4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 20 June 2024
⏱️ 29 minutes
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Guest presented by Liz Bonnin.
As the UK strives to achieve net zero by 2050, nuclear energy is looking more and more likely as a key player in reaching this goal. But it’s not just massive power plants like Hinkley point C - there’s are newer smaller reactors on the scene: small and micro modular reactors. 100 to 1000 times smaller than a conventional reactor, faster to build, and put together entirely in a factory before being shipped out, theoretically, anywhere: are micro modular reactors the future of nuclear energy or too good to be true? Dean of Engineering at the University of Liverpool, Eann Patterson, has just published a paper proposing a fleet of micro modular reactors to bear the burden of our energy load and he joins us to discuss the reality.
What came first, the chicken or the egg? Science writer, broadcaster and now egg expert Jules Howard joins us to answer this age old question. His book Infinite Life tells the story of how the egg propelled evolution – whether it’s bird, insect, or mammal.
This month, scientist Alexandra Freeman’s appointment to the House of Lords was announced. With a background in risk and evidence communication, Alexandra tells us why she applied, what she hopes to achieve, and how the public can get involved.
Presenter: Liz Bonnin Producers: Hannah Robins, Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
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0:38.0 | Hello I'm Liz Bonin. |
0:40.0 | Welcome to BBC Inside Science. |
0:43.0 | This week, the future of nuclear power in the race to net zero may be small, |
0:48.3 | micro modular. |
0:49.5 | In fact, what would you think about having one of these next generation nuclear reactors at the bottom of your street? |
0:56.0 | Also how the humble egg played a huge role in shaping evolution, |
1:00.5 | you'll never think about one in the same way again and how an award-winning |
1:05.1 | filmmaker and Cambridge academic is set to flex her science communication skills |
1:10.2 | in the House of Lords. But first, the goal of achieving net zero by 2050 |
1:16.3 | is one of the greatest and most contentious challenges facing Britain today. |
1:20.9 | And some experts are now proposing that nuclear energy will be |
1:25.2 | essential if we are to reach that goal. Nuclear even appeared in the text of |
1:30.9 | last year's COP Climate Summit for the first time and just yesterday |
... |
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