The Importance of Ions in Physics

Worldwide survey kills the myth of “Man the Hunter,” and tightly constraining the electric dipole moment of the electron

First up this week on the show, freelance science writer Bridget Alex joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss busting the long-standing myth that in our deep past, virtually all hunters were men and women tended to be gatherers. It turns out women hunt in the vast majority of foraging societies, upending old stereotypes.

After that, we learn about a hunt for zero. Tanya Roussy, a recent Ph.D. graduate in quantum physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, discusses her work trying to constrain the electric dipole moment of the electron. She also talks about why the dipole moment being zero could be just as interesting as not zero to people studying the big mysteries of the universe—such as why matter and antimatter didn’t wipe each other out at the beginning of the universe. Read a related commentary.

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

About the Science Podcast

Authors: Sarah Crespi; Bridget Alex

Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj5600 

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