Chemistry is the study of matter - stuff, and how it interacts with other stuff. Even though chemistry doesn't make a lot of news these days, chemists are making discoveries that change lives all the time. If Hank had to narrow down all...

In a zippy demo at TED U, AnnMarie Thomas shows how two different kinds of homemade play dough can be used to demonstrate electrical properties -- by lighting up LEDs, spinning motors, and turning little kids into circuit designers.

In this video Paul Andersen discusses the technology, advantages and disadvantages of six sources of renewable energy; biomass, hydroelectric, solar, geothermal wind, and hydrogen. He also explains how changes in the storage and flow of...

Ever wondered what it would take to bring down the Internet? Well, not much.

Entrepreneur Elon Musk is a man with many plans. The founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX sits down with TED curator Chris Anderson to share details about his visionary projects, which include a mass-marketed electric car, a solar...

The Sun delivers more energy to Earth in one hour than all of humanity uses in an entire year. How can we make this power more accessible to everyone, everywhere? Solar designer Marjan van Aubel shows how she's turning everyday objects...

You might associate levitation with magic, but science has its own version.

So, electric current works like a river... kinda... Instead of flowing based on elevation, electric current works a little differently. But it's a good metaphor. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about electric...

When it comes to sparkly objects, the planet Earth has a lot to offer. Here are 5 especially awesome glasses made by nature! chapters OBSIDIAN 0:57 2 OPAL 4:09 3 TEKTITES 5:46 FULGURITE 6:27 GLASS SPONGES 8:07

Taylor Wilson was 14 when he built a nuclear fusion reactor in his parents' garage. Now 19, he returns to the TED stage to present a new take on an old topic: fission. Wilson, who has won backing to create a company to realize his...

If you ask someone to picture a thunderstorm, chances are they will have no problem slipping into a memory of dark clouds and bright flashes screaming out from them. But, incredibly, they’re probably picturing the tame version of...

It's easy to take waste disposal for granted, so here are six ways modern technology has made your poop safer and less... gross. Chapters S-BEND (TRAP) 1:15 TOILET SPRAY 2:33 TOILET LIDS 3:49 CHEMICAL TOILETS 5:35 VACUUM TOILETS 7:14...

As we learn more about electricity, we have to talk about fields. Electric fields may seem complicated, but they're really fascinating and a crucial part of physics. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini chats about capacitors,...

In this final segment on the four fundamental forces of physics, Hank tackles the magnetic force, the second of the two ways in which electromagnetism is apparent in the universe

Today, we'll explore the materials electrical engineers work with. We'll look at high-conductors, insulators, and how low-conductivity conductors can be used to generate light and heat.

Most of the time you probably don’t have to think too much about your toilet, but billions of people don’t have access to safe sanitation. So, engineers are working on new kinds of toilets that could help solve that!

Hank explains the power of solar energy and describes how it may fit into our diversified energy future.

Our ability to mine great amounts of energy from uranium nuclei has led some to bill nuclear power as a plentiful, utopian source of electricity. But rather than dominate the global electricity market, nuclear power has declined from a...

We’ve introduced the 0th and 1st laws of thermodynamics, so now it’s time to move on to the second law and how we came to understand it. We’ll explain the differences between the first and second law, and we’ll talk about the Carnot...

Though our Sun is something we can count on to rise and set each day, it also comes with some phenomena that can catch us by surprise: solar winds. To better predict when these winds will travel all the way to Earth, we sent the Parker...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how Kirchhoff's Junction Rule can be applied to series and parallel circuits. Kirchhoff's Junction Rule is an application of the conservation of charge. The current into a junction will always equal...

Today, Carrie Anne is going to take a look at how those transistors we talked about last episode can be used to perform complex actions. With the just two states, on and off, the flow of electricity can be used to perform a number of...

At TED2010, Bill Gates unveils his vision for the world's energy future, describing the need for "miracles" to avoid planetary catastrophe and explaining why he's backing a dramatically different type of nuclear reactor. The necessary...

In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about how power gets to our homes. It's kind of amazing when you think about it and much more complicated than it may seem!