Why can't stars fuse Iron?

Daniel and Kelly answer listener questions about scent dialects, drilling through the ice above the oceans of Enceladus, and why some animals have penises.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Daniel and Kelly interview Dr. Marcelo Wood about what addiction does to our brains, why some of us become addicted to drugs while others don't, what drugs do to our brains in the long term, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Daniel and Kelly talk about whether physicists are trying to understand the expansion of the Universe, or pull the cosmic wool over everyone's eyes. Also, horse milk comes up.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

<p>Like most things in the universe, stars begin as particles floating around in massive clouds of dust and gas. But what forces these particles to coalesce and form a star? Tune in and learn more about the birth of stars in this podcast.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choi ... Show More

<p>You are a star. Literally. You are a carbon-based life form and those atoms of carbon in the molecules that make up your cells were formed by a nuclear fusion reaction at the heart of long dead stars. That goes for the oxygen in your lungs too. And the red blood cells that c ... Show More

<p>The atoms in your heart once burned in the fires of a dead star. Does this constitute an almost-spiritual connection to the cosmos or is it mere chemistry? In this episode, Robert and Julie discuss the billion-year-old carbon inside us.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-cho ... Show More

Can you see the light of the stars from the bottom of a well? Did an astrologer once fall into a well because he was staring up at the stars? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss a couple of well-and-cosmos-related tales from antiquity.See omnystudio ... Show More

Why do stars shine? How long do they shine? This lecture describes the physics of stars on the main sequence, describes the mass-luminosity relation of main sequence stars, introduces nuclear fusion power and the nuclear fusion lifetimes of stars. From this we gain an important i ... Show More

<p>What is thermonuclear fusion? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice break down the Department of Energy’s breakthrough, thermonuclear fusion at the center of stars, supernovae, and how stars are born.</p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commer ... Show More

In this two-parter from Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the chemistry, space science and mythology of burning hair. So strap in for a discussion of everything from pirates and barbecue mishaps to Latin literature and science fiction. See omnystudio.com/listener fo ... Show More

Can you see the light of the stars from the bottom of a well? Did an astrologer once fall into a well because he was staring up at the stars? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss a couple of well-and-cosmos-related tales from antiquity. (originally p ... Show More

We love to look at stars. But have you ever wondered just how big stars are? Listen to this fascinating chat with Dr. Gerard van Belle, Chief Scientist for the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer at Lowell Observatory and he is going to tell us about the cool technology they us ... Show More

Stars are the result of current and plasma and the z pinch principle