The Scientific Odyssey: Recent Episodes
Dr. Chad Davies
An examination of scientific inquiry through a discussion of the history and philosophy of the scientific endeavor.
In this unscripted episode, we take a look at the announced results from the Muon g-2 experiment recently performed at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. We examine what it means for the Standard Model of Particle Physics along with the importance of doing science with the goal of falsifying presently accepted models and theories rather than seeking confirmation.
A look at pseudosciences and their characteristics through the lenses of critical thinking and inquiry.
In this special solstice episode fo the podcast, we embark on a winter journey through the writings of John Muir and David Henry Thoreau among others.
In this episode, we conclude our examination of cartography in the Roman Empire by looking at the development of itineraries and travel maps from the period of the late Antonines to the Byzantine Empire.
For many of the crew of the Scientific Odyssey, the next couple of weeks promises to be stressful with the coming US Presidential elections, a rising number of CoVID-19 cases, and many difficult decisions related to school, work, and family.
To help give folks a respite from the stormy seas ahead, we offer this episode of the podcast as a safe harbor to take refuge in when it all seems to be a bit overwhelming and it's time to furl the sails, if only for a little while.
In this anniversary celebration of our journey, we turn the canvas over to other voices to explore the intersection between inquiry in the sciences and the humanities.
In this episode, we look at applying the tools of good critical thinking and skepticism to analyzing conspiracy theories.
In this episode of our series on "Science as Inquiry" we look at those things that keep people from engaging in good critical thinking practices and how to overcome them.
"The fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."-Archilochus
We trace this quote from the Archaic Greek poet through the work of the philosopher Isaac Berlin to see how it applied to create good practices of critical thinking. Characteristics include having an inquiry focus, being flexible, understanding bias, practicing skepticism, using inference properly, and seeking multiple sources.
In this episode we broaden our focus to consider critical thinking in a more comprehensive way by looking at what it is, why its such a valuable habit of mind to have and what types of activities contribute to making it such a powerful process.
One of the pillars of the Roman Republic and Empire was its ability to survey, divide, assign and tax land. In this episode of the podcast, we look at processes, people and tools that made such precise surveying possible.
Wherein your Navigator discusses the CoVID-19 virus, the global pandemic, how public health and public policy response is formulated, and how to engage with the information and misinformation that's coming through various media channels.
In this episode, we trace the development of roads from their pre-historic roots (or routes) to the development of the massive arterial network of the Roman Empire.
Some recent media accounts have speculated that the red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion is about to explode in a cataclysmic supernova based on recent observations of the star's dimming brightness. We examine the evidence and offer a different explanation.
In this episode, we trace the development of Hellenistic geography from the work of Polybius, through Strabo, to its conclusion with Claudius Ptolemaeus.
In this episode we examine the development of a more empirically based geography in the Hellenistic period from the voyage of Pytheas to the map of Eratosthenes.
Beginning with Homer's Iliad, we look at the development of Greek geographical models of the Earth through the Classical Period.
For 220 years, the Cassini family was among the most powerful and influential scientific dynasties of Europe. In we look at their work and lives in the period of Louis XIV, the sun King, through the end of the Bourbon monarchy.
In this episode we look at cartography in the ancient cultures around the Mediterranean Basin with an eye to understanding the role and purpose of maps and mapping.
We explore the connection between maps and other cultural ideas and technologies such as language, writing and time to see how the physical artifacts arise out of abstract conceptual constructs.
In this episode, we discuss the development and use of basic navigational tools and how they lead to map knowledge in ancient cultures.
Wherein we look at mapping as a human activity and begin our exploration of the evidence of the earliest maps known.
In this episode we interview Dr. Todd Timberlake about the book he co-authored with Dr. Paul Wallace: Finding Our Place in the Solar System, A Scientific View of the Copernican Revolution (Available March 28th, 2019 from Cambridge University Press).
Dr. Timberlake's teaching materials can be found at: https://sites.berry.edu/ttimberlake/teaching/copernican-revolution/
Wherein we prepare to once again slip our lines in search of new knowledge. We discuss the effects of modern technologies and what is gained and lost in their use.
In the years between 1840 and 1866, a debate took place between William Whewell and the philosopher and politician John Stuart Mill over the nature of scientific inquiry and moral philosophy at a time of great social change in Britain.
Our 2018 Christmas episode: In 1851, Dr. William Whewell gave the inaugural lecture of a series reflecting on the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. This is a reading of that lecture.
An examination of the scientific contributions of William Whewell through the early and middle parts of his career.
In this episode we consider additional solutions to the Problem of Induction include those which rest on determining the certainty of inductively acquired knowledge.
In this episode we consider several possible solutions to Hume's Problem of Induction including William Whewell's description of scientific inquiry, the hypothetico-deductive methods and Karl Popper's falsifiability criterion.
In our new Science and Certainty mini-series, we take a look at what is known as the Problem of Induction in the junction between epistemology and philosophy of science. We review what induction is and then look at various historical statements of the problem culminating with the work of Scottish philosopher, David Hume.
In our final episode of the biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at the last twenty years of his life in the United States. We consider his conversations with the mathematician Kurt Godel, the letters to Franklin Delano Roosevelt that helped initiate what would become the Manhattan Project, his post-war efforts to promote peace and his principled defiance of McCarthyism.
In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey, we delve more deeply into Einstein's religious views and recap the months up to his emigration to the United States to take a position at the Institute of Advanced Study.
In 1930, Albert Einstein wrote,
“I believe that the most important mission of the state is to protect the individual and to make it possible for him to develop into a creative personality.”
This concise statement of his political philosophy would guide his actions through much of the 1920's and early 30's as he used his fame and celebrity to advance causes important to him.
In this episode, we'll examine those actions and causes.
In the words of physicist John Wheeler,
“In all the history of human thought, there is no greater dialogue than that which took place over the years between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein about the meaning of the quantum.”
In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey we explore the relationship between the two men that began through journal articles on light quantum and the atom, was further entwined through Nobel Prizes awarded together and continued through debates shared in letters, papers and at scientific meetings.
When Einstein moved to Berlin in 1914, he entered into a period of intense turmoil, both in his scientific work and in his personal life. In this episode, we take a look at the factors that led him to Berlin and what transpired once he got there.
This week we look at the period of Albert Einstein's life from 1905-1913 as he moved from one position to another on his rise among the European physics community
In the second half of 1905, Albert Einstein published tow papers that refined humanity's understanding of space and time as well as the relationship between mass and energy. In this episode, we examine the factors that led to these discoveries.
In 1905, Albert Einstein published five papers that changed the course of physics and the modern world. In this episode, we look at the first three of those works including his paper on the photoelectric effect, his derivation of Avogardo's number and his analysis of Brownian motion that more or less proved the existence of atoms.
In this second part of our examination of Einstein's life before the Miracle Year of 1905, we examine the period between his graduation from the Zurich Polytechnic and his being hired at the Swiss patent office. We discuss his scientific work as well as his relationship with Mileva Maric and the issues surround that.
In 1896, Albert Einstein enrolled in the teacher preparation program for physics and mathematics at the Zurich Polytechnic. We look at the events that brought him to that point and what transpired while he was a student there, including the beginning of his romantic relationship with Mileva Maric.
In this first episode of our biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at his childhood growing up in Munich and the various influences that would shape him in many ways.
In this episode, we look at the dispute between British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington and Indian prodigy Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar over white dwarf objects and the fate of higher mass stars.
For A. S. Eddington, the most important thing a think ing person could do, whether they be a scientist or a person of faith, was to follow a path of inquiry that sought to uncover new insights and new truths.
In this episode, we look at how this value influenced Eddington's work in stellar structure and relativity. Additionally, we look at how his other valence values such as internationalism influenced his actions during the Great War.
In this episode we consider the question of whether a person can be both religious and a scientist by looking at the early life of the British Astrophysicist and lifelong Quaker, Arthur Stanley Eddington.
In our final narrative episode of this series, we encounter the last piece of the cosmological puzzle-dark energy. We look at the way in which is was discovered and what it means for the ultimate fate of our universe.
This week we look at the work of Vera Rubin and Fritz Zwicky that led to the idea that roughly 85% of the matter in the universe can't be detected except by the gravitational influence on the matter we can see. We also consider alternative explanations and examine the evidence in favor of Dark Matter.
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, several problems arose with the Big Bang Theory's attempt to explain certain aspects of the early universe. In 1979, Alan Guth worked out a solution to those known as the Inflationary Model that added a new layer of understanding of the physical processes that governed the earliest moments of the cosmos.
Wherein we discuss the detection of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson.
This week we look at the work of a number of astrophysicists including Cecilia Payne, Arthur Eddington, Hans Bethe and Charles Critchfield, and Fred Hoyle and Willie Fowler to better understand how the elements are made within the cores of stars.
Special introduction by Stephen Guerra of the History of the Papacy and the Beyond the Big Screen podcasts.
In 1948, one of the most important papers in the history of science was published in the pages of the Physical Review. In it, authors Ralph Alpher, Hans Bethe (in absentia) and George Gamow not only perpetrated one of the greatest plays on words in the annals of science, they also put forward the physical calculations in support that the universe as we see it today began from a small, hot, dense state known as the Primeval Fireball.
In this episode, we trace the development of that idea.
In our third and final installment of the life of George Ellery Hale, we look at the establishment of the Mt. Wilson Observatory and his other endeavors. We also examine the psychological pressures that drove him and eventually lead to his mental breakdown.
In the decade between 1890 and 1900, George Hale went from being a promising graduate of MIT to the world famous director of the Yerkes Observatory. In this episode, we follow his life and work during this critical time.
This week we begin a biographical series on George Ellery hale by covering his life from his childhood in Chicago up through his graduation and marriage.
The shift from astronomy to astrophysics necessitated the development of new tools of observation at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. In this episode, we look at the rise of the reflecting telescopes and the men who use them including, James Keeler and George Ritchey, probably the greatest telescope designer in history.
In 1927 Fr. Georges Lemaitre published a paper in a little known Belgian scientific journal that described an expanding universe. Two years later, Milton Humason and Edwin Hubble presented evidence to support support this model. In this episode, we look at the development of the idea of a universe that was not static or steady.
On November 25th of 1915, Albert Einstein presented a paper on his General Theory of Relativity that by its end had conclusively shown that the Vulcan hypothesis was not necessary to explain the precession of the perihelion of the orbit of Mercury. It also completely reimagined the structure of space and time and remade the universe. In this episode of the podcast, we follow Einstein's journey of discovery from the work of James Clerk Maxwell to the eclipse observations of Arthur Stanley Eddington.
In 1925, the astronomer Henry Norris Russell read a paper at the 33rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society. The paper, written by Edwin Hubble, a staff astronomer at the Mt. Wilson observatory, detailed observations of Cepheid variable stars in the Andromeda Nebula. These observations and the analysis of them showed that the spiral was a million light years outside the Milky Way Galaxy, thus establishing it as an island universe once and for all. The Great Debate was settled and the size of the universe was expanded to a scale unimaginable just a decade earlier.
On April 26th of 1920, Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis presented talks on the idea of island universes to the National Academy of Sciences. Held at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Great Debate, as it would come to be known, would showcase two differing views of the scale and structure of the universe.
In 1914, Harlow Shapley moved to work at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. Over the course of five years, using the 60 inch reflector there, he observed the 75 visible globular clusters and developed a whole new model of the Milky Way Galaxy and our place in it.
In our final episode of this mini-series on the women who worked at the Harvard College Observatory, we dive into the life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin from her time at Cambridge University to her life in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In this episode we take a look at the history of the development of the metric system out of the French Revolution.
Annie Jump Cannon and Henrietta Swan Leavitt would form the core of the calculation staff at the Harvard College Observatory for nearly two decades. They oversaw the transition of the Observatory from the directorship of Edward Charles Pickering to Harlow Shapley and established the dominant classification systems and physical laws for stellar spectra and variable stars in the early 20th century that would lead to foundational discoveries in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics.
In the first part of a multi episode series, we look at the lives of two very different women. Williamina Fleming and Antonia Maury both made significant contributions to the field of stellar spectroscopy by developing classification systems to better understand the light from stars but their different backgrounds and training meant that they understood the role of being a calculator very differently.
This week we take an in-depth look at the work done at the Harvard College Observatory on cataloging and classifying variable stars under the direction of Charles Edward Pickering. We examine the contributions of Williamina Fleming, Annie Jump Cannon and Henrietta Swan Leavitt that resulted in the the period luminosity relationship, also known as Leavitt's Law.
This week we take a look at weather forecasting after the Navigator's trip to Boulder, CO for the NASA Social event for the launch of the JPSS-1 polar orbiting satellite. We discuss a brief history of weather forecasting, the roles of both geosynchronous and polar orbiting satellites in that endeavor and the JPSS program. Specific attention is given to the five instrument packages that will be places on the vehicle: CrIS, ATMS, VIIRS, OMPS and CERES.
In the years between 1905 and 1911, the astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung and Henry Russell Norris developed a way of representing the accumulating astronomical and astrophysical data on stars that revealed the presence of a relationship between a stars brightness and its temperature. This Hertzsprung-Russell or H-R Diagram would come to revolutionize our understanding of stellar evolution.
This week, with the help of steampunk attired lady and gentleman bugs, we take a look at the Doppler effect. We use water waves, sound and light to examine the consequences of what happens with the observer of a wave is moving with respect to the wave's source. We also look at the history of the idea from the work of Christian Doppler to the applications suggested by Ernst Mach.
This week we look at the spectral classification work of Antonia Maury and Annie Jump Cannon at the Harvard College Observatory.
In this week's episode we look at the early work of the Harvard College Observatory under the direction of Edward Charles Pickering. We discuss his three big research initiatives: the visual photometric survey of stars, the All-Sky Survey and Catalogue and the Draper Memorial Catalogue that catalogued and classified the spectra of over 10,000 individual stars. Instrumental in this last effort was Williamina Fleming: Pickering's one time housekeeper turned lead calculator in the project.
When Kirchhoff and Bunsen unlocked elemental spectra, they opened a new avenue of astrophysical investigation. This work work was originally done by the quartet of Lewis Rutherfurd, Astronomer Royal George Airy, Father Angelo Secchi and William Huggins. This work would lead to advances by Hermann Carl Vogel and Norman Lockyer who would be among those to propose an early model of stellar evolution.
In 1861, Gustav Kirchhoff published the astonishing results that he could, merely by examining the light received from the Sun, determine what elements it was made from. One this episode, we'll trace the scientific investigation of the nature of light from Isaac Newton through Joseph Fraunhofer to the work of Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen.
In this episode we look at the various methods to determine the distances to the stars including Christiaan Huygens' comparison method, Robert Hooke's zenith telescope and Wilhelm Struve's and Freidrich Bessel's telescopic measurements. We also review the various ideas as to the distributions of these stars as advanced by Isaac Newton, William Stuckley, Thomas Wright and William Herschel.
In this episode we examine the fates of Phaeton, Vulcan and Pluto as they were thought of by Olbers, Le Verrier and Clyde Tombaugh. We also examine the observations of James Craig Watson, introduce William Henry Pickering and follow the work of Percival Lowell.
In 1782, William Herschel entered the service of his Royal Majesty, King George III of the United Kingdom. Over the next 20 years, he, along with his brother Alexander, would build hundred of telescopes including the largest research instruments in Europe as well as create the largest catalogue of deep sky objects ever compiled. Assisting him in this was his sister, Caroline Herschel, who would become an exceptional astronomer in her own right.
He would seek to answer questions about the Sun's motion through space, the behavior of variable stars, the nature of stellar spectra, the shape of the Milky Way galaxy and the Sun's position in it and the composition of nebulae.
In 1788, he married Mary Pitt (nee Baldwin) and, in 1792, fathered a son, John Herschel, who would go on to be the preeminent scientist of the mid-18th century; competing his father's catalogue work by extending his observations to the Southern Hemisphere and doing much to create the technology of photography as well as making significant contributions to the philosophy of science.
John and his wife, Margaret, would have 12 children, three of whom would become scientists that would make significant contributions during their lifetimes.
William Herschel was a Hanoverian musician turned British astronomer. In this episode we look at his journey from military band oboist to the court astronomer of King George III. Along the way we look at his work as a composer and orchestral director, his entry into the field of astronomical instrument construction and his bringing of the techniques of natural history to astronomical investigation.
We also discuss telescope design, what's the best telescope for a beginner to invest in and the idea of scientific serendipity.
This week we look at the work of William Herschel, Giuseppe Piazzi, Heinrich Olbers, Urbain Le Verrier, Alexis Bouvard and Johann Galle as they discovered new worlds in a Newtonian solar system. We consider the mathematical frameworks of Laplace and the Titius-Bode Law as guiding physical laws for the investigation of the natural universe.
Following the publication of Newton's Principia, the extended process of adoption began. In this episode, we look at what barriers there were to Newton's ideas and how they were overcome. We also look at the acceptance of heliocentricism and the reworking of Newton's mathematical formalism up through the work of Pierre-Simon Laplace.
In our second episode devoted to the life and work of Edmond Halley, we recount his three voyages aboard the Paramour to create a map of magnetic variation and survey the tides and currents of the English Channel. We also cover his predictions on the return of the comet of 1682, now known as Halley's Comet, his discovery of the proper motion of the stars, his translation of the works of Apollonius, and his work as Britain's Astronomer Royale among a host of other accomplishments.
This week we look at the earlier career of astronomer, mathematician and natural philosopher Edmond Halley. We look at the first part of his career but through about 1693 including his trips to St. Helena, Danzig and Paris. We also look at his ideas on measuring the size of the solar system, terrestrial magnetism, ocean salinity and the cause of the Biblical flood.
In this episode we finally conclude our biographical sketch of Isaac Newton by looking at his life in the years following the publication of the Principia. We look at his political activities following the Glorious Revolution, his friendship with John Locke, the circle of young followers the gathered around him in London, including David Gregory, and his intense and troubled relationship with Nicolas Fatio de Duillier. We look at the emotional breakdown that took place in 1693 and his work afterwards including his publication of Opticks. Finally, we consider his legacy though the words of those who followed him.
IN this impromptu and unscripted episode, I talk about the recent announcement of the discovery of severn earth-like world orbiting a nearby class M star now named TRAPPIST-1 after the telescope used to make the initial discovery. I look at how exoplanets are discovered, the specifics of this discovery, what we know and why it is important. Also discussed are the ideas of scientific collaboration and the concept of universality.
In 1687, Issac Newton, through the hard work and auspices of Edmund Halley, published the greatest scientific work of all time. In this episode we examine the events that led to the book's creation including Newton's correspondences with Robert Hooke and John Flamsteed. We also spend a bit of time considering the work's content.
This week we look at Newton's work in the area of alchemy and examine his heretical religious views.
In this episode we look at the emergence of Isaac Newton onto the public stage with the publication of his first work on Optics in the pages of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1672. We then examine the growing conflict between Newton and Robert Hooke and consider the work of the Society's secretary, Henry Oldenburg in fostering scientific communication during the turmoil.
In part 1 of our multipart biography of the father of physics, we look at the life of Isaac Newton from his early years in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire through his grammar school days to his time at Trinity College, Cambridge. We take some time to specifically look at the cultural and religious background that influenced his upbringing as well as his work on vision, color, light and optics.
In this episode we look at the work in mathematics and physics of Isaac Newton from his time at the University of Cambridge to the publication of the Philosophae Naturalis Principia Naturalis or "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy". Specifically we look at the development of fluxional calculus, the Universal Law of Gravitation and Newton's Three Laws of Motion.
This week we consider the work of Jesuit astronomers across Europe and around the world before returning to a discussion of weighing the heliocentric and geoheliocentric models of the solar system.
In this episode, we look at the work of four men who bridge the period between Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton: Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Rene Descartes, Christiaan Huygens and Robert Hooke. In this discussion we pay particular attention to each man's work in physics that will set the stage for Newton's great synthesis.
In this episode we look at the 25 months leading up to the Congregation of the Inquisition censuring the two propositions related to the work of Copernicus; namely that the Earth moves and the Sun does not. We specifically examine the Letter to Castello and Foscarini's Letter as well as the role of Galileo's work and Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina in the proceedings and what follows.
In the tradition of the Icelandic custom of Jolabokaflod, we read one of the earliest works of science fiction-Johannes Kepler's The Somnium. Break out some chocolate and settle in for an hour-long journey to the Moon.
In the first part of a three episode series on the emerging conflict involving Galileo, the Aristotelian natural philosophers of the Italian universities and the Catholic Church, we examine the factors that would lead to the initial confrontation of 1615 and 1616. These will include a debate that led to a fundamental revaluation of hydrology and a priority dispute on the discovery of sunspots. Finally, we discuss the piece of information that may have led to Galileo's open support of the Copernican model o the solar system.
In this supplemental episode, we look at the study of hydraulics related to pulling water up a pipe by Galileo Galilei. This leads us to the development of the mercury barometer by Torricelli and the investigations of atmospheric pressure and vacuums by Blaise Pascal and Florin Perier. This, in turns leads us to the work of von Geuricke and Robert Boyle.
In our third episode discussing the Scientific Revolution we look at the development of the linguistic device we call the fact from Latin legal ideas. We consider the work of Kepler and Galileo as well as the thinking of Blaise Pascal, Thomas Hobbes and Robert Boyle.
This week we look at the development of the idea of mathematics as a way to represent reality through perspective painting and accounting. We also discuss the rise of the idea of laws of nature as the way in which the natural world was understood.
In this episode we take a look at the Scientific Revolution through the lens of David Wooten' thesis that the most important trigger for the rapid scientific development of the 16th and 17th centuries was Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World.
In the final part of the part of our biography of Johannes Kepler, we look at his scientific work from 1612 to his death in 1630 including the Epitome of Copernicus, Harmonice Mundi and the Rudolphine Tables. We consider the accusations of witchcraft against his mother, Katharina, and a number of other personal tragedies. In conclusion we discuss the Somnium, Kepler's work of science fiction.
In part three of our biography of Johannes Kepler we look at his years in Prague and the scientific work he did there including Astronomiae Pars Optica, Dioptrice and Astronomia Nova. We discuss how he arrived at his first two laws of planetary motion and his description of how lenses produce images in various optical systems including the eye. We also follow the personal tragedy of the death of his son Frederick, how wife Barbara and the chaos that eventually engulfed Prague.
In part 2 of our biography of Johannes Kepler we look at the mathematician and astronomer's time in Graz and with Tycho Brahe in Prague. We specifically look at Kepler's role in the conflict between Brahe and Nicolas Reimars Bar (aka, Ursus).
Part 1 of our biography of of Johannes Kepler covering his early life from his seminary schooling to his time in Graz.
This week we dock in Venice for a questions and answers episode wherein I talk about podcasting, understanding quantum mechanics, the origin of the universe, and the evidence for human activity causing climate change. Also address questions about how doing the podcast has affected my teaching and where some of the strange things in academia come from. I also tell the story of the time I ran out of food but was saved by a do-it-yourself carwash in the middle of nowhere.
A discussion of the astronomical observation of Galileo Galilei and the escalating conflict with the Aristotelian Scholastics that dominated the Italian universities in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Specifically, we discuss the 1604 nova and Galileo's telescopic observations of 1609 including those of the Moon, Jupiter and the phases of Venus.
This week we take a look at the early life and work of Tuscan natural philosopher and engineer, Galileo Galilee. We examine his investigations on motion, specifically falling bodies, that will lead him into the initial stages of conflict with the Aristotelian natural philosophers of the Scholastic universities of Italy. We will also examine the steps of scientific inquiry he developed as a part of his work.
This week we take a break from the scientific narrative to look at the events following the Protestant Reformation in the Holy Roman Empire. We specifically discuss the Peace of Augsburg, The Inquisition, The Counter Reformation and the Thirty Years War before turning to a brief account of the life of Giordano Bruno and the German witch trials.
In this episode we look at the work of Johannes Kepler and his three Laws of Planetary Motion. We discuss the principles that motivated his work and his idea that forces were responsible for the motion of the planets around the Sun.
In this final episode devoted to the life of the Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe, we look at his conflict with Nicolaus Reimers Bar (aka Ursus) as well as a number of other factors that led him to depart the island of Hven and eventually land in Prague where he would spend the last two years of his life.
This week we look at the construction of Uraniborg on the island of Hven and the astronomical work done on it. We also discuss the ideas that informed the facility's founding and the social structure that supported its construction and operation. Tycho's observatory and laboratory was the premier scientific research institution of its time and it marked a transition in how science was done throughout Europe.
In Part 1 of our biography of the Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe, we follow his life from the keeps and fortresses of his homeland to the universities of Germany. We look into his interactions with the people around him including his wife, Kirsten Jorgensdatter, and look at the idea of amicitia that would so shape his worldview.
This week we look at the scientific work of Tycho Brahe and his Tychonic Model of the solar system.
This week we evaluate the Copernicus heliocentric model of the solar system and compare it to Ptolemy's geocentric model. We then look at the model's reception by Erasmus Reinhold, Gemma Frisius, Michael Maestlin and Tycho Brahe. We conclude with Brahe's observations of the supernova of 1572 and the Great Comet of 1577.
A continuation of the the biographies of Nicolas Copernicus and Georg Joachim Rheticus from the time of the two men's meeting through the end of Rheticus' life and the publication of his trigonometric tables. Rheticus' work on the Narratio and the publication will be discussed as will the tragic outcomes of his career. The timely encounter with Valentin Otto is also covered.
The first part of a biographical examination of the two men who started the Scientific Revolution, Nicolas Copernicus and Georg Joachim Rheticus.
In this episode we take a look at the scientific work of Nicolas Copernicus including the Commentariolus and On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. We look at the foundational principles of Copernicus' Heliocentric System and how it explains the motions of the planets.
A more in-depth look at the lives of Georg Peuerbach, Johannes de Regio Monte (aka, Johanes Muller, aka Regiomontanus) and Cardinal Basilios Bessarion with a specific focus on the years between 1454 and 1476. The development of the Epitome of the Almagest is discussed as is the role of astrology in late medieval and early modern culture, specifically in relation to the practice of medicine.
We take a look at NASA's JUNO Mission and the news of last night's successful orbital insertion as well as the science mission to come.
In this episode, we discuss the transition of European astronomy from the 13th century to the end of the 15th century. We spend some time taking a look at the effects of The Great Mortality on the institutions of Europe and consider the factors of the rediscovery of atomism, the development of the printing press, the Fall of Constantinople and the rise of the new universities of central and eastern Europe in creating the conditions that would allow for new ideas to develop and spread. We then conclude by looking at the work of Georg Peurbach and Johannes Muller that brings a full and complete understanding of the Hellenistic model Ptolemy.
This episode takes a look at the rise of the European university in the 12th century, the development of Scholasticism, the impact on the translations of Aristotle's works and the accompanying commentaries on it and the effects of the Condemnations of 1277. From this, the challenges to Aristotle's formulation of physics and the terrestrial motion of objects are considered.
The contributions of Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Bardwardine and the Oxford Calculators, Jean Buridan and Nicole Oresme during this period are all covered.
In the final episode in our trilogy on the philosophy of time, we look at J. M. E. McTaggart's essay, The Unreality of Time, and then work through various philosophical positions that arise from it. Included in the discussion are presentism, eternalism, the block universe model and the arrow of time.
In this episode we open the account of the temporal realist beginning with Isaac Newton and John Locke. We then look at the a priori idealism of Immanuel Kant before ending on the reformulation of physics by Albert Einstein and his concept of relativity in space-time.
We look at how various ancient philosophers and theologians conceptualized time. We look at the paradoxes of Eleatic school of Parmenides and Zeno, the response of Aristotle and the later reconsideration of the topic by Augustine. This week is spend looking at early versions of idealism and relationalism with just a brief mention of realist concepts like relativity and frames of reference.
A short explanation of the recent lack of new content from the podcast and what the plan is going forward.
In this episode we look at subdividing the day with the development of time keeping devices from the gnomon and sundials to atomic clocks.
We look at the development of the modern western calendar from prehistory through the time of the Roman Kings to the reforms of Julius Caesar (the Julian Calendar) and Pope Gregory XIII (the Gregorian Calendar). Modern attempts at calendar reform are also discussed including the World Calendar and the International Fixed Calendar.
We look at the rediscovery of astronomical texts by western Europe from the time of the Plague of Justinian to the Great Mortality. The work of Martianus Capella, Isidore of Seville, Gerard of Cremona, Averroes and Johannes of Sacrobosco is examined and placed in a wider historical context.
A brief scientific biography of the Islamic physicist, Ibn al-Haytham. We look at his work in optics, mathematics, astronomy and the development of a method of scientific inquiry.
In this episode we look at the astronomical work done during the Golden Age of Islamic Science. This includes the work sponsored by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun, the work of al-Balkhi, al-Battani, al-Biruni and ibn al-Haytham. We conclude with material covering the Andalusian Revolt and the Maragha Revolution.
In this episode we look at the role of astronomy in the culture of the Inca Empire and Kogi Tribe. We examine the Cusco, Coricancha and the ceques and huacas that embody Inca religious practice along with the city of Machu Picchu. Finally, we look at the woven universe of the Kogi tribe of northern Colombia.
A look at the work of Ptolemy's Mathematical Treatise, otherwise known as the Almagest. Hipparchus, precession, the Library of Alexandria and the broader Greco-Roman world are also discussed.
We look at the failure of the Eudoxian model of homocentric spheres and the models of Aristarchus of Samos, Apollonius of Perga and Hipparchus to proposed to replace it. We also discuss the ideas of scientific realism and instrumentalism with respect to Hellenistic astronomy.
A look at the evidence gathered by the Greek, Hellenistic and Arabic natural philosophers that determined the size and shape of the Earth. Aristotle's lines of evidence are discussed as are the measurements of Eratosthenes, Posidonius and al-Biruni. We also take a look at the myth that it was Columbus who first thought the Earth was round and how it arose.
A look at Greek astronomy from the time of Hesiod and Homer to the spherical model of Aristotle. The writings of Thales, Empedocles, the Pythagoreans and Plato are considered before moving to the sphere's of Eudoxus and Callipus and the synthesis of physics and astronomy by the tutor of Alexander the Great.
A discussion of some aspects of Mesoamerican astronomy including the Mayan calendar with its Calendar Round and Long Count Calendar and the cities of Chichen Itza, Palenque, Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan.
In this episode we look at the practice of Babylonian astronomy and the tools that made it possible: cuneiform writing and arithmetical mathematics.
Some unscripted thoughts about the detection of gravitational waves by direct observation by LIGO. We briefly discuss some aspects of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, how interferometers work and what the significance of the detection is. We also look at how experimental science is done and communicated.
This week we look at the narratives, sites and artifacts of the native North Americans in their practice of religion and astronomy. We look at the traditions Chumash tribe of California, the kivas and spirals of the peoples of the Four Corners region including the Hopi, Navaho, Zuni and Anasazi, the Medicine Wheels of the central plains and the mounds and woodhenges of the Cahokia site of Mississippian peoples of Illinois.
A discussion of the motions of the planets in the night sky and some of the cultural associations that go with them. Observations such as retrograde motion, maximum elongation, conjunction and opposition are examined.
In this episode we discuss the astronomy of the early dynastic period of China including the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. Specific attention is paid the the idea of the Mandate of Heaven and its relation to circumpolar astronomy.
An examination of the motion of the Sun through the sky. We discuss the use of gnomons to make measurements and the Sun's path through the Zodiac on the ecliptic with special attention to the equinoxes and solstices. We conclude with an discussion of the yearly calendar in many cultures.
This episode focuses on the practice of ancient Egyptian astronomy and its relationship to the culture's religion and agriculture. Particular attention is paid to the motions of Sirius, the Great Pyramid at Giza, the "Stretching the Cord" ceremony and the association of the pharaohs with the Sun and heavens.
In this episode we consider observations of the moon and the role it has in keeping time and representing resurrection in the heavens. Defined are both sidereal and synodic months and well as lunar calendar years.
This episode is a guided tour of the night sky looking in each of the cardinal directions. East or orient for rising, West or occident for setting, north for circumpolar stars and south for the Zodiac.
In the introductory episode of our new season, we lay out the course for our next journey into the realm of cosmology. We will begin with the by considering our modern disassociation with the sky and unfurl our sails to reconnect in the ways the most ancient astronomers did.
In this episode, we talk about the history of metallurgy from the paleolithic to contemporary times including the use of copper, the development of bronze and steel technology and modern techniques that have shed light on how metals acquire the properties we find so useful.
In this last episode on Richard Feynman, we cover his work in condensed matter physics on superfluidity and superconductivity, the development of V-A meson theory and parton theory. We also discuss his work with the presidential commission's investigation of the Challenger explosion.
In this continuation of our biography of the life and scientific work of Richard Feynman, we look at the work for which he would win his Nobel prize. Beginning with his move to Cornell after the end of the Manhattan Project, we cover his full development of the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, it's application to renormalization of quantum electrodynamics and the development of his Feynman Diagram. We also consider the contributions of Julian Schwinger and Freeman Dyson.
A continuation of the biography of Richard Feynman covering his time with the Manhattan Project.
A continuation of the biography of American physicist Richard Feynman through his years in higher education at MIT and Princeton.
A discussion the positivist positions of the equivalentists and the energetists as represented in the ideas and writings of Marcellin Bertholot, Ernst Mach, Wilhelm Oswald and Pierre Duhem. From this the instrumentalism of American philosopher John Dewey is developed and contrasted with scientific realism.
A discussion of epistemology in the philosophy of science. Topics include scientific realism, idealism, phenomenalism, representationalism and positivism.
In this episode, we continue to look at the Bohr-Einstein Debate beginning with the light box thought experiment, moving to the EPR paper and then to the work of David Bohm. The episode concludes by looking at Bell's Theorem, the experiments to measure the Bell Inequality and the work of John Cramer.
In episode we discuss the meeting of Einstein and Bohr and the initiation of the Bohr-Einstein debate at the 1927 Third Solvay Conference.
A discussion of the life and scientific work of Erwin Schrodinger. Specific attention is paid to the "gedankenexperiment" known as "Schrodinger's Cat" and the implications for the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.
A discussion of the creation of the Standard Model including the work of Sheldon Glashow, Abdus Salam and Steven Weinberg.
A discussion of the process of beta decay, the Fermi Interaction and the work of Lee and Yang, Wu and Leon Lederman.
In this episode, we follow the development of the strong force from Yukawa through to the work of Murray Gell-Mann and Georg Zweig and the first quark-gluon model of matter.
A discussion of the development fo renomalization to save quantum field theory from the problem of the various infinties that arise in it. Particular focus is devoted to the work of Hans Bethe, Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger, Richard Feynamn, Freeman Dyson and Ernst Stueckelberg.
A discussion of the physics of creating a self-sustaining fission reaction and building the first atomic weapon.
Part #2 of the biography of Enrico Fermi tracing his work on developing nuclear energy technologies.
Part one of a biographical sketch of Italian physicist Enrico Fermi. The episode discussed Fermi's childhood, education and Nobel Prize winning work prior to his fleeing to the United States. Also discussed is the ride of the Italian Fascist party including personal accounts from Enrico and Laura Fermi.
A discussion of the developments in nuclear physics that led to the discovery of fission. These include Francis Aston's development of the mass spectrometer, George Gamow, Neils Bohr and Charles Weisacker and the development of the Liquid-Drop Model of the nucleus, the work of Otto Hahn at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch in discovering nuclear fission and both H. G. Wells and Leo Szilard's prophetic predictions of the development of atomic weapons.
A discussion of both the theoretical and experimental work of Enrico Fermi in the field of nuclear physics. Additional material on the invention of the cyclotron by Ernest O. Lawrence and the first creation of artificial radioactivity by Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie.
In this episode we discuss the development of the first quantum field theories including quantum electrodynamics for the electromagnetic interaction, quantum flavordynamics for the weak interaction and quantum chromodynamics for the strong interaction. We also touch on the work of Enrico Fermi and Hideki Yukawa.
Part Two of the scientific biography of Paul Dirac. This includes a discussion of the development of the Dirac Equation, work in quantum field theory, a theory of magnetic monopoles and the first ideas of string theory.
In this episode we take a look at the early life and education of engineer, mathematician and physicist Paul Dirac.
A discussion of the work of Paul Dirac to produce the relativistic wave equationand the discovery of anti-matter as he theorized by Carl David Anderson.
The final part of a three episode biography of Werner Heisenberg. In this podcast, I focus on the life and work of the Nobel Prize winner from the time of the ride of the Nazis to power in Germany to his death in 1976.
A clear setting out of the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Theory and a discussion of some of the philosphical issues it brings forward.
A discussion of Werner Heisenberg's amazingly productive period of work from 1920 to 1932.
We begin with the wave mechanics approach of Erwin Schrodinger and work through the Fifth Solvay Conference held in October of 1927.
In this episode we address the crisis in atomic physics, the work of Louis de Broglie and the matrix mechanics of Werner Heisenberg.
In this episode, we discuss the contributions of Gilbert Newton Lewis, Irvine Langmuir and Arnold Sommerfeld and push the Bohr Model of the Atom to the breaking point.
In this episode, we look at the development of a theoretical model of electron behavior for Rutherford's nuclear model of the atom by Niels Bohr. We begin with a brief introduction to light and spectra before considering the groundbreaking work of Max Planck and Albert Einstein and then finally to Bohr's radical solution to electron behavior around a nucleus. This is the first episode in the series where things get really strange.
A look at the life of Ernest Rutherford after the Great War, including the first transmutation of an element, the discovery of the neutron and the splitting of the atom.
A biographical sketch of the life of Ernest Rutherford from his birth in New Zealand to the outbreak of the Great War.
In this episode, we develop the atomic models of Hantaro Nagaoka (Saturnian Model), J.J. Thomson (Plum Pudding Model) and Ernest Rutherford (Nuclear Model). We also consider the theoretical work of Perrin and Anton van den Broek along with the experimental contributions for Hans Geiger, Ernest Marsden, Charles Barkla and Henry Moseley.
In this episode, the work of first Rontgen and Becquerel is discussed followed by the discoveries of the Curies and Ernest Rutherford.
This episode begins a multipart series discussing the discoveries at the turn of the 20th century that led to the downfall of Dalton's atom and a new understanding of the nature of matter.
This episode focuses on the work of JJ Thomson at the Cavendish laboratory that led to the discovery of the electron.
In parallel with the chemical research being done to provide support for an atomic theory of matter, there was also work being done in the discipline of physics. In this episode we discuss developments in the fields of thermodynamics and kinetic theory that supported the idea of atoms moving through a void.
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In this episode, developments in electrochemistry by Berzelius, Faraday, Arrhenius, Oswald, van't Hoft and Werner are discussed.
A discussion of the development of the periodic table beginning with Prout's protyle and ending with Mendeleev. Much of the material for this episode has been developed from Eric Scerri's, "The Periodic Table, Its Story and Its Significance."
This episode discusses the life and contributions of John Dalton with particular focus on his development of the Billard Ball model of the atom.
Reflections on chemistry by Michel Eugene Chevreul on the occasion of his 100th birthday.
A discussion of Carl Scheele, Joseph Priestly, Antoine Lavoisier and the discovery of oxygen.
An examination of the work in pneumatic chemistry from Black to Lavoisier that established chemistry as an fully experimental science. A discussion of the rise and fall of the phlogiston hypothesis as a scientific case study is included.
From Bruno to Boscovitch, this episode of the podcast suveys the development of the intellectual and experimental lanscape of Renaissance Europe as it moves closer to answer the question of the nature of matter.
In this supplemental episode we look at the scholarly work of the first of the great Arabic "hakim" and the foundations of developing a scientific method.
In this episode, we look at how atomism survives 1500 years of opposition and neglect to reemerge after The Great Mortality.
Here we work through the responses to Democritus' atomism by Plato, Aristotle and Epicurus.
This podcast introduces a new series on the history of the atom and begins the discussion with the ideas of the earliest Greek philosophers beginning with Thales and culminating with the atomism of Democritus.
A discussion about some of the misconceptions people have about scientific inquiry and those who pursue it. Topics include creativity in science, the moral obligation of science and scientism.
Tools and structures scientists use to move ideas forward and do scientific reasoning. Models and organizing principles are discussed as is serendipity. Basic reasoning structure is explained through deductive, inductive and abductive methods.
A discussion of the progress of scientific ideas from hypotheses to laws to theories. What makes each one different from the others and how does an idea start as a hypothesis and end up as a theory.
A discussion of three attributes that characterize scientific inquiry and distinguish it from from other types of research. This includes a discussion of of the three levels of information gathering and methods of scientific communication.
A discussion of why studying science is not only useful but necessary in today's world along with an explanation of inquiry and a brief tour of different fields and types of scientific research.
This is the beginning, the pushing off, the setting out. It is here that the voyage commences and we set our sights on new horizons and far off vistas.
This podcast is where I tell you what this whole thing's about: who your guide is, the vehicle we'll be traveling in and where we might be going. It's a journey with a thousand or more steps and this is the first one.