Some Like It Cold

Big Picture Science

Science, Technology

4.5 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2013

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We all may prefer the goldilocks zone – not too hot, not too cold. But most of the universe is bitterly cold. We can learn a lot about it if we’re willing to brave a temperature drop. A chilly Arctic island is the closest thing to Mars-on-Earth for scientists who want to go to the Red Planet. Meanwhile, the ice sheet at the South Pole is ideal for catching neutrinos – ghostly particles that may reveal secrets about the nature of the universe. Comet ISON is comet ice-off after its passage close to the Sun, but it’s still giving us the word on solar system’s earliest years. Also, scientists discover the coldest spot on Earth. A champion chill, but positively balmy compared to absolute zero. Why reaching a temperature of absolute zero is impossible, although we’ve gotten very, very close. Guests: Francis Halzen – Physicist, University of Wisconsin-Madison, principal investigator of The IceCube Neutrino Observatory Ted Scambos – Glaciologist, lead scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado Pascal Lee – Planetary scientist, SETI Institute, director, NASA Haughton-Mars Project, and co-founder of the Mars Institute. His new book is Mission: Mars Andrew Fraknoi – Chair, astronomy department, Foothill College Vladan Vuletić – Physicist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:51.0	If you want to go where the action is, biologically speaking, you go to the equatorial
0:59.0	regions, the tropics.
1:00.9	Half of all animal species are there as well as 80% of all plant species. Why? Well, heat is good.
1:07.0	There's more energy when it's hot. Everything can grow faster. But heat speeds up things in general. Molecules have more energy, they move more, they bang into each other.
1:17.0	And some of the most impressive phenomena in our universe happen at high temperatures,
1:21.0	Supernovae, black holes swallowing gas and stars.
1:25.0	Although most of us live life in cozy comfort within the Goldilocks zone.
1:30.0	A bit of chill in here. Let's see. Thermostats says 71. Oh my. I'll just crank the furnace up a tad.
	...

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