TED Talks
TED: How humanity can reach the stars | Philip Lubin
Could we exit our solar system, and enter another? Astrophysicist Philip Lubin discusses the awesome potential of using lasers to propel small spacecraft, enabling humanity's first interstellar missions. Learn how this transformative...
PBS
Will Starshot's Insterstellar Journey Succeed?
Yuri Milner's Breakthrough Starshot is an interstellar travel expedition unlike any other before it. It's many years in the making and is contingent on a series of incredible advancements in nanotechnology, materials science and laser...
SciShow
How Scientists Protect the World's Most Famous Art
Conserving and restoring art can be pretty tricky. Thankfully, scientists have been learning how to restore artwork in some pretty cool ways that are effective, safe, and a little weird, to be honest.
SciShow
The Cosmic Lasers That Form in Outer Space
Lasers are incredible narrow beams of light we can use to do everything from cutting metal to operating on people's eyeballs. But even though we came up with the idea on our own, humans didn’t actually make the first lasers.
TED Talks
Patience Mthunzi: Could we cure HIV with lasers?
Swallowing pills to get medication is a quick, painless and often not entirely effective way of treating disease. A potentially better way? Lasers. In this passionate talk, TED Fellow Patience Mthunzi explains her idea to use lasers to...
PBS
The Real Star Wars
Anti-Satellite weaponry, giant X-ray lasers and kinetic impact missiles nicknamed the "Rods from God." Find out about the history of the real star wars that have been waged over the past 50 years.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How does laser eye surgery work? | Dan Reinstein
In 1948, Spanish ophthalmologist Jose Ignacio Barraquer Moner was fed up with glasses. He wanted a solution for blurry vision that fixed the eye itself, without relying on external aids. The surgery he eventually devised was called...
SciShow
The Future of Space Telescopes: Umbrellas & Glitter!
After Hubble and Webb, what's the future of space telescopes? Two ideas in planning stages right now involve the space-age versions of umbrellas and glitter.
SciShow
The Quantum Theory that Connects the Entire Universe
Quantum mechanics is weird and seems a bit...complicated. But understanding it can help us to understand the universe.
SciShow
Tractor Beams: Almost Real!
Hank tells us about some developments that are being made in the dramatic area of laser tractor beams.
SciShow
How Close Are We to Building Force Fields?
Sci-fi technology is often more fiction than science, but it turns out there are actually some real-world labs that are working on developing force fields!
Curated Video
How lasers are used to treat cancer
In medicine, we use different types of lasers to fight cancer. In this video, we will learn everything about carbon dioxide (CO2), argon and neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers and how they are used to treat cancer in a...
Curated Video
Searching for Gravity Waves: The Biggest Physics Experiment Ever
In this video, scientists from Germany's Max Planck Institute are working on the biggest physics experiment ever to detect faint gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity. Three gold cubes will float freely...
Curated Video
Intel's Breakthrough: Silicon Laser Chip Paves the Way for Low-Cost Optical Devices
Intel has developed a breakthrough laser microchip based on silicon, which has traditionally been a poor carrier for optical data. This development allows for low-cost, high-bandwidth silicon-based optical devices, bringing significant...
Curated Video
Moon Measuring
The ingenious system to measure the distance to the Moon involving Apollo astronauts, lasers and a unique mirror system planted on the lunar surface. Physics - Our Solar System - Learning Points. In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts left an...
Curated Video
State of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Laser technology aboard aircraft has allowed scientists to measure the Greenland Ice Sheet, one of the largest bodies of ice in the world. Is it growing or shrinking? Earth Science - Human Impacts - Learning Points. NASA scientists...
Curated Video
Inside the National Ignition Facility: Balancing Military Research and Civilian Applications
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Northern California is a cutting-edge technological giant, designed for military research and nuclear fusion experiments. With a budget of nearly $4 billion, the facility uses high-energy laser...
Curated Video
Making A Neural Network Using Light? | Optical Neural Networks, Explained
Can we make neural networks using light? From spatial light modulators to phase-change materials, we're diving into optical neural networks.
Curated Video
I WONDER - What Industries Use Lasers?
This video is answering the question of what industries use lasers.
Curated Video
I WONDER - How Does A Laser Beam Work To Read Data?
This video is answering the question of how does a laser beam work to read data.
Curated Video
I WONDER - What Jobs Can Lasers Do?
This video is answering the question of what jobs can lasers do.
Zach Star
What does a Physics major do? (Part 1 Curriculum and Subfields)
Physics majors study the universe, from electrons and protons to supergiant stars. As a physics major you will take A LOT of math and apply complex formulas to the problems at hand. Physics majors don't just learn the equations that...
TMW Media
Traveling Desert Sand: What equipment is used to measure sand storms
What are the three ways of measuring sand clouds? When measuring a sand cloud, what key points do scientists determine? Traveling Desert Sand, Part 2
NASA
The Invisible Network: 19. LCRD - The Dream | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast
In this second episode of an LCRD-focused season of The Invisible Network podcast, we take a look at the reasons NASA is embracing optical communications technologies and what challenges LCRD will overcome.