Absolute Zero is 0K

Absolute Zero is 0K

Author: DamnInteresting.com March 19, 2014 Duration: 30:17
Near the heart of Scotland lies a large morass known as Dullatur Bog. Water seeps from these moistened acres and coalesces into the headwaters of a river which meanders through the countryside for nearly 22 miles, until its terminus in Glasgow. In the late 19th century this river adorned the landscape just outside of the laboratory of Sir William Thompson, renowned scientist and president of the Royal Society. The river must have made an impression on Thompson--when Queen Victoria granted him the title of Baron in 1892, he opted to adopt the river’s name as his own. Sir William Thompson was thenceforth known as Lord Kelvin. Kelvin's contributions to science were vast, but he is perhaps best known today for the temperature scale that bears his name. It is so named in honor of his discovery of the coldest possible temperature in our universe. Thompson had played a major role in developing the Laws of Thermodynamics, and in 1848 he used them to extrapolate that the coldest temperature any matter can become, regardless of the substance, is -273.15°C (-459.67°F). We now know this boundary as zero Kelvin. Once this absolute zero temperature was decisively identified, prominent Victorian scientists commenced multiple independent efforts to build machines to explore this physical frontier. Their equipment was primitive, and the trappings were treacherous, but they pressed on nonetheless, dangers be damned. There was science to be done.

The stories that shape our world are often hidden in plain sight, waiting for the right moment to reveal their strange and significant details. That's the territory explored by Damn Interesting, a narrative-driven podcast from the team at DamnInteresting.com. Each episode is a deep and immersive dive into a true story, told with the care and pacing of an audiobook. You'll find yourself pulled into meticulously researched accounts from the overlapping realms of science, medicine, history, and human behavior. One week might unravel a forgotten medical mystery, while the next could detail a pivotal, overlooked moment in technological history or a psychological phenomenon that explains more than we'd like to admit. This podcast is built on the conviction that reality, when examined closely, is far more compelling than fiction. The narration is clear and engaging, designed to make complex subjects accessible and to transform historical footnotes into gripping narratives. It’s for anyone with a restless curiosity about the how and why of things, offering those satisfying moments of connection where disparate facts suddenly click into place. Listening feels like uncovering a series of fascinating secrets, each story selected for its inherent ability to surprise and make you reconsider a piece of the world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 73

Damn Interesting
Podcast Episodes
Death By Derivatives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:55
The opening of a canal in 1848 led to the birth of modern financial derivatives, and the early demise of some of the men who traded them
Ghoulish Acts & Dastardly Deeds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:12
In the 1950s, an anonymous terrorist planted a pipe bomb in a New York City public space. Then another. And another.
No Country For Ye Olde Men [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:49
Britain’s practice of transporting convicts to American colonies was a fearsome punishment, but not for the chronic criminal James Dalton.
Fire And Dice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:09
The story of a tragic hotel fire of Rube Goldberg proportions.
The Reconstruction of Ulysses S. Grant [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:07
As a civilian, the beloved American Civil War general and two-term president failed at every attempt to make money. Except for one.
Foreign Exchanges [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:26
He made a name for himself organizing the world’s most important economic conference, only to have it tarnished by an outrageous accusation.
Starving For Answers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:44
During WWII, 36 American conscientious objectors volunteered as subjects in a brutal science experiment to measure the body's response to starvation.
Ten Minutes In Lituya Bay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:52
A remote bay in Alaska is home to an odd and occasionally catastrophic geology. In 1958, a handful of people experienced this firsthand.
The King's Letters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:40
The 15th-century scholar who upset the Korean aristocracy by creating a native script for the Korean language, and thus wean it off Chinese characters.