1: Pure Technology
In this new series of six lighthearted talks, David Jones pursues some of the byways and meanders of science; unveils the humour, blind chance and even incompetence that lay concealed behind the gleaming, spartan edifice.
In today's talk he looks at invention for its own sake: the balloon, the Brabazon, the Concorde. And why did European armies abandon the longbow for the musket in the 16th century? The longbow was cheaper, more accurate, had a higher rate of fire - and was not extinguished by rain. Producer MARTIN GOLDMAN
BBC Scotland