logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2017
26m 29s

What would happen if you fell into a bla...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Two deadly cases today sent in by listeners to curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

The Dark Star "What's inside a black hole and could we fly a spaceship inside?" asks Jorge Luis Alvarez from Mexico City.

Astrophysicist Sheila Rowan explains how we know invisible black holes actually exist. Plus cosmologist Andrew Pontzen is on hand to help cook one up.

But which of our intrepid doctors will volunteer to fly into the heart of a black hole?

Kate Bush’s Sonic Weapon "It started while listening to the excellent Experiment IV by Kate Bush. The premise of the song is of a band who secretly work for the military to create a 'sound that could kill someone'. Is it scientifically possible to do this?" asks Paul Goodfield.

Hannah consults acoustic engineer Trevor Cox to ask if sonic weapons could kill. And Adam delves into subsonic frequencies with parapsychologist Chris French to investigate their spooky effects.

Plus the team investigates the Curious Case of the Embassy in Cuba – could a sonic weapon really be responsible for the wide-ranging symptoms reported by American diplomats in Havana?

You can send your scientific mysteries for the team to investigate to: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

Picture: A computer-generated image of a rich star field with a Black Hole in front of it which distorts starlight into a brilliant ring around itself, Credit: BBC

Producer: Michelle Martin

Up next
Nov 17
Bodies
<p>The London Anatomy Office accepts around 350 human bodies donated for medical research and education annually. You may imagine that these bodies are presevered in chemicals for medical students to study over weeks and months. And some are. But many are used - almost fresh - to ... Show More
26m 28s
Nov 10
The Life Scientific: Kevin Fong
There can't be many people in the world who've saved lives in hospital emergency rooms and also helped care for the wellbeing of astronauts in space – but Kevin Fong’s career has followed a singular path: from astrophysics and trauma medicine, to working with NASA, to becoming an ... Show More
26m 30s
Nov 3
The Life Scientific: Dame Pratibha Gai
Chemical reactions are the backbone of modern society: the energy we use, the medicines we take, our housing materials, even the foods we eat, are created by reacting different substances together. If we zoom in, it’s the atoms within these substances that rearrange themselves to ... Show More
26m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2020
Black Holes
Brian Cox and Robin Ince look at the weird and wacky world of black holes as they ask a question that has been troubling scientists for years: What happens if you push Matt Lucas into a black hole? They are joined by the very game Matt Lucas, alongside cosmologist Sean Carroll an ... Show More
34m 56s
Sep 2023
S26E106: The Violent Accretion Disk of a Supermassive Black Hole // The Monster Centaurus A // Indian Lunar Rover
<b>The Space News Podcast.</b> <b>SpaceTime Series 26 Episode 106</b> <b>*The violent accretion disk of a supermassive black hole</b> Astronomers have for the first time ever, captured spectra from the tumultuous accretion disk of an actively feeding super massive black hole. <b> ... Show More
34m 18s
Sep 2021
Psychosomatic Illnesses and Seeing Behind a Black Hole
Neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan demystifies psychosomatic illnesses. Then, learn how scientists saw behind a black hole.Additional resources from neurologist Suzanne O'SullivanPick up "The Sleeping Beauties And Other Stories of Mystery Illness" here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse ... Show More
14m 4s
Jul 2023
Little Black Holes Everywhere
<p>In 1908, on a sunny, clear, quiet morning in Siberia, witnesses recall seeing a blinding light streak across the sky, and then… the earth shook, a forest was flattened, fish were thrown from streams, and roofs were blown off houses. The “Tunguska event,” as it came to be known ... Show More
34m 57s
Nov 2020
What If You Could See Through a Black Hole? - with Pr. Clifford Johnson
What do we really know about black holes? We've only recently even gotten a visual of an actual black hole, so not a lot. But although we can now see a black hole, can we see through a black hole? And if we could, what would we see? Where would we see? Who would we see? When woul ... Show More
29m 18s
Dec 2023
BONUS - Could Space Junk Block JWST's View?
From barbie dolls, to birds baths, what will happen to all the stuff we have made between now and the end of time? Could a large black hole spaghettify a small black hole? Could more satellites block JWST's view? And what came first, the Big Bang or Inflation? It's time for anoth ... Show More
13m 40s
Jul 2022
Cosmic Queries – Intergalactic Impacts
<p>What happens when three black holes collide? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore even more cosmic collisions in space, in the quantum realm, and more!</p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free ... Show More
44m 49s
Jul 2022
Cosmic Queries – Quantum Catastrophe with Brian Cox
<p>What is the black hole information paradox? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the Higgs Boson, quantum entanglement, and black holes with particle physicist Brian Cox. </p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire epi ... Show More
49m 26s
Apr 2021
Havana Syndrome: Did a Secret Weapon Fry Diplomats' Brains?
Back in 2016, U.S. Embassy workers in Cuba were struck by a mysterious noise, followed by symptoms like headaches, dizziness and memory problems. This sent the U.S. scrambling to try to find the culprit. Could it have been an ear-piercing sonic weapon? Or something even sneakier ... Show More
41m 20s