Transcript On March 23, 1989, two electrochemists from the University of Utah, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, took part in a press conference where they announced to the world that they had achieved sustainable, tabletop nuclear fusion. The events which followed were what is called in scientific circles: a dumpster fire. Yet, despite everything, thirty …
Podcast Transcript In 1965, the director of research at Fairchild Semiconductor, Gordon Moore, made a prediction about the future of semiconductors. He said that over the next ten years, the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every two years. His prediction didn’t just hold true for the next 10 years, but it …
Podcast Transcript In a previous episode, I spoke about the Drake equation and the odds of there being intelligent extraterrestrial life. Many people have used the Drake equation to argue that it is almost impossible for there not to be intelligent life in our galaxy. However, in the summer of 1950, physicist Enrico Fermi pushed …
Podcast Transcript Divided between Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian West Bank lies the lowest point on the surface of the Earth: The Dead Sea. Not only is it the lowest point on Earth, but the sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water on the planet. But how did this place come to exist, …
Podcast Transcript In the year 60, the Roman town of Lunduniam, modern-day London, was attacked and sacked by a group of native Celts. They lashed out at the Romans over years of poor treatment and abuse. When Romans lost Lunduniam, they were shocked and embarrassed, not just at the loss to a group of barbarians, …
Transcript On July 20, 1976, Viking 1 became the first robotic lander to land on Mars. On September 3, its sister Viking 2 followed suit. Both of them carried experiments to test for biology on Mars, something which no subsequent Mars lander since has replicated. The results from these chemical experiments have divided researchers for …
Transcript I’m guessing that almost everyone listening to this podcast has, within the last 24 hours used a zipper. They are ubiquitous at this point and most people have never given them much thought. Yet, its invention was a rather inspired leap of creativity and required the development of several other technologies before it could …
Transcript Hedy Lamarr was one of the most beautiful women in the world. She was a Hollywood star who appeared in films with the likes of Clark Gable and Spencer Tracey. But she was much more than just a pretty face. She was also an inventor who created one of the technologies which have helped …
Podcast Transcript The United States has created many cultural institutions which have spread around the world. People all over the Earth have enjoyed and benefited from rock and roll, Hollywood films, and the Internet. However, we’ve also created some things that have spread to other countries which, to be totally honest, are probably not our …