Physicist Roger Rassool finds out who does what at a Synchrotron, and why they love their jobs. He discovers that many of them are young, and that you don’t necessarily need a PhD to work at this highly specialised facility. In fact, not everyone working there is even a scientist. The people he meets are: KYLIE ROGAN, Admin Officer/Project Support; Dr MARK BOLAND, Accelerator Physicist ; TRENT SMITH, Technician; SAM MICKLE, Accelerator Operator; Dr KIA WALLWORK, Beamline Scientist; Alan JACKSON, Technical Director. Along the way, Roger discovers the basics of how a synchrotron works, and some of its uses. This program will be of interest to both science and careers teachers. Its style is informal and very user-friendly. Which is probably why reaction to it has been so positive.
Producers: Rees Films
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Measurement and Uncertainty
The importance of error and uncertainty in scientific measurement. Show case studies of students estimating and reporting the uncertainties in their measurements. The program deals with these questions: why is measurement important in science?; why is uncertainty inevitable in scientific measurements?; the importance of multiple measurements and of averaging the results; outliers; how to estimate the range of uncertainty in a measurement; accuracy and precision; how to manage uncertainty when adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing measurements; expressing uncertainty in standard form. The program concludes with a practical exercise: students are shown how to measure the Sun’s diameter, and then estimate the uncertainty in their results.
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Genetics, Stem Cells and Society
An interview with Professor Alan Trounson covering his beginnings in science, his pioneering IVF work and leading role in embryonic stem cell research.
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Nuclear Energy: The Issues
Nuclear power produces almost a fifth of the world’s electricity. Supporters say it’s safe, cheap and – best of all – the answer to global warming. Critics say it’s not safe, or cheap. And it won’t really help with the global warming problem. So who’s right? This program presents the arguments for and against, with relevant background information. Issues covered in this program include: radioactive waste: how hazardous is it?; Can it be safely stored?; How likely is an accident at a nuclear power plant?; What could the consequences be?; Are nuclear power stations terrorist targets?; Does nuclear power encourage the development of nuclear weapons?; Is nuclear energy ‘carbon-free’?; Is it the solution to global warming? NB: The science behind nuclear power – what nuclear fission is, how a nuclear power plant works and the ‘nuclear fuel cycle’ – is explained in more detail in a companion program: Nuclear Energy
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Nanotechnology: An Introduction
The main program is presented in the following clear-cut sections: What is nanotechnology?; Units: micrometer and nanometer; Special properties of nanoparticles; The gecko effect; Carbon nanotubes; Surface energy; hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces; The lotus effect; Use of lasers in nanotechnology; Issues raised by nanotechnology. Because nanotechnology works with the metric units nanometer and micrometer, this program uses metric units. However, this should not affect a students’ understanding of the concepts presented in the program.