logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2018
27m 52s

Kepler's Snowflakes

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Philip Ball reveals the tale of a small booklet 'On The Six-Cornered Snowflake", written by Johannes Kepler as a New Year's gift. The C17th astronomer wished to explain the intricate and symmetrical shape of winter's tiny stars of snow. His insightful speculations about minerals and geometry was the beginning of the modern understanding of crystals.

Up next
Sep 2019
Alexis Carrel and the immortal chicken heart
Philip Ball tells the story of Alexis Carrel, the French surgeon who worked to preserve life outside the body and create an immortal chicken heart in a dish. His quest was to renew ageing flesh, repair and rebuild our bodies and keep them healthy far beyond the usual human lifesp ... Show More
27m 51s
Jan 2019
Ibn al-Haytham and How We See
Philip Ball's story is of Ibn al-Haytham, the first scientist, and his book of optics that defined how we see. 
27m 47s
Jan 2019
Lady Mary Montagu's Smallpox Experiment
Naomi Alderman's Science Story reveals how Lady Mary Wortley Montagu experimented on her own child in a quest to prove that smallpox inoculation works. Born in 1689 in a position of some power and influence, Lady Mary travelled to Constantinople as the wife of the ambassador to T ... Show More
27m 37s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2019
KP27: التوأم الأزرق - الجزء الأول
نسرد قصة اكتشاف كوكب أورانوس عن طريق الموسيقي وليام هرشل بعدما مسح السماء بتلسكوبه و فتح أعيننا على الكوكب السابع في المجموعة الشمسية ، ثم نتعرف على اهم التفاصيل العلمية للعملاق الثلجي. 
30m 1s
Mar 2022
Qu'est-ce que le “vampirisme stellaire” ?
Il arrive que deux étoiles composent ce que les astronomes nomment un "système binaire". Dans certains cas, l'un des deux astres aspire la matière de l'autre. Il s'agit d'un phénomène de "vampirisme stellaire". Pas de trou noir En 2020, des scientifiques avaient découvert, à une ... Show More
1m 56s
Mar 2013
Holiday Lights
For our holiday show, Neil and his comedian co-hosts discuss the constellations of the winter sky, the star of Bethlehem, and the physics of Santa. Seth MacFarlane and other special guests call in to comment on the science of the season. 
43m 50s
Nov 2023
Neptune... At Last!
They've done it. It has taken them all year but Izzie Clarke and Dr Becky Smethurst have reached the final planet in our solar system; Neptune. Dr Leigh Fletcher from the University of Leicester is back to cover the basics of the planet and Carolyn Kennett, Chair of the Society f ... Show More
49m 46s
Apr 2024
Galilée a-t-il le premier prouvé que la Terre tourne autour du Soleil ?
On entend souvent dire que Galilée, né à Pise en 1564, a découvert que la Terre tournait autour du Soleil. En fait, il fut un fervent défenseur de cette thèse, appelée "héliocentrisme", au point d'avoir subi les foudres de l'Église catholique, qui lui a intenté un célèbre procès. ... Show More
2m 3s
Feb 2022
Quelle planète a la forme d'un ballon de rugby ?
Les astronomes ne cessent de scruter le ciel pour découvrir de nouvelles planètes. L'une d'elles, située en dehors du système solaire, présente une forme singulière. Une planète très proche de son étoile Cette planète, baptisée WASP-103b, se situe dans la constellation d'Hercule, ... Show More
2m 4s
Jan 2013
Comets
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss comets, the 'dirty snowballs' of the Solar System. In the early 18th century the Astronomer Royal Sir Edmond Halley compiled a list of appearances of comets, bright objects like stars with long tails which are occasionally visible in the night ... Show More
42m 13s
Dec 2013
Snowflake Doppelganger
Snowflake Doppelganger: Are snowflakes really one of a kind? How do they form and what do they have to do with grade school art projects, personal identity, climate change and Jack the Ripper? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. And be sure to explore the accompa ... Show More
25m 56s
Jan 2023
The James Webb Space Telescope - the first 6 months
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has produced amazing images in its first 5 months, but amazing science as well. Roland hears from one of the leading astronomers on the JWST programme, Dr Heidi Hammel, as well as other experts on what they are already learning about the first ga ... Show More
1h 3m
Feb 2023
Science on ice
Pull on an extra layer and stay toasty whilst Science in Action braces for a deep freeze. Whilst we know plenty about the ice on the Earth’s poles, Roland is on a chilling journey to see what can be found in deep space. Professor Christoph Salzmann and Professor Andrea Sella at U ... Show More
33m 25s