1667: "Gold’s Color Comes from Relativity"

1667: "Gold’s Color Comes from Relativity"

Author: JC May 29, 2026 Duration: 2:35
Interesting Things with JC #1667: "Gold’s Color Comes from Relativity" – Gold atoms absorb blue and violet light because fast-moving electrons near the heavy nucleus shift energy levels, leaving reds, yellows, and greens to reflect back as the familiar metallic color.

You're about to hear stories that often slip through the cracks of mainstream conversation. Interesting Things with JC is a compact series where host JC digs into the past and present, finding connections and narratives that are frequently overlooked. Each episode feels like a focused exploration, whether it's a curious historical footnote, a fresh perspective on a current event, or a cultural phenomenon that deserves a closer look. The tone is conversational and inquisitive, driven by a genuine fascination with the subject matter rather than a dry lecture. This podcast sits comfortably at the intersection of history, culture, and society, making complex topics accessible without oversimplifying them. You'll find yourself reconsidering what you thought you knew, as JC guides you through these meticulously researched tales. It’s for anyone with a lingering curiosity about how the world works and where its many strange, compelling stories originate. The result is a consistently engaging listen that proves the most interesting things are often hidden in plain sight, just waiting for someone to point them out. Tune in for a thoughtful break from the noise, filled with substance and unexpected details.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Interesting Things with JC
Podcast Episodes
1676: "Thomas Sowell" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:47
Interesting Things with JC #1676: "Thomas Sowell" – A young government economist studies labor conditions in Puerto Rico and finds that policies designed to help poor workers are leaving some without jobs. The same disco…
1675: "The Green Children of Woolpit" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:56
Interesting Things with JC #1675: "The Green Children of Woolpit" – Two green-skinned children appear beside the wolf pits in Woolpit speaking an unknown language, refuse nearly every food except broad beans, and as one…
1674: "Subproject 68 and the Acoustic Masking Trials" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:57
Interesting Things with JC #1674: "Subproject 68 and the Acoustic Masking Trials" – A recorded message keeps playing for up to 20 hours a day while psychiatric patients are isolated from competing stimuli, and the same p…
1673: "There Is No Universal Now" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:51
Interesting Things with JC #1673: "There Is No Universal Now" – A star 100 light-years away is doing something at this moment, but observers moving at different velocities can assign different times to the same distant e…
1672: "Magnetism is a Relativistic Force" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:54
Interesting Things with JC #1672: "Magnetism is a Relativistic Force" – A current-carrying wire stays electrically neutral on a table while a moving charge beside it feels a magnetic force, but in the charge’s own frame…
1671: "What Is the L2 Point?" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:54
Interesting Things with JC #1671: "What Is the L2 Point?" – A mathematician identified a location in space in 1772 where gravity keeps spacecraft moving with Earth around the Sun, and nearly 250 years later observatories…
1670: "Napster" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:57
Interesting Things with JC #1670: "Napster" – On June 1, 1999, Shawn Fanning releases Napster, and within months college students are searching each other’s hard drives for MP3 files while campus networks slow under traf…
1669: "The Rare Blue Moon" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:46
Interesting Things with JC #1669: "The Rare Blue Moon" – A second full Moon rises over May, carrying a rare name it will not appear to deserve. It will not look blue, and it may look completely ordinary, but the calendar…
1668: "History of the Stanley Cup" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:24
Interesting Things with JC #1668: "History of the Stanley Cup" – The Stanley Cup keeps changing hands while its silver bands record winners, mistakes, and accidents. A trophy meant for amateur hockey becomes the NHL cham…
1666: "A Billion Seconds" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03
Interesting Things with JC #1666: "A Billion Seconds" - A million seconds goes by pretty fast. A billion seconds is something else entirely. Once you truly understand the difference, it changes the way you look at time,…