Shows
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastHow the work of one researcher, Dr Clair Patterson, brought the fall of leaded gasoline and discovered the age of the Earth! Time for someone who some have called the greatest scientist you have not heard of. Likely the reason average IQ's have no fallen (even if it feels like they have - idiocracy)!This is the sibling episode to the last one. The rise of Leaded Gas. This time the story starts with Dr. Clair Patterson a geochemist. Before the PhD and discovering the age of the Earth, Clair Patterson and his wife Laurie (also a chemist) became civilians working on the Manhattan project. No not in New Mexico designing the bomb like depicted in the movie Oppenheimer...2025-07-2131 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastScientific and Historical look at The rise Leaded Gasoline - When industry poisoned the worldToday we are going to start to cover a real scientific disaster story. No it isn’t the hollywood variety although maybe it should be. We have the movie Oppenheimer although to tell the whole story here requires multiple main characters. Perhaps a TV series then. I have known I wanted to tell this story for some time but have struggled on the best way.It starts at the gas pump and the question: Ever wondered why all pumps say “unleaded gas”? Or perhaps asked the question why would they need to? This is a story about scient...2025-07-0740 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastSierra Negra volcano's internal dynamics through gravity and deformation with Dr Antonina Calahorrano-Di PatreDeformation and gravity go hand in hand in volcano monitoring like hot apple pie and icecream. They fit together great. as these two techniques tell us so much more together than separately.This time I reached out to a friend to share her research!Remember volcanic eruptions are dynamic. The amount of force and material involved in an eruption … Even if the eruption is small the changes can be significant to the overall system. Volcanologists can see or image magma chambers that are close to the surface through a number of different monitoring te...2025-06-231h 17
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastInsects breathe?! An inside look at insect evolution through respiration with Dr Hollister HerholdThis time it is all about insects and their respiratory systems?! They represent so much of the biomass on earth.Depending on the study and methods used there is more weight on earth within insects than humans. With over 8 billion humans and each of us weighs a lot more than an insect…… There are a lot of them. They form the backbone of many ecosystems.Today though we will specifically focus on their respiratory system. How do they breathe? It is not like they have lungs like we do. Or gills like fish. I vaguely reme...2025-06-0953 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastModeling dwarf galaxies to probe the early universe with Dr. Eric AnderssonThere is so much we don’t understand about the early universe. Or any part of the universe not nearby. Part of the reason for this is time and distance. The universe as we understand/see it today started ~13.8 billion years ago. So how do we test something that we cannot view or experience? The evolution of galaxies takes place over billions of years. We cannot track its changes over the eons because human history is in the thousands of years and observations of the deep cosmos can be measured in decades. Yes we can see many sn...2025-05-2657 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastA tale of disappearing Seas, The Mediterranean sea basically drys up! - The Messinian Salinity CrisisThe Earth is dynamic. All of it. Plate tectonics, weather, ocean currents, biosphere, cryosphere, extraterrestrial like solar events, meteorites, nearby supernovaeAnd on and on and onBut the seas are constant right? I mean that they exist. They have almost always existed. No I am not going back to Porto oceans some 4 billion years ago! I am referring to the mediterranean! I hope you are up for a salty tale of disappearing sea.This episode is all me. Because I like this topic, I have enough background to tell the story after...2025-05-1235 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastGravitational Lensing Part 2! Strong Lensing, modeling and so much more!Welcome back to Part 2 of Gravitational lenses on Whimsical Wavelengths. In part 2 we finally get to the real star of the show, strong gravitational lensing and the paper that was underlying the topic.“Euclid: A complete Einstein ring in NGC 6505 “A lot less to setup this time. No need to stretch this out like gravity stretches time. But.....How did gravity stop the reckless driver?It pulled some strings… mainly the ones holding the car to the road.Before everything gets pulled downhill, time to jump in Please...2025-04-281h 01
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastGravitational Lensing - Micro, weak, and Strong Oh MY! with Dr Georgios VernardosWhimsical wavelengths is here again to show that it is useless to fight gravity.Every time I have, it has brought me down.To begin I'll mention Newtonian mechanics of gravity here in the show notes as it works really well for nearly all things within our solar system. But there are things that does not fit. Mercury’s orbit is one famous example. It gave the wrong prediction for the precession of Mercury's closest point to the sun.Then Einstein developed a theory about space…And it was about time!2025-04-1454 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastUmami, taste and Kitchen Chemistry of food ingredients! Delicious with guest Dr Bryan LeToday the topic should do more then whimsically tickle your ears, Today I have a guest to get the slobbering sensor in your mouth working. Yup buckle in for a flavorful ride!So I guess definitions first. Food Science is a discipline that investigates food chemistry, food microbiology, physical, sensory, and nutritional properties of food. The discipline also gets into the process of making the food with respect to the manufacture, preservation, quality assurance, and development of food products.If your favourite snack food is ummmm bet you can’t eat just one? It is pr...2025-03-3149 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastThe whimsical sounds of the Birds, Ornithology and why birds sing, territory and more with Miranda ZammarelliToday the pod shows its fitness with im-peck-able wordplay. That's right, today's episode is for the birds. At least those which have a raven-ous appetite for knowledge.Our guest, PhD candidate Miranda Zammarelli (Dartmouth College) has research that takes place in what I guess can be best described as the closest we can get for lab conditions in the natural world. The site for her work is the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest - located in New Hampshire.The forest is her laboratory and this discussion does its best to get at how and why it...2025-03-1736 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastClimate Change - weather, climate & science communications. Frank discussion with Research Meteorologist Jared RennieWelcome back where everyone comes to hear sunny quips and cloudy cuckles! Yes we at Whimsical wavelengths are amazing at precipitating a good story. Today the pod gets into climate vs weather and the increasing extremes. It might feel odd that a general science podcast would take soooooo long to get around to a climate episode. Well it is because the data is overwhelming, humans have changed the chemistry of our atmosphere which is causing it to change. That is an observable fact. No political beliefs or anything else in that. What to do about...2025-03-0354 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastInvestigating the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa Volcano using gravity: what created the Ninole Hills? Today I am picking my favourite paper that I wrote. The origin of Mauna Loa's Ninole Hills - Evidence of rift zone reorganization. In geophysical research letters in 2015. It is already nearly 10 years old!Well then a 10 year anniversary tour then?In the past 4000 years lava has repaved 90% of Mauna Loa’s surface! Mauna Loa is huge. It is a very dynamic place. The Ninole Hills are 100,000 to 200,000 years old. Something special must have allowed for these rocks to be at the surface and not buried beneath newer lava flows. Today we are going to di...2025-02-1733 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastPaleontology & Theropods PART2! Soooo good it needed a sequel - With Dr François TherrienPart2 jumps in where part 1 left off so more about Theropods! specifically about one of Dr François Therrien's recent studies about a Gorgosaurus and what was found inside its stomach!!!! did I forget to mention T-shirt giveaway?incase you missed it from the notes of the last episode:Dr François Therrien - The Curator of Dinosaur Palaeoecology at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller Alberta https://tyrrellmuseum.com/Dr François Therrien's Professional Highlights (lifted from the museum's website)Discovered the first feathered dinosaurs from North America.Researched Cry...2025-02-0342 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastJurassic Park 30 years of Paleontology & T-Rex (Theropods) - With Dr François TherrienGreat discussion! Soooooooo good I split it into two parts! In Part 1 we start retro!It's hard for me to think of 1993 as retro. But yes that is where we are going, Jurassic Park. Honestly, what a movie! It was how you say DINO -might!. Dinosaurs brought to life on the big screen in ways that had not been done previously. Not only was the movie good (the book too btw), I think it was pretty accurate to what we understood at the time. We will find out in a moment but I suspect it was like...2025-01-2043 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastNikola Tesla Pt2 - The Conspiracy Files? The other stuff? Last time in part 1 we covered Nikola Tesla's backstory and some of his accomplishments. In part 2 we cover things that are conspiratorial or not feasible like a death ray, limitless free power and electric universe......... ie crazy stuffYa his legacy is complicated. ... need more proof take a listen.Epic Rap Battles of History Nikola Tesla vs Thomas Edison: https://youtu.be/gJ1Mz7kGVf0?si=HczKueWG7xXFwmryIn case you missed it from last ep. I really need to get better at making videos as this goes on.Demo for...2025-01-0627 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastNikola Tesla- The man, the myth, the legend Pt1 - Back story and accomplishmentsNikola Tesla has been credited with large leaps forward like AC current and wireless transmission. Including things that are conspiratorial or not feasible like a death ray and limitless free power. Ya his legacy is complicated. So fire up the device and lets get going with this episode!Here is a demo for a Tesla Coil by me! :https://youtu.be/DQK1zZ87Gko?si=yw4C0AABspUCNTYsSome of the stuff I read to gather information. There was more but I forgot to write it down while doing my normal life.Books2024-12-2327 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastDinosaurs and the mammal longevity gap, Evolutionary Biology - Guest Associate Professor Molly BurkeThis time we take a deep dive into an hypothesis The longevity bottleneck hypothesis: Could dinosaurs have shaped ageing in present-day mammals?” by João Pedro de Magalhãeshttps://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202300098See our branch of the animal kingdom, mammals, first evolved around 200 million years ago. During the age of dinosaurs. To quote the paper “long evolutionary pressure on early mammals for rapid reproduction led to the loss or inactivation of genes and pathways associated with long life”To talk about this and look at the evolution of aging, the wonderful and fantasti...2024-12-0939 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastNASA's Lucky Peanuts - Interview with JPL's Dr Morgan Cable This episode cracks open the history and traditions of NASA (ie. Lucky peanuts) to get to the nutty goodness, which includes hard science and looking towards future missions! To explore this Dr. Morgan Cable joins the pod! Dr. Morgan Cable is a research scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Science Lead for the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor concept and Co-Deputy PI of the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) Instrument aboard the Mars 2020 (Perseverance) rover, also apart of the Cassini, Dragonfly and the Europa Clipper missions in various ways. Links and descriptions of things...2024-11-2539 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastWhat is High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) and it's conspiracies? There are just some research programs that some people find scary. Some make sense. Playing with radioactive material or pathogens can be risky! What about the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP)?HAARP is located in Gakona, Alaska a joint project between government agencies and the University of Alaska. It studies the ionosphere and its potential to improve radio communications and surveillance technology.Government involvement? Surveillance? seems like a ripe topic for conspiracy theorists who do not trust institutions and don't have a firm grasp science and technology. So let's explore what some "think" this...2024-11-1124 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastThe predicted impending Nova from T Coronae Borealis! An interview with Dr David ZurekToday I interview a researcher from the American Museum of Natural History, my uncle, Dr David Zurek about Novea. Yes the same institution where the famous Neil deGrasse Tyson resides.What brought this episode about? Well ~3000 light years away from Earth, a white dwarf star named T Coronae Borealis known to astronomers simply as “T CrB,” is about to have a brief but powerful runaway nuclear reaction! Only issue is it's late! Join Whimsical Wavelengths and the discussion of two Dr Zurek's with respect to the Hubble Space Telescope, Novea (the correct plural) and runaway nuclear reactions!2024-10-2847 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastDante's Peak Pt2 - ballistics, lava and earthquakes Oh my! with SFU's Volcanology GroupWelcome back to the podcast that talks scientifically about disaster movies? Yes it has been two weeks so here is the next installment of Whimsical Wavelengths! This time we join some colleagues, from Simon Fraser University's Volcanology Group, to watch the best(?) volcano movie ever made by "Hollywood". Dante's Peak. James bond becomes a volcanologist.We tackle the science and the volcanic activity over beers. Learn about volcanic activity, a few stories from the field and a bit more about how decisions are made in a crisis. We use our own examples from volcanoes around...2024-10-1453 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastDante's Peak Part 1 a Primer Episode 2 is here! Setting up some background for hopefully understanding the discussion when a handful of fellow volcanologists watch Dante's Peak together! Yes that's right this is Whimsical Wavelengths where we over explain disaster movies! And attempt to show you igneous is bliss! Where Mt St Helens gets it's magma? What are the signs of a long dormant volcano becoming active? Ever wonder how a stereotypical volcanic crisis unfolds? Then you are in the right place!Links for Whimsical Wavelengths: www.facebook.com/WhimsicalWavelengths instagram: @whimsical.wavelengths ...2024-09-3025 min
Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science PodcastIntroduction and a short history of wavelengthsThe first episode! An introduction to the podcast and looking at the history of wavelengths. Kind of like a long trailer. Full of bad science "dad" jokes and puns while weaving a tale through history.Future episodes will include guests from NASA, my previous research group, American Museum of natural History and other academics who are experts on the topics focused on, Sometimes the host, like this first episode, will be on his own looking at topics like volcanic eruptions or tackling modern-day scientific conspiracy theories.www.facebook.com/WhimsicalWavelengthsinstagram: @whimsical.wavelengths2024-09-1715 min