EARTH’S MINI MIRACLES

In his new series, Professor Brian Cox explores how phenomena we take for granted such as rainbows and snowflakes can explain how the universe works

Why is the ea r th round? Why do icebergs f loat? And how are rainbows formed? We’re used to Professor Brian Cox discussing the wonders of space and the cosmos, but in his new series for BBC1, TV’s favourite scientist explores mysteries closer to home – and what they tell us about the natural laws of the universe.

The beautifully filmed four-part series, Forces Of Nature, takes a grand tour of stunning locations from Newfoundland to Indonesia and Nepal and will keep you captivated as he sets out to explain some of the secrets of our planet. ‘Normally I concentrate on the universe and you’d think this would be easier because I’m talking about things we all know, but intellectually this was the hardest thing I’ve done,’ says Brian. ‘The history of science is about paying attention to little things. It was through learning about rainbows that we came to understand light and ultimately electricity and magnetism. You could say the foundation of our modern civilisation started when we began to think about rainbows.’

The first episode considers shapes in nature, from the tiny snowflake to bees’ hexagonal honeycombs and perfectly spherical planets. To bring his stories to life he watches honey hunters in the Himalayas, iceberg divers in Canada and Catalan gymnasts apparently defying gravity as they compete to build the tallest human tower. ‘The world is beautiful to look at, but even more beautiful to understand,’ says Brian. ‘There are a lot of complicated explanations about the underlying laws of nature that I hope I’ve made clear enough to be understood by adults and even children.’

The idea for the series itself started with something small. Brian was reading a work by a 17th- century German scientist called Johannes Kepler about snowflakes. The short book considers what causes each snowflake to have six corners and yet no two snowflakes are alike. It was the ending which inspired the physicist and former pop star. ‘Kepler didn’t answer his own questions; he didn’t know anything about molecules,’ says Brian. ‘But he realised it was something to do with the underlying building blocks of frozen water and he wrote something like, “I have read the story of the whole universe in a snowflake but now I’m going to have to leave it for the generations who come after me.”’

Brian says Kepler was right to see the story of the universe in a single vanishing snowflake. ‘All the fundamental ideas underlying modern phys-

ics are involved in the journey of a snowflake to the ground – gravity, electromagnetism, nuclear forces and symmetry.’

While aiming to educate us, Brian hopes he can also encourage us to look at the world around us and revive the childlike inquisitiveness which often disappears as we grow up. ‘The world seems to be full of people who want to be “right” and not full of people who want to know things,’ he says. ‘To be wrong is fine. All my work has a subtext and with this series it’s that you should pay attention. You’ll have a more enjoyable time if you do. Not knowing something isn’t scary – it’s exciting.’

SPACE CIRCLES The greater gravitational pull of large planets compresses them into spheres, while smaller asteroids remain potato-shaped.

WHY DON’T ICEBERGS SINK? Icebergs are so heavy it seems they should sink. But ice’s molecular structure is less dense than water’s so they float.

BRILLIANT BEES The insects instinctively build their honeycombs in the most space-efficient shape – hexagons – meaning they use less wax.

RAINBOWS AND MOONBOWS Rainbows changed the way we think about light, but the show explores rarer ‘moonbows’, created by the light of the moon.