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CrowdScience

Where’s my time machine?

CrowdScience

BBC

Science

4.81K Ratings

🗓️ 19 July 2019

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Laser swords, time machines, matter transporters - before the turn of the millennium, movies, books and television promised some extraordinary future technology. Now we’re twenty years into the next century and CrowdScience listeners are wondering: Where is it all?

Marnie Chesterton delves into the sci-fi cupboard to dust off some imaginary gadgets and find out if any are finally becoming reality. How far into the future will we have to go to find a time machine as imagined by H.G. Wells in 1895? Where are the lightsabers wielded by fictional Jedi? Why are we still using cars, planes and trains when a matter transporter or a flying taxi could be so much more convenient? Marnie is joined by a panel of experts to find out if and when any of these much-longed for items are going to arrive.

Presenter Marnie Chesterton. Producer Jennifer Whyntie

(Photo: Dr Who, Tardis. Travelling through time and space. Credit: BBC Copyright)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of

0:07.0

Happiness Podcast.

0:08.0

For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want

0:14.4

to share that science with you.

0:16.1

And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.

0:19.4

I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that

0:25.4

calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds.

0:30.9

BBC World Service Radio, the Final Frontier.

0:37.0

These are the voyages of the Starship Crowd Science, powered by a bold 2020 initiative.

0:47.4

Our mission to explore strange new worlds, some light years away, others in the dust under your bed.

0:57.0

To seek out new listener questions and new civilizations of scientists to answer them.

1:03.9

To boldly split infinitives

1:06.4

where no science radio journalist has done before.

1:11.3

Hello and

1:15.0

I'm Marnie Chesterton and I'll be your Captain Kirk for the next half hour.

1:24.0

Normally. for the next half hour. Normally we take a single question from you,

1:27.0

but this week we're taking loads,

1:30.0

starting with Gunter.

1:32.0

Hello, my name is Gunter. I am from Austria.

1:36.0

Inspired a lot of science fiction novels I have read,

1:39.0

I wanted to ask if it is really, really, really impossible to do time travel.

1:45.0

It seems to be forbidden by the laws of modern physics,

...

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