'Podcast episodes' Category
Episode 12 — Getting to Sputnik
Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Earth’s first artificial satellite — Sputnik 1. Lots of news sites are covering various aspects of this anniversary — mostly dealing with what’s happened in space in the intervening 5 decades, and what we may see in the future. What seems to be getting far less coverage, though, is the twisted path that led to the launch. Sputnik’s launch didn’t take place in a vacuum (no pun intended), after all — a number of social, political, and technical forces were at play. Tune in this week, and I’ll fill you in on all of the good “deep background” information that’s often lost in the shuffle.
Episode 11 — Colony Collapse Disorder
So, what’s the buzz about honeybees? Listen in to this episode, and you’ll learn about honeybees, how important they are to modern agriculture, and how damaging something called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has become — at least, in the U.S. and Europe. I try to put recent news in a bit of perspective, and talk a bit about the work that still needs to be done….
Episode 10 — Quantum Mechanics
Now it’s time for some much odder physics than you’re likely used to — we’re getting down to the sub-atomic level with quantum mechanics…. If you’re new to the podcast, you’ll want to check out episodes 4 (Physics: A Brief History, 6 (Special Relativity), and 8 (General Relativity) first, just to put this material in context….
Episode 9 — Stem Cells
Stem cells — everybody talks about them, but how much do all these talking heads really know about them? Listen in to this episode, and you’ll get a basic background in stem cells, and why you should care about them. What stem cells are, what they’re useful for, what kinds have ethical concerns attached, and which shouldn’t — it’s all in here for your listening pleasure. I also talk about some promising new news from Japan — the dawn of guilt-free stem cells may be just down the road…
Episode 8 — General Relativity
Now that we have some of the preliminaries out of the way, it’s time to take a quick look at General Relativity. Fortunately for the physics impared, it’s actually a bit easier to get your head around than is Special Relativity — and you get black holes, the big bang, and gravitational lensing in the bargain!
