Curious Cases Folgen

Hannah and Dara tackle a disarmingly simple question: is anything in the universe truly invisible? After ruling out mysterious Nordic spirits and ‘Dara’s ire’, our curious duo start to track down the invisible waves all around them. Including, it turns out, some which are emanating from their VERY OWN FACES! An infrared camera reveals Hannah’s nose as a particular hotspot.Turning their gaze to bigger things, they wonder: what does our own galaxy look like when viewed in this invisible spectrum? Infrared reveals vast loops and whorls of dust and gas - gigantic structures otherwise totally hidden. But there are even cooler surprises. Ever wondered what an X-ray of the universe looks like? Turns out it’s a sparkly map of white-hot black holes! Back on earth, the discussion turns to ways of making objects disappear by bending light in tricksy ways. But why is the fancy science of ‘metamaterials’ still struggling to make a proper invisibility cloak? Sorry, Harry Potter fans.In the end, our physicists reveal a universe bursting with even more elusive, even more mysterious stuff: dark matter and dark energy. Prepare to see the unseen in a whole new light!Contributors:Matthew Bothwell - the Public Astronomer at the University of Cambridge and author of The Invisible Universe Andrew Pontzen - Professor of Physics at Durham University Mitch Kenney - Assistant Professor in metamaterials at the University of Nottingham Producer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

For any of you who have ever told a porkie pie, don't worry, this week we hear why we all do it... and discover that deception is actually good for social bonding. From the red squirrels who cry wolf to scare off the competition, to kids who look you in the eye as they tell bare faced lies, this is a behaviour that occurs across all species. And one man who's particularly good at it is Traitors contestant Paul Gorton who reveals he felt absolutely no guilt about his tv trickery. But it seems that while we're masters at telling tall stories, we're terrible at detecting them, because we've all been focusing on completely the wrong cues. Contributors: Paul Gorton Professor Richard Wiseman Professor Sophie van der Zee Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

“Diamonds are nonsense!” Hannah boldly proclaimed in a previous episode. But listener Guy is a diamond enthusiast, and he and his diamond-loving pals were NOT OKAY WITH THIS. He demanded we re-open the case, and here we are...SO in this glittering showdown, Dara is on a quest to flip Hannah’s perspective from “meh” to “marvelous.” And for Hannah, some uncomfortable facts soon emerge. It turns out that diamonds are much more than just overpriced bling. They're the secret ingredient in all sorts of high-tech gadgets with a whole arsenal of little-known superpowers.Enter electrochemist Julie Macpherson, who blows Hannah’s mind by showing how diamonds can slice through ice like butter, thanks to their unmatched ability to conduct heat. Not impressed yet? Physicist Mark Newton makes a diamond glow in the dark, using nothing but his phone flashlight. And that’s just to start! These ultra-robust gems can scrub nasty chemicals from water, serve as supercharged electrodes, and even reveal deep-earth secrets locked away for billions of years. By the end of this episode, will Hannah finally admit diamonds are forever cool? Contributors:Charlie Bexfield - Gemmologist and diamond specialist Julie MacPherson - Professor of Chemistry at the University of Warwick Mark Newton - Professor of Physics at the University of Warwick Grahame Pearson - Professor of Earth Sciences from the University of AlbertaProducer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production