Main content

Brian Cox and Robin Ince expand their knowledge of elasticity with Olympic trampolinist Bryony Page, comedian Jessica Fostekew and experts Anna Ploszajski and James Busfield.

Brian Cox and Robin Ince expand their knowledge of elasticity with Olympian Bryony Page, comedian Jessica Fostekew & experts Dr Anna Ploszajski and Prof James Busfield.

What makes stretchy things stretch? Together our panel journey through different applications of elastic materials and examine, at the molecular level, what happens when we stretch a material and crucially what causes it to return to its original shape. This is especially pertinent to our guest Olympic and British champion trampolinist Bryony Page who has capitalised on elasticity in her 24 year long career. We discover that the bounce of a trampoline mainly comes from the elasticity of steel and how dependent this is on temperature. Cold temperatures are not only treacherous for trampolines; we explore how the cold proved fatal to the elastic components of both the Titanic and the Challenger space shuttle.

Plus we hear how scientists sometimes just can鈥檛 beat nature; natural rubber and spiders silk are two such cases. Anna Ploszajski takes us through some of the more inventive techniques scientists have engineered to produced more of these natural materials, including genetically engineering goats to be milked for silk.

Producer: Melanie Brown
Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Researcher: Olivia Jani

成人快手 Studios Audio production

Release date:

Available now

43 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Thu 12 Dec 2024 11:00
  • Sat 14 Dec 2024 19:15

Watch: UFO Special

Watch: UFO Special

Brian Cox and Robin Ince ask if UFOs and aliens have visited Earth.

10 reasons why aliens probably exist

10 reasons why aliens probably exist

Does alien life exist? Probably yes. But will we be making contact anytime soon?

Why we laugh: 9 things you didn鈥檛 know

Why we laugh: 9 things you didn鈥檛 know

What makes us laugh, why we do it, and how a good guffaw can help us feel healthier.

Download this programme

Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.

Podcast