Physical Attraction

Thomas

Physical Attraction is the show that explores topics in science, technology, and the future - from a physicist's perspective. From the birth of stars to the end of the world, from interviews with experts to meticulously-researched deep dives, we'll explore the topics that shape our world.

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247 episodes
Updated Mar 9, 2022

Episodes247

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Aug 3, 2018 · 58 min
CJ Schilt (Corpus Newtonicum) on Isaac Newton: Part I
So in this episode, I am fortunate enough to interview Cornelis Schilt – perhaps better known to the world by his blog title, Corpus Newtonicum, which you can go and read at Corpus Newtonicum.wordpress.com. He is a DPhil student at the University of Oxford, studying the History of Science, and focused on the life, career, and works of Isaac Newton. What's more, he just handed in his thesis the day before I conducted this interview – best of luck on the viva, CJ! In this, the first part of our interview, we discuss Newton's less well-known works, his attempts to understand chronology, and how his religious faith predominated in his life. If you want to find out more, you can follow him on Twitter, and do visit the blog Corpus Newtonicum. You can also check out the newton project atwww.newtonproject.ox.ac.uk which CJ contributed to – an attempt to transcribe all of Newton's works. In the meantime, for us – subscribe to the sister podcast, Autocracy Now, which deals with the history of notorious dictators. Follow us on Twitter @physicspod. If you visited the website at www.physicspodcast.com, you'd be able to use the contact form to send us any of your comments, questions, or concerns. You'd also be able to donate to the show if you wished, or purchase some of the bonus episodes I've created for the low low price of $3 using the Paypal link. But, of course, the best thing you can do to support the show is always to tell as many of your friends as possible about the show – listeners make it all worthwhile!
Jul 28, 2018 · 2 hr 12 min
BONUS: Stalin Omnibus (Episodes IV-V-VI-VII)
To keep you all updated on the goings-on at my other podcast, I'm presenting a Stalin Omnibus with all of the episodes that have released since the last time Autocracy Now appeared on my feed. Episode IV: Revolution In The Economy After consolidating power over his Bolshevik rivals, Stalin dispensed with Lenin's pseudo-capitalist NEP and replaced it with the top-down bureaucratic nightmare that was the Five-Year Plans. Episode V: Nadya and Kirov In the early 1930s, two mysterious (at the time) deaths occurred to people who were close to Stalin as he consolidated power as the supreme leader of the USSR. Episode VI: Devouring the Children After the death of Kirov, Stalin would turn his wrath towards the Old Bolsheviks that remained as key revolutionary figures in his own right. His fellow Communists could remember a time when Stalin was not Lenin's divinely appointed successor; and for that, they had to be destroyed. Episode VII: The Common Enemy of Mankind Stalin's "Great Terror" was not limited to eliminating his political rivals. Soon enough, detentions and executions were occurring according by quota. In 1937, the killing and persecution rose to its virtually indiscriminate peak. Follow us on Twitter @autocracynow, our sister podcast @physicspod, and subscribe to the show where-ever you listen to podcasts. Visit our online home at www.autocracynow.libsyn.com. If you want to support independent podcasters and enjoyed this show, consider donating to help keep us going, or buying a bonus episode of the physics show - details on the website at www.physicspodcast.com
Jul 27, 2018 · 31 min
Antimatter
A primer episode on the world of antimatter. Every particle has its antiparticle equivalent - and if they ever meet, it's annihilation. You can find us online at www.physicspodcast.com On Twitter @physicspod On Facebook as Physical Attraction And check out my other show about the life of Stalin: Autocracy Now www.autocracynow.libsyn.com
Jul 19, 2018 · 25 min
Newton IV: Alchemy, Mercury, Legacy
Alongside all of his scientific achievements, there is another fascinating side to Newton - one intimately linked with the supernatural, even the occult. A belief in alchemy, an attempt to establish a new chronology, hunting through the Bible for the ability to predict the future: were these aspects to Newton's intellect contrary to his rationality, or did they actually feed into his studies of physics? And, as we bring his life to its conclusion, we'll try to answer Keynes' question: Was Newton the first of the physicists, or the last of the magicians? You can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts, and visit our website at www.physicspodcast.com where you'll be able to find all the archived episodes of the show, a contact form that will allow you to ask me questions or make any comments, and the option to donate or subscribe via our Patreon in exchange for bonus episodes. You can follow us on Twitter @physicspod and on Facebook at Physical Attraction. Why not subscribe to our sister podcast at Autocracy Now at www.autocracynow.libsyn.com - focusing on the lives of famous dictators.
Jul 13, 2018 · 35 min
Newton III: The Cosmic Ballet
In this episode, we get into the heart of Isaac Newton's scientific contribution. His laws of mechanics and gravitation fundamentally changed the way that we viewed both motion, and one of the (now four) fundamental forces. They would become the theory that dominated our understanding for the next three centuries, and even when relativity is discovered, Newton's laws are accurate enough across a wide enough range of circumstances to allow us to put humans on the Moon. We'll dive into these laws, explain them, and discuss how they govern so many phenomena in the world around us - from snooker to the cosmos. You can subscribe to the show on iTunes or where-ever you get your podcasts, and visit our website at www.physicspodcast.com where you'll find a contact form to get in touch with the show, and donate buttons if you want to help the show out. Also listen to our sibling podcast www.autocracynow.libsyn.com - Autocracy Now, about the lives of famous dictators: currently, Stalin.
Jul 5, 2018 · 29 min
Newton II: Calculus, Corpuscles, and the Plague Years
We discuss some of Isaac Newton's most notable discoveries, from the invention of calculus (simultaneously with Leibniz) and his early grappling and wrestling with a physical theory of light. Was Newton contemplating wave-particle duality in the 17th century? You can follow the podcast on Twitter @physicspod and follow us on Facebook at the Physical Attraction page. Visit our website at www.physicspodcast.com where you can find A YEAR'S WORTH of back episodes, alongside donation links and opportunities to buy bonus episodes if you want to thank the show and help us keep running. There's also a contact form for any comments, concerns, questions, or feedback! And you can listen to our sister show, about historical dictators - currently an epic series on the life and times of Joseph Stalin - over on Autocracy Now's feed - www.autocracynow.libsyn.com
Jul 3, 2018 · 33 min
Autocracy Now Bonus: Stalin Episode III: Taking Control
As Lenin's health declined, Stalin sought to outmanouver his rivals in the Bolshevik party and consolidate single-handed, dictatorial control over Russia. Follow us on Twitter @autocracynow, our sister podcast @physicspod, and subscribe to the show where-ever you listen to podcasts. Visit our online home at www.autocracynow.libsyn.com. If you want to support independent podcasters and enjoyed this show, consider donating to help keep us going, or buying a bonus episode of the physics show - details on the website at www.physicspodcast.com
Jun 28, 2018 · 25 min
Isaac Newton, Part I : Burning Down The House
Isaac Newton made an almost incomparable contribution to physics - practically founding the field with his famous Laws that defined the mechanics of how bodies move for centuries, and by discovering gravity when an apple hit his head. At least, that's the story we all learn in school. But this skips a lot of the crucial history of physics between Aristotle and the 17th century - and, what's more, Isaac Newton was not just a physicist. He was the last of the magicians. In this, the first episode in our series about Isaac Newton, we cover physics before Newton, and then his childhood and early life. Were there signs of the genius that he would later become? You can find all our past episodes at www.physicspodcast.com where you will also find an opportunity to donate to the show if you like what we do, via Paypal or Patreon, in exchange for bonus episodes! You can also listen to our sister podcast, about historical dictators, via www.autocracynow.libsyn.com And follow us on Twitter @physicspod or visit the Facebook page for Physical Attraction... But most of all, tell your friends and take care.
Jun 17, 2018 · 41 min
How to Save the World, part II
Should we be talking about a one-world government to head off existential threats? What about schemes to preserve human genetic information, or launch relics from our civilisation to land on the moon? Is worrying about the end of the world even worthwhile? What can we practically do to reduce the risks for our civilisation? These are the questions that this, the very last episode in our TEOTWAWKI series (okay... for now...) will explore. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Twitter: @physicspod Facebook: Physical Attraction Website: www.physicspodcast.com -> where you'll find every episode we've ever released, -> a contact form for more information and to send in your listener questions, -> and our Patreon and Paypal accounts for donations. As always, the best way to help out with what we do is to tell everyone about the show. And don't forget you can listen to our sister podcast, Autocracy Now, about the lives of various dictators - currently Stalin - wherever you listen to podcasts, or at www.autocracynow.libsyn.com We're having a week to write and research and when we come back, we'll be talking about Isaac Newton.
Jun 8, 2018 · 49 min
TEOTWAWKI: How To Save The World, Part 1
So, now that I've thoroughly frightened us all with the terrifying visions of the apocalypse, I guess I should answer the question: what can we do to save ourselves? What should we do to save ourselves? Of course, this podcast episode won't save the world - not even close. But hopefully it will raise some interesting questions - and, if you agree or disagree with what I'm saying, as ever, please contact me! You can get in touch via Twitter @physicspod, the Facebook page at Physical Attraction, and through the contact form at www.physicspodcast.com Any comments, questions, or concerns would be greatly appreciated. If you like what we do, there are many ways to support the show; at www.physicspodcast.com, you'll be able to donate to the show and buy extra episodes via Patreon or via paypal donations. You can leave a rating and review on your favourite iTunes app, which really helps us get noticed! And, finally and perhaps best of all, please tell your podcast-listening friends about the show.
Jun 1, 2018 · 40 min
Future of Work, Part II - The Rant Edition
Last episode on the Future of Work, I described the problem – artificial intelligence is going to potentially make a lot of people unemployed in the near-term future; and the range of opinions, you can kind of pick and mix from: It's the robot job apocalypse! Society as we know it will soon be over! It's okay, we'll just give everyone a Universal Basic Income and they can all start small businesses or learn to code or something. It's okay, we'll just retrain everyone so that all the coal miners are making solar panels now. It's okay, AI won't replace that many people and has been greatly exaggerated; just because a job has the potential to be automated, doesn't mean that it will be automated. Instead AI will become a tool that enhances our productivity It's okay, AI will replace a lot of people but we'll just come up with new jobs. No one is smashing spinning jennys nowadays and there aren't thousands of unemployed loom-weavers on the streets of Manchester because everyone moved on, got new demands, and now they all work in PR. As for me – I fall in the middle of the two extreme viewpoints, the "we're all doomed" and "it's fine" viewpoints. Nice and convenient, you might say. Let me explain in a rant. I imagine a lot of people listening are going to disagree with me. I'm not always right! Send your *constructive* criticism to www.physicspodcast.com , the contact page, or get in touch with us via Twitter @physicspod If you like what you hear, or just that I took the time to say it, consider helping me towards my own basic income via the Patreon account or the donate button, both of which you'll find on www.physicspodcast.com . You won't even need blockchain to do it.
May 30, 2018 · 31 min
Bonus: Stalin Episode II, Revolution and Civil War
The last bonus from the Autocracy Now feed for a while - we take Stalin's career up to the Russian Revolution and Civil War. For the rest of his story, head over to www.autocracynow.libsyn.com Or subscribe via iTunes, where-ever you get your podcasts.
May 25, 2018 · 30 min
The Future of Work (I)
Some thoughts on the robot-job-apocalypse. Will automation render us all unemployed? How can you hope to keep yourself relevant? Should we all become neo-Luddites, or is reality more complicated than the fears we can conjure up?
May 18, 2018 · 23 min
TEOTWAWKI - The End of Everything
If we manage to survive the Sun gradually heating up, though, there might be a bigger problem before the Sun runs out of hydrogen. See, Monty Python and the Galaxy Song have it right; our galaxy is only one of millions and billions in this amazing and expanding Universe. Physics is stunning. The reason is that it exists on so many different scales. On impossibly small lengthscales, we have no idea what's going on; things are strange, and weird, and quantum. Then we move up towards the scales of subatomic particles; then the world of atoms and molecules; the world of microscopy. The world of us, and the objects we know; and the world of mountains, the world of worlds. The world of stars, and solar systems; the galaxy of stars and stellar systems. The world of galaxies, and, who knows – maybe the world of Universes, too. This is the story of what happens if we make it through everything; if we survive the 21st century, and all of the centuries beyond. What new risks can we anticipate? And how - to the best of our understanding - does everything, inevitably end? Theme music: Get Ready for the Apocalypse - Astrometrics Incidental music: Julie Maxwells Piano Music, Starry Sky Both available via the Free Music Archive
May 11, 2018 · 26 min
TEOTWAWKI - Utopia
So, what happens if we manage to survive all of the catastrophic risks that we've detailed in the previous episodes? This is a highly-speculative fantasy about what that future might look like. It's highly likely to be wrong. It's a portrait of what someone might call a utopia. I don't know if it's my utopia; I certainly don't know if it's yours. China Mieville says that you already live in a utopia: it's just not your utopia. What could the future mean? Could history end? Tell me what you think: tell me your visions of utopia. You can find us on the web at www.physicspodcast.com On Twitter @physicspod And subscribe where-ever you listen to podcasts.
May 9, 2018 · 39 min
BONUS: Autocracy Now, Stalin I: Rebel to Revolutionary
This is a bonus episode coming out on the Physical Attraction feed. The topic is even less related to physics than usual, but since it's extra, I hope you'll forgive me. As I mentioned a few episodes ago, this wasn't the first podcast I ever made. In fact, I scripted and recorded about twenty episodes of a show - Autocracy Now - on historical dictators. It's not something I'm an expert in - just a topic of fascination! Then I started the physics show. And it became clear to me that it would be impossible to juggle writing, recording, and scripting *two* podcasts a week - and doing my PhD in physics - and writing for Singularity Hub and other websites to supplement the meagre income you get for doing a PhD. But I still had all of these episodes recorded, with no idea when to release them, gradually gathering dust in a corner of my hard-drive. And it took months to research and record them. So I've decided I will be releasing them on a bi-weekly basis, via the Autocracy Now feed. You can subscribe to that feed where-ever you get your podcasts, and via www.autocracynow.libsyn.com - that's the website to visit. By the time the last episode comes out, if I stick to my schedule, it will be 2019. If anything, I'll be even busier then, so I don't know if the show will continue beyond that point - we'll have to see what happens. But I hope you enjoy the sister podcast while it lasts, and Physical Attraction will keep going for some time to come yet. To save time, I'll put any updates concerning either show on this main feed, but for the rest of the Autocracy Now episodes, subscribe to that feed. The first of the bonus episodes I'll be releasing is about the Roman Emperor, Commodus. The second is the first in what became a fourteen-part epic series on the life of Soviet dictator and mass-murdering tyrant, Stalin. I hope you enjoy them - and, if you do, subscribe to Autocracy Now as well!
May 8, 2018 · 37 min
BONUS: Autocracy Now - Commodus
This is a bonus episode coming out on the Physical Attraction feed. The topic is even less related to physics than usual, but since it's extra, I hope you'll forgive me. As I mentioned a few episodes ago, this wasn't the first podcast I ever made. In fact, I scripted and recorded about twenty episodes of a show - Autocracy Now - on historical dictators. It's not something I'm an expert in - just a topic of fascination! Then I started the physics show. And it became clear to me that it would be impossible to juggle writing, recording, and scripting *two* podcasts a week - and doing my PhD in physics - and writing for Singularity Hub and other websites to supplement the meagre income you get for doing a PhD. But I still had all of these episodes recorded, with no idea when to release them, gradually gathering dust in a corner of my hard-drive. And it took months to research and record them. So I've decided I will be releasing them on a bi-weekly basis, via the Autocracy Now feed. You can subscribe to that feed where-ever you get your podcasts, and via www.autocracynow.libsyn.com - that's the website to visit. By the time the last episode comes out, if I stick to my schedule, it will be 2019. If anything, I'll be even busier then, so I don't know if the show will continue beyond that point - we'll have to see what happens. But I hope you enjoy the sister podcast while it lasts, and Physical Attraction will keep going for some time to come yet. To save time, I'll put any updates concerning either show on this main feed, but for the rest of the Autocracy Now episodes, subscribe to that feed. The first of the bonus episodes I'll be releasing is about the Roman Emperor, Commodus. The second is the first in what became a fourteen-part epic series on the life of Soviet dictator and mass-murdering tyrant, Stalin. I hope you enjoy them - and, if you do, subscribe to Autocracy Now as well!
May 3, 2018 · 48 min
TEOTWAWKI Failed Predictions - Part I (Free Episode)
So, it won't come to any surprise to any of you to realise that - while I've researched all of the various ways the world might end - I've found an awful lot of ways the world CATEGORICALLY WON'T END. From Raptures gone wrong to Nibiru, the planet that does not exist and will not crash into Earth, this episode eases the drama a little bit by going through some of the end-of-the-world predictions that didn't come true. The second half of the show will be available via the website as a premium episode; get in contact with me via the website (after donating your $3) or subscribe on Patreon. Help support the show, help support indie podcasting, help us cover our hosting costs (which far outstrip any donations we get) and show your appreciation for all the free entertainment I've given you so far... At least, I hope it's entertainment. It's certainly free. ------------ You can contact us via www.physicspodcast.com, that Patreon is www.patreon.com/PhysicalAttraction , and you can follow us on Twitter @physicspod.
Apr 27, 2018 · 25 min
Startup Nectome Promises Immortality or Death: Can they deliver?
Nectome took the tech social media world by storm when they announced, at Y Combinator, that they'd kill you for $10,000. Well, they'd kill you and preserve your brain, possibly leading to some kind of digital immortality when they upload your brain to a computer. This was met with excitement, skepticism, and - ultimately - MIT severed ties with the company. We look into the science, ethics, and philosophy of Nectome's proposed brain-uploading scheme. Could it really work? Or is it just a techno-fantasy? www.physicspodcast.com -> Contact us with comments, concerns, suggestions for content, anything you like. @physicspod on Twitter Thanks to Shelly Fan of Singularity Hub and various writers of the MIT Technology Review.
Apr 19, 2018 · 1 hr 16 min
Stephen Schwartz, Atomic Analyst, on nuclear weapons: from the Cold War to Trump
We have a special guest on the show today - Stephen Schwartz. Stephen is an expert on nuclear weapons; he has been studying nuclear weapons policy, particularly in the US, for decades. His book - The Atomic Audit - was the first ever survey of the true financial cost of nuclear weapons; he has been the editor and publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who manage the famous Doomsday clock and publish scholarly and popular literature on existential threats including nuclear weapons. He edited the Non-Proliferation review, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Middlebury - he also runs an excellent social media feed on Twitter @AtomicAnalyst where he keeps us all up to date on nuclear weapons and political developments. I was delighted to have him on the show: we sat down for an interview about nukes in the modern era and under Trump, the real financial cost of nuclear weapons, the biggest risks that they pose, dispelling nuclear myths, and what we can do to help keep our society safer from these risks. I also find out why he tried to position his college to stock up on suicide pills in the 1980s. I hope you enjoy. You can follow us on Twitter @physicspod, we have a Facebook page if you're still on that website, and you can always contact us with your comments, questions, and concerns via the contact form over at www.physicspodcast.com; I read everything and respond to everything that makes sense, and if you want to tell me what you'd like to hear from the show, I'd love to hear it. You can donate to the show via links on the website to help us cover hosting costs and in case you think it's worth a few dollars, pounds, yen or euros for hours of free, independent content. If you don't want to go through the hassle of doing that, though, please do tell as many people as you can about the show. When we come back, there's going to be an overview of the series that we're just emerged from. Episodes include the apocalypses that didn't happen, the ways we might hope to avoid them in the future, and where to go next.