The Wild and Windy Tale

Curious Cases

BBC

Technology, Science

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 August 2022

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How do winds start and why do they stop? asks Georgina from the Isle of Wight. What's more, listener Chris Elshaw is suprised we get strong winds at all: why doesn't air just move smoothly between areas of high and low pressure? Why do we get sudden gusts and violent storms? To tackle this breezy mystery, our curious duo don their anoraks and get windy with some weather experts. Dr Simon Clark, a science Youtuber and author of Firmament, convinces Adam that air flow is really about the physics of fluids, which can all be captured by some nifty maths. The idea of pressure turns out to be key, so Hannah makes her own barometer out of a jar, a balloon and some chopsticks, and explains why a bag of crisps will expand as you walk up a mountain. Professor Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Scoiety, reveals how the dynamics of a simple sea breeze – where air over land is heated more than air over water – illustrates the basic forces driving wind of all kinds. Then everyone gets involved to help Adam understand the tricky Coriolis effect and why the rotation of the Earth makes winds bend and storms spin. And Professor John Turner from the British Antarctic Survey explains why the distinctive features of the coldest continent make its coastline the windiest place on earth. Producer: Ilan Goodman Contributors: Dr Simon Clark, Professor Liz Bentley, Professor John Turner

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Dr Adam Rutherford. And I'm Dr Hannah Fry. And you are going to send us your everyday
0:10.8	mysteries. And we are going to investigate them using the power of science. Science.
0:16.5	I like it. Okay, hello, Curios. Now, this was an extremely difficult program for me specifically
0:26.7	to record partially because it included some quite serious maths. And Hannah was very
0:32.8	gleeful about that. I mean, you do, I talk a bit of a head start. We've got a PhD in
0:36.4	fluid dynamics, don't I? Which is effectively what this program was about.
0:41.4	And what are two guests also had a PhD in. I had a great time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it
0:48.0	was also extremely difficult for reasons that will become apparent in your first sentence.
0:52.4	So here you go. Question, my curious friend, what are Chinooks, her boobs and Willie-Willis?
1:03.1	Well, I think you know me well enough to recognise that I am not nearly mature enough to even
1:08.1	attempt to answer that. I think I do know that. But they're all mighty
1:11.2	wins, you childish plumb. Now, today's question comes from Georgina, who is on the Isle of
1:16.4	White. And they ask, I've often wondered where and how wins be they gentle breezes or
1:21.5	storms start. And why or not do they stop? And the second question we had in from Chris
1:26.6	Elshaw from Headley Down, why isn't there a smooth transition of air between high pressure
1:31.6	and low pressure areas? They don't seem to be any obstructions to the flow of air. So
1:36.1	why are there periods of calm followed by explosive periods of airflow and 80 mile gusts and
1:41.2	wins? Hannah, you look excited. Yeah, it's because it's all maths. Yes. Now, I fear that
1:47.2	I have little to contribute to this conversation except pop culture references and maybe the
1:53.2	occasional windy gag. Please don't. Leave room for the maths to shine for once.
1:57.5	Now, we have two guests in the studio to help us. Professor Liz Bentley, a meteorologist
2:01.1	at the University of Reading and Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society. Hello, Liz.
	...

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