Tue, Apr 7, 2009
The counter intuitive nature of the quantum wave function.
Mon, May 11, 2009
Professor Eaves discusses some of the largest numbers that come up in Physics.
Mon, Aug 3, 2009
Professor Moriarty clarifies the analogies he used in his previous video.
Mon, Oct 26, 2009
The origin of the three common temperature scales is explained.
Sun, Nov 15, 2009
Hyrdrogen and helium are primordial elements created in the Big Bang. Most other common elements up to the atomic weight of iron were created by nuclear fusion in the cores of stars. Heavier elements were created when massive stars exploded as supernovae.
Tue, Jul 20, 2010
Everyone knows a vacuum is empty space. Unless your a particle physicist. Then it's filled with virtual particles.
Sun, Aug 29, 2010
Asteroids orbit the sun just like planets but are considerably smaller. Astronomer suspect they are collections of rock that never formed into planets.
Mon, Sep 27, 2010
Sixty Symbols scientists answer viewer questions; Do you believe in God? What is you favorite astronomical object?
Tue, Dec 21, 2010
Physicists at CERN have successfully captured a small number of atoms of anti-hydrogen consisting of an antiproton and a positron. Of interest is determining how much alike hydrogen and anti-hydrogen are. Any differences would be monumental.
Tue, Apr 19, 2011
Model of six dimensional space time were devised to explain the accelerating expansion of the universe. The concept has yet to be confirmed or refuted as of 2011.
Mon, Sep 12, 2011
The is a reasonably good chance that the Earth had a second moon for a time before the two 'gently' collided and merged. It's a pretty good hypothesis for explaining the wildly different terrain on the far side versus the near side of the moon.
Tue, Sep 27, 2011
A recent (2011) experiment measuring the speed of neutrinos created at CERN seems to show they are traveling faster than the speed of light. Skeptecism prevails.
Sun, Dec 18, 2011
Nerf's latest projectile launcher features a spinning disk reminiscent of a mini Frisbee. Dr. Moriarty explains why the disk float through the air for long distances.
Mon, May 28, 2012
Supernova SN2012aw was a core collapse supernova. Dr. Merrifield explains what this is and what kind of stars experience such supernovae.
Sat, Feb 9, 2013
Astonomers report a string of quasars in the universe that are four billion light years long. That seems very large to be compatible with the apparently homogeneous universe.
Mon, Mar 11, 2013
Just because absolute zero is forbidden in physics hasn't stopped scientists from working at temperature below absolute zero.
Sat, Jul 6, 2013
Dr. Merrifield explains the five Lagrange points points that permit three objects to remain roughly equidistant from one another in space and why they are useful for space telescopes.
Sun, Nov 17, 2013
Dr. Gray offers an introduction to comets in light of the visit of comet ISON to the inner solar system.
Wed, Mar 19, 2014
Dr. Merrifield explains how to convert a virtual particle that doesn't really exist, at least not for long, into a real particle that lasts forever.
Thu, Mar 20, 2014
Astronomers have mapped the polarization of the cosmic microwave background which is interpreted as a detection of primordial gravitational waves.
Thu, May 22, 2014
Dr. Merrifield explains the Heisnberg Uncertainty Principle from three difference perspectives but still can't persuade Brady. So, he'll try again in the next episode.
Thu, May 22, 2014
Physicist are working on thwarting the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle by using a technique term Weak Measurement to subtle probe a system many many times.
Tue, Oct 7, 2014
The development of a blue LED that could then be used to produce white light requires unusual processing of an unusual semiconductor. It was deemed so important to humankind that it was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Sun, Nov 2, 2014
Dr. Moriarty explains, rather emphatically, that entropy is not simply a measure of disorder noting that highly ordered crystals form spontaneously.
Thu, Nov 20, 2014
Like the Cheshire Cat's grin, a physics team has separated neutrons' magnetic fields from the particles.
Wed, Feb 4, 2015
Dr. Padilla explains Max Tegmark's classification system for multiverse theories which ultimately leads to; Is a universe real because you can imagine it?
Mon, Apr 6, 2015
Eta Carinae is a rare massive star that is relatively nearby. It is thought to be near the end of its life and suddenly brightened in the 1840's when astronomers think it almost went supernova leaving behind a nebula. To keep it interesting until the next outburst it has a companion star that approaches it closely at one point in its orbit producing x-ray bursts.
Thu, Apr 30, 2015
Dr. Burrage shares the current understanding of what Dark Energy is and why it is difficult to detect directly. She also describes and experiment that might detect it.
Mon, Oct 24, 2016
The Slow Neutron Capture, S-Process, is one of the mechanisms for the production of heavy elements (heavier than iron) in the universe. It involves an atom absorbing free neutrons, until it becomes an unstable isotope when a neutron can decay into a proton to produce an atom one step higher on the Periodic Table of the Elements.
Mon, Jan 16, 2017
The Second Law of Thermodynamics has been defined in a variety of ways. Heat naturally flows from hot objects to colder objects. Heat cannot be converted directly into an equivalent amount of work.
Wed, Mar 1, 2017
Although it's impossible for objects to travel faster than the speed of light, Astronomers have observed optical effects that make superluninal motion seem possible.
Wed, May 10, 2017
The physics of the large scale influences the physics of the small scale.
Sun, Dec 3, 2017
Meghan explains the largest prenuclear explosion in history and the resulting catastrophe that occurred in her home town of Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1917.
Thu, Apr 5, 2018
Professor Micahel Merrifield of the University of Nottingham does his best to explain the poorly understood phenomenon of lightening. But it doesn't help that the phenomenon of static electricity is not well understood either. Based on what is known, lightning shouldn't happen.
Thu, Nov 5, 2020
Professor Michael Merrifield discusses a new result from LIGO that detected no gravitational waves from known pulsars. This null result places interesting constraints of the shape and symmetry of neutron stars. Despite their rotation of hundreds of times per second they are near perfectly symmetrical spheres.
Wed, Feb 3, 2021
Initial models suggest today's galaxies should have many stars comprised mostly of mostly primordial gas, hydrogen and helium, and few with heavier elements. While this is true for dwarf galaxies the opposite is true for large galaxies. The resolution of this paradox is explained here.
Thu, May 6, 2021
Dr. Gray offers an introduction to the cosmic web.
Tue, Aug 31, 2021
Dr. Maggie Lieu describes the collision of two galaxy clusters known as the Bullet Cluster. It provides additional evidence for the theory of dark matter while disproving Modified Newtonian Dynamics. She describes another collision know as the Train Wreck Cluster that in turn poses challenges for the theory of dark matter.