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EarthDate

EarthDate

著者： Switch Energy Alliance
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概要

 EarthDate is a short-format weekly audio program delivering concise, science-based stories about the Earth: its geology, environments, and the processes that shape our planet over deep time and today. Beginning in 2026, EarthDate is managed by Switch Energy Alliance and hosted by SEA's founder Dr. Scott W. Tinker. Together, we explore earth systems, natural resources, and their relevance to everyday life, with a focus on clear, accessible science education for broad audiences. EarthDate is written and directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Harry Lynch, and researched by Lynn Kistler. We search for captivating stories to remind listeners that science can enlighten, educate and entertain.Copyright 2026 EarthDate 地球科学 生物科学 科学
エピソード
  • Hanging with Geckos

    Hanging with Geckos
    2026/03/24
    Have you ever seen a gecko walk straight up a glass door, or sprint upside down across a ceiling, and wonder, “How can they do that?” To get the answer, you’d need an electron microscope. At 200× magnification, you’d see the gecko’s toes are covered with tiny hairs called setae. Zoom in closer and at 1000×, you’d see that the setae are actually bunches of hairs, like in a hairbrush. Much closer, at 55,000×, you’d see that each one of those hairs splits again into hundreds of branches of spatulae, shaped like spatulas. The spatulae are thinner than a wavelength of visible light—so small they can get close enough to the surface the gecko is walking on that electrons in the spatula and surface material begin to pull on each other. The force on just one spatula is weak. But multiplied by the 2 million spatulae on a gecko’s toe, it’s strong enough to hold the gecko onto glass using just that one toe. When it needs to move, the gecko flexes muscles in its toes to change the orientation of the setae, turning its foot from sticky to not in an instant. It can coordinate these on–off movements with every step, every fraction of a second, to run up a wall or across a ceiling without falling. Scientists have been trying to emulate this incredible, controllable, atomic-level stickiness, but so far, the gecko has us beat… up, down, and sideways.
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    2 分
  • Copper’s Superpower

    Copper’s Superpower
    2026/03/24
    Phoenician soldiers, when injured in battle, would shave bronze from their swords into their wounds. Why? For the copper. Copper is often found in its pure state, rather than bound in ore, and is easy to bend. This made copper the first metal to be shaped by humans into useful implements around 10,000 years ago. The Copper Age lasted 5,000 years, until someone realized they could add tin to copper to make bronze, which was easier to melt and cast, harder as a finished product, and better for tools and weapons like Phoenician swords. Those soldiers and their contemporaries knew that copper is antimicrobial. High-copper alloys, like bronze, preserve that attribute. Egyptian doctors used copper to disinfect. Anatolian mothers fed babies from copper cups, since it killed the germs that caused diarrhea. Modern researchers have finally caught on, and for the past 20 years have studied copper’s antimicrobial effects. The process is still not completely understood, but when microbes—including the coronavirus—land on copper, it releases charged particles that invade the microbe, disrupt its DNA, and kill it within hours, even minutes. Studies have found that hospitals can reduce infections by up to 10 times by replacing plastic and stainless steel with copper alloys, and many have begun to use them for high-touch surfaces. The future of healthcare may benefit from the ancient properties of copper.
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    2 分
  • Riding the Jet Streak

    Riding the Jet Streak
    2026/03/23
    When passengers boarded a British Airways flight from New York to London on February 8, 2020, they had no idea they were about to make history. Once their 747 reached cruising altitude, the pilots directed the plane into a jet streak, a fast-moving current of air that sometimes occurs in winter. The streak rocketed the plane to a ground speed of 825 miles an hour, cutting travel time by 25 percent and setting a record for subsonic aircraft making the trip. The surprised passengers arrived in London in less than 5 hours—an hour and 40 minutes ahead of schedule. One hundred EarthDate episodes ago we talked about the jet stream, the west-to-east currents of air that circle the globe. It’s common in winter for the Northern Polar Jet to drift southward into what pilots call the North Atlantic Tracks, the routes they fly from the U.S. to Europe. When other factors, like a storm system, increase its velocity, the jet stream can create jet streaks—rivers of wind more than twice as fast, at up to 250 miles an hour, like the one that carried that February 2020 flight. Faster trips like these save time and fuel and reduce exposure to cosmic radiation for passengers and crew, which happens on any flight. So, if you’re looking for a quick, efficient, safe trip to Europe—and your own chance to land in the record books—plan one for a stormy winter night… but don’t plan to sleep!
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    2 分
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