Could we send our litter into space?

Discovery

BBC

Science, Technology

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2016

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Two spacey cases today for doctors Rutherford and Fry to investigate, both sent in to BBC Future via Facebook.

The Stellar Dustbin 'Can we shoot garbage into the sun?' asks Elisabeth Hill. The doctors embark on an astronomical thought experiment to see how much it would cost to throw Hannah's daily rubbish into our stellar dustbin. From space elevators to solar sails, they explore the various options that could be used to send litter to the Sun. Featuring space scientist Lucie Green and astrophysicist Andrew Pontzen.

A Study in Spheres Another stellar question comes from Brian Passineau who wonders: 'why everything in space tends to be circular or spherical?'

Hannah gazes at Jupiter at The Royal Observatory, Greenwich with public astronomer, Dr Marek Kukula. Science writer, Philip Ball, explains how the astronomical obsession with celestial spheres came to an untidy end. And, physicist Dr Helen Czerski helps Adam on his quest to find the perfect natural sphere.

If you have any everyday mysteries for the team to investigate using the power of science, please email: [email protected]

Producer: Michelle Martin

Image: A spiral galaxy, Credit: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for downloading from the BBC.
0:03.0	The details of our complete range of podcasts and our terms of use,
0:07.0	go to BBCworldservice.com slash podcasts.
0:13.0	Welcome to the curious cases of Rutherford and Fry, where we aim to solve your everyday science mysteries.
0:19.0	I'm Dr Adam Rutherford, and that was Dr. Hannah Fry Fry and you need to send us your you
0:24.3	don't need to but you can send us your curious cases to curious cases at
0:29.4	BBC.co. UK.
0:31.6	Now to finish off the series we wanted to do so in style we want to really go big and
0:36.7	I mean just staying on earth restricts how big you can get so we headed off to space that's right both questions concern
0:44.9	very very big objects in space never let it be said that we are not ambitious now
0:50.7	the first is more of a thought experiment than anything else.
0:54.0	Yes, I mean we are also very up for tackling quite difficult questions.
0:59.0	Absurd questions with serious answers.
1:01.0	Exactly.
1:02.0	It is a question of whether we could dispose of all of our
1:05.2	rubbish on earth by throwing it into the sun. Never let it be said that we're
1:09.6	afraid to tackle difficult and potentially slightly absurd questions.
1:15.0	Indeed, but quick point on English here, when we say rubbish,
1:19.0	I think that internationally translates as...
1:21.0	Trash?
1:22.0	Trash. I guess litter. But wherever we say rubbish in the next 15 minutes we mean solid waste.
1:30.8	Yes. Rubbish trash waste, junk, all of that stuff. The question is, can we send it off into the sun? An exceedingly curious case today.
	...

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