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BBC Inside Science

26/11/2020

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Technology, Science

4.51.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2020

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Last weekend a joint European-US satellite blasted into space to begin its mission - monitoring the oceans back here on earth. Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich is one of a long line of satellites and has a striking design – appearing like a bright gold farmyard barn with a big pitched roof. Anand Jagatia speaks to Dr Ralph Cordey at Airbus Space and Defence about the latest design iteration and the technology on-board. Oceanographer Professor Penny Holiday from the National Oceanography Centre explains how Sentinel 6’s readings will enhance understanding of sea-level rises and give more detail about the currents in our oceans. We journey back to the cosmic ‘Dark Ages’, a period of time that we know hardly anything about. Dr Emma Chapman is an astrophysicist at Imperial College London who has written a book ‘First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time’ to throw light on this illusive chapter in the history of our universe. How close are scientists to finding the first stars? With ambitious new government targets to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030 how ready are electric cars to fill the gap? One key area many companies are trying to improve are the batteries powering electric vehicles. Peter Bruce, professor of materials science from Oxford University and chief scientist at the Faraday Institution has been working on rechargeable lithium ion energy storage since the 1990s. He speaks with Anand about the current limitations and the most recent developments in battery research and development. Presented by Anand Jagatia Produced by Melanie Brown

Transcript

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0:00.0

Before you listen to this BBC podcast I'd like to introduce myself. My name's

0:04.0

Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport

0:07.5

podcasts. I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with leading

0:11.1

journalists, experienced pundits and the biggest

0:13.3

sports stars. Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights

0:17.4

straight from the player's mouth. But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is

0:22.0

our unique access to the sporting world.

0:25.0

What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to

0:28.9

dedicated sports fans across the UK.

0:31.5

So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.

0:35.2

Hello, this is BBC Inside Science, the podcast and BBC Sounds Edition, first broadcast on

0:40.9

Thursday the 26th of November 2020. I'm Anan Chagatia and sorry

0:46.3

about getting the date wrong last week. No it's not January we're only just

0:50.1

about getting to the end of the Misery fest that has been 2020 and we certainly

0:54.1

don't want to live through all that again. Today we're looking back into the

0:58.0

Dark Ages of the Cosmos before the first stars blazed into life and hearing how we can supercharge the batteries

1:05.6

in electric cars so they can give us more juice. First though on Saturday

1:10.9

last week a joint European US satellite blasted off into space.

1:15.6

Three, two, one, zero.

1:19.9

And lift off of Sentinel Six, Michael Freilich, continuing a legacy of ocean observation and

1:26.5

international collaboration to benefit all humanity.

1:30.2

It's heading into orbit to begin its mission, monitoring the oceans back here on Earth.

...

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