AMSEcast Podcast Por American Museum of Science and Energy arte de portada

AMSEcast

AMSEcast

De: American Museum of Science and Energy
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Produced from the American Museum of Science and Energy, AMSEcast invites guests from the world of science, literature, and technology to share unique perspectives from the realm of the highly trained and curiously minded.All materials within AMSEcast are the soul property of or legally licensed property of the American Museum of Science and Energy Ciencia
Episodios
  • AMSEcast with guest Dr. Ahmed El-Mokadem

    AMSEcast with guest Dr. Ahmed El-Mokadem
    Feb 5 2026

    In this wide-ranging conversation, Ahmed El-Mokadem explores the deep ideas behind mathematics' most mysterious numbers, revealing how concepts like zero, infinity, irrational numbers, and imaginary numbers challenge both logic and philosophy. He traces how constants such as π, e, the golden ratio, and the Feigenbaum constants appear universally across nature, physics, biology, and technology—suggesting they are discovered features of reality rather than human inventions. El-Mokadem highlights how mathematics repeatedly expands its own boundaries, from accepting imaginary numbers to assigning meaning to divergent infinities through Ramanujan's work. He shows that even chaos follows hidden numerical order, and that numbers long viewed as paradoxical often turn out to be indispensable. Throughout, mathematics emerges not as cold abstraction, but as a living language that reveals structure, mystery, and beauty in the universe. The discussion ultimately invites listeners to see math as a bridge between human curiosity and the deep order of the cosmos.
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    45 m
  • From Earth to Mars: A Rock's View with Jan Zalasiewicz

    From Earth to Mars: A Rock's View with Jan Zalasiewicz
    Jan 21 2026
    From Oak Ridge, Tennessee, AMSEcast host Alan Lowe sits down with geologist and paleontologist Dr. Jan Zalasiewicz, chair of the Anthropocene Working Group and author of How to Read a Rock. Their conversation explores how rocks and minerals form and what they reveal about Earth's history, from the rock cycle and earthquakes to ancient climates recorded in stone. Jan explains how life, human activity, and materials like bricks and concrete have reshaped geology, and how coal, oil, and gas fit into Earth's carbon cycle. The discussion also looks outward to the Moon and Mars, where rocks offer clues to planetary history and the possibility of past life. Guest Bio Dr. Jan Zalasiewicz is a geologist and paleontologist and an emeritus professor of paleobiology at the University of Leicester. He serves as chair of the Anthropocene Working Group, which has played a leading role in advancing the idea of the Anthropocene as a new geologic epoch shaped by humanity's impact on Earth. A prolific and widely published author, Jan explores how rocks, fossils, and landscapes record the planet's deep history. His books include The Cosmic Oasis: The Remarkable Story of Earth's Biosphere, Discarded: How Technofossils Will Be Our Ultimate Legacy, and How to Read a Rock: Our Planet's Hidden Stories, which is the focus of today's conversation. Show Notes:
    • (1:34) The difference between a rock and a mineral
    • (2:38) How minerals form rocks
    • (4:51) How limestone and marble are formed
    • (6:33) Identifying faults based on rock strata and surface landscapes
    • (8:51) What rocks say about the structure and atmosphere of ancient Earth
    • (10:43) How materials can survive millennia without changing
    • (12:56) The ways animals and plants can affect the Earth's geology
    • (15:28) How concrete and bricks are created
    • (18:53) How hydrocarbons are formed
    • (21:47) What we've learned about the Moon and Mars from their samples
    • (25:15) What's next for Jan Zalasiewicz
    Links Referenced
    • The Cosmic Oasis: The Remarkable Story of Earth's Biosphere https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Oasis-Remarkable-Earths-Biosphere/dp/0198845871/
    • Discarded: How Technofossils Will be Our Ultimate Legacy https://www.amazon.com/Discarded-Technofossils-Will-Ultimate-Legacy/dp/0192869337/
    • How to Read a Rock: Our Planet's Hidden Stories https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Rock-Planets-Stories/dp/1588347281
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    28 m
  • AMSE Science Report with Alan Chodos and James Riordon

    AMSE Science Report with Alan Chodos and James Riordon
    Jan 9 2026

    What if I told you that, no matter where you are or what you are doing, about 100 trillion neutrinos are passing through your body every second? Well, you might first respond, as I did, by asking what is a neutrino, and then wondering why we seem to have no awareness at all of their presence. I mean, if were one or two particles, sure, you might miss them, but 100 trillion every second? I needed to learn more so I spoke on our podcast, AMSEcast, with Alan Chodos and James Riordon about their fascinating book, Ghost Particle: In Search of the Elusive and Mysterious Neutrino.

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    4 m
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