Ideas Roadshow Podcast

David Politzer, “The Physics of Banjos” (Open Agenda, 2021)

Aug 14, 2023

02:52:59

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

I Could Do It With My Fingers, but I Don't Know.

04:29

The Reynolds Number, the Quarticer Equation

04:05

The Coupled Oscillator in Quanta Mechanics

03:56

Introduction

3min

Do We Have to Explain What the Big Red Book Is On?

3min

Theoretical Physics - The Fields

3min

I'll Put My Name in Small Type, and So Far

2min

Is There a Belt?

3min

A Fine Man Talking Physics

3min

Then I Was Asked to Teach a Course at Kalte, and I Thought, Ok, I'm Going to Do It.

3min

The Banjo and the Harmonica

2min

Banjos

4min

10.

The Big Banjo - The Musical Instrument of the World

3min

11.

How to Make a Banjo?

4min

12.

I Want to Make a Banjo, and I'm Kicking Myself

2min

13.

Banjo Noise - What Is It?

4min

14.

Banjos, I'm Not Unplugged, but I Want a Banjo.

2min

15.

Banjo Luve Son, I'm Tarting to Get the Sense of These Pings That You Were Talking Abot

2min

16.

The Uklale - The Highest Toning

3min

17.

Why Wouldn't You Change the Tuning?

5min

18.

What Makes a Banjo Different From Another Banjo?

4min

19.

Physics of the Banjos

3min

20.

The H Couple Ed Oscillators - What Have You Done?

5min

21.

What's the Difference Between a Banjo and a Resonator?

3min

22.

The Clarinet Obo Story

4min

23.

The Average Banjo Player Can't Afford More Than Two?

4min

24.

Ain Hastaf's Banjos

4min

25.

The Hot Rod Concept, I'm a Banjo Fanatic.

2min

26.

What Is an Okarina?

3min

27.

What's the Difference Between a Banjo and a Guitar?

4min

28.

Nerbiology Fantastically Interesting.

3min

29.

Is There a Neural Physiology?

4min

30.

Is There a Link Between Sound and Physiology?

3min

31.

How Do You Know What You're Doing?

5min

32.

Stringed Instruments

2min

33.

The Magic of High Technology, Google A, I Stumbled on Something

2min

34.

Acoustics

2min

35.

The Banco Is Loud

4min

36.

The Clarinet and the Obo - The Difference Between Themselves

3min

37.

Is the Piano Different From Other Instruments?

4min

38.

Is There a Coupling?

2min

39.

What Is Galing Wine?

5min

40.

The Laws of Physics Are Not the Same Forward or Backwards

3min

41.

The Reynolds Number, the Quarticer Equation

4min

42.

Is There a Problem With the Coupled Oscillators?

3min

43.

The Coupled Oscillator in Quanta Mechanics

4min

44.

I Could Do It With My Fingers, but I Don't Know.

4min

45.

The Joy of Getting to the Bottom of Things

2min

46.

What's the Way We Understand?

4min

47.

Are We Thinking About It Wrong?

2min

48.

Are There Lessons Learned?

5min

49.

The Black Hole Horizons - What Would You Want to Know?

2min

50.

Is That What Makes Banjos Different From Anybody?

6min

51.

A New Way to Play the Banjo, I'm Ini.

2min

52.

The Future of Music and the Future of Science

3min

53.

Banjos - The Physics Brotherhood

2min

54.

I've Had a Wonderful Thank You Very Much

2min

The Physics of Banjos is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and David Politzer, 2004 Nobel Laureate and the Richard Chace Tolman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech. This extensive conversation examines many of the intriguing aspects associated with the physics of banjos, including the ocarina effect, string-stretching, the subtleties of how we hear pitch, transient growth, and the mysterious ringing sound of banjos; while also touching briefly on contemporary issues in black holes and particle physics.

Howard Burton is the founder of the Ideas Roadshow, Ideas on Film and host of the Ideas Roadshow Podcast. He can be reached at howard@ideasroadshow.com.

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