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'Ten years ago the first pulsating star, or pulsar, was picked up by a radio telescope in Cambridge. The research team, under Professor Hewish, established that what they had discovered was a sort ...of radio-lighthouse giving out flashes about once a second. -- 'Professor Hewish gained the Nobel prize for physics for his work in 1974. To celebrate ten years of this historic discovery the Open Science Society (of the Open University) in collaboration with the Royal Astronomical Society have invited professor Hewish to give a 50 minute presentation on the story of pulsars from the first discovery ten years ago to the present day. -- 'Most scientific breakthroughs happen through a blend of insight, luck and perseverence, and the pulsar discovery is no exception. What makes the subject especially interesting is the stellar objects responsible for these lighthouse signals are made of highly unusual matter. The signals picked up by us on Earth thus give us clues both as to the way stars evolve and to the way matter behaves under very unusual conditions. At present about 150 pulsars have been found, and speculation as to how these very dense stars tick - they are only a few miles across and weigh almost as much as the sun - is still very much alive' - 1978
'Ten years ago the first pulsating star, or pulsar, was picked up by a radio telescope in Cambridge. The research team, under Professor Hewish, established that what they had discovered was a sort ...of radio-lighthouse giving out flashes about once a second. -- 'Professor Hewish gained the Nobel prize for physics for his work in 1974. To celebrate ten years of this historic discovery the Open Science Society (of the Open University) in collaboration with the Royal Astronomical Society have invited professor Hewish to give a 50 minute presentation on the story of pulsars from the first discovery ten years ago to the present day. -- 'Most scientific breakthroughs happen through a blend of insight, luck and perseverence, and the pulsar discovery is no exception. What makes the subject especially interesting is the stellar objects responsible for these lighthouse signals are made of highly unusual matter. The signals picked up by us on Earth thus give us clues both as to the way stars evolve and to the way matter behaves under very unusual conditions. At present about 150 pulsars have been found, and speculation as to how these very dense stars tick - they are only a few miles across and weigh almost as much as the sun - is still very much alive' - 1978
| First transmission date: | 08-02-1978 |
|---|---|
| Published: | 1978 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:41:59 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Andrew Millington |
| Contributors: | Jocelyn Bell; Antony Hewish; Brian Locke; Graham Smith |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Neutron stars.; Radio astronomy. |
| Subject terms: | Pulsars |
| Master spool number: | 6HT72769 |
| Production number: | FOU1604P |
| Videofinder number: | 7673 |
| Available to public: | no |
