Time for more details about the bipartisan carbon fee bill that everybody (everybody = Hope and Ana) is talking about! Note: in the time between recording this episode and uploading it, the Senate ALSO introduced a (slightly edited) version of this bill, and the new House reintroduced it (also in slightly edited form). #nice Sources:  carbon emissions rise for 2018: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/08/politics/us-carbon-emissions-rise-2018/index.html household impact study (how does a carbon fee...

In this episode, we talk climate policy! Specifically, we talk about a bipartisan carbon fee and dividend bill that was introduced in the House of Representatives last month.  ("But Hope and Ana, what about batteries?" Why do you think we got into batteries in the first place if not for their implications re: climate change? :( Ok no but for real, carbon fee --> fossil fuels less economically viable in the future --> solar/wind power MORE economically viable in the future --> energy...

She's back at it again! Tune in as Laura studies lots and lots of water, clarifies some exceptions to Boyle's Law, lends out her laboratory and skills to assist other scientists, and finally scores a physics chair despite, y'know, men Laura Bassi (and husband):  Laura Bassi and Science in 18th Century Europe - The Extraordinary Life and Role of Italy's Pioneering Female Professor, by Monique Frize, 2013 (book) "Science as a Career in Enlightenment Italy: The Strategies of Laura...

Italy. The mid-eighteenth century. A ragtag band of adventurers - a physicist, the Pope, and his secretary - set out to reform science. Sources: Did Isaac Newton believe in ghosts? No he did not https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227260712_Lust_Pride_and_Ambition_Isaac_Newton_and_the_Devil "Lust, Pride, and Ambition: Isaac Newton and the Devil" by Stephen Snobelen Did he believe the Earth was alive though? Yes he...

Have you been waiting for an episode where we don't even pretend to talk about batteries? This is that episode. Welcome to 1730s Italy, where only one woman has a university degree, public dissections count as entertainment, and sometimes you have to get married to establish your independence. Sources: Science as a Career in Enlightenment Italy: The Strategies of Laura Bassi by Paula Findlen.  https://www.jstor.org/stable/235642 Laura Bassi and Science in 18th Century Europe - lecture...

In this episode, we answer some listener questions! Tune in for our favorite potatoes, batteries in literature (by which we mean TV) ((by which we mean Teen Wolf)), and battery acid. Things get morbid around 9:40-10:00; sorry, we're millennials, we can't help it :(   Sources: origins of Mr. Potato Head:  "Vintage Original Mr and Mrs Potato Head commercial...

In this episode, Hope talks hydrogen storage with her mom (Gloria) and her sister (Dana)! (Ana isn't in this one because it was the holidays and we weren't in the same state.) We've got space flight, we've got submarines, we've got van der Waals forces, and we've got lots of questions about whether hydrogen could be a useful fuel for everyday applications like cars. Brass quintet version of our theme song arranged by Hope's dad (Bill Wilson) and featuring Bill on the tuba, Gloria and Dana...

In this episode we discuss series vs. parallel battery configurations! You'll learn why a series configuration increases voltage, while a parallel configuration can only increase current. No sources this episode. Let us know if you have any questions at [email protected]!

Alternate episode title: Wat(t)ery Battery Sorry about the wait for this episode! Our editor Hope was busy dropping out of grad school and then spending time with family over the holidays. But oh those long weeks ago, Hope and Ana convened to discuss electrochemical stability windows, solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs), and the pros and cons of aqueous electrolytes (as well as some proposed fixes for those cons). Cameos by Hope's sister Dana with a story about water and lithium, and by...

  Is blood useful as an electrolyte material? Can Ana's husband Doug help us understand art? Is art even worth understanding? We didn't answer all of these questions but we answered most of them Covered this episode: blood chandelier batteries, some aimless chattery about other subjectively distressing art, and battery/fuel cell concepts for medical devices Sources: blood battery art (including video) (the website mixes up anodes and cathodes so watch out for that (aluminum = anode,...

Today we're going to teach you a little something about voltage! We're also going to delve into all the ways we've been misled (by yours truly BUT ALSO BY A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE) about the humble potato battery. Other topics of note: weddings, the curse of knowledge, theory of mind, reduction potentials again, and battery efficiency. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage battery...

We start off this episode with a little bit of embarrassment and entropy, and then, with a little help from the humble potato, we answer that age-old question: between two electrode materials, how can you decide which one is going to be the anode and which one is going to be the cathode? In corrections corner, the focus is on nuclear power (special thanks to Rachel Bielajew for sending me lots of information!), but we also make time for butter and ionic liquids. This episode features guests...

What is an anode? What is a cathode? Do we have mnemonics for remembering which is which? The answer to all three of these questions is YES Also covered this episode: electrolytes, SOLID electrolytes, conductivity requirements for all of the aforementioned, and a little bit of entropy (more on that next time!) No sources this episode - if you have followup questions, shoot us an email ([email protected]) and let us know so we can try to answer them in another episode!

Welcome to Corrections (and Clarifications) Corner, where we focus on topics from previous episodes! Today it's definitely more of a clarifications corner. We start off with some talk about energy storage being centralized in few locations vs distributed to many locations, chat a little about duck curves and Nessie curves, and then move on to addressing the bipartisan-ness of the push towards renewable energy. Hope takes us on a winding detour about different ways to implement revenue-neutral...

We talk about batteries and why they mattery. Sources: utilities survey - http://www.utilitydive.com/news/the-next-generation-utility-business-model-what-you-need-to-know/442421/ Duck curve - http://www.utilitydive.com/news/pressed-duck-clipping-the-curve-with-energy-storage/446179/ States that have passed legislation to encourage energy storage: http://www.utilitydive.com/news/new-york-expected-to-set-high-bar-for-energy-storage-after-target-bill-pass/445845/ Oncor + T&D- vs....