Astronomy (Audio)

Ed Moses, Director of the National Ignition Facility describes the path to a limitless supply of clean, safe energy. He explains how the world’s biggest, most energetic laser works and it’s goals. Nearing completion, the NIF will focus its giant laser beams on a tiny target filled with hydrogen. The goal is to replicate the conditions inside our sun and create, at a small size, its life-giving energy. Creating this sun process in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is fundamental to the vision of developing limitless, clean, carbon-free, safe and environmentally friendly energy to meet the world's increased energy. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 17642]

No mystery is bigger than dark energy — the elusive force that makes up three-quarters of the Universe and is causing it to expand at an accelerating rate. Join a panel of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists who use phenomena such as exploding stars and gravitational lenses to explore the dark cosmos. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory " [Science] [Show ID: 17426]

Cosmology is in a golden age with advances in technology enabling us to probe the physics of the very early universe. Princeton’s David Spergel explains that observations of the microwave background are snapshots of the Universe only three hundred thousand years after the Big Bang. These observations have answered many of the questions that have driven cosmology for the past few decades - but many remain unanswered. Find out what we know and what we hope to learn. Series: "Scientific Horizons" [Science] [Show ID: 17605]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Nobel Laureate Leon M.

Lederman. Tracing his intellectual journey, Professor Lederman discusses the qualities of a scientist, the early years of particle physics, the evolution of his own research interests, the discovery of the muon neutrino, the importance of that discovery and its implications for cosmology. He recalls the dynamism and excitement of his years in particle physics and the experience of winning the Nobel Prize. Drawing on his recent work, Professor Lederman also offers a critique of Secondary school science education and calls for a transformation of the curriculum.

Series: "Conversations with History" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 17601]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Nobel Laureate Leon M.

Lederman. Tracing his intellectual journey, Professor Lederman discusses the qualities of a scientist, the early years of particle physics, the evolution of his own research interests, the discovery of the muon neutrino, the importance of that discovery and its implications for cosmology. He recalls the dynamism and excitement of his years in particle physics and the experience of winning the Nobel Prize. Drawing on his recent work, Professor Lederman also offers a critique of Secondary school science education and calls for a transformation of the curriculum.

Series: "Conversations with History" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 17601]