Big Picture Science for Sept. 30, 2024 - Measure For Measure

 

 

 

 

 

Big Picture Science - Measure For Measure

REPEAT
Whether in miles or pounds, meters or kilograms, we take daily measure out our lives. But how did these units ever come to be, and why do we want to change them? From light-years to leap seconds, we look at the history of efforts to quantify our lives and why there’s always room for greater precision. Plus, we debate the virtues of staying imperial measurements vs. going metric.

Guest:

• James Vincent - Author of Beyond Measure, the Hidden History of Measurement

This repeat podcast originally aired on March 24, 2023

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/measure-for-measure

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!

 

Big Picture Science for July 24, 2023 - Measure For Measure

Big Picture Science - Measure For Measure

Whether in miles or pounds, meters or kilograms, we take daily measure out our lives. But how did these units ever come to be, and why do we want to change them? From light-years to leap seconds, we look at the history of efforts to quantify our lives and why there’s always room for greater precision.

Plus, we debate the virtues of staying imperial measurements vs. going metric.

Guest:

• James Vincent - Author of Beyond Measure, the Hidden History of Measurement

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/measure-for-measure

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!

Exoplanet Measured with Remarkable Precision

Source - NASA Science News for August 18, 2014

Astronomers are not only discovering planets around distant suns, they are also starting to measure those worlds with astonishing precision. The diameter of a super-Earth named "Kepler 93 b" is now known to within an accuracy of 1%.
  
The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/18aug_sizeup/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA6MJkHJXVk&feature=youtu.be



License: Standard YouTube License