AaS! 88: Is the Drake Equation Useful?
What does the Drake Equation teach us about extraterrestrial civilizations? What does it NOT teach us? What complexities does it hide? Is it even science? I discuss these questions and more in today's...
18 Sep 201833min
AaS! 87: How Do Magnets Work?
What's the connection between motion and magnetism? How can something like a black hole have a magnetic field? What's the connection to quantum mechanics? How did Einstein use magnetism to develop spe...
4 Sep 201831min
AaS! 86: Why Do We Need Cosmic Inflation? (Part 2)
Part 2! What was going in the very early universe? How does inflation provide the seeds of larger structures? How can we possibly test this? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spacema...
21 Aug 201833min
AaS! 85: Why Do We Need Cosmic Inflation? (Part 1)
Part 1! What are some weaknesses with the standard Big Bang model? What are the horizon and flatness problems? How does accelerated expansion solve these? I discuss these questions and more in today's...
7 Aug 201834min
AaS! 84: How Does Dark Energy Accelerate the Universe?
What is the cosmological constant? How is the expansion of the universe related to quantum fields? How does a vacuum energy produce accelerated expansion? I discuss these questions and more in today's...
17 Juli 201843min
AaS! 83: Can Entangled Particles Communicate Faster Than Light?
What is a quantum state? How can two particles share the same state? What is entanglement, and does it really allow for faster-than-light communication? I discuss these questions and more in today's A...
3 Juli 201832min
AaS! 82: What Awoke the Cosmic Dawn?
Were the dark ages really dark? What is a perturbation, and how did they grow in the early universe? When the first stars awoke, what happened? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spac...
19 Juni 201835min
AaS! 81: How Do You Build a Rocket-Ship?
What does momentum have to do with rockets? Why are nozzles so dang important? What is a "potent mixture", anyway? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http:...
5 Juni 201831min
