A Love Letter from Texas Scientists to the Periodic Table

A Love Letter from Texas Scientists to the Periodic Table

Author: University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences, Marc Airhart March 6, 2019 Duration: 16:07
We’re celebrating the 150th anniversary of the periodic table. Join us as we tour the cosmos, from the microscopic to the telescopic, with four scientists studying the role of four elements—zinc, oxygen, palladium and gold—in life, the universe and everything. Emily Que is a chemist who helped capture, for the first time on video, zinc fireworks that burst from an egg when it’s fertilized by sperm. Astronomer Michael Endl is searching for chemical signs of life in the atmospheres of exoplanets. Kate Biberdorf (a.k.a. Kate the Chemist) found new ways to speed up chemical reactions using palladium. And physicist Aaron Zimmerman explains why the gold in your jewelry was probably forged in an ultraviolent explosion billions of years ago. Watch zinc-spark fireworks: https://cns.utexas.edu/news/when-sperm-meets-egg-zinc-fireworks-on-display Listen to our interview with Kate the Chemist on a previous Point of Discovery podcast: https://soundcloud.com/point-of-discovery/fun-with-chemistry See a periodic table showing how each element was created: http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~jaj/nucleo/ Watch Kate the Chemist blow things up in honor of National Periodic Table Day: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=294826561181390 Hear more about the first neutron star collision captured by a gravitational-wave detector: https://soundcloud.com/point-of-discovery/cosmic-car-wreck Music for today’s show was produced by: Podington Bear - https://www.podingtonbear.com/ Chris Zabriskie - https://soundcloud.com/chriszabriskie Dresden the Flamingo - https://soundcloud.com/dresdentheflamingo Photo by Vivian Abagiu. About Point of Discovery Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. You can listen to all our episodes at @point-of-discovery . Questions or comments about this episode, or our series in general? Email Marc Airhart at mairhart[AT]austin.utexas.edu

Curiosity is the engine of science, but the path from a question to an answer is rarely a straight line. Point of Discovery, from the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences and hosted by Marc Airhart, pulls back the curtain on that process. This podcast is less about headlines and more about the human endeavor-the late nights, the failed experiments, the unexpected twists, and the collaborative moments that lead to new understanding. Each episode is a journey alongside researchers, giving you a front-row seat to the methods, debates, and sheer persistence that define real scientific work. You'll hear directly from the people behind the data, individuals whose unique perspectives and dedicated curiosity help map everything from microscopic cells to distant galaxies. The stories are intimate and specific, revealing how knowledge is built piece by piece. With original music by Podington Bear setting the tone, the podcast creates an immersive experience that celebrates the nuance and humanity at the heart of discovery. It’s an invitation to appreciate not just the destination, but the fascinating, often meandering trail that gets us there. Point of Discovery is produced as part of the Texas Podcast Network.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 62

Point of Discovery
Podcast Episodes
Can Tiny Bubbles Help Save the Planet? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:04
A marine biologist and an engineer may have found one weird trick to measuring how much carbon a seagrass bed stores. A hint: it involves the sound of tiny bubbles.
Introducing: AI for the Rest of Us [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:13
Today on Point of Discovery, we're announcing the launch of a new podcast from The University of Texas at Austin on everything you need to know about artificial intelligence.
Is Cosmology in Crisis? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:00
Astronomers and physicists aren’t freaking out. Okay, well maybe just a little. New data from the James Webb Space Telescope is making them question just about everything.
A Once-in-Many-Centuries Event [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:52
Austin, Texas was very different the last time a total solar eclipse passed overhead—in 1397. There were bison, wolves and jaguars! Take a trip back in time on the latest Point of Discovery podcast.
The Heartbeat of the Estuary [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:39
Noisy fish near the Texas coast cry out for mates every night. It’s like a daily heartbeat. But then two years ago, they went silent. Hear what happened on the latest Point of Discovery podcast.
I Know What You're Thinking [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:53
I know what you’re thinking. No really. A new non-invasive brain decoder can translate your brain activity into a continuous string of words that’s similar to the story you’re hearing or imagining. It also gets the gist…
Right Time, Right Place [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:04
For graduate student Olivia Cooper, the James Webb Space Telescope comes at the perfect time to help launch her career studying galaxy evolution.
Neutralizing Crazy Ants [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:35
Are invasive crazy ants going to conquer the southeastern U.S.? On the latest episode, we ride along with a biologist who may have found a way to beat back these destructive pests.
A Physicist’s Search for Beauty [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:42
Here in part 2 of our continuing remembrance of Steven Weinberg, we’re diving a little deeper into what we know because of him. Weinberg was one of the world’s greatest theoretical physicists, and his passing last year w…
Remembering Steven Weinberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:16
Today, in the first of two parts of a special segment, we’re remembering the life and legacy of one of the greatest theoretical physicists of all time — The University of Texas at Austin’s Steven Weinberg, who died in Ju…