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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Dec 1, 2017 · 38 min
Phil Torres, XRiskology Interview, Part 2: Superintelligence
This is the much-anticipated second part of the Phil Torres Tapes! We have a guest on the show today – Phil Torres. Phil Torres is an author, Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, former contributor at the Future of Life Institute, and founding Director of the X-Risks Institute. He has published in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Skeptic, Free Inquiry, The Humanist, Journal of Future Studies, Bioethics, Journal of Evolution and Technology, Foresight, Erkenntnis, and Metaphilosophy, as well as popular media like Time, Motherboard, Salon, Common Dreams, Counterpunch, Alternet, The Progressive, and Truthout. I was absolutely delighted that he agreed to be interviewed for a show like ours, and so I urge you to seek out his website – risksandreligion.org – and buy one of his books. There's "The End – what Science and Religion have to tell us about the Apocalypse", which is on my shelf already, and, recently, we have Morality, Foresight, and Human Flourishing, which is is an introduction to the whole field of existential risks. So I would urge you all, if you're interested in this topic – that of risks to the entire human species, which I think we can agree affects us all – to buy one of those books. This is the second part of our conversation, which focuses on AI, Superintelligence, and the control problem. How can we deal with AI, how will it impact our lives and have we any hope of controlling a superintelligent AI? There's plenty more general discussion about existential risks, too. Follow Phil @xriskology and the show @physicspod.
Nov 24, 2017 · 40 min
TEOTWAWKI 3 - The Singularity, Part I
Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Martin Rees... all have warned about the risk from Artificial Intelligence. Centres like the Future of Humanity Institute in Oxford, and the Centre for Existential Risk at Cambridge, rate the risk from artificial intelligence as way up there on the scale of potential human apocalypses. But it won't look like killer terminator-robots. We are standing on the precipice of a future that's almost impossible to comprehend. Will it be possible to survive? In this episode, we'll lay the groundwork for talking about the singularity by introducing some of the fields involved - robotics, artificial intelligence and the efforts to create an artificial general intelligence. And we'll try to understand some of the incredible possibilities that might arise as we slowly blur the line between the artificial and the 'real'. We have a choice: tech utopia, or tech dystopia. But in the world of the Singularity, there is no room for Luddites. Hit us up on Twitter @physicspod if your brain hasn't yet been uploaded to a computer and you still need to use a pesky keyboard interface in meatspace to interact. There, you can donate to the show (in fiat currency, not bitcoin, although I'll take some if you have any going.) Like and review us on iTunes, which will help their 'artificially intelligent' algorithms serve up this show to more consumer human robo-droids. Until next time, stay safe.
Nov 17, 2017 · 50 min
Rafael Alves-Batista: Resilience of Life, Astrobiology and Fine-Tuning
Joining me today is Dr Rafael Alves-Batista. Rafael is a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Oxford. He received his Bachelor's Degree and his Masters' at the State University of Campinas in Brazil, moved to Hamburg, Germany for his PhD which he received in 2015, and then onto Oxford for his postdoctoral position. And, last year, he supervised my Masters' project, looking into the origin of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays: so I can attest to his genius first-hand! In this second part of the interview, we talk about his famous paper - The Resilience of Life to Astrophysical Events, which describes how likely it is for events in the Universe to destroy *all life* on Earth. We also talk about the potential for discovering life on other planets, some fascinating missions that are planning to do just that, and the possibility that the Universe was "Fine-Tuned" to allow human life to exist. For more information you can follow Rafa over at @8rafael, or visit his website at www.8rafael.com where you can read his scientific papers and see the other popular media he's taken part in.
Nov 10, 2017 · 35 min
TEOTWAWKI 4, Supervirus II: The Human Factor
Earlier this year, a couple of scientists in a laboratory did something incredible. Using nothing but the genetic code and a well-equipped lab, they raised the dead. Specifically, the extinct horsepox virus was brought back to life. The scientists said that they didn't do the experiment out of any malice for horses, but just to demonstrate that - with a few good biotech experts, a decent lab, and $100,000 - anyone would soon be able to bring viruses back from the dead. So what about when that virus is smallpox, capable of killing millions, with the only surviving samples stored as bioweapons by the US and the Russians? Could it be that the biotech revolution - which has such power to save us from our ills and woes - might doom us as well? And what happens when this power gets into the hands of more and more people; the power over life and death? As ever, you can follow us on Twitter @physicspod, where we're amazingly active and will respond to any queries you have about the end of the world and similar terrors. You can tell us what you think of the ranking so far, make your own suggestions, and even donate to the show if you like. If you've enjoyed it, please consider rating and reviewing the show on iTunes, which helps us get noticed!
Nov 3, 2017 · 4 min
Announcing Patreon and how to Support the Show
www.patreon.com/PhysicalAttraction, that's www.patreon.com/PhysicalAttraction . If you go there, and subscribe selecting the $3/episode option, the RSS feed and access to all of the online bonus episodes will be yours. I want to make the subscription $3/bonus episode, so that you're only paying for the content I actually produce and give you rather than some neverending monthly subscription. But I will trail the bonus episodes in advance, so that you know what you're getting. The first one is the second half of the aliens episode that just went up on the feed; in the future, we'll have episodes about failed predictions for the end of the world, and for thermodynamics we'll have free energy projects that just didn't work out. If you're a patron, you can ask me about bonus episodes you'd especially like to hear, and I will do my best to respond to popular suggestions. If you DON'T want to subscribe via patreon, there are other options. You can go to www.paypal.me/physicspod. There you will see a paypal link that will allow you to send money directly to me. If you send $3 and put in the "note" alongside the sending your email, and the bonus episode you wish to purchase, I will send you a download link to that episode. That way anyone who has Paypal can request an individual bonus episode. At some point in the future if this goes well, I'll look into setting up an online store that will make it easier for people to pay for the individual episodes they want, but for now, best to do things via Paypal and via www.physicspodcast.com. All of the relevant information and links will be at www.physicspodcast.com, so that's the place to go if you're interested; we also have a contact form there where I can explain any details in further... detail. Thanks so much for listening and telling others about the show. I've recieved a wonderful response from many of you so far and I want to keep going for as long as possible, because I love doing this project, and I hope you guys enjoy it too.
Nov 3, 2017 · 24 min
TEOTWAWKI Bonus: Alien Attack (Free Episode)
Things have been very serious and very depressing on our TEOTWAWKI specials; so I thought it was about time to do a little bit of light-hearted debunking, rather than ranting about the genuine dangers of apocalypse that might await us in the future. I'll discuss why the Roswell story doesn't add up - even a little bit - what an actual alien invasion could you like; and why it's just so damn unlikely that any of these alien abduction stories are especially true. We'll even talk about reports of "UFOs" that stretch all the way back to Medieval Europe - with a healthy dose of skepticism. This is the first part of a TWO-PART episode. The second part will be available as a Premium episode. If you donate $3 or more via the Paypal link at www.paypal.me/physicspod I will give you a download link to the second part of the episode - the Premium bit - (enclose your email or send it to me on Twitter, or via a comment on www.physicspodcast.com). All Patreon subscribers will also get access to a special RSS feed containing all bonus episodes, and other extra content as and when I can produce it! You can find our Patreon at www.patreon.com/PhysicalAttraction This is not about making me a millionaire; it's about helping us cover the show costs, and all the time I spend making these shows... Although making me a millionaire would be a decent side-effect. So remember, you're not just paying for the episode: you're helping us produce every episode, and helping me carry on bringing you the show.
Oct 27, 2017 · 32 min
TEOTWAWKI 4, Supervirus Part I: Nature
Human beings have been facing apocalyptic circumstances for thousands of years. Our competitors, our nemesis have been pathogens like malaria, Yersinia Pestis, smallpox... every few generations, a cataclysmic plague would tear through human populations and leave entire towns uninhabited. In the modern era, with modern medicines, we may feel that - at least in the industrialized West - this horror is behind our species now. But with evolving technology and behaviours come new risks; and we have seen in pandemics like Zika and Ebola that there may well be terrors yet to come for humanity. What makes these pandemics so threatening? And what has natural selection and evolution produced in the way of pandemics? NOTE: This is part 1 of a two part series on pandemics; the second part will deal with biotechnology-inspired viruses and pandemics. If you're enjoying the end of the world, why not hit us up with episode suggestions on twitter @physicspod? You can donate to the show via Paypal there - every little helps us cover our costs. Please rate and review the show on iTunes if you don't want to donate - it helps us get noticed by generous, physics-loving billionaires. Until next time, stay safe.
Oct 21, 2017 · 39 min
Rafael Alves-Batista: Cosmic Rays and the Multiverse
Joining me today is Dr Rafael Alves-Batista. Rafael is a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Oxford. He received his Bachelor's Degree and his Masters' at the State University of Campinas in Brazil, moved to Hamburg, Germany for his PhD which he received in 2015, and then onto Oxford for his postdoctoral position. And, last year, he supervised my Masters' project, looking into the origin of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays: so I can attest to his genius first-hand! In this first part of the interview, we talk about cosmic rays - what are they, where do they come from, and what can they tell us about the Universe? We also talk about the current scientific understanding surrounding the topic of the Multiverse, and what the origins of the Universe can tell us about how it is today. For more information you can follow Rafa over at @8rafael, or visit his website at www.8rafael.com where you can read his scientific papers and see the other popular media he's taken part in.
Oct 16, 2017 · 16 min
News: Neutron Star Merger, Yay Science!
LIGO hold a big press conference and announce the merger of Neutron Stars detected via gravitational waves and optical instruments for the first time. We now know about types of gamma ray burst, and where gold and platinum come from. Since we did an episode about the gravitational wave detections and the Nobel Prize less than a week ago, I thought it would be fun for me to breathlessly describe it based on what reading I've been able to do and give a few early thoughts. YAY SCIENCE!
Oct 14, 2017 · 29 min
TEOTWAWKI 5: Peak Oil
This episode of the TEOTWAWKI specials, we're focusing on every crazed doom-prepper's favourite scenario for the end of the world - Peak Oil. Our society runs on oil and petroleum products (sadly, still). These fossil fuels are the fossilised remains of plants and animals that died millions of years ago, and they take tens of thousands of years to form. So it seems to be a perfectly reasonable assumption to make: one day, we are going to run out of fossil fuels, and we will need renewable forms of energy. But what if we run out of fossil fuels before transitioning to renewables? What if surging oil prices, and steady demand, causes us to pursue more and more dangerous and environmentally unsound methods of extraction? What could the consequences of our dependence on oil be, and how can we hope to get around it? You can find us on Twitter @physicspod, where you'll even find a donate link for the show if you want to support what we do. Fire all questions @physicspod or towards physicspod@outlook.com . Until the oil runs out - stay safe.
Oct 4, 2017 · 32 min
2017 Nobel Prize Special: Gravitational Waves
As you may already know, yesterday, the Nobel Prize in Physics, 2017 was announced: it went to Kip Thorne, Barry Barish, and Rainer Weiss for their contributions towards the LIGO collaboration that detected gravitational waves. In this special episode, I'll talk a little bit about the history of the Nobel prizes, explain what they were looking for at LIGO, how they found it, and what it means. So if you ever wondered what a gravitational wave was but were too afraid to ask, hopefully, it'll help you out. Stay tuned at the end for a marathon housekeeping session where I once again appeal for listener questions.
Sep 30, 2017 · 28 min
TEOTWAWKI 6: Malthus' Revenge
The human population has been growing exponentially for a long time. It's been continuously growing since the Black Death in the 1300s – and although wars, famines, and plagues cause occasional blips in the growth since, it's been pretty close to exponential since the Industrial Revolution kicked off. Now Malthus was not the only one to notice this, before I get letters, but he is indisputably the one who has his name most closely associated with the concept. Malthus, among others, saw this in the 1790s and said "Oh, boy." He was afraid that human population would overshoot the availability of resources: and then things would really hit the fan: "Famine seems to be the last, the most dreadful resource of nature. The power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race. The vices of mankind are active and able ministers of depopulation. They are the precursors in the great army of destruction, and often finish the dreadful work themselves. But should they fail in this war of extermination, sickly seasons, epidemics, pestilence, and plague advance in terrific array, and sweep off their thousands and tens of thousands. Should success be still incomplete, gigantic inevitable famine stalks in the rear, and with one mighty blow levels the population with the food of the world." Could a Malthusian catastrophe hit us today? Can our society adapt to the continued demand for exponential growth? What would it look like, in the modern world? Find out in this week's TEOTWAWKI
Sep 24, 2017 · 47 min
XRiskology: Existential Risks with Phil Torres, Part I
We have a guest on the show today – Phil Torres. Phil Torres is an author, Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, former contributor at the Future of Life Institute, and founding Director of the X-Risks Institute. He has published in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Skeptic, Free Inquiry, The Humanist, Journal of Future Studies, Bioethics, Journal of Evolution and Technology, Foresight, Erkenntnis, and Metaphilosophy, as well as popular media like Time, Motherboard, Salon, Common Dreams, Counterpunch, Alternet, The Progressive, and Truthout. I was absolutely delighted that he agreed to be interviewed for a show like ours, and so I urge you to seek out his website – risksandreligion.org – and buy one of his books. There's "The End – what Science and Religion have to tell us about the Apocalypse", which is on my shelf already, and, forthcoming, we have Morality, Foresight, and Human Flourishing, which is going to act as an introduction to the whole field of existential risks, which people have been thinking about for a good deal of time now. So I would urge you all, if you're interested in this topic – that of risks to the entire human species, which I think we can agree affects us all – to buy one of those books. This is the first part of our conversation, which touches on what is meant by an existential risk, some specific examples from the modern world in terms of nuclear profileration and nuclear accidents; transhumanism, and how our societies and institutions can deal with existential risks more effectively. We talk about the field in general and how we can hope to think more constructively about the end of the world - without waving a 'The End is Nigh' sign! The second part, which focuses on AI, will be released shortly. Follow Phil @xriskology and the show @physicspod.
Sep 15, 2017 · 22 min
TEOTWAWKI 7 - Supervolcanoes
75,000 years ago, the human race was on the brink of extinction. The cause was the Toba supervolcanic eruption, which had plunged the earth into a volcanic winter and killed all but a few thousand remaining humans. This moment was the closest we have come to extinction since our species began. Even smaller volcanic eruptions have lead to such cheerful-sounding phenomena as "The Year Without a Summer". Now, the question has to be asked: could this happen again? And how likely is it to occur during our lifetimes? On this week's TEOTWAWKI special of Physical Attraction, we're going to be talking about the threat from supervolcanic eruptions. How are you feeling about the countdown so far? Let us know over on Twitter @physicspod, or via the email, physicspod@outlook.com
Sep 10, 2017 · 20 min
Bonus Episode: Solar Panels + Splitting Sunbeams
Occasionally, in the world, we observe empirical laws – the laws of experiment - that seem to be spookily accurate. There's no theoretical reason why they should be obeyed, but they just happen to describe the world remarkably well. Perhaps the best example of this, that has changed and will change the world the most, is Moore's Law. But there's another example - one that will render every Green warrior happy to think about. The price of solar energy is dropping off a cliff. Tweet us @physicspod Listener Questions sought for Upcoming Listener Question Episode Read old scripts on Medium Like and review on iTunes for your chances at a PRIZE DRAW Tell one friend and in thirty episodes we'll have a trillion listeners. Regular apocalyptic service will be resumed next Saturday.
Sep 2, 2017 · 27 min
TEOTWAWKI 8: Cyberwarfare
We know that a great deal of our critical national infrastructure depends on complex cyber-systems; but in the fast-changing world of the internet and computer systems, it's become impossible for slow-moving legislators to catch up to the shifting goalposts. Hackers and similar groups have had major impacts on society. But most of what's been visibly done so far has been limited to what you might call petty crime; theft, extortion, exposure of secret or sensitive information. But, as our systems increasingly depend on these complex networks, there is a disturbing question we can't answer. How much could a determined group of cyber-criminals disrupt society? Could they find a way to compromise highly sensitive weapons systems? Could they trigger a nuclear war? Coming in at number 8: Cyberwarfare. I'm not an expert in this field, so if you have any opinions, thoughts, or facts I should be aware of - please, get in touch with the show @physicspod and we'll shoutout to you!
Aug 26, 2017 · 31 min
TEOTWAWKI 9: It Came From Outer Space
It's easy to forget that we are on a pale, blue dot - the one habitable place we know of in the whole, wide, Universe. Fragile. Perhaps too fragile. It's not that the Universe wants to kill us; it's just that astrophysics doesn't care too much whether a planet is inhabited, or whether the inhabitants have feelings - or not. Asteroid strikes. Impact from a giant comet. Gamma ray bursts, supernovae, and black holes. Any one of these has the potential to destroy our civilisation. But how likely is that to happen? And what is there that anyone can do about it? If you enjoyed this episode, Death From Above - by Phil Plait - is an excellent resource. Join me as we talk about the potential for an apocalypse... from outer space!
Aug 19, 2017 · 25 min
TEOTWAWKI 10: Earthquakes
Let's talk about earthquakes. As we know, the Earth's crust is made up of tectonic plates – vast plates of rock that shift around due to convection and the motion of fluid in Earth's mantle. They, roughly speaking "join together" at fault-lines. But in reality, the plates can't slide past each other frictionlessly; what tends to happen is that they "catch" on each other, stick for a while – with pressure building, because whatever predominant force is pushing them along is building up pressure and elastic strain energy. Then, eventually, it all becomes too much, and they slip dramatically, releasing all that built-up energy quickly and causing vibrational waves to propagate, which we feel as Earthquakes. For this reason, they occur predominantly around faultlines, like the San Andreas fault that runs through California, and others in Japan, South America, and the middle east. But do earthquakes have the power to destroy the world or even wreak major damage on human civilization as a whole? Let's find out.
Aug 16, 2017 · 1 min
Get Ready for the Apocalypse
We're going to be presenting a very special series of episodes over the next few months. The end of the world. Is it going to end in fire, or ice? And is there anything we can do about it? Get ready for the apocalypse.
Aug 12, 2017 · 32 min
Fermi and Drake
Are we alone in the Universe? Or are there alien civilisations out there? And if there are, where are they, and why aren't they talking to us? We'll explore the Fermi paradox, the Drake equation, and, of course... the simple fact that we're all living in a computer simulation. Don't miss it. "Hope that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'cause there's bugger all down here on Earth" - The Galaxy Song, Monty Python