2023-12-05
28 分钟The Life Scientific zooms in to explore the intricate atomic make-up of metal alloys, with complex crystalline arrangements that can literally make or break structures integral to our everyday lives. Professor Sir Harry Bhadeshia is Professor of Metallurgy at Queen Mary University of London and Emeritus Tata Steel Professor of Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. He’s been described as a ‘steel innovator’ – developing multiple new alloys with a host of real-world applications, from rail tracks to military armour. Harry’s prolific work in the field has earned him widespread recognition and a Knighthood; but it's not always been an easy ride... From his childhood in Kenya and an enforced move to the UK as a teenager, to the years standing up to those seeking to discredit the new path he was forging in steel research - Jim Al-Khalili discovers that Harry's achievements have required significant determination, as well as hard work. Produced by Lucy Taylor.
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Hello, and welcome to the podcast edition of the Life Scientific.
I'm Jamal Khalili and this is the show where I get to talk with some of the world's leading scientists and you get to find out what drives them.
So sit back, get comfortable and enjoy the episode.
Today we're zooming in to explore the intricate atomic makeup of metal alloys that have complex crystalline arrangements and which can literally make or break structures that are integral to our everyday lives.
Harris Harry Badaccia is Professor of Metallurgy at Queen Mary University of London and Emeritus Tatar Steele professor of Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge.
He's been described as a steel innovator, researching the untapped possibilities of alloys and developing new ones to deliver a whole host of useful real world applications, from rail tracks to military armour.
Harry's prolific work has earned him a knighthood.
He even has one of his projects on show at London's Science Museum, an ongoing experiment in alloy transformation that will apparently take 100 years to deliver results.
We'll be coming back to that in this program.
That is not in a century's time.
But his achievements have required a good measure of determination as well as hard work.
As we'll hear, he's not a man to let challenges or naysayers stand in his way.
Professor Sir Harry Badacia, welcome to the Life Scientific.
Thank you very much, Jim.
Now, you've previously compared the tiny nanostructural changes that take place when you're manipulating a metal's composition to a dance, a sort of choreography of atoms.
What did you mean by that?
So, you know, if you look at ballet dancers in Swan Lake, for example, they move in a very systematic, choreographed manner, a disciplined movement.
And similarly, atoms, they can all move in the same direction at the same instant of time.
And that has a different consequence to chaotic dancing, where people move in a haphazard manner.