The Hyperfine Physics Podcast

The 2022 Physics Nobel Prize, awarded to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger "for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science" https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2022/press-release/ Scientific American article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-universe-is-not-locally-real-and-the-physics-nobel-prize-winners-proved-it/ Bell's Theorem and EPR episode of Hyperfine https://thehyperfine.com/#bell Encryption: Diffie-Hellman & RSA episode of Hyperfine https://thehyperfine.com/#encryption CGP Grey video "The Trouble with Transporters" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHBAdShgYIThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss acoustic levitaiton with Dr. David Jackson, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Dickinson College. Their published paper at AAJP (requires subscription), "Acoustic levitation and the acoustic radiation force": https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/10.0002764 You can contact Dr. Jackson to request a copy: https://www.dickinson.edu/site/custom_scripts/dc_faculty_profile_index.php?fac=jacksond Ming-Hua Chang's senior thesis, "Using Schlieren Optics to Visualize Ultrasonic Standing Waves In Acoustic Levitation": https://scholar.dickinson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1391&context=student_honors Dr. Daniel A Russell's Acoustics and Vibration Animations: https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/demos.html Selected gifs of wave motion: https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/waves/wavemotion.html https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/Reflect-Particles/Reflect-Particles.html https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/phase-p-u-sine/phase-p-u-sine.html https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/SWR/SWR.html Physics Girl video building an acoustic levitator on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABjRnSYw-4k Acoustic levitation on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_levitationThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss the "controversial" value of Newton's gravitational constant G. They cover the history of its measurement and how the value (and confidence in that value) has changed over time. Gravitational G wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_constant Relative uncertainty of phsyical constants: https://codata.org/blog/2015/08/04/codata-recommended-values-of-the-fundamental-physical-constants-2014/ Different G experiments with uncertainty bars: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344933668/figure/fig2/AS:1019607263477760@1620104723443/The-eleven-values-of-G-adopted-in-CODATA-2014-after-2000-and-our-latest-two-values.pngThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss the big question: why is the future different than the past? Why do we remember the past but not the future? Much the discussion comes from Sean Carroll’s book, “From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time“The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek chat with special guest, Grant Ciffone! Grant joins us as a non-physicist who asks “Is anything truly random in the universe?” Interested in being a guest on the show? Come ask us a question! Email us at [email protected] podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss a mystery in a hospital, where an MRI machine seems to have taken out only iPhones; Android was unharmed. This leads to a conversation on how watches work, fundamentally.The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss the statistical origins of entropy and how it connects from there into thermodynamics. They also encourage using flashcards 🙂The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss the basics of thermodynamics, including the so-called thermodynamic potentials. Topics: energy, temperature, entropy, pressure, volume, enthalpy, Helmholtz free energy, Gibbs free enthalpy. Modern Thermodynamics: http://www.av8n.com/physics/thermo/ Legendre transformation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legendre_transformationThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss Benford’s Law, including the strange places it pops up, and some fundamental origins of the law. Some of the references discussed: The Mathematics of Benford’s Law – A Primer Arno Berger and Theodore P. Hill April 22, 2020 A Simple Explanation of Benford’s Law R. M. FEWSTER The American Statistician, February 2009, Vol. 63, No. 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benford%27s_lawThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss Max Planck’s work in the foundations of what would turn into quantum mechanics, and Albert Einstein’s role in its promulgation. How did Max Planck fix the blackbody radiation problem with the ultraviolet catastrophe, or is that actually what happened? References discussed: Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity by Thomas Kuhn (Amazon book) Einstein and the Quantum: The Quest of the Valiant Swabian by Douglas Stone (Amazon book) Revisiting the Quantum Discontinuity (PDF)The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss the physics of hurricanes, including the energy involved, and rotating reference frames, including Coriolis effects. Why do they rotate in different directions in the northern and southern hemispheres?The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss the composite systems of quarks in baryons and mesons, as well as the eightfold way and multiplet organization of quark particles. This is a follow up to the Standard Model episode. Further reading: “Introduction to Elementary Particles” by David Griffiths Eightfold way (physics) on Wikipedia Murry Gell-Mann on Wikipedia List of baryons on WikipediaThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

The first of a multi-part series on the Standard Model of particle physics. This is an overview of the particles that make up the standard model. Derek’s main reference book: The New Cosmic Onion Zak’s main reference book: The Theory of Almost Everything The Standard Model on WikipediaThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss toppling larger and larger dominos in a chain reaction. How does the potential energy work? What are the limits of the setup? World Record Largest Toppling Dominos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODHofgWv2QM&feature=youtu.be&t=86 The gravity-powered LED light: https://deciwatt.global/The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek follow up their Bell’s Theorm and EPR discussion with a survey of Bohmian mechanics, often called pilot wave theory, one of many interpretations of quantum mechanics. Looking Glass Universe “Bohmian Mechanics- An Alternative to Quantum” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbRVnC92sMs Looking Glass Universe “A problem with Bohmian Mechanics? Contextuality” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz4CHI_W-TA Veritasium “Is This What Quantum Mechanics Looks Like?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIyTZDHuarQ de Broglie–Bohm theory on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Broglie%E2%80%93Bohm_theory Copenhagen interpretation on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_interpretation Holland, The Quantum Theory of Motion: https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Theory-Motion-Broglie-Bohm-Interpretation/dp/0521485436 Rosenblum & Kuttner, Quantum Enigma: https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Enigma-Physics-Encounters-Consciousness-ebook/dp/B005H5O1DU/The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss a drone flying in an accelerating car. Does it stay in place? Fly to the back, front, ceiling, or floor? (And does the plane take off?) The original Reddit post. (The actual question has been removed, but the replies feed the discussion.) https://old.reddit.com/r/Physics/comments/8makbf/i_dont_know_if_this_is_the_right_place_to_ask_but/ Drone in a car YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjTj-tGPSWE Smarter Every Day balloon (and bubble) in a car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8mzDvpKzfYThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss nothing less than the fundamental nature of reality. They start with the arguments made in the Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen paper from 1935, which were then tackled by John Bell in 1964 with Bell’s Theorem and Bell inequalities. References: The original Bell paper (1964): https://cds.cern.ch/record/111654/files/vol1p195-200_001.pdf The original EPR paper (1935): http://www.drchinese.com/David/EPR.pdf Bohr’s response to EPR (1935): http://cds.cern.ch/record/1060284/files/PhysRev.48.696.pdf Bohm’s physics textbook. Specifically, page 29, and Chapter 5 section 3, and Chapter 22 Section 19. (1951): https://books.google.com/books?id=hEHCAgAAQBAJ David Mermin’s paper (1985): http://cp3.irmp.ucl.ac.be/~maltoni/PHY1222/mermin_moon.pdf David Mermin talk at Berkeley (2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta09WXiUqcQ Tim Maudlin’s talk “What Bell Did” (2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg5z_zeZP60 Bell’s Theorem in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (good historical overview): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bell-theorem/ GHZ (3-particle) experiments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GHZ_experiment Bell’s Theorem in popular Youtube channels: Veritasium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuvK-od647c Through the Looking Glass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-s3q9wlLag MinutePhysics & 3Blue1Brown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcqZHYo7ONs 3Blue1Brown & MinutePhysics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzRCDLre1b4 Physics Girl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6WxIblKVZI (Note: At about 46:40, Derek says “This now gets at the Schrodinger’s Cat problem, which was a reply to the EPR and Bohm papers,” but should have said “EPR and Bohr papers”.)The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek try to tackle the “climbing magnets” puzzle from Veritasium’s Youtube channel. Both taking different approaches until watching the result together. Video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0oNkO2YI-wThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek first discuss what happens to a balloon which holds another balloon that pops while inside the first. Then they try to tackle the physics of sweet spots on bats. The balloon gif: https://i.imgur.com/96ld4oz.gifv Sweet spot discussion starts 18:50The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Zak and Derek discuss the physics of dropping in Fortnite and PUBG. Derek’s Epic name: theHyperfine How do you reach the ground the fastest? When should you jump? What do you do after you jump? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_least_action https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachistochrone_curveThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Derek and Zak confirm they are talking to each other using the Diffie-Hellman protocol. Zak then encrypts a secret message using RSA encryption, which Derek then decrypts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffie%E2%80%93Hellman_key_exchange https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_(cryptosystem) The Art of the Problem has a fantastic pair of videos on YouTube explaining how these encryption methods both work. Diffie-Hellman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEBfamv-_do RSA Encryption: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXB-V_Keiu8The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Derek and Zak discuss why there is a specific geosynchronous orbit distance at all. Why can’t it be any distance? And why is the escape speed what it is? Why can’t you move 1mph and leave Earth?The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Pushup discussion starts at 11:12. Our last episode on discussing the floating hourglass: https://www.thehyperfine.com/podcast/3-floating-hourglass/The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

How does moving sand affect the buoyancy of the hourglass? Or does it? Derek takes a stab at a conceptual answer, but Zak works out some contradicting math. The animation in question: https://gifer.com/en/AjtnThe podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Is your cell phone heavier when it has more data stored in memory? What about an SD card? Magnetic storage drive? Is there a difference? Zak and Derek dive in to the physics of flash storage, and what that means for mass even on the smallest of small scales. Electron mass? Einstein mass-energy equivalence? Is there any change at all? Original reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/74rboo/if_my_60_gb_phone_is_full_or_empty_is_there_any/ Maxwell’s demon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%27s_demon Our Mathematical Universe, by Max Tegmark: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Mathematical-Universe-Ultimate-Reality/dp/0307599809The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Derek and Zak question how a bug zapper works, complete with testing on yourself…as only good scientists do! They then explore a SF writer’s query on reddit, asking about the safety of people landing on planets by dropping to the surface while enclosed in spheres filled with water.The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks

Derek and Zak introduce themselves and the podcast. Join our listener community on Reddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ What the name "Hyperfine" means: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperfine_structure Three Blue, One Brown podcast: “Ben Ben Blue” https://www.benbenandblue.com/The podcast lives at https://www.thehyperfine.com/ Join our listener community on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheHyperfine/ Follow the show on Instagram @thehyperfine: https://www.instagram.com/thehyperfine/ Derek on Instagram (and Twitter) @liketortilla: https://www.instagram.com/liketortilla/ Zak on Twitter @phyzaks: https://twitter.com/phyzaks