Podcasts and Vodcasts by Topic

Detecting Earthquakes Faster
December 14, 2012
Seismic measurements coupled with GPS can detect earthquakes in a matter of seconds

From Wet Dogs to Mars Rovers: Physics of Shaking
December 10, 2012
Slow-motion videos of shaking, wet animals may help engineers develop better self-cleaning technology.

Frozen Powder Drops
November 19, 2012
Water Droplets "freeze" into unique shapes when impacting a special powder at high velocities.

Droplet Bounce
October 15, 2012
When falling onto another liquid layer, water droplets typically bounce then coalesce. If the surface is vibrating, however, the droplets will continue bouncing, as seen in this video.

Helment Biomechanics
September 21, 2012
First-ever study aims to help in developing improved child helmets.

Higgs Boson
August 31, 2012
Newly detected particle could supply missing piece of cosmic puzzle.

Designing Stable Tiny Fliers
July 05, 2012
Top-heavy design increases stability.

Robots and snakes
June 27, 2012
Mechanical engineers mimic snakes to build better robots.

Butterfly-Inspired Flying Robots
June 04, 2012
Mechanical engineers aim high-speed video cameras at planet's prettiest bugs to obtain flight insights.

Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls
April 23, 2012
Biomechanics researchers are using a special slip simulator to study ways to reduce worker injures associated with tripping and falling.

Snow-Wing
January 02, 2012
Atmospheric Scientists Find that Planes Can Cause Rain and Snow Inadvertently

Play Ball
November 28, 2011
Physical Therapists Use Simulation Technology to Identify Areas of Concern in Injured Athletes

Inside the NIH
November 21, 2011
Therapists Use New Therapy Systems to Help Disabled Get Most Effective Treatment

Fly Fishing Physics
July 18, 2011
Biologists and fly fishing experts explain the physics of the sport and the trick to the ideal cast.

Perfection on Ice
June 20, 2011
Biomechanists are helping ice skaters improve their performances, using motion capture technology to study skaters' movements.

Engineering For Earthquakes
May 16, 2011
Structural engineers designed a building foundation that can help to minimize damage when an earthquake strikes.

March Madness
April 04, 2011
Engineers found that in certain areas of the basketball court, bank shots- which hit the backboard and fall into the net- can improve success by up to 20 percent, by using just a couple laws of physics.

New Approach to ACL Repair
March 07, 2011
Orthopedic surgeons are revolutionizing a traditional surgery that restores a vital component of the knee that helps keeps us stable on our feet, the anterior cruciate ligament. Traditional surgery can restore front-to-back stability in the knee, but the new surgery adds additional stability by creating a better fit for the repair- creating rotational stability and minimizing failure.

Girls Changing Science
February 14, 2011
Earth scientists, oceanographers and engineers worked with the youngest of scientists on real research contributing to real issues in today's world. Claire, only 9 years old, studied water runoff in her home town's grass soccer fields and compared it with runoff on turf fields. She found chemicals in both fields that sometimes exceeded levels set by the Government. In another project, a fourth grader named Olivia helped with a bio-inspired design for dropping emergency packs from great heights.

Forecasting Floods in 3D
October 25, 2010
Hydrologists at the USGS created a map that turns the weather forecast into a flood forecast in one hour. By adding the amount of approaching rain to the local geography and using physics equations, the flood map can show when and where a flood will occur and how deep the water will be to better prepare when storms hit.

Robots Taking Over the Garden
December 11, 2009
Computer scientists send robots to the garden to tend to tomato plants.

New and Improved Wind Power
December 04, 2009
Mechanical engineers create wind turbine that responds to the wind, maximizes power generation.

Inside the Wind
November 20, 2009
Aerospace engineers use wind tunnel to study hurricane-strength winds.

Smart Bridge Keeping Drivers Safe
November 06, 2009
Civil engineers installed approximately 400 sensors in a bridge to monitor how corrosion, temperature and traffic loans impact the structure.

Students Achieve Over One Thousand Miles-Per-Gallon in Competition
October 30, 2009
Engineering students teamed up to build super- efficient gas-powered cars (approximately 1,200 miles-per-gallon) that compete for the highest miles-per-gallon.

Science Behind Strikeouts
July 10, 2009
Kinesiologists use the principles of physics to explain why a fastball pitch in baseball is hard to hit and how a curveball gets its motion.

Diesel Guzzler - Money Saver
December 15, 2008
Engineers propose aerodynamic improvements for truck trailers.

Man-Made Hurricanes
September 15, 2008
Civil Engineers Create High-Powered Hurricane Simulator

NASA Saving Lives
September 12, 2008
Earth Scientists and Meteorologists Create Historically-Based, Realistic Weather Animations

Measuring Lightning
September 10, 2008
Electrical Engineers and Meteorologists Devise Method to Measure Strength of Lightning Strikes on Tall Buildings

Knowing Where Tornadoes Will Strike
August 01, 2008
Meteorologists recently studied the effect of gravity waves on tornado formation. They found that when gravity waves push down on rotating thunderstorms the storm compresses and spins faster. Being able to recognize and track gravity waves before they reach thunderclouds allows meteorologists to better predict tornadoes, increasing both the accuracy of their predictions and the amount of warning time that they can provide.

A Better Golf Game
January 01, 2005
Researchers have designed a golf ball that tends to fly straighter even when a putter unintentionally "slices" it which ordinarily causes it to curve to one side. The new ball has a hollow, metal core that shifts the ball's mass -- or weight -- to the outside. This helps the ball spin less and fly straighter as it sails through the air.

Surviving Hard Hits
January 01, 2005
Engineers have developed more protective padding for football players. Unlike traditional padding, the new putty-like material can be molded into protective gear to fit a player's body and better guard against injury. The squashy material redistributes the force from a hit evenly through the material to lessen the impact on a player's body.