Archive | Physics

Ep. 444: Fractals

By susie on March 14, 2017 in Physics

For this historic 444th episode of Astronomy Cast, we talk about fractals. Those amazing mathematical visualizations of recursive algorithms. What are they, how do you get them? Why are they important? We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 1:30 pm PDT / 4:30 pm EDT/ 20:30 PM UTC (8:30 GMT). You can watch us […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (25.5MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Podcast (fullraw): Play in new window | Download (69.1MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 0

Ep. 443: Destroy and Rebuild Pt. 7: Tsunamis

By susie on March 7, 2017 in Physics, Planetary Science, Planets

Surf’s up! Today we’re going to be talking about one of the most devastating natural disasters out there: tsunamis. We’re talking huge waves that wreck the seashore. But it turns out, there many ways you can get a tsunami, and one of those has to do with space. We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Podcast (fullraw): Play in new window | Download (53.3MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 0

Ep. 442: Destroy and Rebuild Pt. 6: Magnetic Pole Reversal

By susie on February 27, 2017 in Forces, Our Solar System, Physics, Planets

If we look back into the geologic record of the Earth, it appears that our planet’s magnetic field flips polarity every few hundred thousand years or so. Why does this happen? When’s it supposed to happen next? Is it dangerous? We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 1:30 pm Pacific / 4:30 pm Eastern […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Podcast (fullraw): Play in new window | Download (55.9MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 0

Ep. 441: Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 5: Continental Drift

By susie on February 21, 2017 in Our Solar System, Physics, Planets

Want to travel the world but you don’t have a lot of money? No problem, your continent is drifting across the surface of the Earth right now. In a few million years, you’ll reach your destination. We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 1:30 pm Pacific / 4:30 pm Eastern / 21:30 PM UTC […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Podcast (fullraw): Play in new window | Download (55.1MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 0

Ep. 440: Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 4: Supervolcanoes!

By susie on February 14, 2017 in Our Solar System, Physics, Planets

There are regular volcanoes, and then there are the supervolcanoes. Massive calderas of hot magma of incomprehensible size. Bad news, these things explode randomly and catastrophically. Worse news, there are a bunch around the Earth. We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 1:30 pm Pacific / 4:30 pm Eastern / 21:30 PM UTC (9:30 […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Podcast (fullraw): Play in new window | Download (36.5MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 0

Ep. 439: Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 3: How Do We Terraform Earth?

By susie on February 6, 2017 in Our Solar System, Physics, Planetary Science

We always want to talk about how we can make Mars more Earth like, but the reality is that we’re making Earth more Venus-Like. We’re Venusforming Earth. What are the various factors we’re impacting on a global scale, and how can we fix them? We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 1:30 pm Pacific […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Podcast (fullraw): Play in new window | Download (48.4MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 1

Ep. 438: Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 2: Geoengineering

By susie on January 31, 2017 in Our Solar System, Physics, Planetary Science, Planets

We know humans are having an impact on planet Earth, but what if we really put our backs into it, and intentionally tried to change the entire planet? Either to make it better, or to fix some terrible mistake we’ve made. The technique is called geoengineering. Could it work? We usually record Astronomy Cast every […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Podcast (fullraw): Play in new window | Download (56.0MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 1

Ep. 437: Destroy and Rebuild, Pt. 1: The Torino Scale

By susie on January 24, 2017 in Forces, Physics, Planetary Science

We love to destroy the universe, and also rebuild it. Today we begin a new series where we destroy and rebuild. Let’s talk about some existential threats we face, and ways we could recover, starting with the sword of Damocles hanging over our head: killer asteroids! We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 1:30 […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Podcast (fullraw): Play in new window | Download (47.0MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 0

Ep. 435: The Butterfly Effect

By susie on January 10, 2017 in Physics, Science

Small changes can have a big impact. But can a butterfly’s wingbeat in the Amazon really impact the weather halfway across the world? And where do small changes have no impact? We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 1:30 pm Pacific / 4:30 pm Eastern / 21:30 PM UTC (9:30 GMT). You can watch […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 0

Ep. 421: Space Games!

By susie on September 23, 2016 in People, Physics

As you probably know, Fraser is an avid video gamer, especially if it has anything to do with space. Today we turn things around, as Fraser talks about the games he plays, and what he thinks you should be playing too. We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 1:30 pm Pacific / 4:30 pm […]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Google Play | RSS

Continue Reading 0

1 2 … 9 Next →