Science, Spoken

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A New Fuel for Satellites Is So Safe It Won’t Blow Up Humans Jun 18, 2019

Show notes

Later this month, a small satellite will hitch a ride on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the world’s first demonstration of “green” satellite propellant in space. The satellite is fueled by AFM-315, which the Air Force first developed more than 20 years ago as an alternative to the typical satellite juice of choice, hydrazine.

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Remembering Gabriele Grunewald, Who Ran For Herself and Others Jun 17, 2019

Show notes

The image is hard to look at now without crying: a thick red scar, carved across Gabriele Grunewald’s midriff as she flies around the track. At first it looks like it shouldn’t be there; perhaps it’s just an out-of-place shadow. But soon it becomes obvious what it truly is: a symbol of perseverance and pain.

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Blame Utilities for Wildfires. But Blame Everyone Else Too Jun 17, 2019

Show notes

It’s hard to feel sorry for the California utility PG&E, considering that officials blamed its equipment for starting nearly every major fire in the state in 2017. Last year, it was responsible for igniting the Camp Fire, which killed 85 and destroyed almost 20,000 structures. The problem is typically wind, which jostles electric lines, raining sparks onto parched vegetation below. So just cut the power when it’s particularly hot and dry and windy, right? If only it were so easy.

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Estimate the Energy of an Utterly Massive Wind Turbine Jun 14, 2019

Show notes

It's amazing that we can get electrical power just from the wind, but that's exactly what happens with a wind farm. It's a collection of wind turbines in a particular location with abundant wind. And as with many things, bigger is better. The Hornsea Wind Farm, for example, is being built 75 miles off the coast of Yorkshire, England, and upon completion it is expected to be the biggest offshore wind farm in the world.

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The Top Secret Cold War Project That Pulled Climate Science From the Ice Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

In 1961—the year before he became the anchorman for CBS News—Walter Cronkite visited Camp Century, an unusual military compound on the Greenland ice sheet. Carved under the snow and ice, Camp Century had a main street and prefab housing for 250 soldiers and scientists—all powered by a pint-sized nuclear reactor.

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Here’s What a $52 Million Ticket to the ISS Will Get You Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

So you have $52 million burning a hole in your pocket and just can’t decide what to do with it. Buy a private island? Too cliche. A new McLaren? You have enough of those. Pay off college administrators? Your kids have already graduated.

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More Scientists Now Think Geoengineering May Be Essential Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

This story originally appeared on Yale Environment 360 and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Once seen as spooky sci-fi, geoengineering to halt runaway climate change is now being looked at with growing urgency.

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New Space Telescopes Could Look Like Giant Beach Balls Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

If we ever have giant inflatable telescopes in space, you can thank Chris Walker’s mom. Years ago, Walker was making chocolate pudding when he had to interrupt his culinary undertaking to field a phone call from his mother. He took the pudding off the stovetop, covered it with plastic wrap, and placed the pot on the floor by his couch. When the call was finished, he was startled to find an image of a lightbulb from a nearby lamp hovering over the end of the couch.

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The First Murder Case to Use Family Tree Forensics Goes to Trial Jun 11, 2019

Show notes

On a clear day, from the middle of a well-trafficked stretch of reinforced concrete that spans the Snoqualmie River, you can just make out the hulking, ice-covered flanks of Mount Rainier. Locals bring their dogs here to the “High Bridge” to swim on their lunch breaks; high school kids in oversized hoodies pick their way through the raspberry thickets looking for a shady spot to light up.

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The Heady, Thorny Journey to Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms Jun 11, 2019

Show notes

In an airy Denver cafe populated almost entirely by young people staring at laptops, Travis Tyler Fluck—dressed in an orange velour jacket, over which is draped a thin braided lock of hair—takes out his phone and pulls up Craigslist. A quick search lands him on a post advertising $10 magic mushrooms, with a poorly lit photo of said mushrooms.

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