SoT 354: They Smacked It With A Shovel
Channel: Science on Top
Date: 19/04/2020

SoT 354: They Smacked It With A Shovel
https://scienceontop.com/354

NASA's Mars InSight probe has finally managed to drill into the Martian rock and soil - thanks to a traditional repair technique!
The idea that glass is a liquid that flows is largely a myth.... sort of. It's an amorphous solid, so it does flow but very very slowly. Now an analysis of amber has shed some light on the disordered molecules that make glass a "liquid in suspended animation".
When our fishy ancestors slithered onto land nearly 400 million years ago, they had hands and feet. But fingers and toes took a little longer to develop. The discovery of a complete skeleton of a fish from around that time gives some clues about the evolution of fingers.

Dr. Helen Maynard-Casely is a planetary scientist working at ANSTO, Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. She is the co-author of the children's book I Love Pluto.

This podcast relies on the generosity of our listeners. To become a supporter, go to https://scienceontop.com/donate

This episode contains traces of the panel on Have I Got News For You discussing an astrophysicists attempts to make a device to stop you touching your face.

https://scienceontop.com/354

Chapters:
00:04:02 At long last, NASA’s probe finally digs in on Mars https://www.popsci.com/story/space/mars-mole-plan-c/
00:13:30 Physicists Chip Away at a Mystery: Why Does Glass Exist? https://www.wired.com/story/physicists-chip-away-at-a-mystery-why-does-glass-exist/
00:27:02 When fish gave us the finger: this ancient four-limbed fish reveals the origins of the human hand https://theconversation.com/when-fish-gave-us-the-finger-this-ancient-four-limbed-fish-reveals-the-origins-of-the-human-hand-129072
00:34:59 Science on Top https://scienceontop.com