Learn about how studying ancient cities can help us plan modern cities from author Monica L. Smith, an archaeologist and professor in the department of anthropology at UCLA. Plus, learn what happens to light when you turn off the light switch. Get your copy of “Cities: The First 6,000 Years” on Amazon: https://amazon.com Additional resources from Monica L. Smith: “Cities: The First 6,000 Years” — https://amazon.com UCLA Faculty Profile (Anthropology) — https://anthro.ucla.edu/faculty/monica-l-smith UCLA Faculty Profile (Archaeology) — https://ioa.ucla.edu/people/monica-l-smith Research from Monica L. Smith — https://ucla.academia.edu/MonicaLSmith Other resources discussed: Light Absorption, Reflection, and Transmission | The Physics Classroom — https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/Lesson-2/Light-Absorption,-Reflection,-and-Transmission When You Turn Off A Light, Where Does The Light Go? | Forbes — https://www.forbes.com/sites/jillianscudder/2017/02/19/when-you-turn-off-a-light-where-does-the-light-go/#678694f7556c If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Learn about how studying ancient cities can help us plan modern cities from author Monica L. Smith, an archaeologist and professor in the department of anthropology at UCLA. Plus, learn what happens to light when you turn off the light switch.
Get your copy of “Cities: The First 6,000 Years” on Amazon: https://amazon.com
Additional resources from Monica L. Smith:
Other resources discussed:
If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom
Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/ancient-cities-can-help-us-plan-modern-cities-w-monica-l-smith-and-where-light-goes
CODY: Hi! We’re here from curiosity-dot-com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn what ancient cities can teach us about modern cities from UCLA Professor Monica L. Smith. We’ll also answer a listener question about what happens to light when you turn off the lightswitch.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Monica L. Smith Interview Clip 3 - How studying the past helps us today 4:01 (6/2) (Cody)
CODY: New technology is helping us learn about ancient cities, and what researchers are finding could lead to smarter city planning in the future. We’re going to dig into the details in the third and final edition of our “Sunday Cities” mini-series with Monica L. Smith. She’s an archaeologist and a professor in the department of anthropology at UCLA, and she’s the author of a new book called “Cities: The First 6,000 Years.” I asked her how technology has changed the way we’ve been able to study cities from history, and here’s what she told us.
[CLIP 3:28]
CODY: Again, that was Monica L. Smith, an archaeologist and professor at UCLA, and author of the new book “Cities: The First 6,000 Years.” We’ll put links to find more from her in today’s show notes, and we hope that now you’re inspired to take a new look at your own city with a fresh perspective.
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Listener Question - what happens when you turn off a lightswitch (Ashley)
ASHLEY: We got a listener question from Rafael, who wanted to know a bunch of stuff about astrophysics, black holes, and light. We don’t have time to answer all of them on this episode, but for today, I wanted to take on the question that hit closest to home: where does light go when you turn off the light switch?
When light leaves a lightbulb, it can do one of three things: it can be absorbed, it can be reflected, and it can be transmitted. Most objects do some combination of these things, depending on the way the light wavelengths interact with the atoms in the material — like, my red phone case absorbs most light wavelengths but reflects the red ones, which is why it looks red. Specifically, the electrons in the atoms of my phone case vibrate at the same frequency as those red wavelengths of light. You know how a trained opera singer can hit a note that makes a wine glass vibrate so much that it breaks? They’re matching the vibrational frequency of that wine glass. When a light wave matches the vibrational frequency of an electron, that electron absorbs the energy of the light wave and sets its whole atom in motion — basically, turning that light energy into a tiny bit of heat. That’s absorption. But when a light wave doesn’t match that frequency, the electrons just vibrate a little bit and then reemit the light — that’s reflection. If the object is transparent, like glass, the electron vibrations pass from atom to atom like a crowd doing the wave, and emit the light out the other side. That’s transmission.
So, when a light bulb is turned on, it’s emitting energy in the form of light, which streams out in all directions to hit every object in the room. Some of that light is absorbed, some of it is reflected, and some is transmitted — but when you turn the light off, you’re no longer replenishing the absorbed light waves, and eventually, every light wave that’s reflected and transmitted will also be absorbed. And considering how fast light travels, that absorption is basically instantaneous. As a result, when you turn off the light, the room goes dark in an instant. Thanks for your question, Rafael! If you have a question, send it into podcast at curiosity dot com.
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/Lesson-2/Light-Absorption,-Reflection,-and-Transmission
CODY: Before we wrap up, we want to give a special shout-out to Dr. Mary Yancy and Muhammad Shifaz, who are executive producers for today’s episode thanks to their generous support on Patreon. Thank you SO. MUCH.
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