PhysicsCentral: Podcasts

What turns a fast-moving fire into a super-sonic explosion that can punch through concrete? Physicists studying the deflagration to detonation transition, or DDT, think they may understand this dangerous phenomenon.

Last week, a group of physicists announced that they had detected neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light. Whether the results are accurate or not will have to wait for results from other experiments. In the mean time Calla Cofield gives a little background on just how much nature is willing to bend the "faster than light" rule.

10 years after the towers fell the reflecting pools are about to open to commemorate this tragic event.  Join Calla Cofield as she reflects on the physics of the falling towers and lessons for future presidents.

The Physics Central team recently got some first-hand experience with the physics of earthquakes.

The Superconducting Supercollider was going to be the biggest, most powerful particle accelerator in the world. After major budget overruns and delays, Congress pulled the plug and all that's left today are a bunch of derelict buildings south of Dallas Texas. Where did things go wrong?

In 1938, physicist Ettore Majorana boarded a boat for Naples and was
never heard from again. Did one of the great geniuses of modern
physics choose to end his own life? Or did he have a reason for
vanishing? In this edition of the podcast we'll explore a little bit
of Ettore's life, his contributions to physics, and his unsolved exit.

The Juno spacecraft lifted off on August 5, 2011 and is now on a five
year journey to Jupiter, our solar system's largest planet. From orbit
around Jupiter, Juno will gather information that could tell us how
our solar system formed.

Coffee Ring Physics

Science writer Lizzie Wade and photographer Nick Russell drove 15,000 miles visiting physics labs across the country during their Summer of Science.

Scientists have created the first "living laser," using a human cell. Calla Cofield explains the basic physics behind traditional lasers, and how the living laser uses the same principles.