The 'affordable' Zoe There was a discussion on today's Today programme about the pros and cons of introducing green numberplates for electric cars , enabling their owners to use bus lanes, park for free and such, to encourage us all to buy electric cars. There was rightly some doubt expressed that this would do the trick. But I was amazed there was not a single mention of the electric car elephant in the room - pricing. I want an electric car - I really do. I would have one tomorrow. But I simply can't afford one. I can get a new petrol car at prices starting around £7,000. The cheapest mainstream electric car, the Renault Zoe, would cost me £21,000 - three times the amount. And that's for a silly short range. If I want an electric car with a range that is suitable for journeys other than commuting (which I do) there's nothing under around £35,000. But the cheapo petrol car can manage that range and more. There it is, quite simply. Fiddling around with ...

There's quite an industry these days in art/science crossovers, which can often be seen from one of two directions - as trying to make science more accessible or trying to make art more relevant in a scientific world. Mary Peelen's collection of poetry is not really trying to do either of these things - and as a result does a much better job than any of the other, often over-earnest, attempts I've seen. The title might suggest that quantum physics is a linking theme, but though physics is perhaps involved more than the other sciences, even within physics Peelen brings in a wide range from thermodynamics to string theory, while her poems often also are entangled with mathematics (who can resist a poem titled dx ?), chemistry and medicine. Most of the poems are spare, frequently only taking up a single page and consisting of ten non-rhyming couplets. I liked the approach - it felt like it was giving me thinking space to absorb the words. Despite titles such as Superno...