Physical Attraction

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TEOTWAWKI 4, Supervirus Part I: Nature Oct 27, 2017

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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.

Rafael Alves-Batista: Cosmic Rays and the Multiverse Oct 21, 2017

Show notes

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.

News: Neutron Star Merger, Yay Science! Oct 16, 2017

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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!

TEOTWAWKI 5: Peak Oil Oct 14, 2017

Show notes

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.

2017 Nobel Prize Special: Gravitational Waves Oct 04, 2017

Show notes

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.

TEOTWAWKI 6: Malthus' Revenge Sep 30, 2017

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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

XRiskology: Existential Risks with Phil Torres, Part I Sep 24, 2017

Show notes

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.

TEOTWAWKI 7 - Supervolcanoes Sep 15, 2017

Show notes

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

Bonus Episode: Solar Panels + Splitting Sunbeams Sep 10, 2017

Show notes

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.

TEOTWAWKI 8: Cyberwarfare Sep 02, 2017

Show notes

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!

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