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Tools of the Trade

A look at the most important scientific tools in history

World Service,9 episodes

Episodes

ListGrid

Microscope
The history and uses of the modern microscope
29 May 1998,13 mins
Telescope
The first telescope was invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th Century
26 Jun 1998,13 mins
The Sextant
A sextant is a measurement tool
03 Jul 1998,13 mins
The Fruit Fly
Why was the common fruit fly key to the study of DNA?
03 Jul 1998,13 mins
The Thermometer
A tool used by chemists, cooks and doctors - the thermometer
10 Jul 1998,13 mins
The Needle
An instrument designed to help but feared by many
23 Jul 1998,13 mins
The Barometer
An examination of a tool most vital to meteorology - the barometer
30 Jul 1998,13 mins
Scales
A tool vital to commerce and science laboratories - balances and scales
07 Aug 1998,13 mins
X-Rays
The oldest surviving X-ray equipment was made in 1896 by Dr John Reynolds
13 Aug 1998,13 mins