MinutePhysics
How Modern Light Bulbs Work
Here is a fascinating find for future techies: a video about how various light bulbs work. Because it begins with the incandescent bulb, it covers a bit of history of the light bulbs. It concisely and creatively describes how halogen...
MinutePhysics
Relativity of Simultaneity — Special Relativity Chapter 4
Special relativity relates how things appear when the observer moves. The fourth video in the series on Special Relativity uses multiple examples to demonstrate the principle. It describes the differences when the reference frames move...
MinutePhysics
The Twins Paradox Hands-On Explanation — Special Relativity Chapter 8
The final video in a series on Special Relativity offers a new hands-on approach to solving the twins paradox developed by Paul Langevin over 100 years ago.
MinutePhysics
Spacetime Intervals: Not EVERYTHING Is Relative — Special Relativity Chapter 7
Special relativity proves that both length and time are relative—but, that's not the complete story. Scholars learn how both length and time have absolute values that don't vary with perspective. The seventh lesson in the eight-part...
MinutePhysics
Relativistic Addition of Velocity — Special Relativity Chapter 6
Scientists know things can't travel faster than light speed, so how do scholars add together numbers close to light speed? The sixth video in the eight-part series on Special Relativity answers these questions and more. the narrator not...
MinutePhysics
Length Contraction and Time Dilation — Special Relativity Chapter 5
Special relativity provides rules for making time both shorter and longer simultaneously—and does the same for distances. This concept seems confusing, but with help from a spacetime globe and mathematical explanation, the concepts...
MinutePhysics
Lorentz Transformations — Special Relativity Chapter 3
Generally, Lorentz transformations require high level math skills, but conceptual understanding can slip just beyond the grasp of many. Using a story and graph about the time and motion of people and cats, viewers of a short video can...
MinutePhysics
Spacetime Diagrams — Special Relativity Chapter 2
The second video in the series on Special Relativity introduces the concept of perspective, relative distance, and graphing spacetime. Simple illustrations create clarity while describing each concept in depth.
MinutePhysics
Why Is Relativity Hard? – Special Relativity Chapter 1
One of the most famous ideas in physics, special relativity, explains the speed of light, the space time continuum, and E=mc^2. Many scholars struggle with the hows and whys of this confusing concept. The first video in a series on...
MinutePhysics
London Bridge Was Sold to the US!?
London Bridge is falling down—into Arizona? A short video clip explains the rise, fall, and re-building of one of the world's most popular bridges. Scholars investigate how people constructed and ultimately moved London Bridge to its...
MinutePhysics
Ye Olde Debunking
Just how do you pronounce Ye? Scholars view a short video clip on Old English to better understand how languages evolved over time. They analyze the word Ye and translate it into today's American English.
MinutePhysics
The No Cloning Theorem
Perfect cloning is impossible — and that's been proven mathematically. Investigate the complexity of cloning in physics. The video instructor explains why cloning is theoretically impossible. He uses several examples to illustrate...
MinutePhysics
How Do Airplanes Fly?
Up, up, and away! Physics scholars learn the secrets to defying gravity through engineering. The video describes the forces acting on various parts of the plane and the designs that minimize these forces or increase opposing forces. The...
MinutePhysics
Computer Color is Broken
Is your smartphone really doing its best work when it comes to color? The narrator describes technology's lazy approach to recreating colors in an insightful video. Science scholars discover how digital cameras store...
MinutePhysics
Where Does Complexity Come From? (Big Picture Ep. 3/5)
Mixing milk and coffee is a complex example in the eyes of a quantum physicist. A creative lesson compares a tendency toward entropy with complexity. Learners view a mixture of coffee and milk as first simple, then complex, and finally...
MinutePhysics
Why Doesn't Time Flow Backwards? (Big Picture Ep. 1/5)
Take a ride through time as you learn about the status of the past, present, and future from a physics perspective. The video instructor explains the Big Bang Theory through the equilibrium of time. Learners connect the Second Law of...
MinutePhysics
Quantum Shape-Shifting: Neutrino Oscillations
Explore the life of neutrinos and how they interact with each other. A creative video lesson describes the three interactions of neutrinos and their behavior within their environments. The instructor explains the cause and paths of their...
MinutePhysics
Solution to the Grandfather Paradox
If you go back in time to kill your grandfather, would you have been born? The lesson narrator uses this grandfather paradox to explain the concept of quantum superposition. He shows how the superposition of two states solves the paradox.
MinutePhysics
A Brief History of Everything feat. Neil deGrasse Tyson
Explore the creation of the world as we know it today! An engaging narrator uses a storytelling approach to describe the creation of the universe through black holes. He continues to explain the behavior of subatomic particles as they...
MinutePhysics
What Is the Purpose of Life? (Big Picture Ep. 5/5)
In the eyes of a physicist, the purpose of life is to continue the mission of the sun. An engaging lesson discusses the increasing entropy levels of energy that originates at the sun. As life forms use that energy, entropy rises...
MinutePhysics
How Entropy Powers the Earth (Big Picture Ep. 4/5)
Energy can be either useful or useless, depending on you look at it! A video lesson examines how entropy works with the Law of Conservation of Energy. Scholars learn how Earth receives and uses photons from the sun in a state of low...
MinutePhysics
What IS Angular Momentum?
Have you ever felt like you're going nowhere? You really are going nowhere — if you happen to be spinning, rotating, or orbiting something! Young physicists learn about angular momentum in a short illustrated video. The narrator...
MinutePhysics
Astronomically Correct Twinkle Twinkle
What do you get when astronomers rewrite beloved children's songs? THIS! Hear the tune Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as it was meant to be — from a scientist's perspective. Physics scholars follow along to a scientifically correct...
MinutePhysics
A Simple Proof of Conservation of Energy
Energy is conserved? Prove it! The narrator does just that in a short video depicting the mathematical proof of conservation of energy. Young physicists see how the kinetic and potential energy present in a system are related to one...