Science Friction
Science Friction's latest season is: The Challenger Legacy. In January 1986, the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after lift-off.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 4
- Latest publication
- Jul 28, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
Latest episodes
04 | Dead and Alive: Hype train (opens the original)
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When it comes to the often incomprehensible world of quantum, it can be hard to distinguish hype from reality. We might be on the verge of a breakthrough ... or tech start-ups might be trying to drum up momentum for the benefit of their stakeholders. Hype is important in science, but can it go too far? And has AI knocked the wind out of the sails of quantum computing? Got feedback? Email us sciencefriction@abc.net.au Guests: Dr Tara RobersonScience communicator Stela TodorovicMedia Director for
03 | Dead and Alive: Plucky country (opens the original)
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You might not know it, but Australia is an unexpected frontrunner in the race to build a quantum computer. Despite our isolation, leading quantum experts have called Australia home for decades, chipping away at this massive challenge. What have we learnt, from our first digital computer CSIRAC, to now? And will it all culminate in the world's first million-qubit computer? Got feedback? Email us sciencefriction@abc.net.au Guests: Dr Peter ThorneFormer weekend service operator for CSIRAC Professor
02 | Dead and Alive: Quantum attack (opens the original)
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It's 1994, and a mathematical algorithm puts a spotlight on quantum computing for the first time. Defence departments, spy agencies and cybersecurity experts are on edge over the explosive Shor's algorithm. They spend decades and billions of dollars searching for a solution before something called "Q-day" arrives. Got feedback? Email us sciencefriction@abc.net.au Guests: Dr Henry EverittSenior technologist for optical sciences, US Army Emeritus Professor Charles ClarkPhysicist, formerly National
01 | Dead and Alive: Battle for quantum supremacy (opens the original)
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Google announces it has achieved something game changing — quantum supremacy. But not everybody agrees. The company claims its quantum computer called Sycamore has solved a problem that no classical computer could manage in hundreds of thousands of years. IBM wants this stricken from history. A war of words breaks out as two tech giants race to build a useful quantum computer that could change how the world works. Got feedback? Email us sciencefriction@abc.net.au Guests: Scott YoungCropping and
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