The Electron

In Our Time: Science

BBC

History

4.5 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 27 October 2022

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss an atomic particle that's become inseparable from modernity. JJ Thomson discovered the electron 125 years ago, so revealing that atoms, supposedly the smallest things, were made of even smaller things. He pictured them inside an atomic ball like a plum pudding, with others later identifying their place outside the nucleus - and it is their location on the outer limit that has helped scientists learn so much about electrons and with electrons. We can use electrons to reveal the secrets of other particles and, while electricity exists whether we understand electrons or not, the applications of electricity and electrons grow as our knowledge grows. Many questions, though, remain unanswered. With Victoria Martin Professor of Collider Physics at the University of Edinburgh Harry Cliff Research Fellow in Particle Physics at the University of Cambridge And Frank Close Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Physics and Fellow Emeritus at Exeter College at the University of Oxford Producer: Simon Tillotson

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself.
0:03.7	My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a Load of Sport Podcasts.
0:08.4	I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced
0:12.2	pundits and the biggest sport stars.
0:14.3	Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players'
0:18.5	mouths.
0:19.5	But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport in world.
0:25.0	What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to
0:28.8	dedicated sports fans across the UK.
0:31.0	So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.
0:35.2	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:40.4	Thanks for downloading this episode of In Our Time.
0:43.1	There's a reading list to go with it on our website and you can get news about our
0:46.6	programmes if you follow us on Twitter at BBC In Our Time.
0:50.4	I hope you enjoyed the programmes.
0:52.4	Hello, it was in 1897 that JJ Thompson discovered the electron and revealed that Atom supposedly
0:58.8	the smallest things were made of even smaller things.
1:02.6	Thompson's vision about them has had these electrons scattered inside a ball like Sultana's
1:07.4	in a Christmas pudding and over the last 125 years, our knowledge of them has grown
1:11.8	from that exponentially.
1:14.2	We can use electrons to reveal the secrets of other particles and why electricity exists
1:18.9	whether we understand electrons or not.
	...

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