Learn about futuristic tethers that could help us stop making a mess in space; how we finally solved a deceptively simple mathematics mystery; and, the surprising science of glass, with special guest Nick Uhas. In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: Futuristic Tethers Could Help Satellites De-Orbit When They Die — https://curiosity.im/2XryS2E This Map-Coloring Problem Was a Century-Old Mathematics Mystery — https://curiosity.im/2XsnYtx Additional resources from Nick Uhas: Watch “Blown Away” on Netflix — https://netflix.com/blownaway Corning Museum of Glass — https://www.cmog.org/ Subscribe to Nick Uhas on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/user/NickUhas Follow @NickUhas on Twitter — https://twitter.com/nickuhas/ Follow @NickUhas on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/nickuhas/ Nick Uhas’ official website — https://www.nickuhas.com/ Want to support our show?Register for the 2019 Podcast Awards and nominate Curiosity Daily to win for People’s Choice, Education, and Science & Medicine. After you register, simply select Curiosity Daily from the drop-down menus (no need to pick nominees in every category): https://curiosity.im/podcast-awards-2019 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 futuristic tethers that could help us stop making a mess in space; how we finally solved a deceptively simple mathematics mystery; and, the surprising science of glass, with special guest Nick Uhas.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Additional resources from Nick Uhas:
Want to support our show? Register for the 2019 Podcast Awards and nominate Curiosity Daily to win for People’s Choice, Education, and Science & Medicine. After you register, simply select Curiosity Daily from the drop-down menus (no need to pick nominees in every category): https://curiosity.im/podcast-awards-2019
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/surprising-science-of-glass-w-nick-uhas-satellite-tethers-and-map-coloring-math
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 about a futuristic technology that could help us stop making a mess in space; how we finally solved a deceptively simple mathematics mystery; and, the surprising science of glass, with special guest Nick Uhas.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Futuristic Tethers Could Help Satellites De-Orbit When They Die — https://curiosity.im/2XryS2E (Cody) [FREELANCER]
Researchers have come up with a new idea for cutting back on space junk. And in case you’ve missed our previous coverage on space debris, let’s just say that this is a big deal. That’s because as of January 2019, there’s an estimated 34-thousand pieces of large debris in Low Earth Orbit. That’s a combination of dead satellites, spent rocket stages, and other assorted bits of space junk. There are thousands of satellites scheduled to launch in the next decade, so the problem is only going to get worse.
And as reported by Universe Today, that’s why a team of scientists from Madrid came up with a simple but elegant way to stop making more of a mess: equip future satellites with a tether system so they can de-orbit themselves at the end of their lives.
Meet the E.T.PACK system; full name, Electrodynamic Tether technology for Passive Consumable-less deorbit Kit. It’s a low work-function tether made of a strip of aluminum tape, which is coated with a special material that emits electrons when it’s illuminated by the Sun. This causes the tether to become attracted to the Earth's magnetic field, which means it then lowers its altitude until it burns up in the Earth's atmosphere.
The tether itself would be 2 centimeters wide, 50 microns thick, and several kilometers in length. During the launch of the satellite, the tether would be rolled up in a reel and only deployed once the satellite was in orbit.
A low work-function tether transforms orbital energy into electrical energy while it deorbits the satellite — without using any type of fuel. It’s different from current propulsion systems, because a low work-function tether doesn’t need propellant. It uses natural resources in space, like the geomagnetic field, ionospheric plasma, and solar radiation. Materials science at its finest.
When the project concludes in three years, the team hopes to test a prototype on a demonstration flight. This concept has already captured the interest of the ESA and industries in the NewSpace sector, and it’s also led to two national patents where the tether could be used for propulsion and power generation. Here’s to keeping space clean and sustainable!
This Map-Coloring Problem Was a Century-Old Mathematics Mystery — https://curiosity.im/2XsnYtx (Ashley) [FREELANCER]
Say you’re going to color a map, like you’d color a coloring book. You’ll color every region a single color. But no two regions touching each other can be the same color. Got all that? How many colors would you need to use, if the ONLY rule was that two adjacent regions of the map can't be the same color? Believe it or not, this is a problem that plagued mathematicians for more than 100 years – and it took the invention of the computer to finally solve it.
The question was first posed in 1852 by a law student named Francis Guthrie. He’d noticed that he needed at least four colors to color the map of England. This made him wonder if four colors might be enough to color any map.
In order to answer this question, he had to look at all possible maps and make sure none of them needed five colors — which, considering the sheer number of maps, would take an unbelievable amount of time.
Because of all the possible maps they had to look at, it wasn’t until the 1970s that mathematicians were finally able to prove that you can’t have a map with a number of regions that would require five colors. That was
In 1976, mathematicians used computers to reduce the number of maps to just under 2-thousand, then tested every single one to make sure they could all be filled in with four colors.
Since this was one of the first times a computer had ever been used to solve a math problem, it was actually pretty controversial. People suggested these proofs should only be proved by people, not machines, even though two previous proofs made by humans had been faulty.
Obviously, mathematicians have played nice with computers and computer algorithms since the 70s, but there are echoes of this controversy today over autonomous vehicles. People are nervous about letting a computer drive, even though human error is the reason for 94 percent of car crashes. The moral of the story is that distrust of technology is a tale as old as technology itself.
[PURPLE MATTRESS]
CODY: Today’s episode is sponsored by Purple Mattress.
ASHLEY: Sleep is important. The quality of sleep affects the quality of your daily life! And if you’re struggling to get a good night’s sleep, you’ve gotta try a Purple mattress.
CODY: The Purple mattress will probably feel different than anything you’ve ever experienced. It uses a brand-new material that was developed by an actual rocket scientist, so it feels unique because it’s both firm and soft at the same time. It’s not like the memory foam you’re probably used to.
ASHELY: Yeah, even if you’re a mathematician who doesn’t trust computers, THIS is a technology you can get on board with. The Purple mattress keeps everything supported while still feeling really comfortable. Plus it’s breathable, so it sleeps cool. It ends up giving you this zero-gravity like feel so it works for any sleeping position.
CODY: When you order, you’ll get a hundred-night risk-free trial. If you’re not fully satisfied, you can return your mattress for a full refund. It’s also backed by a 10-year warranty, with free shipping and returns.
ASHLEY: You’re going to love Purple. And right now Curiosity Daily listeners will get a FREE Purple pillow with the purchase of a mattress! That’s on top of all the great free gifts they’re offering sitewide.
CODY: Just text Curious to 84-888. The ONLY way to get this free pillow, is to text Curious to
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ASHLEY: That’s C-U-R-I-O-U-S to 8-4-8-8-8. Message and data rates may apply.
Interview Clip 1 - The science that goes into glass (Both)
CODY: There’s a lot of hidden science behind different types of glass. And that’s according to a guy who just finished shooting a TV show about glassblowing! I’m talking about a brand-new Netflix competition series called “Blown Away,” and it’s the first show ever to combine a reality competition with glassblowing. It’s be hosted by science influencer Nick Uhas, the man behind the “Nickipedia" YouTube channel, and today Nick joins us to talk a little bit about what he learned while working on the show — with a little help from the Corning Museum of Glass.
[CLIP 2:33]
ASHLEY: If you’re going on vacation this summer, then listen up: apparently the Corning Museum of Glass is located smack in the middle of the drive from New York City to Niagara Falls. So if you’ve got those two locations on your summer vacation plans, then check it out! Again, that was Nick Uhas, host of the Netflix series “Blown Away.” The show debuted TODAY, so if you’re cooped up this weekend with rain or snow, then you just learned about the perfect show to binge-watch. You can find links to the show, Nick’s YouTube channel, and more in today’s show notes.
CODY: Before we recap what we learned today, let’s talk weekend plans! We’ll be back tomorrow with another special Saturday episode of Curiosity Daily. It’s the final episode in our mini-series about how science and technology are being applied to drive innovation and change the world. And you do NOT want to miss this one, because we’ll be talking about what makes your smartphone smart, along with some really cool new technology that you might see soon.
ASHLEY: We’ll be back Sunday to do our usual thing! And if you’ve got some free time this weekend, please take a minute to nominate Curiosity Daily to be a finalist in the 2019 Podcast Awards! Just visit podcast-awards-dot-com and look for Curiosity Daily in the drop-down menus, for the categories of People’s Choice, Education, and Science & Medicine. It’s free to vote and will really help us out. And now, let’s recap what we learned today.
CODY: Today we learned that futuristic tethers could help satellites de-orbit when they die.
ASHLEY: And that some people will just never trust technology — even when it helps us color our maps.
CODY: And that there’s a LOT of science that goes into making glass.
ASHLEY: And that [ad lib]
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes. And have a great weekend! I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Stay curious!