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| THE MATERIAL WORLD
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| | | Quentin Cooper reports on developments across the sciences. Each week scientists describe their work, conveying the excitement they feel for their research projects.
material.world@bbc.co.uk | | | | | LISTEN AGAIN 30 min | | | |
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"For me science isn't a subject, it's a perspective. There are fascinating scientific aspects to everything from ancient history to the latest gadgets, outer space to interior decorating; and each week on The Material World we try to reflect the excitement, ideas, uncertainties, collisions and collaborations as science continues its never-ending voyage into the unknown".
Quentin Cooper |
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The Day After Tomorrow
Due for release next week, the new Hollywood blockbuster “The Day after Tomorrow” tells the story of dramatic climate change across the entire planet. Snow storms pound New Delhi, hail the size of cricket balls hits Tokyo, tornadoes destroy Los Angeles and tidal waves engulf Manhattan. And this is just the start. Soon the world is on the verge of a new ice age. But could this ever really happen?
In Material World Quentin Cooper is joined by Professor Mike Hulme from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia and by Dr Meric Srokosz, Co-ordinator of the Natural Environment Research Council Rapid Climate Change Programme at Southampton Oceanography Centre. They discuss the implications of rapid climate change for the planet. Is the picture of destruction Hollywood presents even close to the truth, and if so, what does this mean for all of the earth’s inhabitants?
Radio Frequency Identification
Radio Frequency Tags are set to take over from bar codes as the new way for manufacturers to label, identify and track products from the process of manufacture through the supply chain. Smaller than a grain of rice, these smart electronic labels could soon be on everything we buy.
The information they contain – an electronic bar code – could change the way we shop. One possibility is to banish queues at the check out – the RFID tags could be instantly read so adding up the cost of our shopping in seconds. But the information they store could also, in theory be read by others. If these tags are set to be on manufactured goods, credit cards and even money, what will they communicate about us to others who want to read the information?
Quentin is joined by Jason Brotherton from the University College London Interaction Centre and by Dr Duncan Macfarlane, Research Director of Auto ID Centre in Cambridge, to find out how RFID tags will work, when they might be in our shops and whether they will threaten our privacy. | | |
RELATED LINKS
EPC Global
Institute for Manufacturing
Cambridge Auto-ID Lab
The Day After Tomorrow
Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Natural Environment Research Council
BBC Science & Nature
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