May 19, 2024 · 42 min
SF
Science
Sci Fi / Sci Fact
RNZ
MacDiarmid Institute experts talk to Bryan Crump about an idea from science fiction, if it holds up to scientific scrutiny & if it'd work in reality. (Yeah, the Big Bang Theory guys would love this).
- 55 episodes
- Updated Jul 4, 2024
Episodes55
- SFMay 16, 2024 · 25 min
Tenet | Time Travel
In Christopher Nolan's Tenet a CIA operative is tracing the origin of objects that are travelling back through time. Professor Bill Williams talks about the realities of time travel. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 14, 2024 · 23 min
Ben 10 | Corrodium
Mutants feature heavily in many sci fi stories, from X-men to Godzilla. Chemistry expert Bill Jia talks Corrodium, a mutant-making material from the Ben 10 cartoon series. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 12, 2024 · 26 min
Ironman | Arc Reactor
Tony Stark's arc reactor fuels his flying Ironman suit. James Rice joins Bryan Crump to discuss the real life equivalents to this palladium core fusion power source. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 9, 2024 · 20 min
His Dark Materials | The Subtle Knife
The subtle knife slices through the fabric of reality to different worlds. Dr Mike Price discusses the science behind alternate universes and implements that might helps us get to them. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 7, 2024 · 31 min
Jack and the Beanstalk | Supersized Plants
We know a lot of work goes into getting plants to grow bigger and produce more. But what are the chances of getting a beanstalk to reach the clouds? Dr Nate Davis gives it some thought in this episode of Sci Fi / Sci Fact. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 5, 2024 · 18 min
Game of Thrones | Wildfire
Wildfire is a liquid so flammable, unstable and explosive it doesn't stop burning until you put sand on it. UK science communicator Kit Chapman discusses this Game of Thrones substance. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 3, 2024 · 30 min
The Man in the White Suit | Fantastic Fabrics
It would at first appear to a solution to all laundry woes, but the White Suit from the 1950's movie The Man in the White Suit is not without its issues. Associate Professor Geoff Willmott discusses this and much more. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 3, 2024 · 36 min
The Wheel of Time | Cuendillar
Dr Matt Cowan, from the McDiarmid Institute and Engineering department of Canterbury University, talks about Cuendillar - a substance from the Wheel of Time series - which gets tougher, the more you bash it. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 3, 2024 · 23 min
Black Panther | Vibranium
Black Panther's suit and Captain America's shield are both made of Vibranium, but realistically could any metal absorb, store and release kinetic energy? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 3, 2024 · 23 min
Star Wars | Baakonite
Baakonite is a metal used heavily in Klingon weaponry and communications equipment in the world of Star Trek. Associate Professor Duncan McGillivary tells us about its particular properties and what we have in real life that might compare. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFAug 7, 2023 · 35 min
The Incredibles | Zero Point Energy
This episode we look at a villain's secret weapon - Zero Point Energy. In The Incredibles Syndrome uses Zero Point Energy to freeze the heroes and get away with his crimes against humanity. Professor Cather Simpson is an Emeritus Investigator with the MacDiarmid Institute and a Professor of Physics & Chemistry at University of Auckland. She tells Bryan Crump that Zero Point Energy is a REAL thing, but that the writers of The Incredibles might have stretched the truth of it somewhat. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFJul 31, 2023 · 22 min
Sci Fi Substance | Neutronium
Neutronium comes up in Star Wars, Star Trek and many of the Marvel Comics. It's a hypothetical substance made purely of neutrons. Jan Eldridge, Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland tells Bryan Crump how likely Associate Professor in Physics at the Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, Jan Eldridge gives us her scientific take on Neutronium a material widely written about in fiction - including Star Wars, Star Trek and in the Marvel comics. Spoiler Alert - it's a real thing. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFJul 24, 2023 · 32 min
Antman | Strength in Size
Marvel's Antman can shrink down to the size of an ant but still pack the punch of Mike Tyson. The McDiarmid Institute's Dr Mike Price discusses the difficulties of making this a reality. Antman was one of the original Avengers. A special suit enables him to shrink to the size of an ant, but also communicate and command armies the wee insects. MacDiarmid Institute guest and Rutherford Discovery Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington, Dr Mike Price talks to Bryan Crump about the practicalities of such a suit. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFJul 17, 2023 · 24 min
Dr Who | Axonite
Axonite is a 'thinking' material that can replicate and spread across the cosmos to feed. The MacDiarmid Institute's Professor Bill Williams discusses whether this sort of material is scientifically possible. Professor Bill Williams, MacDiarmid Institute Principal Investigator and Professor in Biophysics and Soft Matter at Massey University discusses Axonite from Dr Who - a 'thinking' material that can replicate any substance and spreads itself across the cosmos to feed itself. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFJul 10, 2023 · 27 min
DC Comics | Nth Metal
Nth Metal is a hyper-conductive metal that negates gravity. It features heavily in DC comics, but how does it stack up in the real world Professor Penny Brothers gives Bryan Crump her scientific take on it. Professor Penny Brothers, Emeritus Investigator at the MacDiarmid Institute and Professor of Chemistry at the Australian National University gives us her scientific take on Nth Metal from DC Comics, a hyper-conductive metal that has the ability to negate gravity, allowing a person to carry objects 20-70 times heavier than normal and to fly. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFJul 3, 2023 · 24 min
Ender's Game | Philote
In the Ender's Game series, philote is a particle that enables communication across the galaxy. Dr Krista Steenbergen talks to Bryan Crump about the realities of such a thing. Philote, from the Ender's Game series, is a particle that can travel faster than the speed of light and enable instantaneous communication across vast distances. Bryan Crump speaks to Dr. Krista Steenbergen, Senior Lecturer of Physics in the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington and MacDiarmid Institute Associate Investigator, to find out how plausible such a particle could be. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFJul 1, 2022 · 41 min
The Multiverse
Professor Nicola Gaston, MacDiarmid Institute Co-Director and Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland, explores the science behind the multiverse. The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. Professor Nicola Gaston, MacDiarmid Institute Co-Director and Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland explores the science behind the multiverse. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFMay 13, 2022 · 38 min
Space Sci Fi | Supernovae
Jan Eldridge, Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland, explores the use of supernovae (or exploding/dying stars) in fiction. A supernova (pl. supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous stellar explosion that occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. Supernovae have been featured in many works of fiction. Jan Eldridge, Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland explores the use of supernovae (or exploding/dying stars) in fiction. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
- SFApr 29, 2022 · 28 min
Magic | Wands
Dr Natalie Plank, MacDiarmid Institute Principal Investigator and Senior Lecturer in Physics at Victoria University of Wellington investigates the power of the magic wand and we learn some great tricks to try at home. Michel de Nostradame (1503-66) and Catherine de Medici (1519-89), wife of Henry II (1519-59) King of France. 1559 (pen & ink and wash on paper) by French School, (16th century); Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France; Magic Wands have been used in storytelling for hundreds for years. From the traditional 18th Century Ballad, Allison Gross, CS Lewis' 1950 novel, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, to more recently in Disney's Fantasia and, of course, the Harry Potter franchise. Dr Natalie Plank, MacDiarmid Institute Principal Investigator and Senior Lecturer in Physics at Victoria University of Wellington investigates the power of the magic wand and we learn some great tricks to try at home. With your ruler or any other rod or thing that you can find, put some charges on it with your jumper and then run your tap at home and then if you put the rod close to the tap, have a look at what happens to the water - how that moves - and that can tell you a little bit about what's going on there. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details