Skeptics Guide #910

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #910 September 24th 2022 Segment #1. What's the Word Science-Fiction Terms Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Zetawatt Laser https://news.engin.umich.edu/2022/09/first-light-soon-at-the-most-powerful-laser-in-the-us/ News Item #2 – The fastest propulsion we may ever create: Directed energy Laser Sails Segment #3. Interview with Mark Ho https://markkho.github.io/ Segment #4. Live Q&A Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: Emerging Technologies #1) A new artificial leaf technology made from a carbon-based polymer is able to use sunlight to capture CO2 from the air at 7 times the capacity per volume as natural leaves. #2) Femtosecond Projection Two-Photon Lithography is a 3D printing technique that allows for printing1000 times faster than current methods without sacrificing resolution. #3) Smart fertilizers control the rate of release of fertilizer once spread to better match its uptake, and to reduce excess fertilizer from getting into the environment. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "You don't need to predict the future. Just choose a future -- a good future, a useful future -- and make the kind of prediction that will alter human emotions and reactions in such a way that the future you predicted will be brought about. Better to make a good future than predict a bad one." Isaac Asimov


View on YouTube.