Packet switching | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

Duration: 2'29''

Synopsis

Hannah Fry explains packet switching, the breaking down of files over the internet rather than sending as one big file.

Further Information

More clips from 03

S3E1: Air Fryer | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S3E1: Air Fryer | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2025 | 58'46''

Hannah takes a look at the air fryer - a device that is rapidly taking over people's kitchens, cooking up everything from ...

S3E2: Fridge | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S3E2: Fridge | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2025 | 59'23''

Hannah hits the production line with appliance giants Bosch to find the lifeblood at the heart of every fridge and gets a les...

S3E3: Rollercoaster | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S3E3: Rollercoaster | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2025 | 59'26''

Hannah uncovers the wild origins of the modern-day rollercoaster and gets the inside story on the UK's newest, tallest...

S3E4: Doorbell | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S3E4: Doorbell | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2025 | 59'01''

The rise of the smart doorbell is one of the great tech success stories of the 21st century. Hannah heads to Los Angeles to...

S3E5: Motorway | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S3E5: Motorway | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2025 | 58'05''

Hannah takes a drive to the National Highways control centre for the UK's busiest motorway to meet the team that keep the m...

More resources about Computing and IT

AI Decoded (25/04/2024) | The Context

AI Decoded (25/04/2024) | The Context

BBC World News | 2024 | 10'55''

How do we combat fake news in the age of AI? The Context finds out more.

Bristol's data sharing network | The Joy of Data

Bristol's data sharing network | The Joy of Data

BBC Four | 2016 | 4'08''

Hannah Fry discovers how Bristol is pioneering the sharing of data across the city to benefit the citizens of the city.

Coding and dance music | Coding: The Future is Creative

Coding and dance music | Coding: The Future is Creative

BBC Two | 2014 | 4'02''

Chloe meets Beardyman, a beatboxer who invented a coding system that turns his voice into live music.

Coding and visual art | Coding: The Future is Creative

Coding and visual art | Coding: The Future is Creative

BBC Two | 2014 | 3'25''

Chloe meets Seb Lee-Delisle who uses coding to make laser shows and visual art that the public can interact with.

Digital fashion | Coding: The Future is Creative

Digital fashion | Coding: The Future is Creative

BBC Two | 2014 | 4'01''

Chloe Watts goes to Studio X, a ''fashion laboratory'' where Benjamin Males fuses computer programming with fashion design.

Disinformation | Click

Disinformation | Click

BBC News | 2023 | 6'32''

Jacqui Wakefield investigates how AI videos are targeting children with disinformation.

Disinformation | Thinking Allowed

Disinformation | Thinking Allowed

BBC Radio 4 | 2020 | 13'29''

Laurie Taylor talks to Annie Kelly, a researcher of the Digital Far Right, about the QAnon conspiracy theory and why it has attracted a str...

Fake videos in Middle East | Newswatch

Fake videos in Middle East | Newswatch

BBC News | 2024 | 8'13''

The challenge of fake videos in the Middle East's propaganda war.

How BBC Verify is transparent in its fact checking | Over to You

How BBC Verify is transparent in its fact checking | Over to You

BBC World Service | 2023 | 6'12''

BBC Verify and how fact-checking and investigative work is shared with the audience. We ask the BBC's direct...

Introduction to data | The Joy of Data

Introduction to data | The Joy of Data

BBC Four | 2016 | 3'16''

Dr Hannah Fry explains her introduction to data by explaining a Wikipedia-inspired game where you click on the first link of every art...

Online gaming | Coding: The Future is Creative

Online gaming | Coding: The Future is Creative

BBC Two | 2014 | 4'36''

Chloe Watts explores how the boundaries have blurred between players and game designers, with many players now contributing to...

S1E1: Bank Card | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S1E1: Bank Card | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2022 | 59'20''

Hannah Fry takes a look at the bank card, the digital key to accessing cash, and finds out how its extraordinary innovatio...

S1E2: Food Delivery App | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S1E2: Food Delivery App | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2022 | 59'13''

Hannah Fry tucks into the tech behind food delivery apps, which are now used by 24 million people in the UK. Hanna...

S1E3: Virtual Assistant | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S1E3: Virtual Assistant | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2022 | 58'45''

Hannah Fry delves into the inner workings of virtual assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri...

S1E4: Electric Car | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S1E4: Electric Car | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2022 | 58'14''

Hannah Fry discovers why innovations in meat packing almost derailed the electric car revolution and how a breakthrough...

S1E5: Fitness Tracker | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S1E5: Fitness Tracker | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2022 | 58'46''

Hannah Fry finds out how 1970s car crashes helped us to count our steps, why WWII dog-fights led to a crucial health...

S1E6: Trainer | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S1E6: Trainer | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2022 | 59'06''

Hannah Fry visits eBay's authentication centre, where they are waging war against fake high-value trainers. She discovers ho...

S2E1: Passport | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S2E1: Passport | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2023 | 59'35''

Hannah gains access to a top-secret site where anonymous staff and the latest tech work to make the British passport one of...

S2E2: Vacuum Cleaner | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S2E2: Vacuum Cleaner | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2023 | 58'08''

Hannah takes a look at the vacuum cleaner, going behind the scenes with Dyson and discovering how the motor in their ...

S2E3: Smartphone | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S2E3: Smartphone | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2023 | 59'03''

With rare access to electronics giant Samsung, Hannah uncovers the technological game changers that have made the smartph...

More from Hannah Fry

3: Weirder and Weirder | Magic Numbers: Hannah Fry's Mysterious World of Maths

3: Weirder and Weirder | Magic Numbers: Hannah Fry's Mysterious World of Maths

BBC Four | 2018 | 59'03''

Dr Hannah Fry explores a paradox at the heart of modern maths, and what maths reveals about th...

S3E1: Air Fryer | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S3E1: Air Fryer | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2025 | 58'46''

Hannah takes a look at the air fryer - a device that is rapidly taking over people's kitchens, cooking up everything from ...

Feast to Save the Planet | Horizon

Feast to Save the Planet | Horizon

BBC Two | 2021 | 58'55''

Gregg Wallace and mathematician Hannah Fry invite five special guests to a unique dinner party where they are scored on the environmental ...

How Nikola Tesla electrified his Victorian peers | Victorian Sensations

How Nikola Tesla electrified his Victorian peers | Victorian Sensations

BBC Four | 2019 | 2'09''

Hannah Fry describes the first moment Nikola Tesla demonstrated the power of electricity.

How Can We All Win? | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

How Can We All Win? | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

BBC Four | 2019 | 59'14''

Dr Hannah Fry tests the limits of our control, from gravity-defying stunts to human-sized drones, and delves into ...

A Day in the Life of Earth

A Day in the Life of Earth

BBC Four | 2018 | 57'59''

Presenter Hannah Fry reveals how much our planet can change in just a single day and how these daily changes are essential to our existence.

Bristol's data sharing network | The Joy of Data

Bristol's data sharing network | The Joy of Data

BBC Four | 2016 | 4'08''

Hannah Fry discovers how Bristol is pioneering the sharing of data across the city to benefit the citizens of the city.

Monte Carlo Method | Climate Change By Numbers

Monte Carlo Method | Climate Change By Numbers

BBC Four | 2015 | 7'04''

Prof David Spiegelhalter explains the importance of the Monte Carlo Method to statistics and climate change.