secret means of transmitting data over the internet. The future of the web remains a hotly debated topic. Experts predict a range of innovations, including an increase in the number of mobile devices that can access the web. Yet questions of web security, privacy, government regulation and the impact on social interactions as people spend more time online remain areas of great speculation. It is clear that the internet will be a major part of the future – but that future is still to be shaped.
Computers are extraordinary machines, able to perform feats of arithmetic that far exceed the capabilities of any human. They can store a huge quantity of data and recall it perfectly in the blink of an eye. They can even beat the chess world champion at his own game. So why do computers struggle to solve apparently simple tasks such as understanding speech, or translating text between languages? Why is a three-year-old child better at recognising everyday objects than the world’s most powerful supercomputer? In the last of this year’s lectures, Chris Bishop looks at one of the great frontiers of computer science. He explains how some of the toughest computational problems are now being tackled by giving computers the ability to learn solutions for themselves. This has led to impressive progress with problems such as recognising handwriting and finding information on the web. Scientists are particularly concerned with the area of computer vision – the technology of making computers see what is placed in front of them. If perfected, this ability could be applied to all manner of practical uses, from medical scanners to cars that run on autopilot. However, exactly what constitutes intelligence remains an area of much philosophical debate. It can include skills such as logic, linguistic ability, spatial awareness, musical talent and inter personal skills. For many scientists, it remains to be seen how many of these abilities – if any – can be successfully developed in computers, and whether digital intelligence is even comparable to its human equivalent. There are many challenges ahead in the quest to build the ultimate computer.
In this years Royal Institution Christmas Lectures ecologist Professor Sue Hartley - only the fourth woman to present the lectures since they began in 1825 - shows how the epic 300-million-year war between plants and animals has shaped us and the world we live in. Plants may seem harmless, but Professor Hartley reveals that the opposite is the case: they've had to develop terrifying and devious ways to defend themselves and attack their plant and animal enemies. Vicious poisons, lethal materials and even cunning forms of communicating with unlikely allies are just some of the weapons in their armoury that have seen off everything from dinosaurs to caterpillars. And Professor Hartley demonstrates how humans have turned plants into food, medicines and drugs and reveals what is likely to happen next in the epic struggle between plants and animals. In this first lecture Professor Hartley reveals how, despite animals attempts to destroy plants by eating them, plants are winning the war.
Ecologist Professor Sue Hartley continues to show how the epic 300-million-year war between plants and animals has shaped us and the world we live in. The life of a herbivore is not a happy one. For a start, plants are the wrong sort of food for animals: they are low in essential nutrients and getting any of those nutrients in the face of flora defences is even harder. In this programme, Professor Hartley reveals the many different ways plant-eating animals, from sloths to aphids, have evolved to overcome these problems. Herbivores use all sorts of tricks: they employ "friendly" bacteria in their gut to extract as many nutrients as possible from indigestible plants. They also have continuously growing teeth to grind down tough plants like grasses. Professor Hartley also reveals some of the many ways herbivores cope with plant poisons, and that some herbivores even steal plants' poisons to use in their own defence against their predators
Can a plant, something without a mouth, ears or eyes, communicate? Yes! Plants do communicate but not in ways that are obvious to humans. Instead of barking or shrieking when they are attacked, they release chemical ‘signals' into the air which can be detected by other plants. But these physical and chemical defences cost energy that could be used to grow instead of being used for protection. Do they protect themselves, or grow?
Lunch anyone? Human agriculture has usually tried to disarm plant defences and increase plant nutrient content. Our domestic varieties of wheat and cabbage now look, and taste, very different to their wild relatives. White carrots anyone? We cook, cure, freeze and otherwise process plants until they become edible and more nutritious. We grow them to epic proportions. And now, using the latest scientific research, we have the opportunity to grow them more efficiently and perhaps more healthily using genetic modification.
With changing climate it is difficult to predict who will win the 300 million year war. What has gone wrong when herbivores get the upper hand and strip plants bare? The battle ground is changing such that different conditions could favour either the plants or the herbivores. When the balance is broken we could have an ‘outbreak’, which is a situation where one side of the war gets an unfair advantage and grows unchecked. Will climate change compromise the abilities of plants, including our crops, to defend themselves?
How can a hamster survive falling from the top of a skyscraper, ants carry over 100 times their own body weight and geckos climb across the ceiling? In the first of this year's Christmas lectures, Dr Mark Miodownik investigates why size matters in animal behaviour. He reveals how the science of materials - the stuff from which everything is made - can explain some of the most extraordinary and surprising feats in the animal kingdom. By the end, you will understand why you will never see an elephant dance.
Dr Mark Miodownik zooms into the microscopic world beneath our fingertips. In this unfamiliar landscape, strange forces dominate the world and common sense goes out of the window. He reveals how this tiny hidden world can make objects behave like magic, and discovers the secrets of the extraordinary metals that make jet engines possible. With a mass audience taste test, Mark reveals why chocolate is actually one of the most sophisticated and highly engineered materials on the planet, using special crystals designed to melt in the mouth. He looks forward to new era of self-healing materials where a broken mobile phone or car bumper could heal itself and how, one day, material scientists might even create artificial life.
Why is the tallest building on earth less than half a mile high? Why don't we have mountains as tall as those on Mars? In the last of this year's Christmas Lectures, Dr Mark Miodownik investigates the world of the very big and very tall. He reveals that, at this scale, everything is governed by a battle with one of the strangest forces in the universe - gravity. With help from acrobats, levitation devices, spiders, birthday cake candles and even some sticky goo, Mark discovers how gravity can make solid rock behave like a liquid and investigates whether one day it might be possible to build a structure from Earth into space, taking us beyond the reach of gravity without the use of rocket.
Why does your brain look like a giant walnut, how does it fit in enough wiring to stretch four times around the equator and why can a magnet on your head stop you in mid-sentence? In the first of this year's Christmas Lectures, Professor Bruce Hood gets inside your head to explore how your brain works. He measures the brain's nerve cells in action, reads someone's mind from 100 miles away and reveals how the brain ultimately creates its own version of reality.
Your brain is constantly being bombarded with information, so how does it decide what to trust and what to ignore, without you even being aware? Professor Bruce Hood leads us through the second of this year's Christmas Lectures - testing the limits of our memory, finding out how we learn, how our brain takes shortcuts and why multi-tasking can be dangerous. Bruce will make you say the wrong thing and fail to see what's right in front of you. Can you really believe your eyes? Possibly not.
Have you ever seen a face in a piece of burnt toast, or given your car a name? Why do you feel pain when someone else is hurt? Why are people so obsessed with other people? In the last of this year's Christmas Lectures, Professor Bruce Hood investigates how our brains are built to read other people's minds. With a little help from a baby, a robot and a magician, Bruce uncovers what makes us truly human.
The medieval alchemists made elements react to create magnificent shows, enthralling kings and commoners alike, but their secrets were never revealed until now. In the first of this year's Christmas Lectures, Dr Peter Wothers explores what the alchemists knew about the air we breathe and reveals how our modern knowledge of these elements can be used to control fire, defy gravity and harness the power of a lightning storm. Peter is joined by the cast of the musical Loserville and is helped in his exploration of the 118 modern elements by a periodic table made from audience members at the Royal Institution.
Medieval alchemists wrote of a mysterious fountain of youth, whose waters could rejuvenate anyone who drank them. But can water really be magical? In the second of this year's Christmas Lectures, Dr Peter Wothers drinks from the fountain and finds out whether the elements lurking in the water can restore his youth. Along the way he discovers how exploding balloons could solve the energy crisis, how water contains the remains of the most violent reactions on Earth and that the real secret to eternal youth might be drinking no water at all. Peter is joined in his quest by Paralympic champion cyclist Mark Colbourne and finds out what happens when the two most reactive elements on the periodic table, caesium and fluorine, meet each other.
For centuries alchemists have tried to turn base metals into gold. But is such a feat even possible? In the final Christmas Lecture, Dr Peter Wothers explores the elements within the earth and discovers just how difficult it is for chemists to extract the planet's greatest treasures. He discovers how our knowledge of the elements can allow us to levitate, turn carbon dioxide into diamonds and maybe turn lead into gold. Peter is joined by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Professor Sir Harry Kroto and together they find out whether a member of the audience is really worth their weight in gold and what happens when you set fire to a diamond.
One of the greatest conundrums of life is how we emerge from a single cell into a walking, talking, multi-trillion-celled organism that we call the human body. In the first of this year's Christmas Lectures, Dr Alison Woollard from the University of Oxford reveals just how this incredible transformation takes place. Using dramatic live experiments she shows how each of those trillions of cells knows what to do, when to do it and how to organise themselves to carry out vital specialist roles in our body.
In the second of this year's Christmas Lectures, Dr Alison Woollard from the University of Oxford unravels this mystery of life. She reveals that the extraordinary diversity has all come about by genetic mutation. Life revolves around the survival of the fittest mutant.
In this year's final Christmas Lecture, Dr Alison Woollard from the University of Oxford, tackles a question that has intrigued scientists and natural philosophers for centuries. The cycle of life and death affects all cells, but Alison reveals a shocking truth - that 'cell death' plays an important part in life. It enables the development and survival of most multi-celled organisms from hedgehogs to humans.
Inspired by fellow Geordie inventor Joseph Swan, Prof Danielle George attempts to play a computer game on the windows of a skyscraper using hundreds of light bulbs. When Joseph Swan demonstrated the first working light bulb in 1878 he could never have dreamed that in 2014 we’d be surrounded by super-bright LED screens and lights that could be controlled using mobile phones. In this lecture, Danielle will explain how these technologies work and show how they can be adapted to help you realise your own light bulb moments. She’ll show you how to send wireless messages using a barbeque, control a firework display with your laptop and use a torch to browse the internet.
Inspired by Alexander Graham Bell, Prof Danielle George attempts to beam a special guest into the theatre via hologram, using the technology found in a mobile phone. When Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the first telephone in 1876, he could never have dreamed that in 2014 we’d all be carrying wire-free phones in our pockets and be able to video chat is crystal clear HD across the world. In this lecture, Danielle will explain how these technologies work and show how they can adapted to help keep you connected to the people around you. She’ll show you how to control paintball cannons with a webcam and turn your smartphone into a microscope whilst also investigating a device that allows you to feel invisible objects in mid-air.
Inspired by the Royal Institution’s very own Michael Faraday, Prof Danielle George attempts to use simple motors to construct the world’s greatest robot orchestra. When Michael Faraday demonstrated the first electric motor in 1822, he could never have dreamed that in 2014 we’d be surrounded by mechanical devices capable of performing nearly every human task. In this lecture, Danielle will explain how these robotic and motor-driven appliances work and show how they can adapted to help you kick start a technological revolution. She’ll show you how to turn a washing machine into a wind turbine, how Lego can solve a Rubik’s Cube and how the next Mars rover will traverse an alien world.
Stampy Cat, aka Joseph Garrett, talks about what it takes to be a successful YouTuber and offers insights and secrets into how he works, all while creating a special Minecraft Christmas episode live, in this year's Royal Society of Edinburgh Christmas Lecture. Filmed in front of an audience from Dundee's Caird Hall and introduced by Chris van der Kuyl, this unique event gives us a glimpse behind the scenes of a global YouTube superstar.
From the historic Royal Institution, space doctor Kevin Fong takes us on a ride from launch to orbit and the cosmos beyond for the annual children's Christmas Lectures. And there's help direct from outer space as Britain's first astronaut on the International Space Station, Tim Peake, dials in. In the first lecture, Kevin explores and probes second by second what it takes to 'lift off' into space. With Tim only days into his six-month mission, he helps Kevin answer what keeps astronauts safe and on track as they are propelled into orbit. How do you control the energy of 300 tonnes of liquid fuel? What happens to your body if you don't wear a spacesuit? And how do you catch up with a space station travelling at 17,500 mph to finally get inside? With explosive live experiments, guest astronauts in the lecture theatre, and planetary scientist Monica Grady direct from the launch pad in Kazakhstan, we learn all this and more as those thrilling minutes of lift off are recreated.
In the second lecture, Kevin explores life in orbit on board the International Space Station. As Tim settles in to his new home he sends special reports about what it takes to live and work in space. Four hundred kilometres above the Earth, hurtling at a speed of 17,500mph, astronauts' bones and muscles waste away, the oxygen they breathe is artificially made, and they face constant threats from micrometeorites, radiation and extreme temperatures. If a medical emergency strikes, Tim is a very long way from home. In its 15-year lifetime, the International Space Station has never had a major accident. With a British astronaut in orbit, gravity-defying experiments and guest astronauts in the lecture theatre, Dr Fong shows us how to survive life in orbit.
In the third and final lecture, Kevin explores the the next frontier of human space travel. Live from the Station hurtling at 17,500mph, 400 km above the Earth, Tim answers questions directly from the children in the lecture theatre audience. With Tim's help out in Earth's orbit, Kevin investigates how the next generation of astronauts will be propelled across the vast chasm of space to Mars and beyond. So, how will life be artificially sustained as we travel the millions of kilometres to the red planet and on into the cosmos? How will our food last for three years or more? And what is waiting what for us when we finally land? With earth-shattering experiments, top space scientists and our astronaut live from space, Dr Fong reveals how we'll survive that voyage to space's next frontier and beyond.
This year marks the 80th anniversary since the BBC first broadcast the Christmas Lectures on TV. To celebrate, chemist Professor Saiful Islam explores a subject that the lectures' founder - Michael Faraday - addressed in the very first Christmas Lectures - energy. In his first lecture, Saiful investigates how to generate energy without destroying the planet in the process. Saiful begins his lecture by being plunged into darkness. Armed initially with nothing but a single candle, his challenge is to go back to first principles and bring back the power in the energy-hungry lecture theatre. Along the way he explains what energy is, how we can transform it from one form to another, and how we harness it to power the modern world. A fascinating and stimulating celebration of the stuff that quite literally makes the universe tick - the weird and wonderful world of energy.
In his second lecture, chemist Saiful Islam continues his exploration of one of the most important questions facing humankind - how to generate and use energy. He investigates how humans as living pulsing machines actually use energy, asking whether it's possible to 'supercharge' the human body and increase its performance. Live experiments explore everything from the explosive potential of everyday foods, to what we put into our bodies (and what comes out!), as well as how we measure up to the machines we use every day. Saiful even experiments on himself, showing images captured inside his own stomach. Every single one of us is an incredibly sophisticated energy conversion machine, finely tuned over millions of years of evolution. So will we ever be able to improve the human body's performance? Can we ever do more with less energy?
In this year's final Royal Institution Christmas Lecture, chemist Saiful Islam explores one of the most important issues facing the modern world - how to store energy. Over the course of the lecture, he tackles his toughest challenge yet - trying to work out how to store enough energy to power a mobile phone for a whole year and still fit it in his pocket! With the UK generating nearly twenty times as much energy today as it did 80 years ago, finding better ways to store it is vital for all of our futures. Live experiments include an attempt to break the world record for the most powerful battery made of lemons and a clear-eyed look at the most energy-packed fuel in the world - hydrogen. Along the way Saiful investigates the chemistry of batteries and tells us what the future of energy has in store for us.
From musical mosquitoes to rumbling elephants, Say It with Sound explores how humans and other animals use noises to communicate. Sophie Scott, a professor of neuroscience at University College London, is joined in the theatre by a chorus of chirping crickets, hissing cockroaches and groaning deer to reveal the very different ways that animals have adapted their bodies to send audible messages that are vital to their species. She also explores how and why the human voice evolved to become the most versatile sound producer in the natural world. In a dramatic experiment Professor Scott reveals how our vocal cords can open and close more than a thousand times a second and how we can use our throats for breathing, eating and communicating. Professor Scott demonstrates what sound actually is and how it travels, not just through air, but water and solid materials. Unpacking the power behind sound, she uses it to shatter glass and reveal how the human body can resonate in a way that amplifies our voices to send our messages further. She also explores how different species use very different frequencies to communicate and why humans can only hear a fraction of these animal messages. Professor Scott investigates why our voices all sound very different, to the degree that we all have unique vocal prints. She also looks at how computers are learning to recognise these. She further shows how we have developed the biological functions that enable us to create such incredible noises - from the arias of an opera singer to the complex sounds of a beatboxer.
In this second lecture, Professor Sophie Scott explores the world of silent communication in the animal kingdom and the human world - showing how much we can actually say without ever opening our mouths or making a noise.
One skill in particular seems to give humans an advantage over all other animals - our superior talent for language. We have the power to express exactly what's on our minds through speech and writing. This final lecture asks where our incredible linguistic ability comes from and whether any other animals use language in any form at all.
Professor Alice Roberts meets our ancient ancestral family, from armadillos to sharks, and discovers our true place in the tree of life. With 4D scanning, giant origami and a ukulele, they will explore evolution like never before.
Professor Alice Roberts explores the story of human evolution, revealing how a humble African ape became a successful global species. With daring parkour athletes and life-size primate animatronics, Alice explores the greatest leaps in our evolution by conjuring fire and re-enacting how we spread across the globe.
Are you genetically destined to despise brussels sprouts? We’re all human, but why are we all so different? With the help of a line-up of dogs and many sets of twins, Prof Alice Roberts explores what makes each of us totally unique. Alice is joined by geneticist Prof Aoife McLysaght to find out how much of this difference is down to our genes or our environment, revealing why we see colours differently and why some people can taste chemicals others can’t. They challenge just how far you can predict a person from their genome and discuss the big ethical questions of our generation, asking where we should draw the line with genetic testing and engineering. The series culminates with a musical grand finale from the Greatest Showman, to celebrate our incredible diversity across the globe.
Dr Hannah Fry, through a host of live experiments, uncovers the secrets of luck to discover what really controls our destiny, from dodging erupting volcanoes to pulling Christmas crackers.
Dr Hannah Fry reveals how data-gobbling algorithms have taken over our lives and now control almost everything we do, without us even realising.
Dr Hannah Fry tests the limits of our control, from gravity-defying stunts to human-sized drones, and delves into the world of fake news to separate the truth from the lies.
The first of three lectures on the hidden wonders of Earth and the impact of human activity, with Professor Chris Jackson charting the planet's changing climate. Professor Chris Jackson travels back into deep geological time, charting the Earth’s climate as it swings from hothouse to ice house and back again. With the help of spectacular volcanic eruptions and giant snowballs, he shows us how our planet’s oldest rocks and fossils provide evidence of radical climate changes throughout its history. Chris reveals that what drives these changes is the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. For billions of years, volcanic activity increased CO2 levels, and mountain building reduced them. But in the last 100 years, a new kind of geological force is tipping the balance - human activity. For the first time, it is we who are changing the planet Earth’s climate, and at a rapid rate, with dangerous consequences unless we act quickly.
Dr Helen Czerski unpicks the ocean’s heating and plumbing systems, showing how whale poo, waterfalls beneath the sea and zooplankton are all vital parts of an engine that distributes heat and nutrients around our planet. Helen voyages from the cities of the ocean to its deserts, from its deepest depths to its surface, via an alien inner structure that is home to so much of the Earth’s life. This planetary life support system plays a critical role in generating weather, providing food and connecting trade routes. The ocean is an underappreciated resource. Helen tells us what we need to know to be good citizens of an ocean planet.
Dr Tara Shine takes a deep breath and marvels at something we all take for granted: oxygen. She demonstrates how Earth produces a never-ending supply of this gas - the raw material for all complex life - and investigates what else is in the air that we breathe. One critical component is carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that’s causing a dangerous rise in atmospheric warming. Tara looks at the carbon footprint of a loaf of bread and how hydrogen might be the answer for heating and transport. From developing exciting new technologies to protecting wetlands and forests, the solutions are everywhere. Our ideas and ingenuity can create a better, cleaner and more sustainable future.
With the help of immunologist Professor Katie Ewer and virologist Professor Ravi Gupta, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam reveals the inner workings of the virus by blowing it up and inviting the audience to take part in a heist mission. Can they hijack our cell machinery to replicate? Up against the virus is our immune system, designed to fight back. We also dive into a nose to uncover the wonders of snot and whittle down the winner of a game of antibody bingo to crack how our immune system can defeat this invisible enemy.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam uncovers what drives a virus to world domination and reveals how maths may be the secret weapon to thwart it. Joined by airborne infection expert Professor Catherine Noakes and mathematician Professor Julia Gog, the team face the disgusting fallout of a super-sneeze, reveal the shocking invisible forces inside our masks and unravel the mathematical models of contagion with a gigantic game of lucky dip. In this lecture, no science is off the table. From microbiology to engineering, the Covid-19 pandemic has pooled the talent of scientists in every discipline to work together in ways never seen before. Can the audience be the scientific heroes of the hour and crack the riddle at the end of the show?
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam explores the inner workings of vaccines to reveal how these medical marvels can help win the war on viruses and potentially fight diseases such as cancer. Joined by vaccine scientist Professor Teresa Lambe and microbiologist Professor Sharon Peacock, the team peel away the scabs of smallpox and inject the puss of a milkmaid to uncover the key milestones that led to vaccines over 200 years ago. Science has not stopped since. The Covid-19 vaccines are a triumph, but can the audience take them a step further? Can they use a vaccine to blow up cancer cells on the lecture theatre floor?
Professor Sue Black has been dubbed the "corpse whisperer" for her role in deciphering the messages hidden within a dead body. In this first lecture in the Royal Institution’s 2022 Christmas series, she is joined by Silent Witness’s Emilia Fox to reveal the secrets of forensic science. Sue shows how the stories of our lives are hidden in the very fabric of our bodies by examining an archaeological skeleton, using techniques she uses in modern-day forensic investigations. She gradually builds up its identity until a pile of old bones once again becomes a real person. She explains how extraordinary clues in our bones can reveal everything from our age and our sex to our diets and our ancestry – there’s even a bone in our ear that can reveal where our mother lived while she was pregnant.
Professor Sue Black investigates a Christmas murder mystery to show how serious crimes are solved when there isn't a body. Sue is joined by an expert team including leading police specialists, forensic scientists and an award-winning dog. Assisting them, the audience help to unravel the mystery, using the latest forensic cameras, fingerprint techniques and DNA analysis. Remarkable soil analysis shows how a suspicious pair of muddy boots can be traced back to the most precise location. With insights into real serious crime investigations, Sue and her team draw on all their experience to solve the mysterious case.
The final lecture in the series begins with a "heist". A jewel thief steals a precious man-made diamond from the Royal Institution’s collection. Can forensic evidence conclusively identify and convict the criminal responsible? To find out, the Royal Institution’s lecture theatre is transformed into a courtroom and the audience acts as jury on the case, with a special guest king’s counsel invited to defend the suspect. Forensic evidence is based on probability; it can never be 100 per cent certain. So, how convincing does the evidence need to be for the court of the Royal Institution’s own jury to reach a guilty verdict? Includes insights from real criminal investigations.
Mike Wooldridge examines artificial intelligence, one of the most important and rapidly evolving fields of science in the world today, tackling the big questions facing AI research and unravels the myths about how this groundbreaking technology really works. In this lecture, Mike will examine real-life neurons in action, and explain how artificial neural networks are inspired by neural structures in the brain. To demonstrate how AI learns, he'll watch drones as they are trained to recognise and fly through structures in the lecture theatre autonomously.
Mike Wooldridge investigates how the games such as chess and Go have become a training ground for AI - helping to bring about key advances that can now be seen in the field. With the help of artist Eric Drass (aka shardcore), the audience will create a collaborative artwork, and discover how image generation works. Mike will explore the thorny question of who the creator is - the AI itself, the human who set it to work, or the creators of the art that AI has learned from?
Mike takes a ride in a driverless car, exploring how the car 'sees' and perceives the world - and how with the help of AI, it gets better the more it drives. This lecture asks how the audience feel about kicking an AI robot dog, and will address the big question of AI - can it ever truly be like us, or are humans unique?
