The Infinite Monkey Cage11 Des 2024

Fantastic Elastic

Brian Cox and Robin Ince expand their knowledge of elasticity with Olympian Bryony Page, comedian Jessica Fostekew & experts Dr Anna Ploszajski and Prof James Busfield from Queen Mary University of London.

What makes stretchy things stretch? Together our panel journey through different applications of elastic materials and examine, at the molecular level, what happens when we stretch a material and crucially what causes it to return to its original shape. This is especially pertinent to our guest Olympic and British champion trampolinist Bryony Page who has capitalised on elasticity in her 24 year long career. We discover that the bounce of a trampoline mainly comes from the elasticity of steel and how dependent this is on temperature. Cold temperatures are not only treacherous for trampolines; we explore how the cold proved fatal to the elastic components of both the Titanic and the Challenger space shuttle.

Plus we hear how scientists sometimes just can’t beat nature; natural rubber and spiders silk are two such cases. Anna Ploszajski takes us through some of the more inventive techniques scientists have engineered to produced more of these natural materials, including genetically engineering goats to be milked for silk.

Producer: Melanie Brown Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem Researcher: Olivia Jani

BBC Studios Audio production

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(239)

Space Exploration

The Infinite Monkeys are back and in the first of the new series Brian Cox and Robin Ince boldly go where no science programme has been before, as they discuss space exploration with Captain Jean Luc ...

19 Nov 201228min

Science v Art

Brian Cox and Robin Ince transport the cage of infinite proportions, to the slightly more confined space of the Latitude Comedy Arena. They will be joined on stage by a panel of guests, including Al M...

23 Jul 201227min

Parallel Universes

Brian Cox and Robin Ince stretch the cage of infinite proportions this week to encompass not just our own universe, but any others that might be lurking out there as well. They'll be joined by QI crea...

16 Jul 201228min

The Science of Symmetry

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by mathematician Marcus Du Sautoy, science journalist Adam Rutherford and comic book legend Alan Moore to discuss why symmetry seems such a pervasive phenomenon thr...

8 Jul 201228min

Does Size Matter?

Robin Ince and Brian Cox are joined on stage by comedian Andy Hamilton to discuss whether size matters? Material scientist Mark Miodownik and bioengineer Eleanor Stride also join the panel to discuss ...

2 Jul 201228min

Science Mavericks

Brian Cox and Robin Ince take to the stage at this year's Cheltenham Science Festival to discuss science mavericks. They are joined by comedian Marcus Brigstocke, medic and broadcaster Dr Kevin Fong, ...

25 Jun 201228min

Oceans: The Last Great Unexplored Frontier?

Brian Cox and Robin Ince return for a new series of the award-winning science/comedy show, as they take a witty, irreverent and unashamedly rational look at the world according to science. In today's ...

18 Jun 201228min

The Science of Christmas

The Infinite Monkeys Robin Ince and Brian Cox are in a festive mood as they discuss the science of Christmas with special guests biologist Richard Dawkins, actor and writer Mark Gatiss and science jou...

26 Des 201128min