The Power of the Thames
Stand knee-deep in a river and consider the physics. Water presses against you, light reflects upon the surface. Helen Czerski explains the forces that govern life in the Thames.
Stand knee-deep in a river and consider the energy flow. Water presses against you, light reflects upon the surface. What else can you feel? Helen Czerski of University College London views the Thames with the eyes of a physicist. At low tide she takes Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough for a wade through the surprisingly clean waters separating Brentford from Kew Gardens.
How would the river look if embankments were removed and channels breached? Why do islands form and persist? Where does each drop of Thames water come from? Why can the river flow east and west at the same time?
You may never view the Thames in quite the same way again.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Last on
More episodes
![]()
Tales of the riverbank 鈥� five powerful watery legends
Rivers keep rolling along, but what secrets do they hold?
Broadcasts
- Thu 16 May 2019 22:45成人快手 Radio 3
- Sun 21 Jun 2020 19:15成人快手 Radio 3
Featured in...
![]()
Arts
Creativity, performance, debate
Death in Trieste
A 1760s murder still informs ideas about aesthetics, a certain sort of sex, and death.
Watch: My Deaf World
Five compelling experiences of what it is like to be deaf in 21st-century Britain.
The Book that Changed Me
Five figures from the arts and science introduce books that changed their lives and work.
Download The Essay
Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.
Podcast
-
![]()
The Essay
Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
