@CraigTube Got ya wasnt sure if it was TLC that cut it out for time or ??? Created a small continuity problem where it picked up. There is another missing segment in part 2 with them playing a bit with a crystal set and cats whisker. Thanks for putting them up, still a fun show to watch even after seeing them so many times.
Nicola Tesla discovered radio waves. Marconi applied those discoveries into real applications. Hence Marconi is just the inventor of the radio. Nothing more.
Over course the Brits and their limited education didn't teach them about Nikola Tesla who had the Radio and Radio Control Years before Marconi, which the Supreme Court upheld Tesla as the Inventor of Both.
@MrSchpankme Quite simple. The controllers of the world don't want attention being brought to Tesla because he was on the road to uncovering free energy, and they demoed his equipment in favor of charging us for energy. Classic example of history being re-written to hide the truth.
I always loved the odd blink-and-you'll-miss-it directorial touches to these programmes, like at the start when they both slide down the ladders simultaneously and then carry on about their business.
Wow that really was Marconi's original setup at 5:30. If you go to the wikipedia page for coherer you can see a picture of it in the Oxford Museum of the History of Science.
@bobhhoffmann The delightfully named "popefucker" used to have full versions of every episode on google video. These were the ones that Tim Hunkin himself linked to on his website, but they seem to have disappeared now, sadly.
Hi! Great video! Just wondering if you knew the date it was made? I am a researcher looking into the history of radio, so it would be really helpful! Thanks :-)
You might think that a vacuum would be ideal and more efficient to make a spark in, but its not the case, you need something slightly conductive like a gas, so in a way its sort of has a semiconductor quality: somewhere inbetween a vacuum and metal conductors.
Sparks create electromagnetic energy at a very wide range of frequencies. It's this energy that we have harnessed to produce radio waves. A spark emits electromagnetism all across the whole radio spectrum, and beyond, which can be detected by a radio receiver. When there is a lightning storm, you hear the crackling on the radio from the sparks of lightning. When you turn a light off and on, you might hear a click on a nearby radio because of a small spark inside the switch.
Simple. When a spark ionizes the surrounding air through electrostatic discharge the air becomes a conductor. Accelerated charges radiate EM (electromagnetic) energy. The type of radiation (in this case radio) depends upon the frequency of oscillation. EM radiation propagates by means of oscillating EM fields that pass through the air and the vacuum. The oscillating fields induce AC current by resonance in another conductor (the antenna) proportional to the source.
I know that the air is ionized by a high enough voltage (break out voltage, I think they call it in the high voltage hobbyists community) and that the light of the spark comes from the electrons jumping and then falling in energy (releasing photons as a result). I expect, then, that all the EM radiation (not just the visible EM radiation) comes from the same thing. But, of course, lots of things are made to light up, but they're not interfering with a.m. radio...
That's essentially right. The breakdown voltage when sufficient will break down the dielectric turning it into a conductor. The accelerated charge is just excited electrons that jumped into a higher orbit. They release photons as they lose their energy and fall into a lower orbit if they're bound to an atom. They produce EM fields whenever they change direction (Think A.C. and magnetism, or when a wire cuts through a magnetic field.)
Actually, EM radiation can be produced in several different ways. What distinguishes light from radio is the wavelength. So the wavelength/frequency which is the rate of oscillation has to be taken into account when we talk about reception and interference. It's an additive process where 2 waves of similar wavelengths collide and depending on their phase, either reinforce or cancel each other. Different wavelengths don't see each other and pass right through...
Also, sparks and lightning create broadband interference while other things that light up don't have this property because they're on a different frequency that does not coincide with AM radio.
Broadband interference (lightning, sparks) is all over the spectrum so it interferes with everything.
The tune is "Take 5" and this version is not the original. The original is arranged with 5 beats per bar, instead of the normal 4, hence the name Take 5.
It should be mentioned, that marconi's patents were overturned, and handed pack to their rightfull owner, Tesla. Marconi, inventor of radio? Not even close! His coherer system and unsyncronus spark gap transmitters were crap, better systems were out there, his just happen to be 1. the most powerfull, and 2. covered so much bandwidth nobody else had a chance, until very narrow receivers were invented.
I'd always wondered how some radios could work without being connected to a power supply, and this show explains it.I also now better understand why AM radio is more prone to static than FM. Excellent show.
Now see, these things irritate me. It's just a story ABOUT science. "here is a coil and a capacitor and the electricity whizzes back and forth...". To the uninitiated, that means NOTHING. No one is going to actually learn anything except a bit of history. This kind of pedagogy, unfortunately, dominates. It's lazy.
and what would you do differently? and you think that would be as amazing as what Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod have done? laughable. I first watched this at age ten and learned that sparks create waves that can be received as sparks by metal coils and displayed visually by oscilloscopes... as well as the bit of history. Your assessment offends me.
What you have to realize is, first of all, the show was made for a British audience, who would rather give up their 3:00 tea than listen to anything technical. Second, the point of the show is to "demystify" the radio concept, not complicate it with electronic jargon, which would undoubtedly cause most people to fall asleep. I know that is unfortunate for me and you, but it's true.
That's exactly what I understand, that's why the radio concept is not demystified. It shouldn't be called, "The secret life of the radio". He does do what he claims he's going to do, which is tell how they were discovered, because of sparks, but that's all he does. It's not more amazing than that. No secret life of the radio stuff. It's a bio of the people involved, and a fun gadget show - like the rest. Search YT for principles of electronics. Does it put you to sleep? Is it too technical?
Well, not for me, but it is for most. You can't blame the guy who made the show, Tim Hunkin. No network would air a show that goes into great detail about the electronics of an appliance. You know that as well as I do. His show is intended only to bring an awareness that there's stuff going on under the hood, and how it came to be. These things are not known by most people, hence the title "The Secret Life Of Machines" which is the title of the series.
There are 12 other episodes, and if you watch them all, he talks about electromagnetism, transistors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, coils, speakers, etc. I love looking at all those old radios. It's a great show for what is, and that's not an electronics course.
Well, he identifies them. I'm fascinated by the pedagogy of it and how people confuse this "entertainment" with "education". What's interesting to me at the moment is that this kind of thing does indeed put me to sleep, but others feel that this sort of thing is exactly what does not put them to sleep. Interesting...
On television, there is NO education, except maybe on the NASA channel. Despite my extensive knowledge of electronics and technology, I enjoyed the series.
Say what you like. This guy wet my apetite for science and technology when I was a kid, and I went on to become an engineer as a result. A good one, too.
If you expect TV to educate our kids for us, then you might be expecting a little too much. The purpose of this stuff is to get them interested enough and give them the intellectual curiosity to learn and personally seek more knowledge.
Tim won't teach a kid to be an engineer, but he's damned good at pointing them in the right direction.
Yes!Yes, I know! My vexation is with all shows like this. There's no research. Anyone could put this together off the top of their head just from knowledge they'd picked up from having 5 senses and living on the planet. Sure, a kid could easily have seen this and wondered about it, but that's beside my point. These types of shows purport to be much more than they are. That's all that irks me. This show is like a walk through a museum. Fascinating? Sure. The "secret life of the radio"? Hardly.
Of course we know that shows over sell themselves because tv is about ratings. In my favs is a video called "Eureka". I'm not saying it's better or worse; just that it's truth in advertising. The life of radios should be called, "A walk though a little radio exhibit at the museum". And, my point is, most presentations are like this because this kind of thing is mistaken for real pedagogy; and not because it's understood that it isn't (and this is unconscious, not maliciously conscious).
I Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Like This Movie. Especial the old spark transmitter and old BBC valve transmitting with bright filament. Wish in future someone build This transmitter and broacast the romatic relax slow song like old days.
I grew up on this show, god i miss those days. i like Tim's style, he gets down and dirty. it doesn't matter what he's talking about but he manages to make it interesting and fun to watch. thx for posting this.
Thank you for uploading this show. No one I knew had ever heard of it let alone seen it. Now i can prove that this was a great series and I am not making it up.
Theres a deleted segment at 5:20 . Rex and Tim use Marconi's coherer to transmit across a lake and ring a bell.
contrapezist 3 weeks ago
@contrapezist Yes, this was edited for commercials. I have the full version now.
CraigTube 3 weeks ago
@CraigTube Got ya wasnt sure if it was TLC that cut it out for time or ??? Created a small continuity problem where it picked up. There is another missing segment in part 2 with them playing a bit with a crystal set and cats whisker. Thanks for putting them up, still a fun show to watch even after seeing them so many times.
contrapezist 3 weeks ago
This series has really shown me the wonderful properties of electricity.
daylightdisk 3 weeks ago
oh god i love this show!
triggerdance 1 month ago
Nicola Tesla discovered radio waves. Marconi applied those discoveries into real applications. Hence Marconi is just the inventor of the radio. Nothing more.
Long live Nicola Tesla.
thiesenf 2 months ago
It's Brum! <- Childhood memories.
wasssup1990 5 months ago
Over course the Brits and their limited education didn't teach them about Nikola Tesla who had the Radio and Radio Control Years before Marconi, which the Supreme Court upheld Tesla as the Inventor of Both.
MrSchpankme 7 months ago
@MrSchpankme Quite simple. The controllers of the world don't want attention being brought to Tesla because he was on the road to uncovering free energy, and they demoed his equipment in favor of charging us for energy. Classic example of history being re-written to hide the truth.
CraigTube 7 months ago
@CraigTube .. your much more advanced in your knowledge, and understanding then the average individual. Best regards.
MrSchpankme 7 months ago
These people are so ignorant. Stop sucking Heinrick Hertz's balls and give Tesla the credit he deserves. Without Tesla, Hertz would be a nobody.
ajbleas 11 months ago
My name is Brummitt. I don't find the name Brum funny. I was bullied because of it, even by teachers. You had me on side until that point.
Feisty1967 1 year ago
@Feisty1967 bullies are only persons.
SlimeTron5000 1 year ago
@Feisty1967 Huh?
CraigTube 11 months ago
@CraigTube At around 8:43, the RC car has "BRUM 1" on the license plate...
That might be what Feisty1967 is referring to.
Fuzy2K 9 months ago
Comment removed
Watsonius 10 months ago
@Feisty1967 One can be bullied for anything. What relevance would that have to this excellent TV programme? Don't be so silly.
Watsonius 10 months ago
@Feisty1967 @Feisty1967 One can be bullied for anything. What relevance would that have to this excellent TV programme? Don't be so silly.
Watsonius 10 months ago
I always loved the odd blink-and-you'll-miss-it directorial touches to these programmes, like at the start when they both slide down the ladders simultaneously and then carry on about their business.
seagreenyweeny 1 year ago
Wow that really was Marconi's original setup at 5:30. If you go to the wikipedia page for coherer you can see a picture of it in the Oxford Museum of the History of Science.
10mintwo 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
NiKOLA TESLA Invented this firts!
kurentmalik 1 year ago
NOKOLA TESLA Invented this firts!
kurentmalik 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
One of the best shows ever. I love this! Tim Hunkin is awesome.
jpsilvashy 1 year ago
One of the best shows ever. I love this!
jpsilvashy 1 year ago
Man I remember watching this on the discovery channel back in the 80's. I used to love this show!!
joeywilson3 1 year ago
Who has the most "official" versions of these shows?
bobhhoffmann 1 year ago
@bobhhoffmann The delightfully named "popefucker" used to have full versions of every episode on google video. These were the ones that Tim Hunkin himself linked to on his website, but they seem to have disappeared now, sadly.
seagreenyweeny 1 year ago
@seagreenyweeny
Videos can be found here, but not all listed formats are working.
exploratorium.edu/ronh/SLOM/
FoolFaces 8 months ago
Hi! Great video! Just wondering if you knew the date it was made? I am a researcher looking into the history of radio, so it would be really helpful! Thanks :-)
lonsdalesquirrel 1 year ago
@lonsdalesquirrel I believe this was made around 1990, but radio hasn't changed since then, except for satellite radio.
CraigTube 1 year ago
@lonsdalesquirrel This ran from 1988 to 1993.
Morahman7vnNo2 1 year ago
Comment removed
tomdamho 1 month ago
@lonsdalesquirrel
exploratorium.edu/ronh/SLOM/index.html
tomdamho 1 month ago
"You break-a my plates, I smash-a your face."
gherinquad 2 years ago 8
loved those cartoons...
Corey497 2 years ago 2
actually it was nikola tesla not marcioni who invented the radio
kinglighthoman 2 years ago
I never realised Rex was on the TV before Robot wars and Brum. Fantastic.
UKmatt2000 2 years ago
You might think that a vacuum would be ideal and more efficient to make a spark in, but its not the case, you need something slightly conductive like a gas, so in a way its sort of has a semiconductor quality: somewhere inbetween a vacuum and metal conductors.
trailkeeper 2 years ago
How do sparks make radio waves?
99rhetbaboons 2 years ago
Sparks create electromagnetic energy at a very wide range of frequencies. It's this energy that we have harnessed to produce radio waves. A spark emits electromagnetism all across the whole radio spectrum, and beyond, which can be detected by a radio receiver. When there is a lightning storm, you hear the crackling on the radio from the sparks of lightning. When you turn a light off and on, you might hear a click on a nearby radio because of a small spark inside the switch.
CraigTube 2 years ago
I know that they do that. I'm wondering how they do that.
99rhetbaboons 2 years ago
Well sparks ARE electromagnetism. So are radio waves. Beyond that, you're getting into some pretty serious atomic physics that I don't quite grasp.
CraigTube 2 years ago
No worries. Asking the right question is tricky. I'm sure there's something about this that I used to know but which I can't remember...
99rhetbaboons 2 years ago
That's mostly classical mechanics. Faraday, time-varying fields, Coulomb's law, equivalence principle etc. Physics is fun ......not
sostenuto 2 years ago
Simple. When a spark ionizes the surrounding air through electrostatic discharge the air becomes a conductor. Accelerated charges radiate EM (electromagnetic) energy. The type of radiation (in this case radio) depends upon the frequency of oscillation. EM radiation propagates by means of oscillating EM fields that pass through the air and the vacuum. The oscillating fields induce AC current by resonance in another conductor (the antenna) proportional to the source.
sostenuto 2 years ago
I know that the air is ionized by a high enough voltage (break out voltage, I think they call it in the high voltage hobbyists community) and that the light of the spark comes from the electrons jumping and then falling in energy (releasing photons as a result). I expect, then, that all the EM radiation (not just the visible EM radiation) comes from the same thing. But, of course, lots of things are made to light up, but they're not interfering with a.m. radio...
99rhetbaboons 2 years ago
That's essentially right. The breakdown voltage when sufficient will break down the dielectric turning it into a conductor. The accelerated charge is just excited electrons that jumped into a higher orbit. They release photons as they lose their energy and fall into a lower orbit if they're bound to an atom. They produce EM fields whenever they change direction (Think A.C. and magnetism, or when a wire cuts through a magnetic field.)
sostenuto 2 years ago
Actually, EM radiation can be produced in several different ways. What distinguishes light from radio is the wavelength. So the wavelength/frequency which is the rate of oscillation has to be taken into account when we talk about reception and interference. It's an additive process where 2 waves of similar wavelengths collide and depending on their phase, either reinforce or cancel each other. Different wavelengths don't see each other and pass right through...
sostenuto 2 years ago
Comment removed
sostenuto 2 years ago
Also, sparks and lightning create broadband interference while other things that light up don't have this property because they're on a different frequency that does not coincide with AM radio.
Broadband interference (lightning, sparks) is all over the spectrum so it interferes with everything.
hope that makes it a bit more clear!
sostenuto 2 years ago
One of the most brilliant and entertaining shows I've ever seen. I miss programs like this on TLC/DSC. Thanks CraigTube!
guiglio 2 years ago
Aah! Back when TLC didn't suck! Miss this show!
bodger1223 2 years ago
These guys were legends on the telly...They were totally bonkers!
craigybus1 2 years ago
Personally, I think the discovery and use of the radio wave is more fascinating than just about anything since; even TV.
astranine 2 years ago
who is playing the music in the background
kingpabst 3 years ago
Excelent professor !
pwargentina 3 years ago
Oh, I remember this show when I was a kid... it really got me into science.
But there's one mistake: Nikola Tesla was the first who saw that radio waves can be used practically and made the patent, and not Marconi.
SEGAClownboss 3 years ago 7
Wow, I'm learning so much!
lulucheerful 3 years ago
Wonderful show !! I used to watch it in Mexico (traslated to spanish) during my childhood, that's why I decided to study engineering. Thanks !!
mike19692008 3 years ago
Does anyone know what the tune is called? I liked the washing machine
michaelc6012 3 years ago
The tune is "Take 5" and this version is not the original. The original is arranged with 5 beats per bar, instead of the normal 4, hence the name Take 5.
CraigTube 3 years ago
OMG Brum is radio controlled?!?!?!
stonerfuk 3 years ago
It should be mentioned, that marconi's patents were overturned, and handed pack to their rightfull owner, Tesla. Marconi, inventor of radio? Not even close! His coherer system and unsyncronus spark gap transmitters were crap, better systems were out there, his just happen to be 1. the most powerfull, and 2. covered so much bandwidth nobody else had a chance, until very narrow receivers were invented.
Polybun 3 years ago 2
I have all the episodes recorded on VHS, translated into my native language. It's one of my favorites, as it was years ago.
Deathcoil1000 3 years ago
Yup, I have all episodes as well. It is a fantastic program.
CraigTube 3 years ago
I love this! This has helped me to understand a lot. Thank you very much for sharing it with us.
raystem69 3 years ago
Really? I'm not gifted in the way others are, so I hope you don't mind if I ask you what it helped you to understand. Many thanks.
prayfertrey 3 years ago
Dear Prayfertrey,
I'd always wondered how some radios could work without being connected to a power supply, and this show explains it.I also now better understand why AM radio is more prone to static than FM. Excellent show.
raystem69 3 years ago
Coherer-is that the detector diode? I have of a 'cat whisker' touching a crystal too, you have to find a good sensitive spot by moving it around!
VideyoJunkei 3 years ago
Now see, these things irritate me. It's just a story ABOUT science. "here is a coil and a capacitor and the electricity whizzes back and forth...". To the uninitiated, that means NOTHING. No one is going to actually learn anything except a bit of history. This kind of pedagogy, unfortunately, dominates. It's lazy.
prayfertrey 4 years ago
and what would you do differently? and you think that would be as amazing as what Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod have done? laughable. I first watched this at age ten and learned that sparks create waves that can be received as sparks by metal coils and displayed visually by oscilloscopes... as well as the bit of history. Your assessment offends me.
girbilpigweb 4 years ago
What you have to realize is, first of all, the show was made for a British audience, who would rather give up their 3:00 tea than listen to anything technical. Second, the point of the show is to "demystify" the radio concept, not complicate it with electronic jargon, which would undoubtedly cause most people to fall asleep. I know that is unfortunate for me and you, but it's true.
CraigTube 3 years ago
That's exactly what I understand, that's why the radio concept is not demystified. It shouldn't be called, "The secret life of the radio". He does do what he claims he's going to do, which is tell how they were discovered, because of sparks, but that's all he does. It's not more amazing than that. No secret life of the radio stuff. It's a bio of the people involved, and a fun gadget show - like the rest. Search YT for principles of electronics. Does it put you to sleep? Is it too technical?
prayfertrey 3 years ago
Well, not for me, but it is for most. You can't blame the guy who made the show, Tim Hunkin. No network would air a show that goes into great detail about the electronics of an appliance. You know that as well as I do. His show is intended only to bring an awareness that there's stuff going on under the hood, and how it came to be. These things are not known by most people, hence the title "The Secret Life Of Machines" which is the title of the series.
CraigTube 3 years ago
There are 12 other episodes, and if you watch them all, he talks about electromagnetism, transistors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, coils, speakers, etc. I love looking at all those old radios. It's a great show for what is, and that's not an electronics course.
CraigTube 3 years ago
Thanks.
prayfertrey 3 years ago
Well, he identifies them. I'm fascinated by the pedagogy of it and how people confuse this "entertainment" with "education". What's interesting to me at the moment is that this kind of thing does indeed put me to sleep, but others feel that this sort of thing is exactly what does not put them to sleep. Interesting...
prayfertrey 3 years ago
On television, there is NO education, except maybe on the NASA channel. Despite my extensive knowledge of electronics and technology, I enjoyed the series.
CraigTube 3 years ago
Say what you like. This guy wet my apetite for science and technology when I was a kid, and I went on to become an engineer as a result. A good one, too.
If you expect TV to educate our kids for us, then you might be expecting a little too much. The purpose of this stuff is to get them interested enough and give them the intellectual curiosity to learn and personally seek more knowledge.
Tim won't teach a kid to be an engineer, but he's damned good at pointing them in the right direction.
Furrowbrow 3 years ago 2
Yes!Yes, I know! My vexation is with all shows like this. There's no research. Anyone could put this together off the top of their head just from knowledge they'd picked up from having 5 senses and living on the planet. Sure, a kid could easily have seen this and wondered about it, but that's beside my point. These types of shows purport to be much more than they are. That's all that irks me. This show is like a walk through a museum. Fascinating? Sure. The "secret life of the radio"? Hardly.
prayfertrey 3 years ago
Of course we know that shows over sell themselves because tv is about ratings. In my favs is a video called "Eureka". I'm not saying it's better or worse; just that it's truth in advertising. The life of radios should be called, "A walk though a little radio exhibit at the museum". And, my point is, most presentations are like this because this kind of thing is mistaken for real pedagogy; and not because it's understood that it isn't (and this is unconscious, not maliciously conscious).
prayfertrey 3 years ago
I can get it via filesharing! Tim Hunkin himself encourages fans to download this series.
SPeacock 4 years ago
Awesome... very informative!
sidebander 4 years ago
This show is brilliant! Gotta get them on DVD!!!
IDisnotscience 4 years ago
Rex Garrod is a legend. Both in this show AND Robot Wars where he introduced the self-righting mechanism.
Headbanger14 4 years ago
I Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Like This Movie. Especial the old spark transmitter and old BBC valve transmitting with bright filament. Wish in future someone build This transmitter and broacast the romatic relax slow song like old days.
6p1p 4 years ago
Fantastic! I loved this show when it was on, great to watch it again. Love the cartoons!
Kromitigola 4 years ago
I love this show!
thornido 4 years ago
Excellent posting of this rare video!
kedecker 4 years ago
Wow I'd never of thought I would see brum again! hahaha the memories!
ssssroryssss2 4 years ago
YOU BREAKA MY PLATES - I SMASHA YOUR FAICE! genius
martinbegley 4 years ago
"You breaka my platea. I smasha your facea."
Hahahaha.
gewehrmeister3777 4 years ago 2
LOL @ 0:48.. rex does the 'i do this all the time' walk LOL
dwarfer777 4 years ago
great song too
dwarfer777 4 years ago
great show, i emailed this guy (tim is it) asking for all the dvd series, which i got (for a price) and his autograph. great guy
dwarfer777 4 years ago
I grew up on this show, god i miss those days. i like Tim's style, he gets down and dirty. it doesn't matter what he's talking about but he manages to make it interesting and fun to watch. thx for posting this.
saucy05 5 years ago
np. I may post more episodes soon. The light bulb, the Elevator, and the Quartz watch are my favs.
CraigTube 5 years ago
I always loved this show! Theme music reminds me of an old gf though :(
seizetheweakened 5 years ago
Thank you for uploading this show. No one I knew had ever heard of it let alone seen it. Now i can prove that this was a great series and I am not making it up.
greenwireless 5 years ago
I have all the shows on DVD (dubbed off of VHS)
CraigTube 5 years ago
Rex Garrod? Hey! He drove Cassius in the series 2 and 3 of Robot Wars!
Headbanger14 5 years ago
Used to love this series. Thanx for uploading!
lmbrjck 5 years ago