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Last broadcast on Mon, 5 Jul 2010, 21:00 on BBC Radio 4 (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
350 years ago, a group of 'natural philosophers' got together to found a club in London. With the patronage of Charles II, they called it 'The Royal Society'. Today it is the nation's elite academy of sciences and, to celebrate the anniversary, it is staging its Summer Exhibition this week on the Southbank of the Thames. Quentin Cooper visits the exhibition to see a model volcano, a holographic mine detector, a flying penguin, segments of the biggest telescope in the world, the longest-lived animal on Earth and to test his own cultural evolution. Plus amateur snail science at the Gardener's Question Time Summer Garden Party.
Producer: Martin Redfern.
Material World at the Royal Society Exhibition
Quentin Cooper, overflown by giant, life-sized pterosaurs, designed by University of Portsmouth palaeontologists and hung outside the Royal Society exhibition.
Looking Deep into Model Volcanoes
Bristol volcanologist Dr Alison Rust shows Quentin a model of a volcano, used to study how gas bubbles rise through viscous magma. It’s helping her understand the severity of eruptions and also showing Nottingham University engineers how gas bubbles in piped liquids (such as from deep water oil wells) can behave chaotically
Holographic Mine-sweeper.
Tim Bechtel of Franklin and Marshall College in the USA is working with international colleagues to develop a novel way of spotting buried landmines. It uses holographic radar to image the mines and thus distinguish them from other litter that could waste time in clearing minefields safely.
Pause for Penguin
Quentin pauses to observe a giant silver penguin, floating around the Royal Festival Hall foyer!
The Biggest Eye on the Sky
Professor Colin Cunningham of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh tells Quentin about plans for the biggest telescope in the world, the European Extremely Large Telescope, 42 metres across, composed of hexagonal mirrors.
Picture: Swinburne Astronomy Productions/ESO
The Longest-Lived Animal on Earth
Professor James Scourse of Bangor University introduces Quentin to ‘Ming’, an Arctic clam and, at 507, the longest-lived animal yet identified. He describes how it helps understanding of past climate and perhaps of the aging process.
Picture: Magnification of the tree ring like layers of shell.
Culture Evolves
Professor Andy Whiten of St Andrews University shows how many species – even fish – develop culture, in the sense of learnt behaviour. He puts Quentin through tests of learnt behaviour designed for chimps and humans.
The Great Snail Experiment
The latest from ‘So You Want To Be A Scientist’ finalist Ruth Brooks and her mentor Dave Hodgson as they present their research on the homing abilities of garden snails at the Gardener’s Question Time Summer Garden Party at Sparsholt College and announce how everyone can take part.
Broadcasts
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Thu 1 Jul 201016:30
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Mon 5 Jul 201021:00
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