The periodic table is based on levels that look like the resonances of a vibrating string. There are two electrons that can fill the lowest note, hydrogen and helium. And so once you realize that it's resonences that make the shells of an atom, then it doesn't seem so random any more. Why not look at the period i shart? I know exactly what properties some of these elements may have simply by thinking of music.
This week on the penguin podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by theoretical physicist, futurist, and popularizer of science, Michio Kaku. Together they discuss string theory, the unifying threads of different religious beliefs, human curiosity and the barriers to scientific thinking.
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