Since the time of the ancient Greeks, scientists have been constructing a cosmic measuring tape to measure the universe from our own backyard all the way to its ever-expanding edge: the cosmic distance ladder. In this video, we climb...

This video is about the famous 'Twins paradox' of special relativity, how time can appear to be faster for two different observers at the same time, and which twin really is older (or younger) - the one who stays on earth or the one who...

Figuring out the age of a blinking speck in the sky is a difficult feat, especially if considering how many types of stars there are. This is where a Hertzsprung-Russell meets a gyrochronologist.

Kinetic and potential energy are defined as combinations of more basic quantities: position, velocity and mass. These combinations are chosen so that their sum is conserved. It’s actually remarkable that there’s any such combination of...

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

Near the end of 2020, we got some puzzling but good news: COVID-19 fatality rates have been dropping. Here are a few factors that might help explain why we’re seeing this trend.

Paul Andersen explains how to use mathematics appropriately. He begins by emphasizing the important role that mathematics plays in the life sciences today and in that the future. He describes important mathematical equations in each of...

In this video Paul Andersen explains hot the force-time graph can be used to determine the impulse of an object. Since the impulse and the change in momentum are equivalent the graph can also be used to determine the change in momentum...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how mass can be converted to energy and energy can be converted to mass. The equation E=mc2 can be used to determine the amount of energy released from nuclear processes.

This video is about the famous 'Twins paradox' of special relativity, how time can appear to be faster for two different observers at the same time, and which twin really is older (or younger) - the one who stays on earth or the one who...

In this video Paul Andersen defines Q10 as the ratio between reactions at different temperatures. He then gives you an example of how it could be calculated. He also includes extensions of other scientific phenomenon that could created...

In this video Paul Andersen explains why astronauts are weightless. He also explains how Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation can be used to calculate the gravitational force between objects.

The equations of quantum field theory allow us to calculate the behaviour of subatomic particles by expressing them as vibrations in quantum fields. But even the most elegant and complete formulations of quantum physics - like the Dirac...

Unlock the secrets of Feynman Diagrams. Part 5 in our Quantum Field Theory series.

The Gaia space observatory released a detailed 3d map of the Milky Way, and scientists have figured out why Charon's north pole is red!

Near the end of 2020, we got some puzzling but good news: COVID-19 fatality rates have been dropping. Here are a few factors that might help explain why we’re seeing this trend.

What color is a mirror? How much does a video weigh? Michael Stevens, creator of the popular educational YouTube channel Vsauce, spends his day asking quirky questions like these. In this talk he shows how asking the right -- seemingly...

In this video Paul Andersen explains that the angular momentum of a system will be conserved as long as there is no net external torque. Both point objects and extended objects are covered along with several examples.

Over the course of history, we've discovered hundreds of thousands of asteroids. But how do astronomers discover these bits of rock and metal? How many have they found? And how do they tell asteroids apart? Carrie Nugent shares the story...

Considering how massive our universe is, we know the distances to cosmic objects surprisingly well. What tools and clues do scientists use to measure distances that are so enormous they sound like made-up numbers?

It seems like every few months, there’s some kind of news about problems with the scientific publishing industry. Why does this keep happening? And what can be done to fix the system?

Astronomers have finally observed what causes pulsating auroras, and our estimates of the mass of the Andromeda Galaxy have shrunk.

It takes light a zippy 8 minutes to reach Earth from the surface of the Sun. But how long does it take that same light to travel from the Sun's core to its surface? Oddly enough, the answer is many thousands of years. Sten Odenwald...

In this video Paul Andersen shows conceptual thinking in a mini-lesson on orders of magnitude.

Scale models - a representation that has been reduced or enlarged to a specific
scale
Orders of magnitude - is an approximation...