Sticky tape

05/13/21 • 23 min

The wonder material graphene can be found in any pencil, but for years scientists couldn’t isolate its incredibly thin layers. Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov won the Nobel Prize in 2010 for doing just that, using little more than their curiosity and sticky tape.

In this episode Science and Industry Museum curator Sarah Baines reveals how thinking outside the box, making a frog levitate and sticky tape helped scientists isolate the thinnest and strongest material ever discovered, while luxury gift wrapper Rebekah Chol shares her advice on the best ways to wrap your gifts. Listen along with our host Nihal Arthanayake to the story of how graphene’s incredibly thin layers were first peeled away and uncover how its remarkable properties might transform our world.

This episode was inspired by the sticky tape dispenser used to isolate graphene in the Science Museum Group Collection. This incredible collection contains more than 7 million items which illustrate the impact of science, technology, engineering and medicine on all our lives.

A Brief History of Stuff is a Storythings and Science Museum Group production.

You can watch Andre Geim share his story in this talk recorded at the Science and Industry Museum and read about our graphene exhibition and Manchester’s impact on the study of atoms on our blog. Find out more about the items in this episode and read the transcript on our website, you can also discover more stories about the everyday objects around you. You can support this podcast and our museums by donating online.

Follow the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more insights into the collection and use #ABriefHistoryOfStuff to join the conversation on social media.

Follow luxury gift wrapper Rebekah Chol on Instagram.

Subscribe to A Brief History of Stuff wherever you listen to podcasts to be the first to hear new episodes. To help others discover A Brief History of Stuff, please rate our podcast.

If you have an idea for a future episode or want to share your thoughts on our podcast, please email us via [email protected].

A Brief History of Stuff is a Storythings and Science Museum Group production.

Follow the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more insights into the collection and use #ABriefHistoryOfStuff to join the conversation on social media.

Follow luxury gift wrapper Rebekah Chol on Instagram.

Subscribe to A Brief History of Stuff wherever you listen to podcasts to be the first to hear new episodes. To help others discover A Brief History of Stuff, please rate our podcast.

If you have an idea for a future episode or want to share your thoughts on our podcast, please email us via [email protected].

Previous Episode

Bath toys

We know so little about the ocean, but a simple bath toy helped us understand it better. Dive into the story of what happened when 30,000 bath toys washed overboard and how these cute plastic critters helped scientists uncover the mysteries behind ocean currents with our host Nihal Arthanayake.

In this episode, curator Alex Rose reveals the epic ocean voyage taken by ordinary bath toys, while beachcomber Tracey Williams shares her interesting finds on the Cornish coast. You’ll hear stories of flotsam and the global beachcomber network and discover more about the ocean and our impact on it.

This episode was inspired by Friendly Floatee bath toys from the Science Museum Group Collection. This incredible collection contains more than 7 million items which illustrate the impact of science, technology, engineering and medicine on all our lives.

Find out more about the items in this episode and read the transcript on our website, you can also discover more stories about the everyday objects around you.

Follow @sciencemuseum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more insights into the collection and use #ABriefHistoryOfStuff to join the conversation on social media.

Follow @LegoLostAtSea to see more of Tracey’s fascinating beach-combing finds.

A Brief History of Stuff is a Storythings and Science Museum Group production. Each episode features a story inspired by incredible items from the Science Museum Group Collection.

Subscribe to A Brief History of Stuff wherever you listen to podcasts to be the first to hear new episodes. To help others discover A Brief History of Stuff, please rate our podcast. If you have an idea for a future episode or want to share your thoughts on our podcast, please email us via [email protected].

If you've enjoyed listening, you can support this podcast and our museums by donating online.

Next Episode

Microphones

Microphones have changed the way we hear the world. From the experiments of Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Alva Edison, through the birth of rock and roll to the explosion of podcasts and video conferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, microphones have become integral to our modern lives.

In this episode, National Science and Media Museum curator Annie Jamieson takes us on a journey through the surprising story of the microphone, while host Nihal Arthanayake and air traffic controller Adam Spink reveal how microphones are essential to their working lives.

Listen and discover how microphones changed the direction of pop music and amplified political voices, why smaller is not always better, and how spider silk might be used in the microphones of the future.

This episode was inspired by the BBC Marconi AXBT ribbon microphone in the Science Museum Group Collection. The episode also features a carbon granule microphone and lip microphone. Our incredible collection contains more than 7 million items which illustrate the impact of science, technology, engineering and medicine on all our lives.

If you would like to uncover more about how sound is created, how it moves and how we hear it, explore the National Science and Media Museum’s Sound Season this summer.

A Brief History of Stuff is a Storythings and Science Museum Group production. Find out more about the items in this episode and read the transcript on our website, you can also discover more stories about the everyday objects around you. You can support this podcast and our museums by donating online.

Follow the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more insights into the collection and use #ABriefHistoryOfStuff to join the conversation on social media.

Follow @NATS or visit www.nats.aero to find out more about the work of air traffic controllers.

Subscribe to A Brief History of Stuff wherever you listen to podcasts to be the first to hear new episodes. To help others discover A Brief History of Stuff, please rate our podcast.

If you have an idea for a future episode or want to share your thoughts on our podcast, please email us via [email protected].