Ep 3. Making Stuff Colder

Making Stuff is a captivating television show that takes viewers on an exciting journey of discovery through the world of science and technology. In season 2, episode 3, titled Making Stuff Colder, the host of the show, New York Times technology correspondent David Pogue, explores the fascinating world of temperature and temperature control.

The episode opens with Pogue lamenting the intense summer heat, and how it takes a toll on his body. From there, he launches into an exploration of how scientists and engineers are working to make things colder, whether it be in the realm of food preservation, medical technology, or computer hardware.

One of the main focuses of the episode is creating superconductivity at room temperature. Pogue visits with physicist Ranga Dias at the University of Rochester, who has been working on this problem for years. Superconductivity is the ability of a material to conduct electricity with zero resistance, but it has only been achievable at extremely low temperatures. By using high-pressure techniques, Dias has been able to create a hydrogen-rich material that exhibits superconductivity at room temperature. This breakthrough could have tremendous implications for things like energy transmission and high-speed computing.

Pogue also explores the world of cryogenics, where freezing temperatures are used to preserve and store everything from human tissue to astronaut food. He meets with Tom Partridge, the president of Alcor Life Extension Foundation, a cryonics company that keeps human bodies stored in liquid nitrogen with the hope that future technology will be able to revive them. Despite the skepticism around cryonics, Partridge believes that with advancing technology, there is a chance it could become a viable option for people who want to extend their lives beyond what is currently possible.

In another segment of the episode, Pogue speaks with Don Johnson, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, about his work on creating the world's coldest spot. Using lasers and a vacuum chamber, Johnson has been able to take a small metal object and bring it to near-absolute zero, the temperature at which all atomic motion stops. This has allowed him to observe some of the strangest behaviors of matter, such as Bose-Einstein condensates, which are a state of matter in which all the particles in a substance become one entity.

The episode also highlights the use of cold temperatures in medicine, such as in the treatment of cancer. Pogue speaks with Dr. Robert Huddleston, a radiation oncologist at the Mayo Clinic, about how cryotherapy is being used to freeze tumors and kill cancer cells. This non-surgical option is becoming more popular as it is less invasive and has fewer side effects than traditional treatments.

Overall, Making Stuff Colder is an intriguing and informative episode that showcases the cutting edge of temperature control technology. Pogue's enthusiasm and curiosity are infectious, and viewers are sure to come away with a deeper understanding of how the world around them operates on a molecular level.