PhysicsCentral: Podcasts

Snow is falling, northern lights are glowing, and physics is everywhere this season.

Dr. Bryan Gaensler is the author of the book "Extreme Cosmos: A Guided Tour of the Fastest, Brightest, Hottest, Heaviest, Oldest and Most Amazing Aspects of Our Universe." Gaensler talks to us about the fastest object in the universe, and explains why astronomers don't always aim to break universal records in their research, even if the news headlines can seem a little over-eager to do just that.

Between 1860 and 1885, cyclists who wanted both efficiency and speed
rode what we now call "penny farthings," or bicycles with front wheels
as large at five feet in diameter. Why the big wheels? And why don't
we have bikes like those anymore? The answer, as you might suspect,
involves physics.

Nobel prize winning physicist Frank Wilczek says he has suffered for science. Specifically, he once spent two and a half days at a pay phone in the middle of nowhere assuring people all over the world that a science experiment on Long Island would not destroy the Earth.

New research reveals how tiny crystals fish skin help silvery swimmers hide from predators by reflecting more light. The structures responsible for this creative camouflage could be put to use in man-made reflectors as well.

Today on the physics buzz podcast we talk with Diana Davis, winner of the Dance Your PhD contest in the physics division. Check out Davis' winning entry on our blog, then listen to Davis address misconceptions about math research, and the shape of our universe.

Scientists have located an Earth-sized planet orbiting one of the closest stars to our solar system. While the planet is too hot to support life, there may be other planets in the same system where liquid water, and possibly life, exist.

This year's Physics Nobel Prize was awarded to researchers for developing ways to manipulate "very fragile quantum states." In this week's podcast, we investigate what exactly that means.

How did the Nobel Prize come to be the greatest science prize in the world? It's not an easy answer.

What if we could see beyond visible light? How would we perceive the universe? Calla takes you on a tour of the electromagnetic universe.