Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Quantum Computing at Room Temperature?



Today we’ll talk about raisins. Yes, raisins. Quasars with dark matter halos, pink diamonds, the last moments of a dying satellite, a new type of qubit, maybe, how to measure the length of the day with lasers, a new treatment method for brain cancer that’s got something to do with quantum mechanics, whether climate change drives migration, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

A written version of our weekly Science News goes out on Substack
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Does the Universe have a Purpose?

If people knew one thing about Steven Weinberg, it’d be a quote from one of his books: “The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.” In this video, I want to speculate about what he might have meant. Is the universe pointless?



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Monday, September 18, 2023

Possible signs of life on an exoplanet



Today we talk about the possibly first evidence for life on an exoplanet, with some caveats, chaos at the centre of the Milky Way, earthquake lights, a really old rock, noise cancellation for qubits, good news about air pollution, wifi that can see through walls, origami robots, the 2024 Breakthrough Prizes, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

A written version of our weekly Science News goes out on Substack
NEW: We now also have a podcast!

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Don't trust me, I'm an influencer

In this video, I talk about how we talk, or how we communicate information on social media in general. Why is it so difficult to communicate on social media, what’s a parasocial relationship, and what are the problems with it?



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Climate scientist boasts about fudging own paper



Today we talk about a bubble of galaxies, a climate scientist who made his own paper worse, double magic oxygen, a chemical reaction slowed down 100 billion times, maxwell’s demon in biology, intelligent life on earth, the launch of a new X-ray space mission, drone racing, and of course the telephone will ring.

Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

NEW: We're now also on Substack!

Saturday, September 09, 2023

All you need to know about web3

What is web3? I've tried to figure it out and here is my summary of what I have learned. Tbh I have been a little befuddled by what's going on. Let me know what you think about all that in the comments.



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Saturday, September 02, 2023

Capitalism is good. Let me explain

Is capitalism the reason the world is going to hell in a hand basket? Or is it going to save us? What is capitalism anyway? How does money work and when do free markets fail? This video is a brief summary of a dip I did into microeconomics literature in a dark hour of my life.



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Do your own research. But do it right.

It's of course totally okay if you do your own research. But you should watch out for a few things.



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Quantum Superchemistry: First Experimental Observation



Today we talk about superchemistry, music in the brain, how to create matter from light, contrails, objects that take strange turns, why phone batteries might soon become replaceable, how to control fire, why we have to think about preventing hurricanes, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

NEW: We're now also on Substack!

Saturday, August 19, 2023

A global mental health crisis? Really?

It's in the headlines everywhere that the world is going through a mental health crisis. Though, when you take a closer look, all the headlines are coming from the United States. Is there a global mental health crisis? Is it localized to just the US? That's what we talk about today.



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Sun is brighter than we thought



Today we talk about the muon anomaly at fermilab, say good-bye to LK99, hear from scientists who say that sun is brighter than we thought, look at a new ion trap, talk about talk about a cold blob, plans for a new space station, delay with NASA’s trip to the moon, freeze rays, the smallest traffic light ever, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

NEW: We're now also on Substack!

Saturday, August 12, 2023

How Dead is Moore's Law?

I've been trying to understand the limits to Moore's law and looked into what technologies are under development to push it further.



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Tuesday, August 08, 2023

Superconductor LK99 Update



Today I have an update on the reproduction efforts for the supposed room temperature superconductor, LK 99, the first images from the Euclid mission, more trouble with Starlink satellites, first results from a new simulation for cosmological structure formation, how to steer drops with ultrasound, bacteria that make plastic, an improvement for wireless power transfer, better earthquake warnings, an attempt to predict war, and of course the telephone will ring.

Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

NEW: We're now also on Substack!

Saturday, August 05, 2023

Evidence for new physics? Or not?

Some physicists are claiming that there is something "wrong" with our understanding of the universe. Oftentimes, it's just to justify asking for funding for new experiments, a better detector, a new telescope, a bigger collider, but what if there's something more than that? Do we have evidence of new physics? Or not? In this video, we will look at dark matter and dark energy, quantum gravity, the mass of the Higgs-boson, neutrino masses, and the matter-antimatter asymmetry.



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Monday, July 31, 2023

LK99 -- A new room temperature superconductor?



Today we’ll talk about the new superconductor claim, bad news for new physics, a quantum radar, how to print origami, space-based solar power for a moon station, a dire prediction for the collapse of an ocean circulation, Europe’s first hyperloop test, why NASA shoots lasers at the rain forest, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

NEW: We're now also on Substack!

Saturday, July 29, 2023

How to spot and avoid greenwashing

Many companies try to appear environmentally friendly without making a real difference, a strategy that’s been dubbed “greenwashing”. So, is calling a product or service “eco-friendly” just a ploy of companies to get more money out of us? What are the consequences for climate change? And how can we spot those fake claims? That’s what we’ll talk about today.



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Einstein was right, again!



Today we’ll talk about Einstein, who was right again, metals that heal, a new type of stellar object, a quantum drum, how conscious awareness comes about, maybe, a better way to tell apart alien signals from boring human signals, a hot spot on the moon, illegal trade of hazardous chemicals, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

NEW: We're now also on Substack!

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Electric Vehicles: How difficult will the transition be?

As several of you have pointed out, our recent video on electric vehicles contained several mistakes and omissions. Though now that I think about it, I'm not sure something can contain an omission. In any case, I decided to take it down and here is the revised version.



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Saturday, July 22, 2023

How scientific are personality tests?

Have you ever taken a personality test? I certainly did. Recently I began wondering what they actually tell me. Is there science behind those tests? Or are they just better horoscopes? In this video, I'll tell you what I've found.



Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Evidence for Dark Stars in Webb Telescope Data



Today we’ll fly 13 billion years back in time, talk about dark stars, quantum payments, the efficiency of solar cells, rubber that counts, a biodiversity cycle, scientists who shoot lasers at lava, how to dissolve plastic, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Transcript, links to references, and discussion on Patreon.

NEW: We're now also on Substack!