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Last broadcast on Mon, 7 Nov 2011, 21:00 on BBC Radio 4 (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
Fission at Fukushima?
It's been eight months since the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan's Honshu Island. Now at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, despite all the efforts to stabilise and disable the power station, there are signs that nuclear fission may still taking place within one of the reactors. There's also fresh speculation based on atmospheric modelling that the scale and range of radioactive emissions from the plant, at the time of the disaster, were much greater than the Japanese government reported. Quentin is joined by Robin Grimes, Professor of Materials Physics and Director of the Centre for Nuclear Engineering at Imperial College London, to discuss how significant these findings are.
Airships - The Future of Air Travel?
This week the Airships Association has held a meeting in London to galvanise interest in a new European project to develop commercial airships. Paul Stewart, Professor of Control Engineering and Pro-Vice Chancellor in research at Lincoln University, outlines to Quentin why he believes the airship may well be one of the main forms of air travel in the future.
Legend of the Sunstone
How did the Vikings make their epic voyages, even supposedly reaching America? According to Norse legends they wielded a "Sunstone", a rock capable of working out where the sun was, even if, as was often the case in the far north, conditions were overcast. But there may well be some truth behind the myth - at least according to a paper just published by the Royal Society. Quentin speaks to Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, Professor of Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, to see if there's any substance to the stories.
Producer: Fiona Roberts.
Fission at Fukushima?
It’s been eight months since the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan’s Honshu Island. Now at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, despite all the efforts to stabilise and disable the power station, there are signs that nuclear fission may still taking place within one of the reactors. There’s also fresh speculation based on atmospheric modelling that the scale and range of radioactive emissions from the plant, at the time of the disaster, were much greater than the Japanese government reported. Quentin is joined by Robin Grimes, Professor of Materials Physics and Director of the Centre for Nuclear Engineering at Imperial College London, to discuss how significant these findings are.
Ice Age Extinctions
Beringia winter scene, including mammoth, horse, bison and musk ox
The end of the last Ice Age saw the extinction of many large animals – the woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros are just two examples. Until now, most of the causes have been assumed to be attributable to either climate change or the influence of humans, such as over-hunting. But a new report out this week suggests that the causes for the extinction are a lot more varied and complex. Quentin talks to Eske Willerslev, one of the principal authors of the report and Director of the Centre for Geogenetics at the University of Copenhagen, about the findings of their study.
Airships – The Future of Air Travel?
When Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner finally made its commercial debut last week, its revolutionary construction, use of composite materials and promised fuel efficiency ensured it made headlines. However, as the search continues for cheaper and more environmental forms of air travel, an old idea has resurfaced - The airship. This week the Airships Association has held a meeting in London to galvanise interest in a new European project to develop commercial airships. Paul Stewart, Control Engineering and Pro-Vice Chancellor in research at Lincoln University, outlines to Quentin why he believes the airship may well be one of the main forms of air travel in the future.
Legend of the Sunstone
Next month’s centenary of Roald Amundsen leading the first expedition to the South Pole throws into relief the difficulties, even today with modern satellite navigation devices, of traversing the region. Norse explorer Leif Ericson, however, would have had an even more difficult task when he voyaged a thousand years earlier. So how did he and his fellow Vikings make their epic voyages, even supposedly reaching America? According to Norse legends they wielded a “Sunstone”, a cystal capable of working out where the sun was, even if, as was often the case in the far north, conditions were overcast. But there may well be some truth behind the myth - at least according to a paper just published by the Royal Society. Quentin speaks to Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, Professor of Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, to see if there’s any substance to the stories.
Broadcasts
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Thu 3 Nov 201116:30
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Mon 7 Nov 201121:00
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