INFINITE MONKEY CAGE | AMIRAH

The Infinite Monkey Cage program is a weekly podcast led by University of Manchester particle physicist Brian Cox and comedic writer Robin.

Every episode involves a discussion about an interesting topic with a panel of three guests that are experts in that given field and comedians. As the show has garnered popularity, the guests have been more well known. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and a handful of famous British actors have all served on a Monkey Cage panel. Examples of some topics discussed are Fire and the science behind dreams and quantum worlds. I think what makes the podcast interesting is that it marries scientific knowledge with humour. Some may argue that the podcast’s effort to do this is a little unsuccessful. The humour is sometimes beneath data and concepts, or the science is oversimplified for the sake of amusement and accessibility. However, it fulfils its purpose of making science more appealing to the general public by trying to make it a little humorous.

One of my favourite episodes was on the topic of fire. In this episode the panellists discussed the basics about what is fire. From this I understood that fire is not a substance, but it is a chemical reaction. It requires oxygen, a fuel (that usually contains carbon and hydrogen) and heat. The produces products like carbon dioxide and water.

An interesting question was put forward, “Can fire occur in places where there is no oxygen at all?”. The specialist responded to this by suggesting that fire cannot occur in a place where there is 0% oxygen. However, she explained how fire can occur at zero gravity. At zero gravity, there’s no updraft and oxygen is drawn into the flame through a completely different mechanism. An experiment was carried out in 1997 aboard the Columbia shuttle. This was called Structure of Flame Balls at Low Lewis-number (SOFBALL), the experiment consisted of a sealed chamber where flames flying onboard the space shuttle can burn for a long time. In this experiment the scientists found that the shape of the flame was different. While on Earth a fire’s flame is elongated, at zero gravity it is spherical. This is because the spherical flame is fed by the slower process of diffusion, so the flame occurs at a border between fuel and air; effectively the entire surface of the flame is the “bottom”, reacting with fresh air close enough to the fuel source to combust, in a rough sphere.

Alongside this, discussions were made about understanding the evolutionary aspect of fire. The ability to control fire was one of the first innovations, this was a turning point in the technological evolution of human beings. There is evidence for this from around 200 000 years ago. Fire provided a source of warmth, protection from predators, a way to create more advanced hunting tools, and a method for cooking food. These cultural advances allowed human geographic dispersal, cultural innovations, and changes to diet and behaviour.

Another episode I engaged in was on the topic of “the science behind dreams”. I found this episode really interesting as it dealt with debunking urban myths about dreams and revealed discoveries based on experiments carried out by sleep scientists on the brain by placing electrodes in the brain. Throughout the episode, the scientist explained the different stages of sleep and how we actually dream throughout all stages and how sleeping spindles occur in every stage. But dreams we remember and are more vivid occur in the cortex which is the learning part of the brain where consolidation and learning occurs. Overall i think the podcast is good as it accessible in terms of knowledge to all people and it helps develop scientific knowledge. It was a most informative and well-produced listen, and I will certainly try and make more time in future for more episodes in their next series in the new year.