New Scientist Escape Pod

#15 The unseen world: bats, neutrinos and invisibility cloaks

Listen on

Episode notes

Shining a light on the invisible forces that surround us, this episode is all about the unseen world. Normally we don’t notice bats flitting above our heads at night, and we certainly can’t hear their ultrasonic squeaks. But the team listens to three incredible recordings of bat sonar that have been converted into sound waves audible to us. They then discuss the elusive neutrino, a subatomic particle which is so desperate to remain unseen it barely interacts with the rest of the world. And the discussion takes a magical twist, as the team explains the real-life technology creating ‘perfect’ invisibility cloaks (just don’t expect to be running around like Harry Potter anytime soon). On the pod - for this final episode of season one of Escape Pod - are Rowan Hooper, Anna Demming and Tim Revell. Find out more at newscientist.com/podcasts. Special thanks to Hanna Tuulikki for the bat recordings.