Physical Attraction
255 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 75 ratingsPhysical 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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Episodes
Re-release: The Psychology of the End
June 01, 2020 14:31 - 38 minutes - 28.3 MBEpisode first aired in Feb 2018 which deals with cognitive biases surrounding how we conceive of the end-times. Sadly relevant today. Why are we so fascinated with the end of the world? How do we think about it? How do cognitive biases impact how we conceive of it? How can we account for existential risks to humanity? What is millenial thinking, and why do we fall into it?
Phil Torres (@xriskology) I: Existential Risks in the time of COVID-19
May 28, 2020 17:13 - 1 hour - 67.8 MBWell, the manifestation of a global catastrophic risk means that it's time for us to bring back the very first guest on this show, from back in 2017. Phil Torres is a scholar of existential risks - you can find him on Twitter @xriskology and his website at xriskology.com, and we are delighted to ask him back to the show to discuss the field of existential risks in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kit Yates on the Maths of Life and Death
May 21, 2020 12:34 - 1 hour - 47.3 MBThis week, we have a guest on the show - Kit Yates, who is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and co-director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Bath, and who's written an excellent book "The Maths of Life and Death" on various applications of maths in biology, from epidemics to exponential growth. He's been interviewed extensively in the media lately to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, and we talked about that and the rest of his work, as wel...
Smoke and Mirrors: How Hype Obscures the Future, and How to See Past It - with Gemma Milne
May 15, 2020 08:21 - 1 hour - 53.2 MBI'm excited today to say that we have a guest on the show - Gemma Milne, who has written a book, Smoke and Mirrors, about how technological hype distorts the future. I really enjoyed the book, which deals with nine areas of considerable hype in technology, and not only takes you through some of the fascinating near-term applications for these technologies but also grounds them in reality. It was a fascinating conversation that I'm glad to be able to present you with. You can find more of...
Coronavirus Updates, May: Past and Future Strategies, Contact-Tracing Apps in Theory and Practice
May 09, 2020 18:55 - 1 hour - 52.3 MBFor the pandemic masochists: => A brief discussion of treatments => Information surrounding past and future strategies to combat pandemics => Some information regarding contact-tracing apps, both in theory and in practice. [Too long; didn't listen - they probably won't be that useful.]
Coronavirus Updates (May, part I): Interview with a vaccine trial participant, risk factors, "herd immunity" thresholds and serology.
May 09, 2020 18:20 - 58 minutes - 41.6 MBFor the masochists who apparently can't get enough content about the coronavirus: => An interview with my friend who participated in the vaccine trials => Some discussion of the risk factors that are associated with deaths from COVID-19 => Updated discussion of "herd immunity" thresholds and the link between R0 and immunity fractions => Reports on serological testing that has taken place so far.
Technology, Inequality, and Catastrophic Risks: Solutions?
April 30, 2020 23:55 - 32 minutes - 23.8 MBN/B: This series of episodes was written before the coronavirus pandemic. I've decided the best thing to do is to present them as was and maybe have another episode reflecting on what the pandemic means for their conclusions later on. ====================================== We've outlined a nexus between catastrophic risks, inequality, and accelerating developments in technology in the future. Is there a way out of the mire? Part IV in a series on Technology, Inequality, and global...
BONUS: Walter Schiedel's Coronavirus Op-Ed
April 26, 2020 11:50 - 8 minutes - 6.71 MBGiven that we are in the midst of a series on technology, inequality, and global catastrophic risks inspired by Walter Scheidel's book on these subjects, and he's just written an op-ed on the topic, I thought I'd release the op-ed as a bonus.
Coronavirus Updates - The Vaccine
April 23, 2020 17:11 - 43 minutes - 32.2 MBIn this, the last of our short series of coronavirus updates, I will be telling you everything I've found out about the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine - when we can expect it to be ready, the testing that needs to be undergone, and some of the techniques that might be used. With thanks to Derek Lowe of Science Magazine whose blog post on this I used as a main source for many of the details.
Coronavirus Updates: Exit Strategy (For A Pandemic)
April 17, 2020 17:58 - 33 minutes - 24.5 MBIn the latest coronavirus episode, we discuss research that has been done into the viable exit strategies from lockdown, including the idea of a contact-tracing app, and discuss some early estimates as to how effective this might be and what would be required to make it a success.
Coronavirus Updates: Modelling, Uncertainties, and Antivirals
April 16, 2020 18:48 - 23 minutes - 18.2 MBSome further updates in the latest therapy session/ramble: - Discussion of the various models that have been used to try to predict the impact of the coronavirus pandemic - Discussion of scientific uncertainty (and the importance of doing science anyway) - Concerns surrounding the politicisation of science... - And some discussion of drug trials for antiviral treatments for coronavirus.
Coronavirus Updates: Estimating R0, Serology, and Bayes' Theorem
April 15, 2020 17:40 - 33 minutes - 24.9 MBThe first of a few quick episodes where I continue going into coronavirus therapy by ranting on to you about all of the things I've learned about the current epidemic... with references to scientific papers so you can read them and find out how wrong I was. We discuss: Estimates for the rate of disease progression in different countries Results from the early serology (antibody) tests of the virus (sadly still thin on the ground) Why Bayes' theorem means that the accuracy of antibody...
Technology, Inequality, and Catastrophic Risks III: How technology can fuel inequality
April 11, 2020 23:40 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBN/B: This series of episodes was written before the coronavirus pandemic. I've decided the best thing to do is to present them as was and maybe have another episode reflecting on what the pandemic means for their conclusions later on. ====================================== Increasing dependence on algorithms and other, more speculative developments in technology can serve to accelerate and exacerbate inequalities within society, potentially lining them up to be far more susceptible to c...
Technology, Inequality, and Global Catastrophic Risks II: Does Technology Help or Harm?
April 05, 2020 14:38 - 34 minutes - 26 MBN/B: This series of episodes was written before the coronavirus pandemic. I've decided the best thing to do is to present them as was and maybe have another episode reflecting on what the pandemic means for their conclusions later on. ====================================== Inequality tends to increase unless there's a catastrophe. Does technology help us - either in addressing catastrophes, or in reducing inequalities?
Technology, Inequality, and Global Catastrophic Risks I: The Great Leveller
March 31, 2020 17:27 - 39 minutes - 31.4 MBN/B: This series of episodes was written before the coronavirus pandemic. I've decided the best thing to do is to present them as was and maybe have another episode reflecting on what the pandemic means for their conclusions later on. ====================================================== Walter Schiedel's book The Great Leveller posits that in societies, economic inequality tends to inexorably increase over time until some catastrophe comes along that levels the entire population. ...
Coronavirus: The Next 18 Months
March 25, 2020 23:30 - 55 minutes - 39.3 MBIn this new episode, we do a deep dive into the Imperial College London paper that models the coronavirus epidemic in the UK and the effectiveness of mitigation and suppression measures, and we speculate wildly and prematurely on what the next 18 months might look like as we do battle with coronavirus globally. Also an update on the expected future of the show at the end.
Coronavirus: Serology, Misinformation, Uncertainty
March 25, 2020 13:51 - 36 minutes - 26.9 MBA quick update on some news surrounding the coronavirus, including why some of the headlines you may have read recently are unlikely to be true, some public service announcements about what you can do to help, and a general urge to read scientific literature and pre-prints with a skeptical eye - especially when they've been digested by headline writers.
The Coronavirus Pandemic
March 17, 2020 22:52 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBFor weeks I've been debating in my mind whether or not to do an episode on the coronavirus pandemic, since it's essentially been all I have been able to think about for the last few weeks as my friends and relatives, long-suffering as they are, will attest. For someone who spent so long thinking about existential risks and catastrophes, both in my day job as a doomy climate scientist and in researching the TEOTWAWKI specials for this show where it all kicked off a few years ago, it's absolut...
Hiatus until the New Year
December 18, 2019 15:32 - 1 minute - 1.19 MBApologies everyone... a quick note to explain why (due to illness and general exhaustion) I am putting the show on hiatus until the New Year. Watch this show for updates on future releases - we will return. Thanks for understanding + enjoy the holidays if you've got them!
Interviewed by Richard Foster-Fletcher (Boundless AI)
November 14, 2019 16:54 - 1 hour - 69.8 MBHi all - something a little different this week. I was recently interviewed by Richard Foster-Fletcher, of the Boundless AI podcast, on topics as varied as artificial intelligence, nuclear fusion, and self-driving cars. As a bonus for those that just can't get enough, this is the full, unedited interview, where you can hear just how good I am at responding to questions spontaneously...
Who Wants to Live Forever?
November 07, 2019 08:30 - 25 minutes - 17.1 MBOn this episode of Physical Attraction, we take a massively tangential dive into wild philosophical speculation. If I offered you the choice of immortality - but with no possibility of reversing the decision once you made it - would you? Answers on a postcard to www.physicspodcast.com
Bonus: Google Investigates Cold Fusion?
November 02, 2019 14:02 - 15 minutes - 12.3 MBA recent review paper in Nature showed some Google-backed academic research, conducted across several institutions, which investigated the claims made by the Cold Fusion community. Agonisingly, it came out a day or two after I'd taped the Cold Fusion episode for our fusion series. But I decided to talk about it anyway. In this bonus episode, we'll discuss what they found (spoilers: not cold fusion) and describe the experiments in more detail.
Drexler and Xiaoice: Tales from AI
October 24, 2019 07:46 - 35 minutes - 27.2 MBIn this episode, we discuss Eric Drexler's model of "Comprehensive AI Services" as an alternative route towards artificial general intelligence, and Xiaoice, Microsoft's incredibly popular chatbot software. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Fusion Conclusion: Building Cathedrals
October 12, 2019 21:51 - 26 minutes - 20.2 MB27 episodes, spanning a hundred years of history and many months of this show, some wonderful plasma physics, some truly amazing machines, and a dream that's captivated thousands across the world for decades. The fusion series is over. And while it's hard to conclude something this monumental, I tried my best. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Fusion's Dark Horses, Episode II
September 26, 2019 08:37 - 38 minutes - 28.1 MBIn this double-header, we examine the various startups that are trying to make commercial nuclear fusion a reality. What technologies are they using? Who's backing them? And do any of them have a prayer of beating ITER to the punch? Comments, questions, concerns? Find the contact form on the website, or contact us on Twitter or Facebook. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion: Fusion's Dark Horses, I
September 13, 2019 10:17 - 35 minutes - 26.6 MBIn this double-header, we examine the various startups that are trying to make commercial nuclear fusion a reality. What technologies are they using? Who's backing them? And do any of them have a prayer of beating ITER to the punch? Comments, questions, concerns? Find the contact form on the website, or contact us on Twitter or Facebook. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
TT: What Can Four-Year-Olds Do that AI Can't?
September 05, 2019 09:18 - 25 minutes - 17.9 MBWhat Can Four-Year-Olds Do that AI Can't? ==> Children are the greatest learners on the planet. As machine learning comes more and more into focus, and ambitious AI types are aiming to simulate the human brain in its entirety, there is a question to ask: how can our machine-learning algorithms learn from the curiosity and adaptability of children? @physicspod www.physicspodcast.com
Justin Ball and Jason Parisi on The Future of Fusion Energy - Part II
August 29, 2019 08:06 - 1 hour - 63.6 MBHello and welcome to this episode of Physical Attraction. I’ve been excited about this for a while. Today, on the show, for the first time ever, we have not one but TWO guests, who have co-written an excellent book together. They are both currently researching nuclear fusion, and they have written a book about the future of fusion energy called… well, the Future of Fusion Energy. Dr Justin Ball is currently studying plasma theory at Lausanne, and Jason Parisi works on turbulent transport ...
Justin Ball and Jason Parisi on The Future of Fusion Energy - Part I
August 21, 2019 11:41 - 55 minutes - 56 MBHello and welcome to this episode of Physical Attraction. I’ve been excited about this for a while. Today, on the show, for the first time ever, we have not one but TWO guests, who have co-written an excellent book together. They are both currently researching nuclear fusion, and they have written a book about the future of fusion energy called… well, the Future of Fusion Energy. Dr Justin Ball is currently studying plasma theory at Lausanne, and Jason Parisi works on turbulent transport ...
Owing to some travelling....
August 13, 2019 00:00there will be a delay in the release of the next few episodes. My sincerest apologies! Expect a new one in a week or two at the very most.
Nuclear Fusion XXIV: Is ITER "The Way"?
August 06, 2019 09:04 - 28 minutes - 20.9 MBIn this episode, we examine some of the chaotic politics and causes of delay to the ITER project - and the perils of trying to collaborate across multiple countries on a multi-billion-dollar, multi-decade enterprise. After all this, is ITER still "The Way"? www.physicspodcast.com for comments, questions, concerns. @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion XXIII: ITER's Challenges
July 25, 2019 19:20 - 26 minutes - 19.6 MBMany would argue that the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), currently under construction, is now 'The Way' to achieving power from nuclear fusion. But it faces extraordinary challenges. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Thermonuclear Takes: Tech Giants Move Into Healthcare - and Outer Space
July 18, 2019 07:29 - 31 minutes - 22.7 MBOn this week's edition of TT, we take a brief break from the fusion series to look at two recent news stories about giant tech companies expanding their markets: both into healthcare, and into providing internet via satellites. www.physicspodcast.com for any comments, questions, concerns
Nuclear Fusion XXII: The National Almost-Ignition Facility
July 11, 2019 06:49 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBThe National Ignition Facility poured the heart and soul of the first few years of their work into achieving ignition - a plasma that would heat itself by thermonuclear reactions by as much as it was heated externally. Ultimately, it was close, but no cigar. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion XXI: NIF-ty Business
July 04, 2019 15:13 - 19 minutes - 14.1 MBThe National Ignition Facility is, to date, the largest inertial confinement fusion experiment ever developed - and carried with it a huge amount of hope and hype that breakeven might be reached with this new device. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion XX: Halite/Centurion and Secret Codes
June 27, 2019 09:31 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBInertial confinement fusion has a secret weapon - after all, it's just a scaled-down hydrogen bomb, which gives us hope that it might not be too difficult to fuse fuel under these conditions. This was supposedly confirmed by underground nuclear tests called Halite and Centurion... but all the details are classified. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Free Energy Scams Part II Premium Episode
June 27, 2019 09:30 - 36 minutes - 78.6 MBReleased as a special treat/taster of what Patreon backers get.
Nuclear Fusion XIX: Cold Comfort
June 20, 2019 06:59 - 50 minutes - 36.6 MBIn this episode, we cover one of the biggest scientific scandals in history: the tragic, tawdry tale of Fleischmann, Pons, and "Cold Fusion". www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
BONUS: Description of a JET Pulse
June 13, 2019 18:18 - 10 minutes - 7.59 MBA step by step description of an experiment run at JET, with information from the Culham Website (CCFE). www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion XVIII: From JET to ITER
June 06, 2019 12:45 - 33 minutes - 24 MBWe discuss the Joint European Torus - the most successful tokamak fusion reactor to date, and the source of a great deal of our knowledge about the outer limits of performance for magnetic confinement fusion. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion XVII: Penthouse Fusion
May 30, 2019 22:46 - 26 minutes - 28.2 MBThis episode, we're looking into one of the most bizarre fusion episodes in its long and storied history. Yes, it's that time a new experimental tokamak fusion reactor was funded almost entirely by pornography millions from the founder of Penthouse Magazine... Comments, questions, concerns, feedback, reviews? Get in touch with us: www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion XVI: The Big Three Tokamaks
May 23, 2019 22:56 - 28 minutes - 29.4 MBAt the start of the tokamak revolution, there was a huge proliferation of different designs for tokamaks from universities and establishments around the world - but gradually, as it became clear that making progress would require larger and larger machines, these efforts broadly ended up concentrated in three main devices. The Joint European Torus (JET) in the UK, the JT-60 in Japan, and the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) in the US. www.physicspodcast.com
Nuclear Fusion XV: The Buzzkill Episode
May 17, 2019 07:09 - 24 minutes - 21.3 MBIs nuclear fusion really the perfect energy source that it's sold as and cracked up to be? Even if we can get it working, will it live up to the considerable hype? www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion XIV: Simple Engineering Problems?
May 09, 2019 22:30 - 22 minutes - 20.2 MBWhat's stopping us from getting magnetic confinement fusion reactors that work? Is it really just... simple engineering problems? www.physicspodcast.com
Nuclear Fusion XIII: Two-Faced Gods
May 02, 2019 16:41 - 24 minutes - 21.2 MBThe second generation of laser fusion (inertial confinement fusion) devices was built in the USA in the 1970s and 1980s - but, unfortunately, those pesky plasma instabilities wouldn't go away. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion XII: Frickin' Lasers
April 24, 2019 13:32 - 22 minutes - 20 MBThe invention of the laser in 1960 opened up an entirely new approach to nuclear fusion - dramatically, and drastically compressing individual pellets of fuel with lasers. www.physicspodcast.com @physicspod
Nuclear Fusion XI: The Tokamak Revolution
April 12, 2019 08:31 - 29 minutes - 26.3 MBIn the late 1960s, scientists crossed the Iron Curtain. Their mission was to investigate whether the claims of Russian scientists about their new nuclear fusion device, the tokamak, were really true. Their findings would change fusion research forever. www.physicspodcast.com
Kate Devlin on Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots
April 05, 2019 01:00 - 59 minutes - 37.3 MBTaking a break from our nuclear fusion odyssey this week, I have a very special episode for you today. This week, our guest is Dr Kate Devlin. She’s a senior lecturer in computer science who studies artificial intelligence and human-robot interaction, and she wrote a magnificent book: Turned On, Science, Sex and Robots. Now, the tagline is that the book is about love and sex with robots – and there is a great deal of fascinating stuff in there about that – but it’s also a wonderful history o...
Nuclear Fusion X: Doldrums and Tokamaks
March 22, 2019 10:33 - 31 minutes - 42.4 MBAfter the first generation of nuclear fusion reactors had profound instabilities, and couldn't confine the plasma for long enough to achieve their aims, the world began to realise that fusion might not be just ten years away from reality - and the whole field sank into the doldrums... until a very Soviet intervention. Physical Attraction is the podcast about physics, science, and technology. You can find further details about the show at www.physicspodcast.com - where you'll find the conta...
Nuclear Fusion IX: A Sun of Our Own
March 15, 2019 11:00 - 27 minutes - 24.2 MBIn 1958, to great fanfare, the ZETA experiment at Harwell announced that they had achieved thermonuclear reactions, controlled in the lab. It was considered a huge breakthrough along the road towards nuclear fusion, and tabloids at the time trumpeted the experiment as allowing "limitless energy from sea water", and called it "Britain's Sputnik". But not everyone was convinced. Physical Attraction is the podcast about physics, science, and technology. You can find further details about the...