http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/ en celeste.ecuyer@anu.edu.au Copyright 2009 2009-11-05T03:40:10+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/thirsty_work/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/thirsty_work/#When:03:40:10Z Rod Quantock says, "If climate change doesn't scare you, then you don't get the science." Fortunately Quantock does, and when he gives you his take on the physics, chemistry, biology, geology, palaeontology, cosmology and meteorology of climate science you'll get it too. And then... you'll be scared. It's win-win. Sounds like great fun doesn't? It's an edgy mix of panic and hysteria. But that's what you'd expect from someone whose comedy has been described as ‘medicinal'. In his irreverent style and clever humour has proven to be a great avenue to deliver powerful messages about the reality of climate change, water issues and possible outcomes.  This lecture was introduced by Jon Ward, Manager, Environmental Policy, Toyota Motor Corporation Australia. Public Lecture, Environment, Policy & Political Science, Society & Culture, ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU College of Physical Sciences, Medicine and Life Science, Physical Science 2009-11-05T03:40:10+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/strucure_randomness_in_prime_numbers/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/strucure_randomness_in_prime_numbers/#When:00:07:42Z "God may not play dice with the universe, but something strange is going on with the prime numbers" - Paul Erdos The prime numbers are a fascinating blend of both structure and randomness. It is widely believed that beyond the ‘obvious' structures in the primes, they otherwise behave as if they were distributed randomly; this ‘pseudorandomness' then underlies our belief in many unsolved conjectures about the primes, from the twin prime conjecture to the Riemann hypothesis. This pseudorandomness has been frustratingly elusive to actually prove rigorously, but recently there has been progress to establish new results about the primes, such as that they contain arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions. Some of these developments will be discussed in this lecture. Public Lecture, Mathematical Sciences, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2009-09-29T00:07:42+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/black_holes_and_galaxies/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/black_holes_and_galaxies/#When:00:21:32Z Evidence has been accumulating for several decades that many galaxies harbor central mass concentrations that may be in the form of black holes with masses between a few million to a few billion time the mass of the Sun. Professor Reinhard Genzel discussed measurements over the last two decades, employing high resolution infrared and radio imaging and spectroscopy on large ground-based telescopes that prove the existence of such a massive black hole in the Centre of our Milky Way, beyond any reasonable doubt. These data also provide key insights into its properties and environment. Future interferometric studies of the Galactics Centre black hole promise to be able to test gravity in its strong field limit. He also briefly summarised the cosmological evolution of massive black holes. Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2009-09-01T00:21:32+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/powering_the_planet/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/powering_the_planet/#When:03:43:22Z The supply of secure, clean, sustainable energy is arguably the most important scientific and technical challenge facing humanity in the 21st century. Rising living standards of a growing world population will cause global energy consumption to increase dramatically over the next half century. Within our lifetimes, energy consumption will increase at least two-fold. This additional energy needed is not attainable from long discussed sources, the global appetite for energy is simply too much. Petroleum-based fuel sources could be increased. However, deleterious consequences resulting from external drivers of economy, the environment, and global security dictate that this energy need be met by renewable and sustainable sources. Of the possible sustainable and renewable carbon-neutral energy sources, sunlight is preeminent. If photosynthesis can be duplicated outside of the leaf - an artificial photosynthesis if you will - then the sun's energy can be harnessed as a fuel. The combination of water and light from the sun can be used to produce hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can then be combined with the oxygen in a fuel cell to give back water and energy. This lecture placed the scale of the global energy issue in perspective and then discussed how an artificial photosynthesis to power our planet might be achieved. This lecture was the 2009 Birch Lecture, presented by the ANU Research School of Chemistry. Public Lecture, Chemical Sciences, Environment, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2009-08-19T03:43:22+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/origin_elements_life/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/origin_elements_life/#When:02:36:39Z Human beings are, by nature, curious about their beginnings. Often, such questions of "how we came to be" are confined to the origins of modern society, or the development of human beings as a species. In this lecture, Professor Timothy Beers will endeavour to take the discussion all the way back to the VERY beginning, to the origin of the primary elements required to construct life as we know it -- carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and oxygen (O).Over the past few decades, astronomers and physicists have outlined plausible pathways for the astrophysical production of these elements (and others), from the explosive burning associated with massive stars and the slower contributions of lower-mass stars like the Sun over the history of the Universe. Professor Beers explains how the chemical signatures which can be read in the spectra of stars that are still shining today have provided the clues needed to reconstruct this remarkable story, and how future observations (many of which involve the work of Australian astronomers) will be used to fill out the rich detail of this map of creation.   Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2009-05-29T02:36:39+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/new_horizons_mission_pluto_kuiper_belt/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/new_horizons_mission_pluto_kuiper_belt/#When:03:50:50Z New Horizons is the first scientific investigation to obtain a close look at Pluto and its moon Charon. Scientists hope to find answers to basic questions about the surface properties, geology, interior makeup and atmospheres on these bodies, the last in our solar system to be visited by a spacecraft. The mission could also visit one or more Kuiper Belt objects.  New Horizons launched on January 19, 2006. It will swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost & scientific studies in early 2007 and reach Pluto in July 2015. Then, as part of an extended mission, the spacecraft would head deeper into the Kuiper Belt to study one or more of the icy mini-worlds in the region a billion miles beyond Neptune's orbit.   To get to Pluto, which is 3 billion miles from Earth, in just 9.5 years, the spacecraft will speed by the planet at a velocity of about 27,000 miles per hour. The instruments on New Horizons will start taking data on Pluto and Charon months before it arrives. About three months from the closest approach - when Pluto and Charon are about 65 million miles away - the instruments will take pictures and spectra measurements and begin to make the first maps.  This Toyota-ANU Public Lecture described the New Horizons mission and its progress since its launch on January 19 2006. Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2008-11-20T03:50:50+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/physics_students_uncovered/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/physics_students_uncovered/#When:05:29:28Z As part of National Science Week, the ANU College of Science recently pitted 5 Physics PhD students against each other in a competition to showcase their presentation skills, passion and ability to communicate their phd topic.     Seminar, Physics, The University, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2008-08-22T05:29:28+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/messages_past_warm_earth/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/messages_past_warm_earth/#When:22:44:01Z As a pioneer in paleoceanography who has contributed to three generations of scientific ocean drilling programs, Ted Moore questions whether lessons learned from Earth's past will help us better appreciate the extensive changes that could be brought on by higher global temperatures, rising sea level, and more intense storms predicted for the future. He draws upon the 50-million-year-old climate records of the Eocene to offer insights into the impacts of increased global greenhouse gases and the expectations for Earth's future climate. Professor Moore's lecture is part of the inaugural DRILLS lecture series - a new scientific lecture series that features prominent, internationally known scientists describing scientific ocean drilling from first-hand experience. Public Lecture, Earth & Marine Sciences, Environment, University, Physical Science 2008-05-14T22:44:01+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/the_dark_side_of_the_universe/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/the_dark_side_of_the_universe/#When:05:39:00Z Professor Silk discusses how our understanding of cosmology has evolved in recent years from the old Big Bang cosmology of the Einstein era. Observations have shown us that the universe is mostly dark. This is one of the greatest mysteries in the cosmos. Not only is the observed night sky dark, but also most of the matter in the universe is dark. Astronomers today are seeking to unravel the nature of the mysterious but pervasive dark matter and dark energy, which account for two-thirds of the mass-energy density of the universe. Public Lecture, Earth & Marine Sciences, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2007-08-24T05:39:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/debunking_global_warming_swindle/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/debunking_global_warming_swindle/#When:00:43:01Z Leading expert scientists from ANU and Stanford University presented critiques of the ABC televised program from the previous evening entitled 'The Great Global Warming Swindle'. The forum was then opened for general discussion and questions. Public Lecture, Earth & Marine Sciences, Environment, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2007-07-18T00:43:01+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/geological_perspectives_climate_change/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/geological_perspectives_climate_change/#When:01:16:00Z Throughout Earth’s history, mass extinctions of species were closely related to physical and chemical changes in the atmosphere and the oceans. These variations were controlled by heat from the sun, the distribution of oceans and continents, the extent of ice sheets; volcanic eruptions and asteroid impacts, air-borne particles, the eruption of methane and greenhouse effects. Greenhouse episodes were amplified by carbon dioxide and methane feedback effects from warming oceans and drying vegetation, and by changed reflection effects due to the extent of ice and snow. Current climate changes, triggered by human-generated emissions, will lead to shifts in the Earth’s climate zones toward the poles. The instability of ice sheets melting may lead to significant sea level rises over a time scale of decades. Public Lecture, Earth & Marine Sciences, Environment, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2007-06-25T01:16:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/mars_reconnaissance/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/mars_reconnaissance/#When:03:38:00Z NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was launched in 2005 to search for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long period of time. While other Mars missions have shown that water flowed across the surface in Mars' history, it remains a mystery whether liquid water existed long enough to provide a habitat for life. After a year’s cruise and aerobraking to reach its science orbit in September 2006, the MRO has begun to study the history of water on Mars with a suite of high-resolution observing cameras, spectrometers and navigational instruments. In this lecture, the MRO team describe their initial findings. Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2007-05-07T03:38:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/brightest_explosions/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/brightest_explosions/#When:05:22:00Z The Earth is hit each day by the bright flash of gamma rays lasting from a fraction of a second to several minutes. These bursts originate in distant galaxies as stars collapse and form black holes. The most distant bursts yet observed are from stellar explosions that occurred over 13 billion years ago, when the universe was only a few hundred million years old. Professor Edward PJ van den Heuvel considers whether these bursts provide us with a glimpse of the first short-lived massive stars that formed during the ‘dark ages’ of the universe. He also discusses the potential dangers for life on Earth if a burst occurred nearby in our galaxy. Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2006-12-12T05:22:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/it_aint_necessarily_so_bro/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/it_aint_necessarily_so_bro/#When:05:45:01Z Dr Karl explodes our most common ‘mythconceptions’, including whether the daddy long legs is really the most venomous spider in the world and whether a frog will really sit in a pot of gently warming water, and unknowingly boil itself to death. Are virgin births possible? Would cockroaches survive a nuclear holocaust? Will a black hole suck you in? Is the most radioactive device in our homes the microwave? Dr Karl will discuss the answers to these and other fascinating science questions posed in his new book 'It Ain't Necessarily So...Bro'. Part of the ANU 2006 Meet the Author series. Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Earth & Marine Sciences, Science Communication, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2006-11-10T05:45:01+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/earth_history/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/earth_history/#When:06:00:00Z Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago with its initial condition greatly affected by the trauma of giant impacts. In this lecture, Professor David Stevenson discusses how this trauma affects the similarities and differences between Earth and Moon, the core, possible initial layering of the mantle and the conditions for the early evolution, including timing for the origin of life. This lecture was presented by The Research School of Earth Sciences, ANU College of Science. Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Biological Sciences, Earth & Marine Sciences, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2006-11-02T06:00:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/architecture_climate_change/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/architecture_climate_change/#When:03:19:00Z The Fifth Annual Sir Leslie Melville Lecture was presented by Professor Warwick J McKibbin.  Sir Leslie Melville’s legacy includes the design and establishment of new institutions for dealing with global macroeconomic interdependence. Today the world is grappling with a far more complex set of problems related to environmental interdependence on a global scale. In this lecture, Professor Warwick McKibbin argues that major countries must respond to the issue of climate change, taking into account the enormous uncertainties that are involved. He discusses the key features of the climate change policy problem and will outline a policy framework that would allow an effective but flexible response to what may be the major issue of our time. Public Lecture, Economics, Environment, Policy & Political Science, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Business and Economics, Physical Science 2006-10-31T03:19:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/david_suzuki/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/david_suzuki/#When:01:59:00Z In this last lecture tour of Australia, acclaimed environmentalist and scientist Dr David Suzuki tells the story of his passion for the planet – a passion that for several decades he has brought to the world through his research, his writings, his broadcasting, and above all his life story. Public Lecture, Environment, University, Physical Science 2006-10-25T01:59:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/submarine_volcanoes_of_the_western_pacific/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/submarine_volcanoes_of_the_western_pacific/#When:04:38:00Z The way the sea floor is mapped has been revolutionised in the last decade by high resolution, multi-beam sonar systems, with follow-ups by manned and remotely-operated submersibles. Using these techniques, research groups from Australia, Germany, New Zealand and the USA are discovering much more about chains of underwater volcanoes in zones of tectonic plate convergence, known as 'arcs'. Researchers have found that up to 40 per cent of these underwater volcanoes in the southwest Pacific Ocean are emitting hot water, sulphur, and dissolved metals including iron.  In this lecture Professor Richard Arculus discusses the implications of these findings for the study of ore deposits, the growth of continents, and for the study of life in the oceans around deep sea hot water vents and the shallow water, pelagic photosynthesisers that critically depend on iron for their existence. Professor Arculus also discusses how the research will reveal more about the potential for underwater eruptions and volcanic collapses that can trigger tsunamis. This lecture was sponsored by the ANU College of Science as part of National Science Week 2006. Public Lecture, Earth & Marine Sciences, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2006-09-22T04:38:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/giant_magellan_telescope/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/giant_magellan_telescope/#When:04:32:00Z In the centuries-old quest to refine human understanding of the universe in which we live, the tools we use to throw light at the dim frontiers of knowledge are evolving rapidly. Australian astronomers, engineers, and technologists have just embarked an international partnership to design and build the most powerful extension to the human eye yet known – the Giant Magellan Telescope. Scheduled for completion in 2016, this telescope will be able to detect cosmic objects 75 times fainter than those seen with the Hubble Space Telescope, and produce images up to 10 times crisper. Using techniques currently being prototyped, this 'giant eye on the sky' will become the platform for unprecedented discovery and insight into the formation and evolution of planetary systems other than our own and the dark forces that shape the very fabric of the cosmos. This lecture was sponsored by the ANU College of Science as part of National Science Week 2006. Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2006-09-22T04:32:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/iter_project/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/iter_project/#When:05:11:00Z Fusion energy powers the sun and the stars, but it is yet to be tapped by man. Countries representing over half the world’s population plan to construct and operate a large experimental device, ITER (Latin for ‘the way’), to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful purposes. In this lecture, Dr Barry Green discusses the fusion process, its advantages as a source of energy, and ITER as the next, logical step on the path to developing a fusion power producing reactor. He discusses the status of the ITER project and outline the development of fusion power beyond ITER. Finally, he considers Australia’s historical role in this field and remark on its possible development. Public Lecture, Physics, University, Physical Science 2006-08-17T05:11:00+10:00