Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

163 | Nigel Goldenfeld on Phase Transitions, Criticality, and Biology

Sep 6, 2021

Nigel Goldenfeld, a Chancellor's Distinguished Professor in Physics at UC San Diego, delves into the fascinating world of phase transitions and their implications across various systems. He discusses how simple physical models can illuminate complex biological phenomena, from evolutionary dynamics to genetic codes. The conversation navigates through topics like scale-free behavior, the significance of non-equilibrium transitions in fluid dynamics, and the interplay of ecological systems, all while highlighting the universal laws connecting physics and biology.

01:31:35

Episode guests

Nigel Goldenfeld

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Unraveling Phase Transitions

15min

Enhancing Clarity in Writing and Science

3min

Interplay of Scales in Phase Transitions

18min

Understanding Non-Equilibrium Phase Transitions in Fluid Dynamics

2min

Percolation and Phase Transitions

11min

Exploring Phase Transitions in Ecology and Physics

3min

Scale-Free Dynamics in Nature

16min

The Emergence and Complexity of Life

21min

Physics is extremely good at describing simple systems with relatively few moving parts. Sadly, the world is not like that; many phenomena of interest are complex, with multiple interacting parts and interesting things happening at multiple scales of length and time. One area where the techniques of physics overlap with the multi-scale property of complex systems is in the study of phase transitions, when a composite system transitions from one phase to another. Nigel Goldenfeld has made important contributions to the study of phase transitions in their own right (and mathematical techniques for dealing with them), and has also been successful at leveraging that understanding to study biological systems, from the genetic code to the tree of life.

Support Mindscape on Patreon.

Nigel Goldenfeld received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge. He currently holds the Chancellor's Distinguished Professorship in Physics at UC San Diego. Until recently he was a Swanlund Endowed Chair and Center for Advanced Study Professor in Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Among his awards are the Xerox Award for research, the A. Nordsieck award for excellence in graduate teaching, and the American Physical Society’s Leo P. Kadanoff Prize. He is the co-founder of NumeriX, a company that specializes in high-performance software for the derivatives marketplace.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.