" Science is organized common sense where many a beautiful theory was killed by an ugly fact". - Thomas Huxley
Jim Baggott has been studying and writing about the history of physics for nearly 20 years and has won awards for his scientific research and his science writing. His previous books have been widely acclaimed and include A Beginner's Guide to Reality (Penguin, 2005 – '... like having an informal, intimate conversation with an informed – and informative – thinker') and Beyond Measure: Modern Physics, Philosophy and the Meaning of Quantum Theory (OUP, 2004 – ... does for quantum theory what Hawking's A Brief History of Time did for astronomy and cosmology'). Jim's latest book is Atomic: The First War of Physics and the Secret History of the Atom Bomb, 1939–1949.
First broadcast on 11th December 2009.