Learn about how you can discover history by going low-tech, from explorers Justin Fornal and Emiliano Ruprah, hosts of “Unexplained and Unexplored” on Science Channel. Then, learn about how nuclear explosions work in space. Learn more about Unexplained and Unexplored: UNEXPLAINED AND UNEXPLORED First Look | Discovery — https://www.discovery.com/exploration/unexplained-and-unexplored-first-look-pictures UNEXPLAINED AND UNEXPLORED: Investigating the Legend of California's Gold Laden Ghost Ship | Discovery — https://www.discovery.com/exploration/investigating-the-legend-of-california-s-gold-laden-ghost-ship Like Science Channel on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/ScienceChannel/ Follow @ScienceChannel on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/sciencechannel/ Follow @ScienceChannel on Facebook — https://twitter.com/ScienceChannel Follow @Justin_Fornal on Twitter — https://twitter.com/Justin_Fornal Follow @EmilianoRuprah on Twitter — https://twitter.com/EmilianoRuprah Additional sources: Nuclear Weapon Effects in Space | NASA — https://history.nasa.gov/conghand/nuclear.htm The Unexpected Effects of Nukes in Space | SciShow Space — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRhStl7SQnM 9 JULY 1962 'STARFISH PRIME', OUTER SPACE | CTBTO — https://www.ctbto.org/specials/testing-times/9-july-1962starfish-prime-outer-space Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing! Just click or tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Learn about how you can discover history by going low-tech, from explorers Justin Fornal and Emiliano Ruprah, hosts of “Unexplained and Unexplored” on Science Channel. Then, learn about how nuclear explosions work in space.
Learn more about Unexplained and Unexplored:
Additional sources:
Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing! Just click or tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/you-can-discover-history-by-going-low-tech-w-justin-fornal-and-emiliano-ruprah-plus-nuclear-explosions-in-space
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about how you can discover history by going low-tech, from explorers Justin Fornal and Emiliano Ruprah. We’ll also answer a listener question about nuclear explosions work in space.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Unexplained and Unexplored #2 — Anyone can discover history (2 segments) [4:23] (Cody)
You don’t need a treasure map, or even a map, to discover something exciting. In fact, you could find one of history’s treasures in a place as modest and unassuming as your local library. That’s according to explorers Justin Fornal and Emiliano Ruprah, stars of the TV show “Unexplained and Unexplored” on Science Channel. And they say you don’t need a treasure map — or even a map at all — to lead you to an exciting discovery. In fact, full disclosure, when Ashley and I were getting ready for our interview, we were gonna ask them about what new technology they’ve used to image maps and stuff, you know, the fancy cutting-edge equipment they were using to excavate, stuff like that. But then we watched the season premiere. And there’s an entire segment where these guys are not using million-dollar equipment, but they’re actually looking at microfilm in a local public library in southern California. Here’s Justin on how going low-tech can help us solve history’s mysteries.
[CLIP 1:50]
Emiliano makes it sound so easy, doesn’t he? Well it gets even better: it turns out you don’t need a PhD to do this stuff, either.
[CLIP 2:32]
Are you as motivated to go out and dig into history as we are? Again, explorers Justin Fornal and Emiliano Ruprah are the stars of “Unexplained and Unexplored,” which you can catch every Sunday at 10pm Eastern on Science Channel.
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ASHLEY: Today’s episode is sponsored by Purple Mattress. Better sleep, better you.
CODY: You need to get a good night’s sleep if you want to be happy and productive. Not to mention, imagine flipping through the pages of an old book and accidentally skimming past a page with a major historic discovery on it — all because you didn’t sleep well! And if you’re struggling to get a good night’s sleep, then you’ve gotta try a Purple Mattress.
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ASHLEY: It’s also backed by a 10-year warranty, with free shipping and returns. 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. Just text Curious to 84-888. The ONLY way to get this free pillow, is to text Curious to 84-888.
CODY: That’s C-U-R-I-O-U-S to 8-4-8-8-8. Message and data rates may apply.
Listener question (Nuclear explosions in space) (Ashley)
ASHLEY: We got a listener question from Brescia on Twitter, who writes: "hey guys! have you ever talked about how a nuclear explosion would work in space???" Great question, Brescia!
A nuclear explosion on Earth has three main components: there’s the force of the blast, the heat from the blast, also known as thermal radiation, and the nuclear radiation — basically, high-energy particles. All three of these can do damage to people and buildings, but the biggest harm from an Earth-based nuke comes from those first two. The blast can rupture organs and destroy structures, and the thermal radiation can burn skin and start fires. But as much as we hear about the dangers of nuclear radiation, it turns out that our relatively dense atmosphere weakens those high-energy particles so they’re not as dangerous as they could be.
But if you detonate a nuke in the vacuum of space, that all changes. Without an atmosphere to carry the energy, there’s basically no blast. Same goes for thermal radiation, since there’s no air to heat. But the nuclear radiation? Hoo boy. A 20-kiloton bomb, which is roughly the size of the one dropped on Nagasaki, would spread high doses of nuclear radiation in space up to 17 times as far as the same explosion on Earth.
If that happens in deep space, that’s one thing. But if you detonate a nuke in space directly above our planet, that radiation can strip electrons off of atoms in the atmosphere and create a fluctuating electric current, resulting in a powerful electromagnetic pulse, or EMP. And that can have disastrous effects. How do we know? Because the US and the Soviet Union have done it. Like, more than a dozen times. In 1962, the US military detonated a 1.4 megaton bomb called Starfish Prime 400 kilometers above the Pacific Ocean. At more than 70 times the yield of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Starfish Prime was the largest bomb ever set off in space. It didn’t create a blast or a fireball, but the EMP did wreak havoc on our electrical grid: it knocked out 300 streetlights and set off numerous burglar alarms in Hawaii — 1,400 kilometers from the test site. That’s 900 miles. That’s the scary thing about nuclear weapons: when the blast doesn’t get you, the radiation will. Thanks for your question, Brescia! If you have a question, send it into podcast at curiosity dot com.
Sources:
https://history.nasa.gov/conghand/nuclear.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRhStl7SQnM
https://www.ctbto.org/specials/testing-times/9-july-1962starfish-prime-outer-space
CODY: Before we wrap up, here’s a sneak peek at what you can catch this weekend on curiosity-dot-com.
ASHLEY: This weekend, you’ll learn about why your earliest memories are probably fake;
Why plague existed for millennia before the first epidemic hit;
What happens when someone’s missing half a brain;
Why days on Earth are getting longer;
And more! Okay, so now, let’s do a quick recap of today’s episode.
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Today’s last story was written by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity.com.
ASHLEY: Today’s podcast was scripted, produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Have a great weekend, and join us again Monday to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!