Aerodynamics podcasts

NASA aerospace engineer Nate Olson joins Taylor Sparks and Andrew Falkowski to discuss the materials and engineering behind spacecraft thermal protection. Topics include blunt-body designs, Apollo’s ablative heat shield, the Artemis I heat-shield anomaly and future protection systems. The scientific discussion is part of the Materialism materials-science series.

Hosted by Taylor Sparks, Andrew Falkowski

Melissa and Jam examine bird flight at the scale of air molecules. The discussion considers lift, momentum transfer, wing shape, angle and flapping, explains the limits of common Bernoulli-based accounts, and relates airflow to the molecular motion underlying the macroscopic behaviour of gases.

Hosted by Melissa, Jam