Superhero Physics

Faster than a speeding bullet? Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Superman may be confined to the comics, but could his superpowers exist in the natural world? On this program, Prof. James Kakalios discussed the Physics of Superheroes.

But, what about the supervillains? ;)

Music Notes:
Segment 1: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Segment 2: Star Wars remix
Outro: Garage Groks

Ambidextrous Universe?

Symmetry or parity is intriguing, not only in the arts and music, but also in science and the natural world. Interestingly, parity may not be conserved between the mirror images of molecules and consequently their energies would not be equivalent. On this program, Professor Robert Harris and Gina discuss how parity violation could be observed using sum frequency generation experiments.

I wonder if there are any achiral mammals out there? :)

Music Notes
1st Seg - Wizard of Oz (Bobby McFerrin)
2nd Seg - Variations on a Theme by Paganini (Maxim Vengerov)
Outro - Wallace and Grommit

Afterlife science

The afterlife is generally the subject of theology, but what can science contribute to the issue? On this program, Mary Roach discusses the science of the afterlife.

I just hope my degree will be useful after death...

Music Notes:
Segue 1: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Segue 2: Return to Life

Climate Wisdom

Last year, 2005, has now been confirmed as the warmest year on record, but what must be done to stop this dangerous trend of global warming? Profs. Carl McDaniel and Stephen Schneider joined us on this program to discuss how these climate issues are best communicated to the public.

Sure, the probability of climate disaster may be small, but would you still take your chances if you knew that there was a 1% probability that your brakes would fail today....hmmmm :)

Music Notes
Intro - Japanese Telecom
1st Seg - Alegria (Cirque du Soleil)
2nd Seg - Theme to Stargate