This video is chapter 7 in my series on special relativity, and it covers the idea that some things AREN'T relative: there IS a sense of absolute length and absolute time, which can be agreed upon from all moving perspectives (as...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the location of matter can be determined at the nanoscale using the wave function. The absolute value of the wave function can be used to determine the probability of finding matter in a...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how you can use Coulomb's Law to determine the electric force between two charges. In Physics 1 students should be able to calculate the force between two charges and in Physics 2 students should be...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the kinetic energy of an object if due to the motion of an object. Objects can have kinetic energy but they cannot have potential energy unless they are part of a system. He then explains how to...

You can complain about having the longest day ever today, and here is the science to prove it!

We’ve done a lot of searching for life in the universe and we need to continue to if we hope to make contact. But not all of our attempts were expected to succeed. That’s where Beacon in the Galaxy comes in.

Are insects the key to brain-inspired computing? Neuroscientist Frances S. Chance thinks so. In this buzzy talk, she shares examples of the incredible capabilities of insects -- like the dragonfly's deadly accurate hunting skills and the...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the wavelength is the distance between oscillations in a wave. In a longitudinal wave this might be the distance between areas of compression. In a transverse wave it might be the distance between...

How much genetic diversity would we need to found a colony on another planet?

What’s irrational and never ends? Pi! Hank explains how we need pi to explain some of the most basic but most important principles of the universe, in honor of Pi Day.

Imagine a group of people. How big do you think the group would have to be before there's more than a 50% chance that two people in the group have the same birthday? The answer is - probably lower than you think. David Knuffke explains...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the angular momentum of an object if a product of the rotational inertia and the angular velocity. The rotational inertia depends on the mass, radius and shape of the rotating objects. A sample...

We’ve seen a distant star from another galaxy far, far away, and the Milky Way is growing, thanks to baby stars born in the outer edge of our galaxy’s disk.

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the total energy of a system is the combination of kinetic, potential and internal energy of the objects. He then shows you how to calculate the kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy,...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the linear momentum is equal to the product of the mass of an object and the velocity of the center of mass. He uses video analysis software to calculate the velocity of an object and therefore...

It’s handy having a view of Earth from space. This particular view may be one that changes the way we predict weather phenomena.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt was one of a number of volunteer women astronomers who were allowed to serve as "computers" at Harvard College Observatory, doing tedious work male scientists wouldn't do, and ultimately making a discovery now...

The ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter is always the same: 3.14159 and on and on (literally!) forever. This irrational number, pi, has an infinite number of digits, so we'll never figure out its exact value no matter how...

The edge of everything used to be the edge of the map. But now, thanks to what we know about astrophysics and the universe, the edge of everything might not even exist....

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the wave speed measure the speed of a wave through a medium. The medium determines the speed of the wave. The velocity of the wave is equal to the product of the wavelength and the frequency of...

Imagine two aliens racing across outer space to their moon. Who can we deem the fastest alien? With DIRT -- or the equation Distance = Rate x Time -- we can calculate their rates, using the distance they traveled and the time they took....

Imagine a game played with two players and two dice: if the biggest number rolled is one, two, three, or four, player 1 wins. If the biggest number rolled is five or six, player 2 wins. Who has the best probability of winning the game?...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the law of conservation of energy applies to both energy and mass. Einstein showed that mass and energy are equivalent and that the amount of energy contained within matter can be calculated...

In this video Paul Andersen begins by discriminating between translation and rotational motion. He then explains how a torque is the product of the lever arm and the force perpendicular. The lever arm must be perpendicular to the axis...