A Night with the Stars (BBC Two)

Conclusive proof that quantum physics doesn’t have to be boring! The ever smiling Professor Brian Cox was our friendly guide through the somewhat complicated subject of quantum physics, inviting random TV celebrities to assist him in his demonstrations. Due to his good-natured demeanor, confusion unraveling delivery and facially gifted beam, science becomes not only fun but, dare I say it, even a little bit sexy. I don’t wish to sound shallow as Professor Brian Cox is a very intelligent, well read and gifted man but whatever his secret to making things clearer, being easy on the eye certainly doesn’t harm his cause.

Giving a lecture to a packed lecture theatre can’t be easy for anyone and with an excess of celebrities in the audience and a series of cameras this must have been a little nail biting but Professor Cox seems to take it in his stride. I was surprised and slightly impressed that I managed to understand the vast majority of it – some things I had read about in the past but I have read ‘A Brief History of Time’ about five times and still can’t claim to fully understand what on earth (or elsewhere for that matter) was going on. I’ve always had a sort of mental block when it comes to mathematics too and that doesn’t usually help as well as my brain’s irritating need to know the why behind everything. With these issues outstanding, I tried to go into the lecture with an open mind.

One of the most astounding things that was explained was Pauli Exclusion Principle where no two electrons can be in the same state at any one time. I firstly thought that this was within an atom but it seems that this is throughout the universe. As Professor Cox explained, when warming something up, no other electron can be in the same state so presumably some sort of massive ripple occurs to alter the states of electrons that must affect the entire universe. Mind-blowing stuff.

Simon Pegg and Professor Jim Al Khalili are recruited to demonstrate standing waves with a spring and a large dose of wrist action, cue a little adult humour but the hilarity serves to lubricate (so to speak) what could be a very dry subject. In amidst the merriment, the concept of standing waves is explored.

In another experiment the lovable James May has his hands full, literally as he holds hydrogen gas filled soap bubbles before Professor Cox advances towards him with a naked flame...

All in all, a little science and fun goes a long way to understanding some of the more complicated matters in physics and who could be a better guide than a happy Lancashire lad. A definite must-see.