Episodes

  • Ep. 1: Mapping the Earth

    Ep. 1: Mapping the Earth
    Feb 27 2018

    An object that helped create the first map of Britain and one at the forefront of climate-change research. Bill tells the stories of the Great Theodolite that was used on the principle triangulation of Britain, and AATSR (Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer) that measures the temperature of the sea from space.

    Both objects tell a story about why collaboration is so important in the field of scientific discovery from the teams that put together the first maps to the international fight against climate change. He is joined in this episode by Alex Rose, curator of Earth Sciences at the Science Museum.

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    16 mins
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  • Ep. 2: The Pioneers of Radio

    Ep. 2: The Pioneers of Radio
    Feb 27 2018
    Bill tells the story of the Italian Navy Detector that was devised by a humble scientist, Jagadish Chandra Bose, who could be regarded as one of India's greatest minds. And the more famous, Guillermo Marconi, and his quest to invent the Marconi Short-Wave Beam Transmitter. He is joined by John Liffen, the Science Museum's Curator of Communications.
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    22 mins
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  • Ep. 3: Life-Saving Clocks

    Ep. 3: Life-Saving Clocks
    Feb 27 2018
    Bill is joined by David Rooney, the Science Museum's Curator of Time, Navigation and Transport, who tells the story of the John Harrison Clock and the inventor's quest to solve the longitude problem.
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    14 mins
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  • Ep. 4: Giant Telescopes and Fusion Power

    Ep. 4: Giant Telescopes and Fusion Power
    Feb 27 2018
    A giant telescope built by a wealthy Irish landlord during the potato famine and a model of an object that the British media claimed had re-created the sun. Bill tells the stories behind the mirror from the great Rosse telescope and the model of the Harwell controlled Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly (ZETA), with the help of Alison Boyle who is the Keeper of Science Collections at the Science Museum. Both objects tell about the pursuit of science and the quest for fame and publicity.
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    21 mins
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  • Ep. 5: Unlikely Medical Inventions

    Ep. 5: Unlikely Medical Inventions
    Feb 27 2018
    How a teenage inventor, a pig's head, a lump of plywood and a famous British record label made medical history. Bill tells the stories behind the invention of the Reynold's Portable X-Ray Kit and the world's first CT brain scanner, with the help of Katie Dabin, who is the Curator of Medicine at the Science Museum. Their stories reveal how scientific inventions sometimes happen by accident or come from people without a classic scientific background.
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    20 mins
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