S3 E2: Out Of Little Things

Wild Thing

Foxtopus Ink

Science

4.8 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How did we figure out that such a tiny particle—an atom—held all that power? For that matter, what is an atom? A primer on the basics of atomic energy—including its destructive capabilities—to help us better understand the events that unfolded roughly 20 years later at SL-1. We’ll get a (basic!) lesson in nuclear physics from scientists, and explore some of the history that brought atomic power to the Idaho desert.

*Become a premium subscriber to Wild Thing! Premium subscribers get each new episode early, and exclusive access to all bonus episodes, not to mention the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting the show. Go to https://wildthing.supportingcast.fm/ to find out more!

*Season 3 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lincoln. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.

*Find us on social media - @wildthingpod - and on our website https://wildthingpodcast.com/

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	We're going to think small here for a minute.
0:02.0	Very small. Subatomic.
0:04.5	Imagine an infinitesimally tiny particle, a neutron,
0:07.9	slamming into a much larger atom.
0:10.3	As that atom splits apart,
0:12.3	it releases huge amounts of energy.
0:14.8	Enough to power...
0:17.8	Um... nothing?
0:19.6	At least nothing that you and I can see with the naked eye.
0:22.8	One atom is very, very small.
0:26.4	And while it does release a huge amount of energy,
0:29.3	relative to its size,
0:31.1	we'd need to split a lot more open
0:33.1	before we get any visible results.
0:35.6	So I'm probably going to sound pretty dumb when I say
0:38.4	that I'd never really stop to think about how the phrase
0:41.6	splitting the atom wasn't just about one atom.
0:45.1	It's about splitting a lot of them
0:47.1	in really fast succession,
0:48.6	known as a chain reaction,
0:50.6	which duh, of course.
0:52.6	Now that I think about it makes total sense.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Foxtopus Ink, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Foxtopus Ink and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.