Scholastic
Study Jams! Light
Let there be light in your classroom with a video that explains that light travels in waves, the electromagnetic spectrum contains seven colors, and the color of an object depends on which light waves it reflects and absorbs. With...
Curated OER
Reflection
Reflection is the bouncing of waves. Reflection can be used simply as entertainment or to guide ocean navigators. As your physics aces begin learning about waves, this resource would be valuable to show them that all of the different...
TED-Ed
What is Color?
"To understand the phenomenon of color, it helps to think about light as a wave." This is a brief and very informative instructional video on what color is and why we are able to see it. Your young scientists will learn such terms as the...
PBS
Introduction to Waves | UNC-TV Science
Introduce classes to the idea of waves with a short video clip. An interesting presentation gives a quick but thorough overview of the different types of waves and where people encounter them.
PBS
Reflection and Refraction | UNC-TV Science
Uncover the exciting interactions of light energy and matter ranging from color to optical illusions. Participants explore color using red and green apples, differences between reflection and refraction, and descriptions of related...
PBS
Light Scattering: Effects of Light | UNC-TV Science
A video lesson describes how light absorbs, reflects, and scatters on different surfaces. Pupils learn the result of these different reactions and how humans perceive them.
PBS
Electromagnetic Waves | UNC-TV Science
These waves aren't for surfing. Young scientists learn about electromagnetic waves and how their features affect the light people see. The video lesson describes the amplitude, frequency, and wavelength of the waves and how the...
Veritasium
Science of Laser Hair Removal in SLOW MOTION
Lasers attack hair cells from the outside in. Young scholars observe a laser hair treatment in slow motion. They watch as the pulses of the laser destroy the external hair. The Veritasium instructor then describes the process happening...
Physics Girl
Seeing the Smallest Thing in the Universe
How do we see what we can't see? An episode of a comprehensive physics playlist shows images of the smallest particles current technology can record. The instructor discusses current and past research on the makeup of subatomic particles.
Physics Girl
How 3D Holograms Work
Time for a change in perspective. A video lesson explores the progression from 2-D to 3-D images. The instructor from the physics playlist first explains the workings of a traditional camera and compares that to the creation of a 3-D...
Physics Girl
Does This Look White to You?
Explore the difference between the two color wheels. The focus of the installment of a larger physics playlist is to explain the difference between mixing colored paints and colored lights. Viewers find that the components of their eyes...
Physics Girl
How Does Laser Cooling Work?
We typically think of lasers adding heat energy, but lasers can be used for cooling, too! An episode of a physics playlist discusses the science of lasers. Learners watch how to place lasers to effectively slow subatomic particles.
American Chemical Society
The Science of the Avengers
Are superheroes science fiction ... or just really fancy science? Go even further behind the scenes with the characters from Avengers through a video from the American Chemical Society's Reactions playlist. Curious chemists learn the...
Veritasium
The Brightest Part of a Shadow Is in the Middle
Shed some light on the nature of shadows! Science sleuths investigate a 200-year-old theory that light will form a bright spot in the center of a sphere's or circle's shadow with a video from Veritasium. The resource explains the...
Veritasium
The Original Double Slit Experiment
Is light a wave or a particle? The video recreates the double slit experiment with sunlight in public. Different individuals predict what they will see by looking into a dark box, which allows sunlight into it through two small slits....
Veritasium
Single Photon Interference
How does a single photon show a phase shift? Using the interference pattern created by light traveling through a double slit, the resource asks whether the interference pattern would still show if only one photon of light is sent at a...
Crash Course
Spectra Interference: Crash Course Physics #40
Finally, a lesson to brighten up the place! The 40th installment of the Crash Course physics series explores the physics of a light source. The narrator examines patterns between light and films and studies the oscillation patterns of...
Crash Course
Optical Instruments: Crash Course Physics #41
How does a lens work? A thorough video lesson addresses this question by looking at the lenses of human eyes, telescopes, and microscopes. Light waves play an important role function of each of these objects. This is the 41st lesson in...
Crash Course
Light Is Waves: Crash Course Physics #39
Help your classes visualize light as a wave using an engaging video lesson. The 39th lesson of the Crash Course physics series highlights the characteristics of a light wave. The lesson continues by analyzing the behavior of waves...
Deep Look
What Gives the Morpho Butterfly Its Magnificent Blue?
Things are not always as they appear. The morpho butterfly appears to have blue wings, but they don't contain a drop of blue pigment. Learners watch as the instructor explains the physics behind these amazing blue wings.
Deep Look
How Electric Light Changed the Night
Explore the changes in sleep patterns over time. Pupils learn how the changes in lighting have triggered adaptations in sleep patterns. Modern lighting mimics the light waves of the sun, which suppresses melatonin production and makes...
MinutePhysics
Why are Stars Star-Shaped?
We know stars are giant balls of plasma, so why are they drawn as pointy star shapes? The video solves this mystery through an explanation of how lenses work both in our eyes and in telescopes. It also discusses the proper way to color a...
MinutePhysics
The Sound of Hydrogen
Hydrogen is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, but can we hear it? By taking the wavelengths of the atomic spectrum of radiation from hydrogen, the creator of the video shifts the waves into sound waves. Then, he shifts these waves into...
MinutePhysics
The Speed of Light in Glass
What happens to the speed of light as it goes through a glass door? Light travels slower through glass than through air, but does the speed of light change or is it just our perception? The short video explains the speed of light as it...