Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

The Life Scientific

BBC Radio 4 LW

The Life Scientific: Episode 3: Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Discussion & Talk

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Episode 3

Episode 3: Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

BBC Radio 4 - The Life Scientific, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Jim Al-Khalili talks to astronomer Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell.

Jim talks to astronomer Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who forged her own path through the male-dominated world of science.

Jim Al-Khalili talks to astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell. 
 
Jocelyn Bell Burnell forged her own path through the male-dominated world of  science - in the days when it was unusual enough for women to work, let alone make a discovery in astrophysics that was worthy of a Nobel Prize.    
 
As  a 24-year old PhD student, Jocelyn spotted an anomaly on a graph  buried within 100 feet  of  printed data from a radio telescope.   Her curiosity about such a tiny detail led to one of the most important discoveries in 20th century astronomy -  the discovery of pulsars - those dense cores of collapsed stars. 
It's a discovery which changed the way we see the universe, making the existence of black holes suddenly seem much more likely and providing further proof to Einstein's theory of gravity.  
 
Jocelyn Bell Burnell was made a Dame in 2008 and a year later became the first ever female President of the Institute of Physics.  
 
Producer: Anna Buckley.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Podcasts

Factual: Life Stories

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Life Scientific

Episode 3: Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Genres

Formats

Series

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4