Very Nice Equipment

Summary: Chris and Rob witter on about science fiction, skyscrapers and the CMZ. There’s talk of temperatures high and low, as well as talk about why the LHX hasn’t killed us all. [MP3 Link] Episode #87. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott. Links: 9 Scientific Breakthroughs That Killed Science Fiction Subgenres - http://io9.com/9-scientific-breakthroughs-that-killed-science-fiction-1222342077 Isaac Asimov on space exploration: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/08/28/isaac-asimov-space-exploration-letter-1969/ Can a skyscraper really melt a car?  : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23930675 Why hasn’t the LHC killed us all? http://nautil.us/issue/4/the-unlikely/outsmarting-the-cernageddon CMB in the lab : http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2013/08/28/ultracold-big-bang-experiment-successfully-simulates-evolution-early-universe Chandra and the Milky Way’s black hole :  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/black-hole-rejects-food.html#.UiXHyhabjOc http://arxiv.org/abs/1307.5845 A trojan around Uranus : http://science.ubc.ca/node/724 The CMZ and massive star formation in the middle of our Galaxy: http://arxiv.org/abs/1309.0419 Van Gogh’s Starry Night recreated with Hubble images (via Jules W) http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2013/08/this-astronomer-recreated-starry-night-with-hubble-space-photos/ See your own brainwaves: http://boingboing.net/2013/08/22/see-your-own-brain-waves-in-th.html Lots of Martin Rees : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mk7h/clips Credits: Audio content Copyright 2013 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).