Technorama Ep 448 : I’m not touching THAT!

Coming up in this episode…

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Old booze
Old cake
Old people

Listen below with the audio player or Click Here for complete show notes and video from the show.

SF Edwards – News from Flight Test Land (3:06)

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Q: What was the hardest scientific concept to get your head around?

Edward: The math they are teaching my son

Mike Mennenga: Entropy (arrow of time)

Entropy is the only quantity in the physical sciences (apart from certain rare interactions in particle physics; see below) that requires a particular direction for time, sometimes called an arrow of time. As one goes “forward” in time, the second law of thermodynamics says, the entropy of an isolated system can increase, but not decrease. Hence, from one perspective, entropy measurement is a way of distinguishing the past from the future. However in thermodynamic systems that are not closed, entropy can decrease with time: many systems, including living systems, reduce local entropy at the expense of an environmental increase, resulting in a net increase in entropy. Examples of such systems and phenomena include the formation of typical crystals, the workings of a refrigerator and living organisms.

Scott: That is a really difficult topic to get my head around. But to be more specific, I’d have to say life. If someone has figured that out, let me know.

Steve: Quantum physics

From Rob

Hello my geeks,

I’ve mainlined your shows from February to the present during the past couple of weeks and finally caught up.

I found your conversation about the Anikin interesting because I actually named my daughter Leia. Quite frankly I’m surprised I got it past my wife, but the more she thought about it the more she liked it. Yay.

Now for some answers from previous shows.

Gadget sci fi gadget I most want–Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy. Oh wait, I’ve got two of those in my iPhone and iPad. Cool.

What would I put on a digital road sign–Don’t panic and carry your towel. (Sensing a theme here)

Piece of technology I saved up for–a Sony minidisc player. I honestly thought these would replace CDs

Favorite super hero–Longshot. Just thought he was cool from his mini series back in the 80’s

That should be enough for now.

This has been, as always suriehl. (Pronounced surreal)

All things have an, except sausages, which have two.

On This Day In History for September 2, 2015

This is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 120 days remaining in 2015.

It was on this date in 1666 that The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings including St Paul’s Cathedral.
Great Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe on this date in 1752.
The United States Department of the Treasury is founded on this date in 1789.
September 2, 1859, A solar super storm affects electrical telegraph service.
Arthur Rose Eldred is awarded the first Eagle Scout award of the Boy Scouts of America on this date in 1912.
September 2, 1963, CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television’s first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
Also today in 1970, NASA announces the cancellation of two Apollo missions to the Moon, Apollo 15 (the designation is re-used by a later mission), and Apollo 19.

Happy birthday goes out on this date to:

American engineer Lysander Button, born on this date in 1810.
Also born today in 1838, Liliuokalani of Hawaii.
German physicist and academic Woldemar Voigt was born today in 1850.
Israel Gelfand, the Russian-American mathematician and biologist would have been 102 today.
Actor, director, and producer Mark Harmon turns 64.
and finally, Neo… Keanu Reeves is 51.

And that’s the way it was, on this day in history for September 2, 2015

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