Technically Speaking | a science and engineering discussion

What‘s the science behind fire safety?

How are building materials chosen and what makes some materials fire-resistant? Aneeqa, Laura and Rwayda discuss some aspects of fire engineering and share a few personal stories where they have used science to their advantange. True to form, they also throw in some pop-culture references; hello Vin Diesel!

Read an excellent summary of this episode on medium.com

Is battery technology ready for widespread use in electric cars?

Have you ever thought about where we get the lithium from for Li-ion batteries? Laura, Antonia, Aneeqa and Amina discuss trends in car ownership, where we get lithium from, how difficult it is to recycle these batteries, what the ethical implications of lithium mining are, and how this fits in with UK government plans to tackle the climate emergency.

Read about this episode on medium.com

Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day 2021

The team share stories about their individual career paths, talk about the women that inspire us, and what engineering means to us.

Does story-telling affect our understanding of scientific findings?

Do you ever think about how your own background or the stories you read in the media influence your own view of the world? Amina, Aneeqa, Cara and Antonia discuss what we mean by scientific findings and talk about some ways where science has been used to provide a biased narrative. Using examples from veganism, nutrition, climate change and the car emissions scandal, they also discuss whether there can be benefit to focussing the story in this way or whether being too focused can be detrimental.

Read a summary of this episode on medium.com

Should we care about the carbon footprint of our internet use?

Sparked by an article that Ghalia saw in the news, she is joined by Laura, Antonia and Aneeqa to discuss just how big our carbon footprint is, how it compares to other things and how difficult is can be to calculate it.

Read a great summary of this episode on medium.com

How has the water industry adapted to sudden social change?

Did you know that the change in habits brought about by the pandemic had a huge impact on our water supply? Or how about how the water industry helped track the pandemic? Amina, Ghalia, Laura and Rwayda talk about how their use of water changed because of the pandemic and the wider effect of sudden, national changes in water use on the industry, while also thinking about the link to other utilities.

Read about this episode on medium.com

What‘s so difficult about communicating science?

Laura, Rwayda, Aneeqa, Ellie, Amina, Ghalia and Antonia talk about their passion of, and some frustrations with, how science is communicated to non-experts. In this wide ranging episode we ask: What do pineapples have to do with nuclear fusion? Can you trust wildlife documentaries or reports about carbon offsetting? How does science keep us safe?

Want to continue the conversation? Find us on twitter @TechnicallySp11

Read a brilliant summary of this episode, and more, on medium.com

What are we doing with nuclear waste?

Amina, Cara, Antonia and Laura share what they know about nuclear waste generated in the UK and speculate on what society might do with it in the future.

 

Comments? We're on twitter @TechnicallySp11

You can read an overview of this episode on medium.com

How can you make me care about concrete?

Aneeqa, Rwayda, Cara and Laura discuss using concrete to build a dream home as well as some iconic structures: the Renold Building at The University of Manchester, The Clackmannanshire bridge and a museum in Dundee.

You can read all about this episode on medium.com

How can nuclear power help beat climate change?

Aneeqa, Cara, Amina and Laura share their reasons for tackling climate change, speculate about what life would be like if fossil fuels weren't currently part of the UK energy mix, and talk about what they percieve to be the pros and cons of some zero carbon alternatives.

Read a summary of this episode on medium.com