Jan 23 2020 49 mins 165
This week’s episode begins with a discussion of physics careers. We hear an Edinburgh-based recruiter, Bruce Hydes, share his views on what physics graduates can do to stand out in the jobs market, and explore whether reports of a “quantum bottleneck” in hiring for the emerging quantum-computing industry should be believed or taken with a quantum of salt. We also hear from Manuel González, a Spanish astronomer and co-director of El Enigma Agustina. The subject of this so-called “fictional documentary” is a physicist called Agustina Ruiz Dupont. Although Dupont never actually existed, her story reflects the way that many real scientists and intellectuals – especially women – were forgotten or deliberately erased from history after the Spanish Civil War. If you’d like more information about the film (or you’d like to request a copy – English subtitles are available), please visit the website of the Astrophysics Institute of Andalucía. Finally, we discuss the phenomenon of synchronized pendulums, which was first noted by Christian Huygens in the 17th century and continues to fascinate physicists today.
