S3E09 - Scope Creep

In 1608 a Dutch spectacle maker put two lenses in a tube to spot enemy ships, and the government wouldn’t even give him a patent. Four hundred years later the same idea is a ten-billion-dollar gold mirror a million miles from home, catching light older than the Earth. Renee and Marc follow the glass from Galileo to Webb: telescopes held up with string, a mirror polished perfectly to the wrong shape, and Renee’s forty-year grudge against a smudge. We'd love to hear from you. Click here to give us ideas on new episodes. Join Renee and Marc as they discuss the history of technology, and what it teaches us about now. email us at [email protected] Come visit us at https://www.nostalgicnerdspodcast.com/episodes or wherever you get your podcasts. Merch is available on the site too. It helps cover the cost of the podcast.