The Sub Standard Model

Join us on a journey from a campfire at night in the Arizona desert to the moon, the mind, the electron and beyond.

Why does water behave the same at 1 degree and 99 degrees when it is so close to being either solid or gas?

What is true about the universe at every level?

What if nothing changes the more you zoom in?Are we stuck in a perpetual fractal maze?

Topics: Percolation, The Ising Model, Fractals, Renormalisation Invariance, Magnetism.

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"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

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On the 10th of September 2025, a paper was published in Nature that may one day be thought of as the most significant scientific discovery in our lifetimes (according to Sam). What on earth is he on about?

NOTE (spoiler alert): The Alien Interludes in this episode are based on real concepts for extra-terrestrial life in science fiction, particularly the Neosquilla which are very similar to the Keracks from the novel Camelot30K by Robert Forward.

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"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

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Venus, Earth and Mars, the solar system's most tragic love triangle. In this story of luck and loss, we explore the physics that drove their destinies apart, and speculate on alien life that may have clung on in the meantime.

NOTE (spoiler alert): The Alien Interludes in this episode are based on real concepts for extra-terrestrial life in science fiction: the Picknia are based on the Cheela from the novel Dragon's Egg by Robert Forward, Mariplasma resembles the Amoebic Sea from the Discovery Channel special Alien Planet, and the Harmonia are pretty much exactly as described by Kurt Vonnegut in his fantastic sci-fi novel Sirens of Titan (please just put down your phone and go and read this book).

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"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

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A mystery found in the frozen south offers secrets from other planets but is it all lies? The plot thickens, who dunnit? Who follows magnetic fields to the ends of the earth and what happened to all of those bacteria after the great oxidation event?!

“I am forced into speech because men of science have refused to follow my advice without knowing why. It is altogether against my will that I tell my reasons for opposing this contemplated invasion of the antarctic—with its vast fossil-hunt and its wholesale boring and melting of the ancient ice-cap—and I am the more reluctant because my warning may be in vain. Doubt of the real facts, as I must reveal them, is inevitable;”

― H.P. Lovecraft, At The Mountains Of Madness

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"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

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All the hottest takes on particles between 0.0625 and 2mm in diameter.

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"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

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A candid conversation about this economic bubble we call nuclear fusion.

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"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

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Sam brings his top six EXTREME FROGS (+ toads) to the table, and exposes them to Henry's ruthless judgement. Now we must rank them against each other, to determine which can be considered the ULTIMATE amphibian, once and for all. May the frogs be ever in your favour.

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"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

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Henry has recently learnt some things about slugs, and what they get up to when they think we are not looking. Unfortunately, it turns out someone was looking.

We also touch on penguin prostitution, the 2suit, and whether pure horniness alone can fuel a space mission.

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What happened to the island of Borneo? Is the storybook of natural history written in a secret poopy language, and hidden deep within a cave? Is the past truly. . . past?

Sam wants to talk about photosynthesis for a while, so please let him.

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"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

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On this classic episode, topics include:

Are we on the shores of the island of stability?

Can a human being breath through their anus?

And how fast can a person grow?

You are not going to want to miss this.

Don't forget to leave us a review! We actively take feedback into future episodes.

"On this sciencey show, we answer the questions you never thought to ask, did not want to ask and did not ask."

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.