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The History of Physics Podcast
The History of Physics Podcast episodes
- Joule’s Paddle Wheel: The Experiment That Quantified Heat
James Prescott Joule’s 1840s paddle‑wheel experiment proved that mechanical work can be converted into heat, establishing the mechanical equivalent of heat and laying the groundwork for energy conservation and thermodynamics.
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18 min - Blackbody Radiation and the Birth of Quantum Theory
Explore how measurements of glowing bodies in the late 19th‑century revealed a paradox that shattered classical physics, leading Max Planck to introduce quantization and laying the foundation for modern quantum theory.
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16 min - Archimedes and the Birth of Calculus: From Levers to Limits
Explore how Archimedes’ method of exhaustion, buoyancy experiments, and physical reasoning in ancient Syracuse laid the groundwork for integral calculus—showing physics and geometry as inseparable forces that shaped modern science.
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16 min - Aristotle’s Vacuum Myth: A 2,000‑Year Old Idea That Changed Physics
This episode traces how Aristotle’s claim that vacuums could not exist locked physics for two thousand years, and how Galileo’s inclined‑plane experiment shattered that myth. We follow the chain from Aristotle to Newton’s Principia, Cavendish’s experiments, and modern vacuum technology, showing how a single assumption reshaped motion, engineering, and scientific culture.
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18 min - The Accidental Microwave Hiss That Proved the Big Bang
In this episode we trace how a quiet radio telescope in New Jersey led to the discovery of the cosmic microwave background—an unexpected hiss that became the first direct evidence for the Big Bang. The story follows Bell Labs engineers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, their relentless pursuit of an unexplained signal, and how theorist Robert Dicke turned noise into a cosmological breakthrough.
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16 min - Pythagoras' Musical Math: Myth Meets Modern Physics
We follow Pythagoras’ claim that halving a string’s length doubles its frequency, tracing the experiments, cultural myths, and tuning systems that evolved from that idea. The episode shows how ancient music theory intersected with physics, measurement challenges, and the lasting influence on modern scientific practice.
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17 min - Kepler’s Eight‑Minute Arc: How a Tiny Discrepancy Birthed Orbital Laws
Explore how Kepler’s careful analysis of Tycho Brahe’s data uncovered an eight‑minute arc error that forced a radical shift from circular to elliptical orbits. The episode traces the scientific, cultural, and political forces that turned a stubborn measurement gap into a cornerstone of modern astronomy.
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18 min - From Du Fay's Spark to Volta's Pile: The Birth of Modern Electricity
In this episode we trace the journey from Charles du Fay’s 1733 observation that different materials produced distinct sparks to Alessandro Volta’s invention of the first true electric pile. We explore how the idea of two opposite charges shaped early electrical science, influenced Maxwell and modern physics, and laid the groundwork for today’s batteries and power systems.
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16 min - The Oxford Calculators: Medieval Math That Predicted Falling Bodies
In the 14th century, a group of scholars at Merton College used Euclidean geometry to argue that all objects fall at the same rate—challenging Aristotle’s long‑held belief. Their theoretical insight laid groundwork for Galileo’s experiments and reshaped our understanding of gravity.
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17 min - Boltzmann’s H‑Theorem: The Statistical Secret Behind the Arrow of Time
Explore how Ludwig Boltzmann used statistical mechanics to explain why entropy increases, shaping our understanding of time’s direction and influencing everything from engines to cosmology.
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16 min
About The History of Physics Podcast
From the publisher's feed
Explore the extraordinary history of physics, from the earliest attempts to explain motion, matter, light, and the heavens to the discoveries that transformed our understanding of space, time, energy, atoms, and the universe. The History of Physics Podcast follows the thinkers, experiments, equations, instruments, institutions, and scientific revolutions that built modern physics across thousands of years.
Episodes trace ideas from ancient Greek natural philosophy, astronomy, and mechanics through the Scientific Revolution, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, optics, statistical mechanics, relativity, quantum theory, nuclear physics, particle physics, cosmology, and the search for deeper laws of nature. The show also explores famous experiments, rivalries between scientists, failed theories, technological breakthroughs, major laboratories, mathematical innovations, and the historical circumstances that changed the direction of scientific thought.
Whether you are interested in Newton and Einstein, quantum mechanics, black holes, electricity, atomic theory, space exploration, or the people behind the equations, the podcast tells the human story of how physics developed and why its discoveries changed civilization. The History of Physics Podcast is hosted by Josh Linsk.