Invisibility Quest

Curious Cases

BBC

Technology, Science

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy.
0:05.4	My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds.
0:10.8	The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that.
0:17.5	With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to
0:22.4	helping you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put
0:28.3	together by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life,
0:35.0	check out BBC Sounds.
0:38.3	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:41.3	You're about to listen to a brand new episode of Curious Cases.
0:45.3	Shows are going to be released weekly, wherever you get your podcast.
0:48.3	But if you're in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes first on BBC Sounds.
0:56.7	I'm Hannah Frye.
0:57.9	And I'm Dara O'Brien.
0:59.5	And this is Curious Cases.
1:01.6	The show will we take your quirkiest questions?
1:03.1	Your crudziest conundrums.
1:04.0	And then we solve them.
1:05.5	With the power of science.
1:06.6	I mean, do we always solve them?
1:08.5	I mean, the hit rate's pretty low.
1:10.2	But it is with science. It is with science.
1:15.3	Today in Curious Cases, we're on the hunt for things we cannot see.
	...

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