Why does my barbecue smoke follow me around?

Loading player...
The science of explosions, including what happens when brake fluid and hypochlorite mix, and what blew up in Beirut, why lemons make you grimace, the reason that the smoke from the barbecue mysteriously seems to know where you are standing, what determines your IQ, how a fruit battery works, why we forget dreams, and how genetics controls height. Join Dr Chris Smith and 567 CapeTalk's Kieno Kammies for the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
7 Aug 2020 English United Kingdom Science

Other recent episodes

What is behind the global Microsoft outage?

Voyager 1 passes the "light day" 25 billion-kilometre milestone. We also ask whether artificial sweeteners are bad for us but still better than sugar, hear what would happen if the thyroid gland stopped working, wonder why we sometimes hear sounds that aren't there, and hear how do we decide whether…
13 Nov 23 min

What does a percentage chance of rain really mean?

What's the evidence that vaccines don't cause autism? Can brain oxygen deprivation lead to memory loss? Do babies bond with their dads as much as with their mums? Do parrots socialise like other animals? What does a percentage chance of rain in a weather forecast actually mean? How can we…
6 Nov 19 min

Why the nose knows: how important is smell?

Introducing "Smellyvision": this week, we talk about new tech that transmits smells alongside sounds and pictures, and ask whether smell is our most underrated sense. Also, are Bill Gates' fears that AI will erode our intellect well-founded, and why do some worry it might lead to better biological weapons? Meanwhile,…
30 Oct 22 min

Is static electricity down to positive or negative charges?

Why has everyone got a cold at the moment? How does an elemental diet treat inflammatory bowel disease? How does chlorine clean up drinking water? What is cholera? Can silver sterilise surfaces and water? Is static electricity down to positive or negative charge? What is reverse osmosis water filtering, and…
22 Oct 20 min

Is AI damaging our ability to think for ourselves?

How do dogs decode human speech? Can they actually understand one another, and do they bark with an accent? Also, do all animals pair for life? Why are biometric fingerprint scanners tricky for older people? And is AI damaging our ability to think for ourselves? Plus, what's the problem with…
16 Oct 20 min