In this video Paul Andersen describes the history of calorimetry and explains how it can be used to measure energy changes in a system. The specific heat of water is well established and so as a system releases or absorbs energy from a...

Paul Andersen explains how genotypes can be expressed or not based on changes in the environment. He starts with a brief description of the Himalayan rabbit and how melanin production can be disrupted by high temperature. He explains how...

Paul Andersen explains how organisms regulate their internal osmolarity or not. He starts with a brief description of osmosis and why it is important for animal cell to be surrounded by an isotonic solution. He then explains how...

Have you ever talked with a friend about a problem, only to realize that he just doesn't seem to grasp why the issue is so important to you? Have you ever presented an idea to a group, and it's met with utter confusion? What's going on...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how waves interact when moving through one another. Unlike particles waves can interfere both constructively and destructively. The amount of interference is determined through the superposition...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how light can be absorbed, reflected, or transmitted as it moves from one medium to another. The reflection of different wavelengths creates the perceived color of an object. Absorbed light is...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles in an object. The temperature is proportional to the average kinetic energy according to the Kelvin scale. At absolute zero...

Paul Andersen explains the current classification system that we use in Biology. He starts with a brief history of taxonomy. He explains how the goal of classification is to reflect evolutionary relationships. He then explains how each...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how beats are created through interference of waves with similar frequencies. The changes in amplitude are caused by destructive and constructive interference. The frequency of beats is equal to the...

This video is about why words flip left & right (aka horizontally) in a mirror but not up & down (aka vertically). The answer has to do with specular reflection, mirrors being like windows into another world (alternate universes, just...

Y’know lots of people say you shouldn’t use, like...filler words, but uh, should you really like, stop using them?

In this video Paul Andersen defines the rate of a reaction as the number of reactants that are consumed during a given period of time. The rate of the reaction can be affected by the type of reaction as well as the concentration,...

Paul Andersen explains how the rate law can be used to determined the speed of a reaction over time. Zeroth-order, first-order and second-order reactions are described as well as the overall rate law of a reaction. The rate of a reaction...

Paul Andersen describes the defining characteristics of the domain Eubacteria. He begins with a quick description of the phylogeny of bacteria and horizontal gene transfer. He then surveys the structures of a bacteria; nucleoid region,...

Paul Andersen surveys the Kingdom Fungi. He starts with a brief description of the fungi phylogeny. He describes some of the major characteristics of fungi; heterotrophy, cell walls of chitin, hyphae, sessile. He describes the...

In June 1776, a little over a year after the start of the American Revolutionary War, the US Continental Congress huddled together in a hot room in Philadelphia to talk independence. Kenneth C. Davis dives into some of the lesser known...

There are over 170,000 words currently in use in the English language. Yet every year, about a thousand new words are added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Where do they come from, and how do they make it into our everyday lives?...

On today’s episode...CATS. Also: Hank talks about some philosophy stuff, like a few of the key concepts philosophers use when discussing belief and knowledge, such as what defines an assertion and a proposition, and that belief is a kind...

You may have heard that using baby talk is bad for children’s language development, but research seems to show the exact opposite.

On October 1, 1957, thalidomide was introduced as a new morning sickness cure. Everything seemed great until later the next year, when thousands of infants were born with severe birth defects.

The useful glare-blocking properties of polarized sunglasses are well-known to just about anyone who goes outside. What isn't so well-known is how they reduce glare in the first place. That answer is deceptively complicated!

In this video Paul Andersen compares and contrasts elastic and inelastic collisions. In all collisions the linear momentum will be conserved. In an elastic collision the kinetic energy of the objects will also be maintained. Several...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how light that is perfectly reflected creates specular reflection. The angle of the incident ray is equal to the angle of the reflected ray. Specular reflection is also known as mirror-like...

What exactly makes a poem - a poem? Poets themselves have struggled with this question, often using metaphors to approximate a definition. Is a poem a little machine? A firework? An echo? A dream? Melissa Kovacs shares three recognizable...