Twitter: @PhysicsWorld (followed by 375 accounts on physicist, mathematician, and astronomer lists)
Site: physicsworld.com/l/audio
100 episodes
2021 to present
Average episode: 38 minutes
Open in Apple Podcasts • RSS
Categories: Interview-Style • Physics
Podcaster's summary: Physics World Weekly offers a unique insight into the latest news, breakthroughs and innovations from the global scientific community. Our award-winning journalists reveal what has captured their imaginations about the stories in the news this week, which might span anything from quantum physics and astronomy through to materials science, environmental research and policy, and biomedical science and technology. Find out more about the stories in this podcast by visiting the Physics World website. If you enjoy what you hear, then also check out our monthly podcast Physics World Stories, which takes a more in-depth look at a specific theme.
| Episodes |
| 2023-Mar-23 • 36 minutes From war torn Damascus to success as an aviation engineer and pilot, a refugee’s journey Maya Ghazal talks about her successes in aeronautics despite facing prejudice in secondary education |
| 2023-Mar-16 • 31 minutes Nonlinear optics: we explore the science and its many applications This podcast features two experts in nonlinear optics |
| 2023-Mar-09 • 30 minutes Revamping undergraduate physics degrees with a focus on translational skills This podcast explores how graduates and employers would benefit from changing how physics is taught |
| 2023-Mar-02 • 42 minutes Machine learning joins the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence Meet three astronomers who have identified potential technosignatures |
| 2023-Feb-23 • 44 minutes Creativity for scientists: how to build an innovation culture in your university, company or research group This podcast features Dennis Sherwood, a creativity consultant and author |
| 2023-Feb-16 • 35 minutes The chatbot revolution: how physicists are using large language models in academia This podcast features physicist and chatbot enthusiast Matt Hodgson |
| 2023-Feb-09 • 34 minutes Using radar to detect cosmic neutrinos in ice sheets, why Leo Szilard changed his mind on nuclear weapons This podcast features the particle physicist Steven Prohira |
| 2023-Feb-02 • 34 minutes Atomic clocks put Einstein and the Standard Model to the test, UK’s XFEL plans enter design phase In this podcast we chat about comparing atomic clocks and plans for a free electron laser |
| 2023-Jan-26 • 29 minutes Quantum technologies benefit from the bottom-up approach of synthetic chemistry This podcast features a chemist who creates molecular qubits |
| 2023-Jan-19 • 51 minutes Seeking cosmic particles using a super-pressure balloon, the physics of babies This podcast features the principal investigator of the EUSO-SPB2 mission |
| 2023-Jan-12 • 39 minutes New directions in environmental health and ecology, innovation in science and technology is waning This podcast features the editors-in-chief of two new environmental journals |
| 2023-Jan-05 • 30 minutes Nuclear waste: how environmental radiochemistry is improving storage and site remediation Katherine Morris talks about her research on the behaviour of radioactive contaminants |
| 2022-Dec-15 • 24 minutes How to deflect an asteroid: DART’s Andrew Cheng on the Physics World Breakthrough of the Year Mission scientist recalls one of the greatest moments of his life |
| 2022-Dec-08 • 32 minutes Top 10 Breakthroughs of 2022: we explore this year’s best physics research This podcast features a lively chat about the best physics results of 2022 |
| 2022-Dec-02 • 40 minutes The physics of car crashes and the winners of the Institute of Physics Business Awards In this podcast we celebrate innovation and learn how to thwart insurance cheats |
| 2022-Nov-24 • 40 minutes Synchrotrons and space telescopes: looking to the future of big science In this podcast we talk about light-source facilities and NASA’s plans for the future |
| 2022-Nov-17 • 39 minutes Meteorites and magnetostrophic mathematics reveal unsung scientific heroes of the past In this podcast we celebrate the applied mathematician Donna Elbert and a forgotten Black student who found a unique meteorite |
| 2022-Nov-10 • 34 minutes Artificial intelligence boosts multimessenger astronomy, ‘Quantum on the Clock’ winners In this podcast we look to the future of gravitational-wave astronomy and meet the winners of a video competition |
| 2022-Nov-03 • 46 minutes Finding commercial success in the burgeoning quantum-technology sector This podcast features three executives from quantum-computing companies |
| 2022-Oct-27 • 35 minutes Celebrating joy in #BlackInPhysics week, open-access publishing supports climate justice In this podcast we speak to two #BlackInPhysics week essayists and a climate justice researcher |
| 2022-Oct-20 • 42 minutes Sand battery stores renewable energy, the economics of domestic heat pumps and solar panels In this podcast we look at greener technologies for energy |
| 2022-Oct-13 • 31 minutes Nuclear forensics keeps tabs on radioactive materials, big science summer school launches in Spain In this podcast we chat about nuclear diamond batteries and materials for fusion reactors |
| 2022-Oct-06 • 48 minutes The weird and wonderful history of quantum entanglement that led to this year’s Nobel prize In this podcast we delve into the curious phenomenon at the heart of the 2022 prize |
| 2022-Sep-29 • 48 minutes Start-up company aims to build laser-driven particle accelerators In this podcast we also chat about physicists who have won non-physics Nobel prizes |
| 2022-Sep-22 • 47 minutes Materials science for women’s health, the rise of Chinese science, Schrödinger fails in Oxford In this podcast we also talk about a quantum sensor for electric vehicles |
| 2022-Sep-15 • 31 minutes Quantum computers could soon bring breakthroughs in nuclear physics In this podcast we explore how quantum computers have captured the imaginations of nuclear physicists |
| 2022-Sep-08 • 30 minutes Meet an engineer who blows things up to help preserve lives and property In this podcast we explore the physics of explosions |
| 2022-Sep-01 • 25 minutes Brain–computer interfaces offer hope to those with neurological disorders and injuries This podcast features the chief neuroscientist of company developing an operating system for BCIs |
| 2022-Aug-25 • 38 minutes UK’s Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics bridges the gap between science and commercial research and development This podcast features three researchers at the Glasgow institute |
| 2022-Aug-18 • 33 minutes Roasting New Mexico chile with a solar concentrator, Diamond: The Game simulates research at a synchrotron lab In this podcast we learn how to cook with the Sun and how to create a scientific board game |
| 2022-Aug-11 • 35 minutes Building a science centre that will inspire local communities, musing over first lines in science books In this podcast we meet four people who aim to build a science centre in their city |
| 2022-Aug-04 • 29 minutes Artificial muscles offer a route to greener air conditioning, breakthroughs in semiconductor physics and hidden consciousness In this podcast we learn about a new refrigeration technology and chat about what’s new in physics |
| 2022-Jul-28 • 31 minutes Celebrating the life of the pioneering nuclear physicist Gertrude Goldhaber We speak with her family and archivist about Goldhaber’s scientific legacy |
| 2022-Jul-22 • 31 minutes Bountiful exotic hadrons at the LHC inspire new naming convention Two members of the LHCb collaboration talk about their success in finding tetraquarks and pentaquarks |
| 2022-Jul-14 • 26 minutes Projectile fusion offers new path to clean energy, quantum communications for alien civilizations In this podcast we meet the CEO and co-founder of First Light Fusion |
| 2022-Jul-07 • 44 minutes How we know climate change causes extreme weather, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Higgs-boson discovery In this podcast we chat with an expert in climate change attribution |
| 2022-Jun-30 • 42 minutes How climate change is affecting human and natural systems, test your knowledge of artificial intelligence In this podcast we speak to a climate-change expert and take a quiz on AI in medical physics |
| 2022-Jun-23 • 37 minutes Prize-winning AI research, bringing machine learning tools into the radiotherapy clinic In this episode we talk about the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare |
| 2022-Jun-16 • 39 minutes Seeking the warm glow of the Unruh effect, reconfigurable hardware drives innovation in test and measurement We speak to an instrumentation entrepreneur and a particle dynamics expert |
| 2022-Jun-09 • 34 minutes Using social media to turn people on to physics, vacuum supplier sets science-based targets for greenhouse gas reductions We chat with Sara Fry from Atlas Copco – Vacuum Technique and Georgina Phillips of the Institute of Physics |
| 2022-Jun-02 • 33 minutes Quantum-computing company focuses on quantum simulation for industry, celebrating the International Year of Glass In this podcast we look at some practical applications of quantum computers |
| 2022-May-26 • 45 minutes Asking the big questions in the philosophy of physics and quantum biology In this podcast we speak to a molecular geneticist and a philosopher of science |
| 2022-May-19 • 35 minutes Black-hole physics and that iconic ‘shadow’ image, balloons and rockets probe the atmosphere’s acoustic duct We speak to a geophysicist and an astrophysicist in this week’s podcast |
| 2022-May-12 • 28 minutes Boosting the prospects of PhD students before and after graduation We meet students and staff at two Scottish centres for doctoral training |
| 2022-May-05 • 33 minutes Ukraine’s stained-glass heritage shines through Our coverage of the International Year of Glass takes an artistic turn |
| 2022-Apr-28 • 35 minutes Radiation detectors could help find ancient buildings and dinosaur bones In this podcast we also discover how an astronomy technique is improving biomedical imaging |
| 2022-Apr-21 • 25 minutes Electron rain is driven to Earth by whistler waves, carbon nanotubes encapsulate explosive nitrogen In this podcast we also chat about hunting meteorites |
| 2022-Apr-14 • 51 minutes Measuring gravity outdoors using a quantum gas, breakthroughs in materials processing and particle physics In this podcast we speak to physicists who have taken a delicate experiment outside |
| 2022-Apr-07 • 38 minutes Quantum computing meets machine learning, how motorsport could save the planet In this podcast we talk about motor-racing technologies and quantum machine learning |
| 2022-Mar-31 • 45 minutes Neutron capture destroys tumours from the inside, dead stars are born again, commercializing quantum sensors In this podcast we talk about radiotherapy, stellar physics and quantum businesses |
| 2022-Mar-24 • 39 minutes Solar geoengineering is a ‘fire extinguisher’ for global warming, shark’s skin inspires underwater vehicles In this podcast we chat with experts on hydrodynamics and climate-change mitigation |
| 2022-Mar-17 • 35 minutes Closest black hole is really a vampire star, augmented reality comes to prescription eyeglasses We chat about curved waveguide technology and a mysterious stellar system |
| 2022-Mar-10 • 39 minutes Laser-powered photonic circuits drive displays, double-anonymous peer review takes on gender bias, International Year of Glass hits its stride In this podcast we talk about the wonders of glass, removing biases in publishing and an award-winning start up |
| 2022-Mar-03 • 45 minutes Tracking space junk around the Moon, one teacher’s struggle to correct textbook errors In this episode we chat about mistakes in educational materials and lunar space junk |
| 2022-Feb-24 • 43 minutes Start-up simulates quantum photonics devices, a physicist’s experience of the mental-health system We talk to a physicist who has struggled with mental illness and the co-founders of Quantopticon |
| 2022-Feb-17 • 46 minutes Time crystals go large, challenges of quantum optimization, physics careers in 2022 In this podcast we chat about two fascinating quantum technologies |
| 2022-Feb-10 • 36 minutes Ion-based quantum computers could boost battery performance, how fuel cells are decarbonizing energy This podcast has an energy-storage theme |
| 2022-Feb-03 • 33 minutes Physics buildings: the good, the bad and the ugly; breaking the silence on bullying and harassment In this podcast we talk about documenting toxic workplaces and the architecture of physics |
| 2022-Jan-27 • 40 minutes Achieving success in research collaborations, celebrating the UN International Year of Glass This podcast looks at glass in physics and how to create a research dream team |
| 2022-Jan-20 • 34 minutes How the Web went global after arriving in Silicon Valley from CERN In this podcast we talk about how physicists and entrepreneurs changed the world |
| 2022-Jan-13 • 54 minutes The science and scientists of Don’t Look Up, low-cost optical technique is improving healthcare In this podcast we chat about photoplethysmography and a controversial Hollywood film |
| 2022-Jan-06 • 30 minutes Exploring Pluto’s changing atmosphere by chasing its shadow on Earth In this podcast we meet two siblings who have devoted their careers to studying the dwarf planet |
| 2021-Dec-16 • 26 minutes Meet the winners of the Physics World 2021 Breakthrough of the Year award In this podcast we talk about the prizewinning entanglement of macroscopic drumheads |
| 2021-Dec-09 • 35 minutes Top 10 Breakthroughs of 2021: a lively round-up of the year’s best physics results In this podcast we chat about our eclectic shortlist |
| 2021-Dec-02 • 36 minutes Cutting through the quantum hype, why the Stark effect should be renamed We talk about the “German Physics” movement of the 1930s and the quantum-computing industry |
| 2021-Nov-25 • 45 minutes Materials science conserves 500-year-old warship, new gravitational-wave discoveries by LIGO–Virgo In this podcast we chat with the chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust and LIGO–Virgo physicists at Cardiff University |
| 2021-Nov-18 • 41 minutes Clever aerodynamics makes owls silent hunters, why 2025 should be the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology In this podcast we also chat about multiscale X-ray imaging and Pauli blocking |
| 2021-Nov-11 • 35 minutes Quantum start-up targets single photons, perovskite pioneers bag Rank Prize In this podcast we meet the chief executive of Nu Quantum and two award-winning researchers |
| 2021-Nov-04 • 44 minutes COP26 special: energy innovation, sustainable cities and carbon capture Second episode in a two-part series on climate science and solutions |
| 2021-Oct-28 • 48 minutes COP26 special: extreme heat, cloud mysteries and climate tipping points First episode in a two-part series on climate science and solutions |
| 2021-Oct-21 • 30 minutes Donna Strickland on her life-changing Nobel prize, previewing #BlackInPhysics week, nuclear fusion in stars In this episode we also chat about how to avoid professional burnout |
| 2021-Oct-14 • 35 minutes Why nuclear should be part of our net-zero-carbon future, green jobs for physicists, proton arc therapy This podcast looks at how physicists can create a greener world and an emerging cancer treatment |
| 2021-Oct-07 • 41 minutes Exploring the science behind the 2021 Nobel Prize for Physics, travelling 13,000 km to become a medical physicist In this podcast we speak to a spin-glass expert, a climate physicist and a medical physicist in training |
| 2021-Sep-30 • 39 minutes Tackling the big questions in physics with Jim Al-Khalili, how a physicist worked out why dinosaurs went extinct In this podcast we also find out how muons are used to study materials |
| 2021-Sep-23 • 40 minutes How the US keeps its nuclear secrets and what it reveals, double anonymous peer review boosts inclusion In this podcast we meet a historian of nuclear weapons and a scholarly publishing expert |
| 2021-Sep-16 • 45 minutes Probing the origins of the universe, using plasmonic tweezers to manipulate tiny objects In this podcast we meet a nanophotonics expert and a cosmologist |
| 2021-Sep-09 • 53 minutes Pondering cosmic mysteries with Paul Davies, tandem solar cells could soon be on your roof In this podcast the conversation runs from quantum fundamentals to the practicalities of powering the future |
| 2021-Sep-02 • 34 minutes Why fusion power could rely on high-temperature superconductors, China’s ambitious exploration of space In this podcast we chat about the latest science superpower and magnets for tokamaks |
| 2021-Aug-26 • 43 minutes How to build an artificial brain, future is bright for hybrid perovskite solar cells In this podcast we also look at the physics of rollercoasters |
| 2021-Aug-19 • 35 minutes Surfing, sunscreen and the perfect pizza: the physics of holidays In this podcast we also chat about a new brain-machine interface and Saturn’s oscillating rings |
| 2021-Aug-12 • 48 minutes Balloon-borne telescope will ‘weigh’ the universe, remembering John Enderby In this podcast we celebrate a pioneer of neutron science |
| 2021-Aug-05 • 54 minutes Physics-themed holidays, meet the next director of the European Spallation Source In this podcast we also chat about the American Association of Physicists in Medicine virtual meeting |
| 2021-Jul-29 • 44 minutes Protecting self-driving cars from cosmic rays, size limits for wind farms This podcast also looks at the latest discovery in twistronics |
| 2021-Jul-22 • 49 minutes The physics of Olympic sports, searching for continuous gravitational waves In this podcast we try out an Olympics-inspired quiz and talk to three astrophysicists who are searching for continuous gravitational waves |
| 2021-Jul-15 • 40 minutes Talking about Hawking, Brazil’s new synchrotron light source In this podcast we chat about a new biography of Stephen Hawking and catch up with the director of Latin America’s only synchrotron light source |
| 2021-Jul-08 • 50 minutes Metallic foams for face masks, why the UK needs an X-ray free electron laser An ion clock in space, a vanishing pacemaker and a LEGO microscope are also discussed |
| 2021-Jul-01 • 39 minutes Physics tracks changes in English dialects, machine learning confused by COVID-19 This podcast also looks back on an exciting week in astronomy |
| 2021-Jun-24 • 46 minutes Physics of caramel wafers, neutron scattering focuses on self-assembled materials This podcast also looks at sustainable materials for sound insulation |
| 2021-Jun-17 • 34 minutes Accelerating quantum start-ups, meet the CEO of D-Wave Systems This podcast focuses on the business of quantum science and technology |
| 2021-Jun-10 • 34 minutes Quantum science and technology careers beckon, sneak preview of Physics World’s Quantum Week In this podcast we talk to two PhD students about their passion for quantum physics |
| 2021-Jun-03 • 33 minutes Meet the new Astronomer Royal for Scotland, using fun and humour to teach physics In this podcast we explore how physicists can share their love of science with others |
| 2021-May-27 • 33 minutes Ultracold circuits for quantum computing, graphene boosts sustainability, secrets of supercooled water This podcast looks at the physics of liquids, nanomaterials and qubit integration |
| 2021-May-20 • 50 minutes Icequakes and rogue waves: geoscientists and musicians interpret the sounds of the sea This podcast looks at Arctic seismology and music inspired by the ocean |
| 2021-May-13 • 43 minutes Observing the weather on brown dwarfs, powerful laser puts matter under extreme conditions This podcast celebrates the UNESCO International Day of Light |
| 2021-May-06 • 39 minutes Why quantum technologists and materials scientists need to talk, lockdown silence is a boon to seismologists In this podcast we chat about building better quantum devices and the seismology of human activity |
| 2021-Apr-29 • 43 minutes Quantum birds inspire new metrology for biosciences, particle physicist searches for the very small In this podcast we talk about measuring tiny masses and magnetic fields |
| 2021-Apr-22 • 47 minutes New technology for artisanal gold miners and the pros and cons of blockchain In this podcast we talk about reducing mercury use in gold production and the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining |
| 2021-Apr-15 • 36 minutes Fermilab physicists may have glimpsed a new force, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from belching cattle In this podcast we also chat about energy-generating floors |
| 2021-Apr-08 • 41 minutes Graphene gives neural interfaces a boost, the amazing physics of hearing and vision This podcast features a neuromedicine specialist and the author of a book on the physics of sight and sound |
| 2021-Apr-01 • 41 minutes Inspiring young children to careers in science, the physics and economics of heat pumps This podcast features education specialist Carol Davenport and our industry columnist James McKenzie |