Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
These interesting podcasts come from the University of Utah Department of Physics and Astronomy and describe how physics is utilized by the human body for every day activities like blood pressure, running vision, breathing, and hearing. They talk about how strokes are caused, blisters are formed ,how sun screens work and how diseases are caused. Listen as Richard ingebretsen MD, PhD helps us understand how physics helps to operate our bodies.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Physics-based explanations of human physiology•Motion and biomechanics: walking, running, acceleration, vertigo•Forces, pressure, friction, trauma•Pain and injuries: feet, knees, back, blisters•Metabolism and energy•Medical imaging: MRI, X‑rays•Senses and organs: nervous system, ear, eye, heart•Sunscreen physicsThis podcast explores how fundamental principles of physics help explain everyday functions of the human body and many common medical issues. Drawing on topics from biomechanics, fluid dynamics, electromagnetism, and materials science, it connects physical laws to movement, sensation, and health. A recurring focus is how forces and pressure act within tissues and organs, including how abnormal pressure can contribute to problems in the body and how blood flow and blood pressure relate to the heart’s work.
A substantial portion of the content applies physics to human motion and the stresses created by standing, walking, and running. The discussions commonly frame pain and injury in terms of how loads are distributed and how quickly forces change, linking impacts and sudden stopping to trauma, and examining how structure (such as the foot’s arches) affects stress on joints. Friction and repetitive motion are used to explain why tendons, muscles, and joints can become irritated, and similar mechanical ideas are applied to skin injury, including how blisters form and what factors influence their prevention.
The podcast also addresses how the body senses and processes the physical world. It describes the mechanics behind balance and the detection of acceleration, relating vertigo to Newton’s laws and the inner ear’s role. Vision and hearing are treated as systems for converting waves and vibrations into signals the brain can interpret, alongside broader explanations of nerve signaling and why there can be perceptible delays in pain.
In addition, the show introduces physics-based medical technologies and everyday health tools. It explains how MRI relies on magnets and resonance to generate images, how X-rays are produced and interact with the body for imaging and certain treatments, and how sunscreens work by managing the interaction between sunlight and skin. Metabolism is also framed as an energy-extraction process tied to electrons from food, linking chemistry and physics to how the body powers itself.
| Episodes: |
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Under Pressure 2024-Aug-20 12 minutes |
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Those Electrons We Eat 2024-Aug-20 22 minutes |
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Born to Run 2024-Aug-20 18 minutes |
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Walking - The Physics of Moving Our Legs 2024-Aug-20 9 minutes |
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Physics, Bones and Trauma 2024-Aug-20 13 minutes |
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Arches and the Physics of Foot Pain 2024-Aug-15 14 minutes |
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Knee Pain - The Physics That Causes Our Knees to Hurt. 2024-Aug-15 17 minutes |
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The Physics Behind Back Pain 2024-Aug-15 18 minutes |
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Friction and the Cause of Joint,Tendon and Muscle Pain 2024-Aug-15 18 minutes |
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The Physics of Blisters 2024-Aug-15 20 minutes |
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How the Body Detects Acceleration: Vertigo and Newton's Laws 2024-Aug-15 13 minutes |
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MRI - The Magnetic Resonance In Our Bodies 2023-Jul-24 14 minutes |
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X-rays in Medicine 2023-Jul-23 18 minutes |
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The Physics of Sunscreens 2023-Jul-20 18 minutes |
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The Human Nervous System 2023-Jul-09 20 minutes |
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The Human Ear 2023-Jun-27 12 minutes |
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The Human Eye 2023-Jun-27 14 minutes |
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The Human Heart 2023-Jun-26 25 minutes |