Show 32 – First broadcast 19th Dec 2008

LISTEN TO A PODCAST OF SHOW 32 HERE

Apologies if you were trying to listen live on Friday – there was an error in the broadcast.

Science in the News

There is a black hole at the centre of our Galaxy 4,000 times bigger than the Sun. Noel talks to applied mathematician David Robertson about this black, how it might have been formed and what is a black hole. The questions you would be too embarassed to ask yourself.

The Geographer, the model helicopter and the volcano. Ross Drayton interviews Sheffield University-based volcanologist Andrew McGonigle who has established that the carbon (CO2) and sulphur (SO2) dioxide gas contain vital clues about the status of the magma deep below and whether an eruption is imminent. He is now flying helicopters equipeed with sensors over volcanoes to find out when they might erupt.

First Lego League is a competition for school teams to build lego robots that can perform tasks on a large table top. This year the task was an appropriately green one about climate change. Noel was MC for the Sheffield heats and interviewed some of the competitors and judges.

Noel interviews Christopher Kullen from Gotenberg University, Sweden about Panspectrocism (don’t worry we explain the term) and different types of surviellance. Christopher relates it to our Classic Sci-Fi serial: The Minority Report and explains how pre-crime investigation is becoming a reality. Visit his panspectrocism website and add your voice of resistance.

The Science Fiction Serial: Minority Report part 2

Minority report is a short story by Noel’s favourite Sci-Fi author, Philip K. Dick,
first published in 1956 in the magazine Fantastic Universe. It was made
into a movie by Steven Spielberg starring Tom Cruise in 2002. It
introduces the notion of pre-crime where three pre-cogs predict
crimes and the criminals are arrested before they commit them. There is
currently a lot of discussion about using the internet for pre-crime
detection but currently they have to wait for the criminals to commit
the crime before arresting them.

Produced and presented by Noel Sharkey

Music on the show

Intro: Sound of Silence, Beastie Boys followed by Polar Bear

News: Mathew Herbert

Intro to the serial was tic by Niall Griffith

Outro: Locomotion by John Coletrane Quartet