EPISODE · Jul 6, 2018 · 36 MIN
Episode 12: The Light Fantastic
from syzygy · host Chris Stewart
Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPodOr just visit us at home: syzygy.fmEmily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/Chris online: kipstewart.comTo view the podcast chapter list and artwork in this episode, you could do worse than use the Overcast app on iOS, or Pocket Casts on Android. (Other podcast players are available, though they may not handle mp3 chapters nicely.)Some of the things we talk about in this episode:• A listener question from Circus Stu! https://www.circusskillsyorkcic.org• James Clerk Maxwell: https://digital.nls.uk/scientists/biographies/james-clerk-maxwell/discoveries.html• Wave-particle duality of light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iuv6hY6zsd0• Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity: http://www.einstein-online.info/elementary/specialRT.html• General Theory of Relativity: https://www.newscientist.com/round-up/instant-expert-general-relativity/• Bowling balls and rubber sheets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTY1Kje0yLg• Brian Cox drops stuff in a vacuum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs• Mass is weird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztc6QPNUqls• Neutrino astronomy: https://www.space.com/24334-neutrino-telescopes-astronomy-new-era.html• Gravitational waves: https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/what-are-gw• Gravitational wave Astronomy: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-future-of-gravitational-wave-astronomy/• Dark Sky Reserves: http://darksky.org
What this episode covers
A question from a listener leads us into some very tall weeds as we ponder the nature of light: what is it, exactly? It is a wave? Or a particle? Or, somehow, both at once? And photons, the massless particles that apparently make up all light: if they've got no mass, how can they be affected by gravity — like around a black hole, for example? Oh, it's all very tricky stuff, but we have lots of fun unpacking it all. Because in the end, you can't do much astronomy without light, so it's best to understand it properly, really.
NOW PLAYING
Episode 12: The Light Fantastic
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Jun 21, 2026 ·104m
May 30, 2026 ·110m
May 6, 2026 ·139m
Apr 8, 2026 ·136m