Physics World Weekly offers a unique insight into the latest news, breakthroughs and innovations from the global scientific community. Our award-winning journalists reveal what has captured their imaginations about the stories in the news this week, which might span anything from quantum physics and astronomy through to materials science, environmental research and policy, and biomedical science and technology. Find out more about the stories in this podcast by visiting the Physics World website. If you enjoy what you hear, then also check out our monthly podcast Physics World Stories, which takes a more in-depth look at a specific theme.
https://physicsworld.com/a/environmental-sustainability-exploring-the-challenges-for-the-medical-physics-community/
How the Doomsday Clock ticks, dusting on the Moon, Proxima reflects on women in STEM
For almost 75 years, the Doomsday Clock has monitored how close humankind is to global catastrophe. With the clock now closer to midnight than ever before, the science writer Rachel Brazil talks to Physics World’s Matin Durrani about how the clock is set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and how physicists can engage in public debates about the challenges facing civilization.
Space travel is one challenge that humans have overcome, and we could soon embark on a second era of exploration that culminates in the colonization of the Moon. Lunar dust, however, could be the nemesis of Moon dwellers because the stuff gets everywhere and can damage spacesuits and other essential technologies. Xu Wang and Ben Farr of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder join the podcast to explain how beams of electrons could help keep equipment dust free on the Moon.
The film Proxima looks at the themes of motherhood, separation and sexism from the perspective of an astronaut who is preparing to spend a year on the International Space Station. Physics World’s Tushna Commissariat is on hand to give her impressions of the film and to chat about our interview with the film’s writer and director Alice Winocour.