March 5, 2025 • 30 mins
Today we’re covering ideas 13 through 9! These include a fascinating discovery about NASCAR and psychology, a clock that’s so accurate it’s reshaping our understanding of time, a tasty way to make concrete stronger (and more environmentally friendly), and some truly delightful revelations about dinosaurs. Plus: We explain particle physics through song.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope
and iHeartRadio. Guess what Will? What's that? Mango? I can't
believe it, but we are already halfway through our countdown
to the twenty five best science ideas from the past
twenty five years.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
So twelve and a half in exactly twelve and a
half in, and I don't know about you, but I
feel like these stories keep getting better and better.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I mean, that's kind of how it countdown works, but
I feel like you should tell people what is coming
up next, preview it well.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Today's episode has five stories, including what NASCAR does to
our brains, a clock that changed the way we think
about time, and our attempt to explain particle physics through music.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Is that even possible?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
There's only one way to find out, so let's dive in. Hey,
(01:14):
their podcast listener is welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm
mungkish Heatikaur and as always I'm joined by my good
friend Will Pearson and our palam producer Dylan is over
there in the booth wearing his lucky sunglasses. So I
have a good feeling about today's episode. So in case
you're wondering. Yes, he does have unlucky sunglasses. We had
to ask him to stop wearing them during the show.
(01:36):
Only the lucky sunglasses. That's right, it was a whole thing.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
It was.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Anyway, Before we get into the countdown, I just want
to remind you to subscribe to Part Time Genius on
your favorite podcast app, which should be iHeart the iHeart app.
And if you enjoy the show, which I hope you do,
please give us a nice rating and review. It really
helps us out. And also we actually read the comments.
Someone has to do a show on three D printing
(02:01):
and we're planning one in the works. And this week
someone named Elliott wrote the best podcast My name is Elliot?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Oh I like that, which is the greatest narrative. You know,
went from how he felt about the podcast to his name.
You know, it was good, good stuff.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Well, Elliott, if you're listening messages on our Instagram so
we can send you something fun. But let's get into
the show.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Actually, it just hit me Dylan is probably wearing those
glasses because you know what's next on our countown mango.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
That Dylan is so clever. Okay, so the first thing
we're covering today is NASCAR now. Over the years, there
have been lots of studies on NASCAR to improve the
safety for drivers. There have been research papers on how
the car's bodies and safety measures affect injuries. NASCAR also
awarded a grant to Michigan State University to study everything
from heat exhaustion and drivers to figure out better exercises
(02:54):
and diet regimen for the athletes. And there have been
studies on why fatherhood affects driver is because NASCAR drivers
often drop one point six places on average the year
after having a kid.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Wow, it does kind of make you wonder like if
it's at all related to the fact that they're probably
sleeping less.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
I think that's probably part of it. But scientists also
hypothesize that when you have a kid, you think about
your mortality. Mon Yeah, and so you might be less
prone to make risky moves on the course. That makes
sense anyway. The most interesting study I read about was
done by this psychologist, Guy Vidioloni from West Virginia University
Institute of Technology, and it's a four year study called
(03:35):
quote Driving under the Influence of Nascar. It isn't so
much about what happens on the track as it is
how the races influence people watching at home. So, according
to NPR, Vidilioni looked at all the traffic accidents that
took place in West Virginia and then whittled it down
to accidents that mimicked what happened on a racetrack. So
(03:55):
these were things like pile ups of multiple cars or
accidents where there was aggressive driving. And his conclusion was
that five days after major NASCAR races, there's a big
spike in traffic accidents. Now Villelioni actually put in a
whole bunch of controls to make sure he wasn't just
saying something wild. He wanted to be really conservative about
(04:16):
his conclusions. But he counted about six hundred and fifty
extra accidents on West Virginia roads in the days after
the races, essentially because people were quote acting out NASCAR
in their own driving this wild.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Although the thing that stands out to me, Mango is like,
why is this on the fifth day after a race
instead of like immediately after. I don't think he figured
that part out exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Like he theorized that maybe it's because races tend to
take place on weekends and so a Thursday or Friday
after it tends to be the days that you let
loose after a rough week. But his study is really
pointing to the subtle ways that media affects behavior in
the real world. Now, NASCAR is just one example of this.
Another famous case is of the MTV show sixteen Pregnant,
(05:00):
where the reality show actually captured the difficulties for high
school students trying to raise kids, and people were really
affected by it. The show led to a five point
seven percent reduction in teen births, which apparently was a
third of the overall decline in teen berths in the country.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Oh wow. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Academics actually sometimes refer to it as the you are
what you watch phenomenon, and it's pretty interesting to see,
sort of like how MLK talked about the interracial kiss
on the original Star Trek being one of the most
important moments on television, or how President Joe Biden credited
Will and Grace with changing America's perception of gays more
than just about anything else.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yeah, that's right. So anyway, this whole NASCAR thing won't
be a problem ten to fifteen years from now, when
we're all taking way Mos everywhere and getting chow for
around and robotic cars. But until then, all you NASCAR
watchers out there, he doctor Vilioni's advice, and be a
little mindful of how you're driving the week after a
big race. We want to keep you safe.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
All right, Mago. Let's say you are a clockmaker. I'm
just going to say that. Okay, Now you've built a
beautiful time piece that counts hours and minutes. But now
you've got a problem. You want your clock to count
each second with pinpoint accuracy. So how do you do it.
It turns out you need to crack open the periodic
table because according to the International System of Units, this
(06:20):
is how you measure a second. Quote. The second is
defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the cesium frequency,
the unperturbed ground state high per fine transition frequency of
the cesium one thirty three atom to be nine billion,
one hundred and ninety two million, six hundred and thirty
one thousand, seven hundred and seventy when expressed in the
(06:41):
unit hurts, which is equal to s the power of
negative one. You got it.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
So that is the definition of a second.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, it's the definition of a second. I got lost
in the reading of it, but as you may have noticed,
it's a little bit complicated. So the only way to
measure it is with an atomic clock. And the way
this work sounds completely made out, but I promise it's
actually real. Basically, an atomic clock is a machine that
shoots laser beams at caesium ions, measures frequency at which
their electrons jump to different energy levels, and then sends
(07:11):
the readings to a place called the International Bureau of
Weights and Measures. So this is a real place. It's
a real inner governmental organization. Yeah, and it's actually based
in France.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
So we've got laser clock sending data to friends. I
guess I'm with you that far.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Okay, I'm glad you're keeping up. So there are around
four hundred and fifty atomic clocks in the world, all
sending these readings. So timekeepers at the International Bureau of
Weights and Measures they crunch these numbers from the clocks
and then vote on the quote official time, which they
publish in a monthly publication that comes out monthly called
(07:49):
Circular Tea.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
I never thought i'd say this about anything that involves caesium,
but uh, that is pretty adorably whimsical.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It is in a way, but it's all so pretty
serious stuff like this process is how we determine what's
called international atomic time. And a standard atomic clock made
with caesium is so accurate it can keep time for
about one hundred million years without skipping a beat.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
But starting in the mid ads, researchers at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, or in IST, a federal
lab in Colorado, they began developing a new generation of
atomic clocks that could make caesium seem outdated.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Actually, so what makes these atomic clocks so special?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Well, they use aluminum instead of caesium, so basically a
positive aluminum twenty seven ion. In two thousand and eight,
NIST scientists built something they call the quantum logic clock.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Now.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
It contains a single aluminum ion cooled to nearly absolute zero,
shot with an ultraviolet laser, and the aluminum ion acts
like the second hand on a clock, so it ticks
by jumping up and down between energy levels. But instead
of ticking once for every secondecond, it takes a quadrillion
times per second. That is a big number, man, And
(09:05):
it's so accurate it won't lose a second for thirty
three billion years. That's almost triple the age of the
observable universe.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
That is really hard to imagine, yeah, or hard to
put to the test, I think.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
And this aluminum clock does more than just tell time.
It's even changing our understanding of space time because researchers
have used it to test Einstein's theory of relativity. According
to Einstein's theory, gravity affects the passage of time, So
the stronger the pull of gravity, the slower the time.
And as a result of this, somebody who lives in
the mountains of Colorado, where gravity's pull is slightly lower,
(09:41):
they'll age faster than somebody who lives at sea level. Now,
the quantum logic clock is so sensitive it actually proved
that a person's standing at the top of a staircase
or someone standing on a stool experienced a faster passage
of time. It showed that each additional foot of height
adds about ninety bills adience of a second to your lifetime.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So NBA players would live longer than jockeys as well.
I have a dumb question to ask, why do we
need clocks to be this accurate.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
It's a fair question, but take GPS for example. GPS
isn't just a location tracking technology. It's also a type
of clock. So if you're driving down the highway and
the GPS is five seconds late telling you to take
an exit, you'd be pretty mad about this.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
Right.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
For the GPS to be useful, it needs to show
both an accurate location and an accurate time. It needs
that time to be precise down to the second. And
it turns out that's true for a lot of other
technologies as well. Take telecommunications, satellite networks, radio signals, lots
more things like this. Anyway, it's hard to overstate the
importance of this quantum logic clock in the nerdy and
(10:51):
wonderful world of timekeeping. Those caesium clocks that impressed you
at the start of this segment will eventually end up
being obsolete. And while experiments with other elements are ongoing
right now, aluminum is the leading contender to become the
ticking heart of what we call a second.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Hey, listeners, do not go anywhere. We've got to pause
for a quick break. But there is so much weird
science right after Welcome back to part time Genius. When
(11:31):
we're talking the twenty five greatest science ideas of the
last twenty five years, and we're up to number. So
it probably won't surprise you to learn that water is
the most consumed material on Earth. But can you guess
what comes in second m I'm gonna go with coffee.
You know, I might have guessed that too, but know
the answer is concrete.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Oh really?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have poured nearly nine hundred
billion tons of concrete, and nowadays we're pouring the stuff
at a breakneck speed, especially in the developing world. For example,
in the time period between twenty eleven and twenty thirteen,
China poured more cement than the US did during the
(12:12):
entire twentieth century. Oh wow, isn't that incredible? But all
that concrete has a big downside. It's responsible for eight
to nine percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I never thought of concrete as being such a big
pollution problem. I know, it's not a great thing. I
think of, you know, the sidewalks and things that cars
drive on, but I didn't think of it in that way.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, I didn't realize it either. But apparently making concrete
is an energy intensive process. So it starts by taking
limestone and baking it to temperatures over twenty six hundred
degrees fahrenheit. That kind of heat requires powerful kilns fired
by fossil fuels, and that's just to make cement. To
turn cement into concrete, you have to add aggregates like sand,
(12:53):
and really lots of it. As a result, sand mining
is a big business around the world. We've actually talked
about this before. There's even a burgeoning black market for sand,
backed by a so called sand mafias. Anyway, this dangerous
mix of pollution, mining and mafias got scientists wondering how
to make concrete production more green, Like what if we
(13:13):
supplemented sand with something else, something more sustainable, something that
could reduce concrete carbon footprint. And it's something that you
mentioned just a few minutes ago. Wait, coffee, Yeah, I
so coffee nic Every day humans drank two billion cups
of coffee and most of the coffee grinds just end
up in a landfill. But in twenty twenty three, Australian
(13:34):
engineering researchers had an idea, what if we used those
ground up beans to make concrete. So that's what they did.
They scorched coffee grounds to about six hundred degrees, which
made the grounds break down into a substance called biochar,
which is basically charcoal, and when they began testing, they
discovered that if you replaced just fifteen percent of the
(13:55):
sand in concrete with coffee fueled biochar, the concrete becomes
thirty percent stronger.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
And how does that actually work.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
It turns out the biochart retains water better than sand,
and as a result, the concrete dries slower than usual,
which reduces the risk of shrinking and cracking, helping it
maintain its strength. There are actually two benefits to this discovery. One,
by using spent coffee, it reduces the demand for sand,
and two, by making concrete stronger, it reduces the amount
(14:25):
of cement required for each bag, and with less cement
and sand required, the total carbon footprint of each bag
of concrete could drop significantly. As it happens, a major
industry group called the Global Cement and Concrete Association has
pledged to go carbon neutral by twenty fifty and thanks
to those coffee loving Aussies, they've got a really strong
(14:47):
foundation to work with.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It's an incredible discovery and asoso pun mego, I'll take
it all right now, mego. We happen to be living
through one of the most polarizing moments in recent history
if you've noticed this, But I think one thing we
can all agree on is that dinosaurs are really really cool.
It feels like this should be the thing that brings
us together. In fact, that might be some of the
(15:10):
firmest common ground we have left at this point. What
do you think.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Yeah, I mean, I'd like to think a little more
positively than that, but in general, yeah, I mean, everyone
loves dinosaurs exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And it's always struck me that, even though we're dealing
with creatures that are over one hundred million years old
in some cases, to this day, we are still finding
new things out about them. In the last quarter century
has been particularly generous. We've onearthed so many new fossils
and developed so many breakthrough research techniques that some scientists
are now calling this the Golden Age of paleontology.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
There are way too many of these dino revelations for
us to cover today, but singling out just one didn't
seem right either, So instead I thought I would walk
us through some of my favorite highlights and they can
kind of all share this spot together. What do you think.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
I love it like a big heap of Dino discoveries
is exactly what this science series needs.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I'd absolutely I thought you'd approve of this. So what
stuck out to me most is all this research that
sort of challenges what we thought we knew about dinosaurs,
which for most of us is just what we saw
in the Jurassic Park movie. For instance, in one of
the most famous scenes of the original movie, we see
a t rex chasing after a speed jeep and nearly
catching up to it. So that didn't happen in real life.
(16:23):
That was the movie, Yeah, exactly. In fact, she was
even closer than she appeared to remember because of that
whole mirror.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Yeah, I think we all remember that.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
That scene was considered plausible for nearly a decade after
the film's release, with many paleontologists speculating that a real
t rex could run as fast as forty five miles
an hour. But in two thousand and two, researchers John
Hutchinson and Mariano Garcia used some clever math to show
that the res likely had a much slower role than
(16:52):
we previously thought, so, using biomechanical data from the dinosaur's
closest living relatives, those would be birds, Now was able
to extrapolate just how much muscle mass it would take
for an animal the size of a t rex to
actually be able to run. As a general rule, no
more than fifty percent of an animal's body mass is
composed of muscle, and only a fraction of that muscle
(17:14):
is allocated to the legs. But for a t rex
to run forty five miles an hour, its leg muscles
would need to account for eighty six percent of its
total body Some real.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Masks, those are monster legs. It feels like the leg
muscles would be up to its eyeballs. But uh, you know,
in that case, there's no room for anything else.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah, it doesn't add up there. So even though the
researchers had poked a giant hole in one of Jurassic
Park's best scenes, the filmmakers didn't hold it against them.
In fact, Hutchinson was even hired to consult on one
of the Jurassic Parks sequels based on the strength of
this breakthrough.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
That's pretty awesome, But I'm curious, do we know what
a t rex's top speed would be?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Well, the two thousand and two study concluded that t
rex would have had a hard time topping twenty five
miles an hour. According to a twenty seventeen study from
the University of Manchester, they probably can only reach speeds
of around twelve miles a mile, so any faster and
the seven ton predators would risk shattering their bones.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Actually wow, so it's almost like at speeds that a
human could outrun. At this pace.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah, and remember that's the top speed. The t Rex
was even slower when walking. Exactly how slow remained a
mystery until twenty twenty one, when Dutch researchers built on
those earlier findings and used computer modeling to prove that
Rex walked at a leisurely pace of between two and
three miles an hour. Now, another point of departure from
the Jurassic movies is that the predatory dinosaurs, including t Rex,
(18:40):
did not have permanently exposed teeth. Researchers and artists have
long believed that bipedal carnivores have lipless mouths where their
upper teeth would hang over their lower jaws, not unlike
you know, maybe like a crocodile or something like that.
But according to a twenty twenty three study from the
University of Portsmouth, the dinos actually kept their choppers, this
greatly covered with a pair of thick lizard lips. Isn't
(19:04):
that kind of funny to imagine? So the researchers found
that toothwaar and lipless reptile groups was much different from
that of carnivorous dinosaurs, and based on computer modeling, it
would have been impossible for a lipless t rex to
close its mouth without the lower jaw actually crushing the
very bones that supported it.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
That is really interesting, and you know, I feel like
with all these breakthroughs, they've kind of defanged this idea
of a really frightening t rex right like suddenly they're
like only strolling around at two miles per hour. They're
like they don't have those goofy grins anymore, right, you know,
(19:42):
bearing their teeth and a dinosaurs supposed to have feathers,
right like on top of everything else, they're fluffy.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Actually, I've got some good news on that front because
while many dinosaurs are now believed to have sported feathers,
including raptors and a few of the t rex's cousins,
the rex itself is thought to have had smooth, more
scaly skin. The exception would have been juvenile t rexes,
whose small bodies may have needed feathers for thermal insulation.
By the time they reach adulthood, though their forty foot
(20:11):
long bodies were so good at retaining heat that they
no longer needed those downy coats. So, if anything, an
adult t rex may have had a stripe of bristles
on its back and shoulders, but those would have been
used to attract a mate rather than to keep warm.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
All right, so that's at least one thing the movies
seem to have gotten right.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, and there's still room for improvement on that front too,
because while the t rex was scally, they likely weren't
the drab uniform color they're often depicted as. You know,
you always picture that exact same colors. Recent analysis of
t rex fossils have turned up evidence of melanin, the
same pigment found in human skin and bird feathers, and
that suggests that the rex's skin may have had patches
(20:49):
of several different colors, possibly even like a camouflage pattern,
which makes sense you think about the stripes and spots
of modern predators.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
That is crazy, you know. I imagine like being given
like a t rex as a kid and told to
color it, and like, you know, you pinted with fancy colors,
and that seems completely wrong, right. I also had no
idea that melanin could fossilize.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Well, paleontologists didn't either until two thousand and eight, and
since then discovery has led to all kinds of new
insights about the appearance of dinosaurs, including some pretty solid
guesses about the exact colors of their skin and feathers.
Now More than anything, though, all the advances we've talked
about show us that the dinosaurs weren't the straightforward terrors
that we often see in pop culture. Like any other animal,
(21:35):
they live full lives. That included some quieter moments as well.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
I like how you're trying to make it seem like
we should all be adopting them from shelters that feel
like it's the right thing to do. I would still
be terrified one, Oh totally mean you know me, I'm
terrified when I see a cat can imagine dinosaur? All right, Well,
because dinosaurs are so cool, we decided today on our
Instagram we're going to give away some super special, scientifically
(22:01):
accurate dinosaur action figures. It is important to call them
action figures. I called it adults earlier. Gabe got very
does not like that. I didn't like it.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
He is our resident toy expert, so I'm going to
have to lean on that, and I will agree to
call it an action figure. So head over to our
instagram at part Time Genius and find out how you
can win.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Okay, listeners, you've got to pay for the show with
some ads. But uh, we'll be right back after this
quick break. Welcome back to part Time Genius, where we're
(22:42):
listing out the best ideas in science at the last
twenty five years. Nay, okay, Well, so how much do
you know about sub atomic particles?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
All right, Well, my knowledge of subatomic particles would, if
I'm being honest, probably fit inside a subatomic particle.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, that's why I thought. So here's a quick overview
that will help you understand our next great science discovery.
So let's start with protons. These tiny particles hang out
in the nucleus of every atom, and they're made up
of even tinier particles called quirks, which in turn are
held together with even tinier particles called gluons. Now, gluons
(23:21):
have no mass, but they do carry energy, specifically something
called the strong force, and in terms of nuclear physics,
it basically means it holds stuff together. Now stay with me,
because I'm sure you know that deep in a tunnel
near Geneva there's something called the large Hadron particle collider,
and a hadron is any clump of two or three quirks.
(23:42):
And what this thing does is it blasts particles like
protons at each other at insane speeds, so scientists can
find out what happens when they crash into each other.
And even before this technology existed, scientists have been thinking
about the outcomes of proton collisions. So one hypothesis they
came up with was that protons might exchange a couple
(24:03):
of the gluons that hold them together, creating a super weird,
massless little particle made up of only gluons, which they
called And this is true a glue ball.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
A glugall. Is that the actual scientific time, though it
is so woh way.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
In nineteen seventy three researchers put forward a very specific
version of this theory. They said that it was possible
for three gluons to briefly stick together after a collision. Now,
at the time, there was no actual proof of this
it was just an idea, and they called this hypothetical
particle the oderon.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
All right, so I want to make sure I understand.
So an oduron is what like a triple glue ball. Yeah, yeah,
you know, it's weird. I had never thought of particle
physics involving this much fun vocabulary. I feel like I
might have majored in it if I had known all this.
But all right, so are you going to tell me
that someone finally proved this odoron thing is real?
Speaker 1 (24:55):
So in twenty twenty one, a group of scientists using
the Large Hadron Collider in fact find evidence of odon. So, yes,
when protons collide in this thing, about three quarters of
the time they get smashed apart, but about twenty five
percent of the time the protons survive intact. They just
kind of balance off each other. And that's because at
the point of impact they exchange gluons, sometimes two, sometimes three,
(25:19):
and those gluons keep them together. So are you still
with me here?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
I think so?
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Right. So, quirks carry a charge kind of like a
positive or negative electric charge, but this is expressed in
terms of color, so they can be red, green, or blue.
And when you have all three of those stuck together.
The charge is said to be white or balanced. But
there's also something called an anti color, which is the
property of anti quarks. Is this like antimatter, Yeah, so
(25:47):
the antiquirk is the antimatter evil twin of the quirk,
and it's either anti red, anti green, or anti blue.
But what's interesting is gluons have both colors and anti colors,
So you could have a gluon that carries red and
anti green, which sounds like a very strange Christmas ornament.
A spokesperson for the Oderon experiment told Gizmoto that the
(26:09):
math of Vaultier is quote too hard to explain, but
suffice it to say, researchers observe frequency differences in proton
proton collisions versus proton anti proton collisions, and they realized
the difference had to do with changing color balances that
could only be explained by the existence of a triple
gluon clump the otter on.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I'm trying real hard here, Mango, but I gotta be honest.
This is making my head heard a little bit.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I know it is complicated stuff, but it's also an
incredible discovery. But to make the story a little more personal.
We asked our pal David Nagler, who is an incredibly
talented musician and composer, to write a song about it.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Yeah, I was hiding in plain sight.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
Now I'm in the light light because of a proton
proton and a proton anti proton condition.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
I was the difference between the two three glue on
stuff like glue.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Thanks to the particle physicists for clearing up being decision.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
I'm an out, but I'm not that odd and out
a roun. I'm a real hot rod. It's not monochromatic light.
(28:04):
I'm red, green and blue making white. It may seem
like a fax, it's only quantum chromo dynamics. Folks deepen
the particle.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
Exceleerator, keeping proton longevity greater.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
So how can the green The force is strong in
me strong. I'm an autoba, but I'm not that ard
and auta. I've got a real hot bond.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
And it's squaw.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
It seems so complicated, but you know what, Mengo, it
also makes me want to dance.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Yeah, the song or the science that you know, all
of it.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I'm just feeling good after this.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
I couldn't agree more. And big thanks to David Nagler
for helping us out with this. We'll put a link
to his website in the show notes so that you
can check out his music. It's not usually about physics. Okay,
that's it for today's episode, but be sure to tune
in tomorrow when our countdown continues with a scientific secret,
lurking and home depot, some lively molecules, and a medical
(29:59):
treatment that began in a really, really gross place. You
won't want to miss it, And if you'd like to
win that realistic dinosaur action figure, head on over to
our instagram at part Time Genius to check out today's
giveaway contest. As always from Will, Gabe, Mary and Dylan,
thank you so much for listening.
You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope
and iHeartRadio. Guess what Will? What's that? Mango? I can't
believe it, but we are already halfway through our countdown
to the twenty five best science ideas from the past
twenty five years.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
So twelve and a half in exactly twelve and a
half in, and I don't know about you, but I
feel like these stories keep getting better and better.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I mean, that's kind of how it countdown works, but
I feel like you should tell people what is coming
up next, preview it well.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Today's episode has five stories, including what NASCAR does to
our brains, a clock that changed the way we think
about time, and our attempt to explain particle physics through music.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Is that even possible?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
There's only one way to find out, so let's dive in. Hey,
(01:14):
their podcast listener is welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm
mungkish Heatikaur and as always I'm joined by my good
friend Will Pearson and our palam producer Dylan is over
there in the booth wearing his lucky sunglasses. So I
have a good feeling about today's episode. So in case
you're wondering. Yes, he does have unlucky sunglasses. We had
to ask him to stop wearing them during the show.
(01:36):
Only the lucky sunglasses. That's right, it was a whole thing.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
It was.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Anyway, Before we get into the countdown, I just want
to remind you to subscribe to Part Time Genius on
your favorite podcast app, which should be iHeart the iHeart app.
And if you enjoy the show, which I hope you do,
please give us a nice rating and review. It really
helps us out. And also we actually read the comments.
Someone has to do a show on three D printing
(02:01):
and we're planning one in the works. And this week
someone named Elliott wrote the best podcast My name is Elliot?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Oh I like that, which is the greatest narrative. You know,
went from how he felt about the podcast to his name.
You know, it was good, good stuff.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Well, Elliott, if you're listening messages on our Instagram so
we can send you something fun. But let's get into
the show.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Actually, it just hit me Dylan is probably wearing those
glasses because you know what's next on our countown mango.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
That Dylan is so clever. Okay, so the first thing
we're covering today is NASCAR now. Over the years, there
have been lots of studies on NASCAR to improve the
safety for drivers. There have been research papers on how
the car's bodies and safety measures affect injuries. NASCAR also
awarded a grant to Michigan State University to study everything
from heat exhaustion and drivers to figure out better exercises
(02:54):
and diet regimen for the athletes. And there have been
studies on why fatherhood affects driver is because NASCAR drivers
often drop one point six places on average the year
after having a kid.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Wow, it does kind of make you wonder like if
it's at all related to the fact that they're probably
sleeping less.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
I think that's probably part of it. But scientists also
hypothesize that when you have a kid, you think about
your mortality. Mon Yeah, and so you might be less
prone to make risky moves on the course. That makes
sense anyway. The most interesting study I read about was
done by this psychologist, Guy Vidioloni from West Virginia University
Institute of Technology, and it's a four year study called
(03:35):
quote Driving under the Influence of Nascar. It isn't so
much about what happens on the track as it is
how the races influence people watching at home. So, according
to NPR, Vidilioni looked at all the traffic accidents that
took place in West Virginia and then whittled it down
to accidents that mimicked what happened on a racetrack. So
(03:55):
these were things like pile ups of multiple cars or
accidents where there was aggressive driving. And his conclusion was
that five days after major NASCAR races, there's a big
spike in traffic accidents. Now Villelioni actually put in a
whole bunch of controls to make sure he wasn't just
saying something wild. He wanted to be really conservative about
(04:16):
his conclusions. But he counted about six hundred and fifty
extra accidents on West Virginia roads in the days after
the races, essentially because people were quote acting out NASCAR
in their own driving this wild.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Although the thing that stands out to me, Mango is like,
why is this on the fifth day after a race
instead of like immediately after. I don't think he figured
that part out exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Like he theorized that maybe it's because races tend to
take place on weekends and so a Thursday or Friday
after it tends to be the days that you let
loose after a rough week. But his study is really
pointing to the subtle ways that media affects behavior in
the real world. Now, NASCAR is just one example of this.
Another famous case is of the MTV show sixteen Pregnant,
(05:00):
where the reality show actually captured the difficulties for high
school students trying to raise kids, and people were really
affected by it. The show led to a five point
seven percent reduction in teen births, which apparently was a
third of the overall decline in teen berths in the country.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Oh wow. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Academics actually sometimes refer to it as the you are
what you watch phenomenon, and it's pretty interesting to see,
sort of like how MLK talked about the interracial kiss
on the original Star Trek being one of the most
important moments on television, or how President Joe Biden credited
Will and Grace with changing America's perception of gays more
than just about anything else.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yeah, that's right. So anyway, this whole NASCAR thing won't
be a problem ten to fifteen years from now, when
we're all taking way Mos everywhere and getting chow for
around and robotic cars. But until then, all you NASCAR
watchers out there, he doctor Vilioni's advice, and be a
little mindful of how you're driving the week after a
big race. We want to keep you safe.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
All right, Mago. Let's say you are a clockmaker. I'm
just going to say that. Okay, Now you've built a
beautiful time piece that counts hours and minutes. But now
you've got a problem. You want your clock to count
each second with pinpoint accuracy. So how do you do it.
It turns out you need to crack open the periodic
table because according to the International System of Units, this
(06:20):
is how you measure a second. Quote. The second is
defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the cesium frequency,
the unperturbed ground state high per fine transition frequency of
the cesium one thirty three atom to be nine billion,
one hundred and ninety two million, six hundred and thirty
one thousand, seven hundred and seventy when expressed in the
(06:41):
unit hurts, which is equal to s the power of
negative one. You got it.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
So that is the definition of a second.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, it's the definition of a second. I got lost
in the reading of it, but as you may have noticed,
it's a little bit complicated. So the only way to
measure it is with an atomic clock. And the way
this work sounds completely made out, but I promise it's
actually real. Basically, an atomic clock is a machine that
shoots laser beams at caesium ions, measures frequency at which
their electrons jump to different energy levels, and then sends
(07:11):
the readings to a place called the International Bureau of
Weights and Measures. So this is a real place. It's
a real inner governmental organization. Yeah, and it's actually based
in France.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
So we've got laser clock sending data to friends. I
guess I'm with you that far.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Okay, I'm glad you're keeping up. So there are around
four hundred and fifty atomic clocks in the world, all
sending these readings. So timekeepers at the International Bureau of
Weights and Measures they crunch these numbers from the clocks
and then vote on the quote official time, which they
publish in a monthly publication that comes out monthly called
(07:49):
Circular Tea.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
I never thought i'd say this about anything that involves caesium,
but uh, that is pretty adorably whimsical.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It is in a way, but it's all so pretty
serious stuff like this process is how we determine what's
called international atomic time. And a standard atomic clock made
with caesium is so accurate it can keep time for
about one hundred million years without skipping a beat.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
But starting in the mid ads, researchers at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, or in IST, a federal
lab in Colorado, they began developing a new generation of
atomic clocks that could make caesium seem outdated.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Actually, so what makes these atomic clocks so special?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Well, they use aluminum instead of caesium, so basically a
positive aluminum twenty seven ion. In two thousand and eight,
NIST scientists built something they call the quantum logic clock.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Now.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
It contains a single aluminum ion cooled to nearly absolute zero,
shot with an ultraviolet laser, and the aluminum ion acts
like the second hand on a clock, so it ticks
by jumping up and down between energy levels. But instead
of ticking once for every secondecond, it takes a quadrillion
times per second. That is a big number, man, And
(09:05):
it's so accurate it won't lose a second for thirty
three billion years. That's almost triple the age of the
observable universe.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
That is really hard to imagine, yeah, or hard to
put to the test, I think.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
And this aluminum clock does more than just tell time.
It's even changing our understanding of space time because researchers
have used it to test Einstein's theory of relativity. According
to Einstein's theory, gravity affects the passage of time, So
the stronger the pull of gravity, the slower the time.
And as a result of this, somebody who lives in
the mountains of Colorado, where gravity's pull is slightly lower,
(09:41):
they'll age faster than somebody who lives at sea level. Now,
the quantum logic clock is so sensitive it actually proved
that a person's standing at the top of a staircase
or someone standing on a stool experienced a faster passage
of time. It showed that each additional foot of height
adds about ninety bills adience of a second to your lifetime.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So NBA players would live longer than jockeys as well.
I have a dumb question to ask, why do we
need clocks to be this accurate.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
It's a fair question, but take GPS for example. GPS
isn't just a location tracking technology. It's also a type
of clock. So if you're driving down the highway and
the GPS is five seconds late telling you to take
an exit, you'd be pretty mad about this.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
Right.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
For the GPS to be useful, it needs to show
both an accurate location and an accurate time. It needs
that time to be precise down to the second. And
it turns out that's true for a lot of other
technologies as well. Take telecommunications, satellite networks, radio signals, lots
more things like this. Anyway, it's hard to overstate the
importance of this quantum logic clock in the nerdy and
(10:51):
wonderful world of timekeeping. Those caesium clocks that impressed you
at the start of this segment will eventually end up
being obsolete. And while experiments with other elements are ongoing
right now, aluminum is the leading contender to become the
ticking heart of what we call a second.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Hey, listeners, do not go anywhere. We've got to pause
for a quick break. But there is so much weird
science right after Welcome back to part time Genius. When
(11:31):
we're talking the twenty five greatest science ideas of the
last twenty five years, and we're up to number. So
it probably won't surprise you to learn that water is
the most consumed material on Earth. But can you guess
what comes in second m I'm gonna go with coffee.
You know, I might have guessed that too, but know
the answer is concrete.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Oh really?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have poured nearly nine hundred
billion tons of concrete, and nowadays we're pouring the stuff
at a breakneck speed, especially in the developing world. For example,
in the time period between twenty eleven and twenty thirteen,
China poured more cement than the US did during the
(12:12):
entire twentieth century. Oh wow, isn't that incredible? But all
that concrete has a big downside. It's responsible for eight
to nine percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I never thought of concrete as being such a big
pollution problem. I know, it's not a great thing. I
think of, you know, the sidewalks and things that cars
drive on, but I didn't think of it in that way.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, I didn't realize it either. But apparently making concrete
is an energy intensive process. So it starts by taking
limestone and baking it to temperatures over twenty six hundred
degrees fahrenheit. That kind of heat requires powerful kilns fired
by fossil fuels, and that's just to make cement. To
turn cement into concrete, you have to add aggregates like sand,
(12:53):
and really lots of it. As a result, sand mining
is a big business around the world. We've actually talked
about this before. There's even a burgeoning black market for sand,
backed by a so called sand mafias. Anyway, this dangerous
mix of pollution, mining and mafias got scientists wondering how
to make concrete production more green, Like what if we
(13:13):
supplemented sand with something else, something more sustainable, something that
could reduce concrete carbon footprint. And it's something that you
mentioned just a few minutes ago. Wait, coffee, Yeah, I
so coffee nic Every day humans drank two billion cups
of coffee and most of the coffee grinds just end
up in a landfill. But in twenty twenty three, Australian
(13:34):
engineering researchers had an idea, what if we used those
ground up beans to make concrete. So that's what they did.
They scorched coffee grounds to about six hundred degrees, which
made the grounds break down into a substance called biochar,
which is basically charcoal, and when they began testing, they
discovered that if you replaced just fifteen percent of the
(13:55):
sand in concrete with coffee fueled biochar, the concrete becomes
thirty percent stronger.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
And how does that actually work.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
It turns out the biochart retains water better than sand,
and as a result, the concrete dries slower than usual,
which reduces the risk of shrinking and cracking, helping it
maintain its strength. There are actually two benefits to this discovery. One,
by using spent coffee, it reduces the demand for sand,
and two, by making concrete stronger, it reduces the amount
(14:25):
of cement required for each bag, and with less cement
and sand required, the total carbon footprint of each bag
of concrete could drop significantly. As it happens, a major
industry group called the Global Cement and Concrete Association has
pledged to go carbon neutral by twenty fifty and thanks
to those coffee loving Aussies, they've got a really strong
(14:47):
foundation to work with.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It's an incredible discovery and asoso pun mego, I'll take
it all right now, mego. We happen to be living
through one of the most polarizing moments in recent history
if you've noticed this, But I think one thing we
can all agree on is that dinosaurs are really really cool.
It feels like this should be the thing that brings
us together. In fact, that might be some of the
(15:10):
firmest common ground we have left at this point. What
do you think.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Yeah, I mean, I'd like to think a little more
positively than that, but in general, yeah, I mean, everyone
loves dinosaurs exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And it's always struck me that, even though we're dealing
with creatures that are over one hundred million years old
in some cases, to this day, we are still finding
new things out about them. In the last quarter century
has been particularly generous. We've onearthed so many new fossils
and developed so many breakthrough research techniques that some scientists
are now calling this the Golden Age of paleontology.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
There are way too many of these dino revelations for
us to cover today, but singling out just one didn't
seem right either, So instead I thought I would walk
us through some of my favorite highlights and they can
kind of all share this spot together. What do you think.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
I love it like a big heap of Dino discoveries
is exactly what this science series needs.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I'd absolutely I thought you'd approve of this. So what
stuck out to me most is all this research that
sort of challenges what we thought we knew about dinosaurs,
which for most of us is just what we saw
in the Jurassic Park movie. For instance, in one of
the most famous scenes of the original movie, we see
a t rex chasing after a speed jeep and nearly
catching up to it. So that didn't happen in real life.
(16:23):
That was the movie, Yeah, exactly. In fact, she was
even closer than she appeared to remember because of that
whole mirror.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Yeah, I think we all remember that.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
That scene was considered plausible for nearly a decade after
the film's release, with many paleontologists speculating that a real
t rex could run as fast as forty five miles
an hour. But in two thousand and two, researchers John
Hutchinson and Mariano Garcia used some clever math to show
that the res likely had a much slower role than
(16:52):
we previously thought, so, using biomechanical data from the dinosaur's
closest living relatives, those would be birds, Now was able
to extrapolate just how much muscle mass it would take
for an animal the size of a t rex to
actually be able to run. As a general rule, no
more than fifty percent of an animal's body mass is
composed of muscle, and only a fraction of that muscle
(17:14):
is allocated to the legs. But for a t rex
to run forty five miles an hour, its leg muscles
would need to account for eighty six percent of its
total body Some real.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Masks, those are monster legs. It feels like the leg
muscles would be up to its eyeballs. But uh, you know,
in that case, there's no room for anything else.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah, it doesn't add up there. So even though the
researchers had poked a giant hole in one of Jurassic
Park's best scenes, the filmmakers didn't hold it against them.
In fact, Hutchinson was even hired to consult on one
of the Jurassic Parks sequels based on the strength of
this breakthrough.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
That's pretty awesome, But I'm curious, do we know what
a t rex's top speed would be?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Well, the two thousand and two study concluded that t
rex would have had a hard time topping twenty five
miles an hour. According to a twenty seventeen study from
the University of Manchester, they probably can only reach speeds
of around twelve miles a mile, so any faster and
the seven ton predators would risk shattering their bones.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Actually wow, so it's almost like at speeds that a
human could outrun. At this pace.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah, and remember that's the top speed. The t Rex
was even slower when walking. Exactly how slow remained a
mystery until twenty twenty one, when Dutch researchers built on
those earlier findings and used computer modeling to prove that
Rex walked at a leisurely pace of between two and
three miles an hour. Now, another point of departure from
the Jurassic movies is that the predatory dinosaurs, including t Rex,
(18:40):
did not have permanently exposed teeth. Researchers and artists have
long believed that bipedal carnivores have lipless mouths where their
upper teeth would hang over their lower jaws, not unlike
you know, maybe like a crocodile or something like that.
But according to a twenty twenty three study from the
University of Portsmouth, the dinos actually kept their choppers, this
greatly covered with a pair of thick lizard lips. Isn't
(19:04):
that kind of funny to imagine? So the researchers found
that toothwaar and lipless reptile groups was much different from
that of carnivorous dinosaurs, and based on computer modeling, it
would have been impossible for a lipless t rex to
close its mouth without the lower jaw actually crushing the
very bones that supported it.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
That is really interesting, and you know, I feel like
with all these breakthroughs, they've kind of defanged this idea
of a really frightening t rex right like suddenly they're
like only strolling around at two miles per hour. They're
like they don't have those goofy grins anymore, right, you know,
(19:42):
bearing their teeth and a dinosaurs supposed to have feathers,
right like on top of everything else, they're fluffy.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Actually, I've got some good news on that front because
while many dinosaurs are now believed to have sported feathers,
including raptors and a few of the t rex's cousins,
the rex itself is thought to have had smooth, more
scaly skin. The exception would have been juvenile t rexes,
whose small bodies may have needed feathers for thermal insulation.
By the time they reach adulthood, though their forty foot
(20:11):
long bodies were so good at retaining heat that they
no longer needed those downy coats. So, if anything, an
adult t rex may have had a stripe of bristles
on its back and shoulders, but those would have been
used to attract a mate rather than to keep warm.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
All right, so that's at least one thing the movies
seem to have gotten right.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, and there's still room for improvement on that front too,
because while the t rex was scally, they likely weren't
the drab uniform color they're often depicted as. You know,
you always picture that exact same colors. Recent analysis of
t rex fossils have turned up evidence of melanin, the
same pigment found in human skin and bird feathers, and
that suggests that the rex's skin may have had patches
(20:49):
of several different colors, possibly even like a camouflage pattern,
which makes sense you think about the stripes and spots
of modern predators.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
That is crazy, you know. I imagine like being given
like a t rex as a kid and told to
color it, and like, you know, you pinted with fancy colors,
and that seems completely wrong, right. I also had no
idea that melanin could fossilize.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Well, paleontologists didn't either until two thousand and eight, and
since then discovery has led to all kinds of new
insights about the appearance of dinosaurs, including some pretty solid
guesses about the exact colors of their skin and feathers.
Now More than anything, though, all the advances we've talked
about show us that the dinosaurs weren't the straightforward terrors
that we often see in pop culture. Like any other animal,
(21:35):
they live full lives. That included some quieter moments as well.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
I like how you're trying to make it seem like
we should all be adopting them from shelters that feel
like it's the right thing to do. I would still
be terrified one, Oh totally mean you know me, I'm
terrified when I see a cat can imagine dinosaur? All right, Well,
because dinosaurs are so cool, we decided today on our
Instagram we're going to give away some super special, scientifically
(22:01):
accurate dinosaur action figures. It is important to call them
action figures. I called it adults earlier. Gabe got very
does not like that. I didn't like it.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
He is our resident toy expert, so I'm going to
have to lean on that, and I will agree to
call it an action figure. So head over to our
instagram at part Time Genius and find out how you
can win.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Okay, listeners, you've got to pay for the show with
some ads. But uh, we'll be right back after this
quick break. Welcome back to part Time Genius, where we're
(22:42):
listing out the best ideas in science at the last
twenty five years. Nay, okay, Well, so how much do
you know about sub atomic particles?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
All right, Well, my knowledge of subatomic particles would, if
I'm being honest, probably fit inside a subatomic particle.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, that's why I thought. So here's a quick overview
that will help you understand our next great science discovery.
So let's start with protons. These tiny particles hang out
in the nucleus of every atom, and they're made up
of even tinier particles called quirks, which in turn are
held together with even tinier particles called gluons. Now, gluons
(23:21):
have no mass, but they do carry energy, specifically something
called the strong force, and in terms of nuclear physics,
it basically means it holds stuff together. Now stay with me,
because I'm sure you know that deep in a tunnel
near Geneva there's something called the large Hadron particle collider,
and a hadron is any clump of two or three quirks.
(23:42):
And what this thing does is it blasts particles like
protons at each other at insane speeds, so scientists can
find out what happens when they crash into each other.
And even before this technology existed, scientists have been thinking
about the outcomes of proton collisions. So one hypothesis they
came up with was that protons might exchange a couple
(24:03):
of the gluons that hold them together, creating a super weird,
massless little particle made up of only gluons, which they
called And this is true a glue ball.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
A glugall. Is that the actual scientific time, though it
is so woh way.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
In nineteen seventy three researchers put forward a very specific
version of this theory. They said that it was possible
for three gluons to briefly stick together after a collision. Now,
at the time, there was no actual proof of this
it was just an idea, and they called this hypothetical
particle the oderon.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
All right, so I want to make sure I understand.
So an oduron is what like a triple glue ball. Yeah, yeah,
you know, it's weird. I had never thought of particle
physics involving this much fun vocabulary. I feel like I
might have majored in it if I had known all this.
But all right, so are you going to tell me
that someone finally proved this odoron thing is real?
Speaker 1 (24:55):
So in twenty twenty one, a group of scientists using
the Large Hadron Collider in fact find evidence of odon. So, yes,
when protons collide in this thing, about three quarters of
the time they get smashed apart, but about twenty five
percent of the time the protons survive intact. They just
kind of balance off each other. And that's because at
the point of impact they exchange gluons, sometimes two, sometimes three,
(25:19):
and those gluons keep them together. So are you still
with me here?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
I think so?
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Right. So, quirks carry a charge kind of like a
positive or negative electric charge, but this is expressed in
terms of color, so they can be red, green, or blue.
And when you have all three of those stuck together.
The charge is said to be white or balanced. But
there's also something called an anti color, which is the
property of anti quarks. Is this like antimatter, Yeah, so
(25:47):
the antiquirk is the antimatter evil twin of the quirk,
and it's either anti red, anti green, or anti blue.
But what's interesting is gluons have both colors and anti colors,
So you could have a gluon that carries red and
anti green, which sounds like a very strange Christmas ornament.
A spokesperson for the Oderon experiment told Gizmoto that the
(26:09):
math of Vaultier is quote too hard to explain, but
suffice it to say, researchers observe frequency differences in proton
proton collisions versus proton anti proton collisions, and they realized
the difference had to do with changing color balances that
could only be explained by the existence of a triple
gluon clump the otter on.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I'm trying real hard here, Mango, but I gotta be honest.
This is making my head heard a little bit.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I know it is complicated stuff, but it's also an
incredible discovery. But to make the story a little more personal.
We asked our pal David Nagler, who is an incredibly
talented musician and composer, to write a song about it.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Yeah, I was hiding in plain sight.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
Now I'm in the light light because of a proton
proton and a proton anti proton condition.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
I was the difference between the two three glue on
stuff like glue.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Thanks to the particle physicists for clearing up being decision.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
I'm an out, but I'm not that odd and out
a roun. I'm a real hot rod. It's not monochromatic light.
(28:04):
I'm red, green and blue making white. It may seem
like a fax, it's only quantum chromo dynamics. Folks deepen
the particle.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
Exceleerator, keeping proton longevity greater.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
So how can the green The force is strong in
me strong. I'm an autoba, but I'm not that ard
and auta. I've got a real hot bond.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
And it's squaw.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
It seems so complicated, but you know what, Mengo, it
also makes me want to dance.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Yeah, the song or the science that you know, all
of it.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I'm just feeling good after this.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
I couldn't agree more. And big thanks to David Nagler
for helping us out with this. We'll put a link
to his website in the show notes so that you
can check out his music. It's not usually about physics. Okay,
that's it for today's episode, but be sure to tune
in tomorrow when our countdown continues with a scientific secret,
lurking and home depot, some lively molecules, and a medical
(29:59):
treatment that began in a really, really gross place. You
won't want to miss it, And if you'd like to
win that realistic dinosaur action figure, head on over to
our instagram at part Time Genius to check out today's
giveaway contest. As always from Will, Gabe, Mary and Dylan,
thank you so much for listening.
Part-Time Genius News
Hosts And Creators
Will Pearson
Mangesh Hattikudur
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