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Thursday 03 July 2008
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This week In Conversation finds out why so many plants take their names from Greco-Roman gods and goddesses. Nice smelling flowers often receive titles based on Aphrodite the goddess of love, lust and beauty. But what types of plants have been unlucky enough to be named after Hera, the ill-tempered wife (and sister!) of Zeus? Or Kronos, who castrated and killed his father and then swallowed all but one of his newborn children? Botanist Peter Bernhardt takes us on a colourful historical journey into the naming of plants.
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Thursday 26 June 2008
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Scientists are sometimes accused of diminishing the beauty of the natural world by explaining it in terms of scientific ideas and processes. Not so, according to the late Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, who says knowledge about the inner structure of flowers only adds to the excitement, mystery and awe of nature. A very passionate Richard Feynman will be In Conversation with himself this week.
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Thursday 19 June 2008
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These days the carrot and stick approach can be applied to parenting or prison inmates or even employees, but its origins are, of course, in trying to get a horse or donkey to comply with human commands.
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Thursday 12 June 2008
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The late Grote Reber is recognised as both the father of radio astronomy and the first person to build a big dish telescope to explore the cosmos. The American moved from his home in the USA to Tasmania in the 1950s and assisted this country to establish a lead in the field. Now a museum has been opened by the University of Tasmania to commemorate his work and David Fisher takes us on a tour with astronomer Professor John Dickey
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