Show Notes
Join Pheely, Liam, and special guest Edward Dewit for episode 54 of The Hyperthesis podcast (Patrick was unfortunately unable to attend the live recording)! Edward is a plasma/nuclear physicist and engineer who is working on nuclear fusion energy. We discuss his work and experiences in his field surrounding nuclear energy, how rotating plasmas can be used to study the accretion disks of black holes, and end the episode with a story about the world's first every nuclear reactor.
Errata: 1. Magnetic field falls off as 1/r instead of the 1/r2 as Pheely mentioned.
2. On fusion reaction, the parameter space is density, temperature, and confinement time, where both MCF (magnetic confinement fusion) and ICF (inertial confinement) require about the same temperature of 10 keV for the fusion cross-section of the Deuterium–tritium reaction. The density of ICF is much higher but for short periods of time (order of nanoseconds). The density of MCF is lower but for much longer periods of time (order of seconds).
3. The compact structure of a spherical tokamak is quantified by a low aspect ratio. The on-axis magnetic field strength of a spherical tokamaks is higher than that of a conventional tokamak and therefore higher plasma pressure is possible. Increasing magnetic field strength is more feasible than making larger tokamaks with greater plasma volume.
More from The Hyperthesis
Join the Hyperthesis Podcast as we celebrate a very special milestone - EPISODE 100! To account for a century of episodes, the Hyperthesis team have decided to change things up in this extended episode by recording our audio and video so you can watch the episode unfold. We start the episode with Liam discussing a recent analogue gravity conference he attended at the University of Nottingham, prompting him to reflect back on the first episode of the podcast. Liam discusses how his relationship with his research field has changed since our first episode, and we all chat about how we have changed in the almost three years of this podcast. We take part in answering some fun physics-based questions, and to add to the visual aspect (make sure to check out the video linked below), test ourselves in identifying AI-made images. We discuss some statistics for the show and the logistics behind recording before discussing what is in the future for us. Patrick tells a story about the measurement system that relates to 100 and we make an announcement at the end of the show, so make sure to listen to this extended episode!
Join the Hyperthesis crew in episode 99 as we talk about our experiences and thoughts on data visualization in science: how we portray data, equations, and reality versus imagination. Before delving into that, Patrick leads the episode by discussing a paper about the cycling science and lifetimes of Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries. Liam ends the episode with a brief history of simulation, which surprisingly dates all the way back to the year 1777.
Join the Hyperthesis team as we return to an episode without a special guest to discuss some interesting scientific phenomena. We begin the episode with a discussion around squeaking or barking sand and how little is known about how this phenomena happens. If you're interested in funding research about this, please let us know! Our main topic today focuses on the field of spectroscopy and how light interacts with matter. Spectroscopy is applied ubiquitously throughout various fields of science. It is an extremely useful method to probe properties of matter. We discuss the principles behind spectroscopy, and we explore its many applications. We end our episode with the story of the life of Lord Rayleigh who discovered the mechanism that explains why the sky is blue.
Welcome to episode 97 of the Hyperthesis where we discuss all things dark matter and physics education with Jon Clarke. Jon Clarke is a PhD student at Queen's University where he is working with the NEWS-G dark matter detector, analyzing data from the latest experimental runs. Before starting his PhD, Jon taught high school physics in the UK before providing training for a total of 300 high school physics teachers. Before we delve into Jon's work, the introduction topic touches on some new findings from the Euclid Dark Matter space telescope. Patrick ends the episode with a story about Vera Rubin, whose research is a foundation of dark matter research.
Join us for this episode of the Hyperthesis as we delve into the world of the body and the small with our guest, Dr. Matt Campea. Currently working as a Scientific Specialist with Cytiva, we delve into his current work on customizable nanoparticles and previous research on drug-loaded nanoparticles. This includes developing improved methods to help with cancers, schizophrenia, and other challenging diseases. Before then, Liam discusses a new technique for drug delivery using injectable drug-containing gels whose release can be controlled through shape and composition instead of more invasive methods. Patrick ends the episode with the story about a history of people making small things.