Summary
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Einstein's theories of relativity. Between 1905 and 1917 Albert Einstein formulated a theoretical framework which transformed our understanding of the Universe. The twin theories of Special and General Relativity offered insights into the nature of space, time and gravitation which changed the face of modern science. Relativity resolved apparent contradictions in physics and also predicted several new phenomena, including black holes. It's regarded today as one of the greatest intellectual achievements of the twentieth century, and had an impact far beyond the world of science.
With:
Ruth Gregory Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Durham University
Martin Rees Astronomer Royal and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge
Roger Penrose Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | Thank you for downloading this episode of In Our Time. |
| 0:38.7 | For more details about in our time and for our terms of use please go to BBC.co. |
| 0:43.2 | UK slash radio 4. I hope you enjoy the program. |
| 0:47.0 | Hello in 1905 a 26 year old technical assistant at the Patient |
| 0:51.9 | Office in Bern in Switzerland |
| 0:53.4 | submitted four papers to a German scientific journal. His name was Albert Einstein |
| 0:58.4 | and the first of these papers later won him a Numbel prize. The second |
| 1:02.3 | provided the first proof of the existence of atoms. |
| 1:05.4 | The fourth brought into being the famous equation E equals M C squared. |
| 1:09.8 | But the third paper Einstein published in 1905 was perhaps the most significant of all. |
| 1:15.2 | It gave the first outline of Einstein's theory of relativity, and it's no exaggeration to say that |
| 1:19.9 | it was one of the great revolutions of science. |
| 1:22.4 | In fact, there are two theories of relativity, |
| 1:24.4 | special and general, separated by just over a decade. Together they offer a new theoretical |
| 1:31.1 | framework for the nature of space, time, energy and gravity, |
| 1:35.0 | one of the most important, if complex, contributions to 20th century science. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.