logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2019
29m 51s

'Free' water and electricity for the wor...

Bbc World Service
About this episode
Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a prototype solar panel which generates electricity and purifies water at the same time. The device uses waste heat from the electricity generating process to distil water. An individual panel for home use could produce around 4 litres and hour. The researchers suggest use of such panels would help alleviate water s ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
How Fear Spreads
What can modern epidemiological methods tell us about French Revolutionary history? Also, the origins of horse riding, solar systems, and star dust itself. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex Mansfield Production Coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth (Image: Storming of the Bas ... Show More
37m 16s
Aug 21
Not cold fusion all over again
A desktop nuclear fusion reactor that uses electrochemistry to up the ante. Also, a global survey of human wildfire exposures finds Africa burning ahead, plus tiny swarming robots and record-breaking 2024 ice melts from glaciers on Svalbard. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex ... Show More
30m 13s
Aug 14
Vaccine study retraction request rejected
US Health Secretary RFK Jr’s call to retract a study on childhood vaccines is resisted by the journal. Also antibiotics get designed by AI, and a new way for stars to die. A study focussing on Danish childhood vaccination data has attracted the US Secretary for Health’s anger, as ... Show More
30m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
Could we completely switch to renewable energy?
As the world slowly moves away from using fossil fuels for electricity, one tiny Scottish island has proved it’s possible to rely almost entirely on renewables. The inner Hebridean isle of Eigg used to get its power from diesel generators. But in 2008 its residents launched the w ... Show More
34m 40s
Aug 2021
How can smart tech tackle climate change?
Humans are responsible for emitting over 40 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year – and we all know that we need to reduce that figure to prevent devastating climate change. Listener Saugat wonders whether smart technology and artificial intelligence can ... Show More
37m 49s
Aug 2021
Methane - a climate solution?
The latest IPCC assessment raised alarm about the rate at which manmade emissions are contributing to climate change. Much of the focus for action is on reducing levels of carbon dioxide, however there is a more potent greenhouse gas, methane, produced by natural and industrial p ... Show More
1h 7m
Sep 2023
Green and novel: the future of energy generation
Harnessing energy directly in space and from the ocean flow 
57m 38s
Apr 2020
Professor Saiful Islam
Not so long ago, all batteries were single use. And solar power was an emerging and expensive technology. Now, thanks to rechargeable batteries, we have mobile phones, laptops, electronic toys, cordless power tools and other portable electronic devices. And solar power is reducin ... Show More
26m 59s
Apr 2021
The Hamster Power Hypothesis
"How many hamsters on wheels would it take to power London?" asks Judah from Virginia in the USA. Rutherford & Fry return with engineering, ethics and economics to answer this electric query.Smart grid engineer Lynne McDonald helps keep the lights on for 8.3 million homes and bus ... Show More
27m 15s
Jul 2017
Cod fisheries, Our connection to nature, Domestic electricity and Gamma ray bursts
News that the Marine Stewardship Council has reopened the North Sea cod fishery is met by some concern from marine biologist Professor Callum Roberts at the University of York. He says, this may be good news for cod and cod fishermen, but other marine species getting caught up in ... Show More
29m 34s
Oct 2021
Can we still avoid climate catastrophe?
Just a few days before COP26 opens in Glasgow, the World Meteorological Organisation reported record greenhouse gas levels, despite a fall in CO2 due to pandemic restrictions. The UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report also revealed that current country pledges will only ... Show More
1h 2m