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Spider silk?

Brother Phil and I were on the porch the other day, and the topic swung round to the amazing mechanical strength of spider web. He bumped into something about some piece of clothing that had been made from the stuff. After talking about it for a while, it hit me that I didn’t actually know what I was talking about. Thus, for the last episode of 2020, we dig into the topic of regular silk, spiders, and spider silk.

Happy holidays, and we’ll see you again on January 14, 2021.
Continue reading Ep 287: Spider silk? →

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Say cheese!

Today we look at the history of photography, and how the camera helped create the modern computer.
Continue reading Ep 286: Say cheese! →

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A lucky accident

Around the 1950s, many labs were attempting to figure out how to manufacture transistors. Even more exciting was the idea that many electrical components, entire circuits could be put on one crystal. There were several methods attempted to solve the problems that occurred, until one day, in 1955, a lucky accident suddenly made everything much easier.
Continue reading Ep 285: A lucky accident →