Science! With Friends

Lightsaber fights, surfing electrons, and X-ray lasers (Xasers?): this episode has them all! Led by Dr. Matthias Fuchs, Jocelyn and Bradley enter the ultrasmall, ultrafast world of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, where light illuminates matter and our understanding of it. Matthias describes how he was drawn to physics for its predictive power, and he explains how he is using femtosecond pulses of mind-bogglingly powerful lasers to create movies of atomic behavior. The friends also discuss the power of “that’s funny . . .” moments in science and Matthias highlights some of the most exciting such moments so far in his career.

Links:
https://unlcms.unl.edu/physics-astronomy/fuchs-group/research
https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoday/article/fuchs-leads-first-team-to-observe-x-ray-phenomenon/
Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jbFzKOQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends
• Facebook: Science With Friends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and Produced by the Basement Creators Network. You can find them at https://www.basementcreators.network/

Sound Editing by Vince Ruhl

This week, Dr. Shireen Adenwalla shows that condensed matter physics is brimming not only with technological promise but also with strange and beautiful phenomena. Shireen introduces Jocelyn and Bradley to superconductivity, superfluidity, and other superlatives of condensed matter physics, and she tells us how she created the website Funsize Physics to bring this cutting-edge research to a broad audience. With a little help from Samuel L. Jackson (or is it Samuel R. Jackson?), the friends discuss Shireen’s current research on chiral molecules. Finally, with her trademark wit and wisdom, Shireen offers advice for young people, and especially young women, who are embarking on careers in science.

Links:
NCMN: https://ncmn.unl.edu/faculty/adenwalla
Funsize Physics:
https://funsizephysics.com/
https://www.aps.org/units/foep/newsletters/september2019/spotlight.cfm
https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/nebraska-led-website-shows-wonders-of-funsize-physics/
https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/unl-website-puts-the-fun-in-physics/article_6f0123a6-484d-5d9d-8e3c-db232cd21b63.html

Thalidomide chirality:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160208124237.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrTHfBCduRA

First Transistor: https://www.edn.com/1st-successful-test-of-the-transistor-december-16-1947/


Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends
• Facebook: Science With Friends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and Produced by the Basement Creators Network. You can find them at https://www.basementcreators.network/

Sound Editing by Vince Ruhl

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and we’re ready to party like it’s 1642! This week, Jocelyn and Bradley celebrate Newtonmas—the birthday of Sir Isaac Newton, legendary builder of worlds, holder of grudges, and the “great synthesizer” of modern physics. Through a series of original Newtonmas carols, the hosts discuss what made Newton so special, and why his work continues to awe and astound even today. So bring some Figgy Newtons and a cup of good cheer, and rock around the apple tree with us as we explore Isaac’s Newton’s life, work, and legacy.

Links:

Newton’s Dark Secrets (NOVA): https://vimeo.com/100652308

Brian Cox on feathers and bowling balls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs

Crash Course History of Science (Newton and Leibniz): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UKGPOwR-iw

Epic Rap Battles of History (Newton vs. Bill Nye): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yis7GzlXNM

The Strange, Secret History of Isaac Newton’s Papers: https://www.wired.com/2014/05/newton-papers-q-and-a/

A Cappella Science's "Wicked" take on Newton and Einstein:
Defining Gravity (ft. Physics Girl): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTQyFzTl5GA
For Good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpgepZKtoXI

Further reading:
Newton Papers: https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/newton/1
The Scientific Revolution: https://www.amazon.com/Scientific-Revolution-science-culture-Steven-Shapin/dp/0226750213
Newton and the Culture of Newtonianism:
https://www.amazon.com/Newton-Culture-Newtonianism-Control-Nature/dp/1573925454
The Myth of the Clockwork Universe: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287422786_The_myth_of_the_clockwork_universe_Newton_newtonianism_and_the_enlightenment
Alchemy Restored: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/660139


Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends
• Facebook: Science With Friends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and Produced by the Basement Creators Network. You can find them at https://www.basementcreators.network/

Sound Editing by Vince Ruhl

Can you get superpowers from gamma radiation? Can an open microwave door harm you? Do cell phones give you cancer? Does wearing aluminum foil on your head really protect you from alien signals? Could a gamma-ray burst truly destroy Earth?

In this episode, Jocelyn and Bradley discuss these and other misconceptions that seem to radiate from the word “radiation.” We are surrounded by radiation, much of which you can't see, and most of which is not dangerous. With wit and humor, the hosts sort out the meanings and myths of radiation in terms of health, safety, history, and Hollywood. They surf the electromagnetic spectrum, discuss common radioactive isotopes, and explain the differences between particle and ionizing radiation. And they decide once and for all whether a gamma-ray spider bite can give you superpowers.

Links

Electromagnetic Spectrum: https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectrum1.html

General Information on Radiation & Radioactivity:
https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/faqs/radiationtypes.html#
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/nonionizing_radiation.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/cell_phones._faq.html

Radiation effects on biological systems: http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/45/4/259.full.pdf+html

Radioactive Wolves:
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/radioactive-wolves-full-episode/7190/

Dose effects:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorbed_dose

Radium Girls:
https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/radium-girls
https://www.amazon.com/Radium-Girls-Story-Americas-Shining/dp/1492650951/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=radium+girls&qid=1576168224&sr=8-1
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/poisoners/

Gamma-ray bursts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3IDJFmD9Ss#action=share
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-two-gamma-ray-bursts-created-record-breaking-high-energy-photons
https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/how-deadly-would-a-nearby-gamma-ray-burst-be/

Scale:
https://htwins.net/scale2/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaGEjrADGPA


Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends
• Facebook: Science With Friends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and...

Come to the science side . . . we have puppies! This week, Jocelyn and Bradley talk with Dr. Jeffrey Stevens of the University of Nebraska Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior. Jeff tells us about his studies of impulsivity in human and nonhuman apes and other animals, while the hosts demonstrate their superior self-restraint by (mostly) refraining from interrupting him to scream, “BUT THE PUPPIES! TELL US ABOUT THE PUPPIES!!!” Yes, folks, Jeff also shares his work in the Canine Cognition and Human Interaction Lab, and the friends discuss what he’s learned about how dogs think and how dogs affect the way humans think.

Links:

Changing Minds: The Science of Belief (SciComm 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l_kyS8R72M
Adaptive Decision Making Lab: http://decisionslab.unl.edu/
CB3 center: http://cb3.unl.edu/
ADM lab Publications: http://decisionslab.unl.edu/publications.html
Canine Cognition and Human Interaction Lab: https://dogcog.unl.edu/

Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends
• Facebook: Science With Friends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and Produced by the Basement Creators Network. You can find them at https://www.basementcreators.network/

Sound Editing by Vince Ruhl

This week’s episode provides plentiful food for thought, as Jocelyn and Bradley celebrate Thanksgiving with food scientist Soon Kiat Lau! Kiat tells us how his childhood in Malaysia, just one generation removed from widespread hunger, sparked his passion for ensuring that people around the world have reliable access to a sufficient and safe food supply. He explains how the bacteria that contaminate “low moisture” foods like flour and peanut butter are like Bane from Batman, and he weighs in on longstanding Thanksgiving dinner debates, including whether and how to cook stuffing inside the turkey. The friends also discuss contemporary controversies in and around food science, including the future of lab-grown meat, the merits of organic vs. conventionally grown foods, and the appropriateness of oysters in stuffing (nay) and peanut butter and pickle sandwiches (yea).

Links:
https://ianrnews.unl.edu/student-spotlight-soon-kiat-lau
https://www.linkedin.com/in/soon-kiat-lau-5122bb58
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TWk2k_gAAAAJ&hl=en
Science Slam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUBsLJVcEDs

Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends
• Facebook: Science With Friends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and Produced by the Basement Creators Network. You can find them at https://www.basementcreators.network/

Sound Editing by Vince Ruhl

In this episode, Bradley goes Rad Solo style as he gives a big thank you to all the people who supported Science! With Friends, a recap of the episode so far, and a meeting with the ghost of Christmas future, as he talks about some upcoming interviews and shows. Lastly, Bradley gives all the viewers two homework assignment for this Thanksgiving month (and no, it’s not math):

1.#ThankyouScience - on social media, tell us what you are thankful for in science or the universe in general.

2.#ThankaScientist – on social media, send a thank you to your favorite scientists for their fantastic work in science or outreach.


Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends
• Facebook: Science With Friends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and Produced by the Basement Creators Network. You can find them at https://www.basementcreators.network/

Sound Editing by Vince Ruhl

This week, Jocelyn and Bradley are joined by Nicole Benker, a particle beam operator (read: smasher of atoms, creator of worlds) at Argonne National Laboratory. Nicole explains how a childhood love of space led her to study physics, and eventually to build a neutron detector that was sent to the International Space Station—but not without a few detours along the way, per the Jeremy Bearimy timeline. Nicole shares what led her to Argonne, as well as some of the lab's fascinating history. The friends also discuss Imposter Syndrome and Nicole's three-step process for overcoming it.

Links:

NASA DANSON project page: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2030

The Adventures of Solar Neutrons: https://funsizephysics.com/adventures-of-solar-neutrons/

Nano Nano: Neutrons in Space! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSAhojGglVo

2019 Science Slam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocF-PAumLWI

Argonne: https://www.anl.gov/


Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and Produced by the Basement Creators Network. You can find them at https://www.basementcreators.network/

Sound Editing by Vince Ruhl

In this week’s episode, Jocelyn and Bradley talk with ice princess and superstar science communicator Celeste Labedz of Caltech about why her field is—ahem—the coolest. Celeste shares with us the joy of geoscience puns takes us through a typical day in the life of a cryoseismologist, tells us about her work in Alaska with the Juneau Icefield Research Program, and explains why ice is so special and important. The friends discuss how climate change is impacting Celeste’s work, as well as her efforts to promote a more welcoming and inclusive scientific culture for all.

Links:
You can find Celeste on Twitter at @celestelabedz, and learn more about her glaciological adventures at
http://www.seismolab.caltech.edu/labedz_c.html
http://www.pasadenanow.com/main/caltech-program-fosters-scientific-curiosity-in-pasadena-unified-students/#.XaaI5iV7nfY
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-49149441
https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/nebraska-alumna-inspires-twitter-with-frozen-post/
https://svahausa.com/blogs/svaha/women-who-inspire-celeste-labedz
JIRP: http://juneauicefield.org/

Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and Produced by the Basement Creators Network. You can find them at https://www.basementcreators.network/

Sound Editing by Vince Ruhl

How do spiders communicate? Can a spider feel trust? And are they really as scary as they seem? Despite being around since the Cambrian Period, arachnids remain one of the most understudied and misunderstood groups of organisms on earth. In this episode, Jocelyn and Bradley sit down with Dr. Eileen Hebets to unweave some of the mystery surrounding spiders and their eight-legged brethren. Eileen describes the intricacies of spider brains, the many different ways arachnids can communicate, and even how they mate. Eileen also introduces us to her highly acclaimed "Eight-Legged Encounters" outreach exhibit, and the friends discuss the impact of inquiry-based education on public understanding of science generally and arachnids in particular. Finally, Eileen shares what her research on animal communication has taught her about effective science communication, and vice versa. Join us, friends, as we get in touch with our spidey senses and celebrate Arachtober!

Dr. Eileen Hebets Links:

• The Hebets Research Lab: http://hebetslab.unl.edu/

• Hebets lab movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afr91vyQfWs#action=share

• Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=dr3GFokAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

• Eight-legged Encounters: https://www.facebook.com/EightLeggedEncounters
• https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoday/article/dr-hebets-goes-to-washington-for-eight-legged-encounters/

• https://biosci.unl.edu/eileen-hebets-and-scary-spider-goblet-fire

• Using cross-disciplinary knowledge to facilitate advancements in animal communication and science communication research: https://jeb.biologists.org/content/jexbio/221/18/jeb179978.full.pdf

Contact Science! With Friends (especially if you’re a scientist interested in a lively conversation about your science and science story) at Gmail or Twitter!
• Gmail: [email protected]
• Twitter @SciWithFriends

Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and Produced by the Basement Creators Network. You can find them at https://www.basementcreators.network/

Sound Editing by Vince Ruhl