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PODCAST

Physical Attraction

Physical Attraction is the show that explores topics in science, technology, and the future - from a physicist"s perspective. From the birth of stars to the end of the world, from interviews with experts to meticulously-researched deep dives, we"ll explore the topics that shape our world.

science physics

All Episodes

22:48

Nuclear Fusion XIV: Simple Engineering Problems?

Physical Attraction ·

2019/05/09

What's stopping us from getting magnetic confinement fusion reactors that work? Is it really just... simple engineering problems? www.physicspodcast.com

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24:03

Nuclear Fusion XIII: Two-Faced Gods

Physical Attraction ·

2019/05/02

The second generation of laser fusion (inertial confinement fusion) devices was built in the USA in the 1970s and 1980s - but, unfortunately, those pesky plasma instabilities wouldn't go away. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod

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22:33

Nuclear Fusion XII: Frickin' Lasers

Physical Attraction ·

2019/04/24

The invention of the laser in 1960 opened up an entirely new approach to nuclear fusion - dramatically, and drastically compressing individual pellets of fuel with lasers. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod

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29:20

Nuclear Fusion XI: The Tokamak Revolution

Physical Attraction ·

2019/04/12

In the late 1960s, scientists crossed the Iron Curtain. Their mission was to investigate whether the claims of Russian scientists about their new nuclear fusion device, the tokamak, were really true. Their findings would change fusion research forever. www.physicspodcast.com

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59:33

Kate Devlin on Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots

Physical Attraction ·

2019/04/05

Taking a break from our nuclear fusion odyssey this week, I have a very special episode for you today. This week, our guest is Dr Kate Devlin. She’s a senior lecturer in computer science who studies artificial intelligence and human-robot interaction, and she wrote a magnificent book: Turned On, Science, Sex and Robots. Now, the tagline is that the book is about love and sex with robots – and there is a great deal of fascinating stuff in there about that – but it’s also a wonderful history of

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31:45

Nuclear Fusion X: Doldrums and Tokamaks

Physical Attraction ·

2019/03/22

After the first generation of nuclear fusion reactors had profound instabilities, and couldn't confine the plasma for long enough to achieve their aims, the world began to realise that fusion might not be just ten years away from reality - and the whole field sank into the doldrums... until a very Soviet intervention. Physical Attraction is the podcast about physics, science, and technology. You can find further details about the show at www.physicspodcast.com - where you'll find the contact form,

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27:21

Nuclear Fusion IX: A Sun of Our Own

Physical Attraction ·

2019/03/15

In 1958, to great fanfare, the ZETA experiment at Harwell announced that they had achieved thermonuclear reactions, controlled in the lab. It was considered a huge breakthrough along the road towards nuclear fusion, and tabloids at the time trumpeted the experiment as allowing "limitless energy from sea water", and called it "Britain's Sputnik". But not everyone was convinced. Physical Attraction is the podcast about physics, science, and technology. You can find further details about the show

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23:55

Nuclear Fusion VIII: Kinky and Unstable

Physical Attraction ·

2019/03/08

In the early 1950s, optimism surrounding the potential for nuclear fusion in devices like the Stellarator, the pinch devices, and the magnetic mirror were frustrated by plasma instabilities. It turns out that you cannot treat plasmas like charged particles whizzing around in magnetic fields - instead, the complex theory of magnetohydrodynamics needs to be taken into account, and, as the name suggests, it's not easy to understand! Physical Attraction is the podcast about physics, science, and

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20:49

Nuclear Fusion VII - Juan Step Beyond

Physical Attraction ·

2019/03/01

In 1950-1, Argentine dictator Juan Peron and German scientist Ronald Richter announced that they had cracked the secret of limitless energy from nuclear fusion, and would soon sell energy "in pint-sized bottles, like milk" to every household in the nation. Of course, the slight problem was that this technology was really (perhaps) a century away, and Ronald Richter was a crackpot. But they still had their impact on the history of nuclear fusion. This is their story. Physical Attraction is the

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37:55

Thermonuclear Takes: Teenage Fusion Cloudless Skies...

Physical Attraction ·

2019/02/25

Hello, and welcome to this episode of Thermonuclear Takes - our occasional bonus episodes that deal with topics in the news when there's just TOO MUCH EXCITING STUFF out there to talk about. This episode: The teenager who built a nuclear fusion reactor in his bedroom - should ITER give up and go home? (Spoiler: no.) A new study that suggests possible catastrophic climate feedbacks at high temperatures has been published OpenAI's new neural network is like nothing we've ever seen, and can imitate

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27:53

Nuclear Fusion VI: Pinches, Stellarators, Perhapsatrons

Physical Attraction ·

2019/02/22

Building a nuclear fusion power plant is no easy feat. Fusion naturally occurs in temperatures comparable to those at the heart of the Sun - temperatures so hot as to instantly vaporise virtually any substance on Earth. Physical Attraction is the podcast about physics, science, and technology. You can find further details about the show at www.physicspodcast.com - where you'll find the contact form, for any comments, questions, or concerns you may have. [I'm very good at responding to stuff that

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26:40

Nuclear Fusion V: Teller's Bomb [REUPLOAD]

Physical Attraction ·

2019/02/15

[Reupload with the actual, correct file this time - sorry! Thomas] When Teller's dream of a hydrogen, fusion bomb was eventually realised, it was another physicist, Ulam, who really came up with the winning design... and the first steps along the road to nuclear fusion on Earth. Physical Attraction is the podcast about physics, science, and technology. You can find further details about the show at www.physicspodcast.com - where you'll find the contact form, for any comments, questions, or

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Apologies...

Physical Attraction ·

2019/02/15

Through a contrived, almost absurd series of circumstances, I've managed to release last week's episode again in place of this week's. A re-record is in order and the REAL Nuclear Fusion, Episode V will be released hopefully this evening. Sorry everyone! Perils of the job. - Thomas

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23:34

Nuclear Fusion IV: Teller's Dream

Physical Attraction ·

2019/02/07

You can get too caught up in praising the beauty of science and conflating that with praising the individual. I think we should recognise and appreciate brilliance, but stop short of hero-worship. It’s reductive. It diminishes people. It removes important parts of who they were. It can, in its worst excesses, be downright dangerous. Nevertheless, that’s not a problem I have today, even though I’m going to tell this story partly biographically. Because Edward Teller, for all his brilliance in

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04:13

Announcing 100th Episode "What Is Physics"...

Physical Attraction ·

2019/02/05

Physical Attraction: 100th Episode Competition Physical Attraction is the podcast focused on physics, science and technology – and we’re about to reach a very big milestone when our 100th episode releases later on this year. To celebrate, we’re hosting a special competition with FABULOUS PRIZES. To enter, you need to send us your answer to the question “What is physics?”, either in written form, or (even better) recorded by you on some suitable equipment. Ideally, entries will be more than a few

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01:13:38

Huey Long: Episode V-VI Omnibus

Physical Attraction ·

2019/02/03

The good people of the United States Senate were not prepared for Huey P. Long. Could Huey Long's personality, travelling-salesman charm, and Share Our Wealth populism catapult him into the White House? In this episode, we find out. www.autocracynow.libsyn.com www.physicspodcast.com

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40:51

Nuclear Fusion III: Semi-Empirical Mass Formula

Physical Attraction ·

2019/01/31

There’s a famous saying that’s attributed to the statistician Henry L Box – but it’s one of the most important sayings for thinking about physics, and science in general. “All models are wrong, but some models are useful.” What does this mean, and how does it relate to the nucleus of the atom? Can we work out how the atomic energy levels behave... without knowing the first thing about quantum mechanics or the strong nuclear force that binds the atom together? Physical Attraction is the podcast

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22:15

Nuclear Fusion II: The Gold Foil Experiment

Physical Attraction ·

2019/01/25

Our series of episodes on nuclear fusion begins with the Rutherford Gold Foil experiment, which first discovered the nucleus and changed our understanding of the atomic world forever. From an experiment "every bit as astonishing as if you shot a 15-inch shell at tissue paper and it bounced back", to the poor graduate students who had to stay up all night in pitch dark counting tiny flashes, we'll discuss this seminal experiment and its results. Physical Attraction is the podcast about physics,

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23:38

Nuclear Fusion I: Darwin vs Kelvin

Physical Attraction ·

2019/01/18

What happened when one of history's most esteemed biologists fought with one of history's most esteemed physicists about how old the Earth could be? And what has any of this got to do with nuclear fusion? Find out more in the next, exciting instalment of The Hitchhiker's Guide To --- I mean, Physical Attraction. Physical Attraction is the podcast about physics, science, and technology. You can find further details about the show at www.physicspodcast.com - where you'll find the contact form, for

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01:07:49

Huey P Long Omnibus - From Election to Impeachment

Physical Attraction ·

2019/01/08

In 1928, Huey Long was riding high. He'd beaten all opposition and achieved the second step in his life-plan. Get elected to minor public office, check. Get elected to the Governorship, check. There's little doubt given everything we know about him that he was already angling for a seat in the Senate - although in his early addresses he was already lying about "ridding the state of corruption and waste... without ambition for ever again holding another public office." A bold claim for a man who had

en

252 results

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