The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry

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The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry

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Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Science sleuths Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry investigate everyday mysteries.

Science sleuths Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry investigate everyday mysteries sent by listeners.

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The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry: Series 19: The Turn of the Tide

The Turn of the Tide

Series 19

BBC Radio 4 - The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry, Series 19, The Turn of the Tide

Why are tide times and ranges so different around the UK, asks Lynn?

4 Extra Debut. Why are tide times and ranges so different around the UK? Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate. From 2022.

Mathematician Hannah Fry and geneticist Adam Rutherford investigate your everyday science queries. 

They get stuck into two questions about tides. 

Lynn Godson wants to know why isn’t high tide at the same time at all points around the coast? Whilst Tim Mosedale asks, could we ever harness tidal power commercially?

Did you think tides are caused by the pull of the Moon? And that they come in and out twice a day? 

Well, yes, that’s true but it turns out there’s so much more to it than that, especially here in the UK, which has the second largest tidal range in the world at the Seven Estuary near Bristol, coming in at an average of 15 metres (50ft in old money). But why should high and low tide times be so different even in places that are relatively close to each other? 

The answer partly lies in something called bathymetry (which has more to do with baths than you might think – well basins at any rate). 

As for harnessing sea power, there are some ambitious projects currently in development and predictions that wave and tidal could make up as much as 15 percent of the UK’s energy needs in future. But how realistic is this and how do you ensure that your power generators can survive the rigours of the ocean – storms, saltwater and all those pesky barnacles? 

To help answer these queries, Hannah and Adam are joined by Physicist and Oceanographer, Helen Czerski and Professor Deborah Greaves OBE, who heads up the COAST lab at the University of Plymouth which studies marine renewable energy technologies.

Producers: Rami Tzabar and Jen Whyntie

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2022.

The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry: Series 19

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Series 19

The Turn of the Tide

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