Atoms are commonly thought to look like a planetary system, tiny spherical electrons orbiting a spherical nucleus, like the planets orbit the Sun. But it's more complicated than that.
Once the spine has been severed signals can no longer pass from our legs and our feet to our brain. This makes it impossible for paraplegics to know how they are distributing their weight when wearing an exoskeleton. However, by using the Wii Balance Board the patient can receive visual feedback about balance and movement, allowing the patient to learn how far they can shift their weight before falling.
New video from The Royal Institution explains how the particle accelerator at the STFC ISIS muon and neutron facility works.
This 8 minute animated short, titled "We Can't Live Without Cosmos" encompasses many childhood dreams of going to space with your best friend.
Follow the link to watch an illustrated version of Professor Stephen Hawking's second Reith lecture, "Black holes ain't as black as they are painted".
In 2004 graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, was isolated by two researchers at the University of Manchester. Learn more about it in this video.
Our recent studies of Mars inform us that there used to be oceans on this now dry planet. It is thought that the weak magnetic field is to blame. The strong magnetic field of Earth protects our planet from the high energy particles from the Sun. But the weak field on Mars resulted in the atmosphere and most of the water being blown away. Check out the video below to find out more.
NASA are currently recruiting the next generation of astronauts. It is a competitive job, with only around 8 in 6,000 applicants getting accepted. But what kind of training is required to become an astronaut and prepare for the unpredictability and harsh nature of space?
Women scientists at the dream and nightmare laboratory at the University of Montreal (yes, it is a real place) are investigating dreams. They study what we see, hear, feel and even smell.
Everyone has experienced a nightmare, but some people have nightmares so frequently and intensely it makes their waking hours a misery.
Combining neuroscience, with humanities, with philosophy makes this area of research particularly collaborative.
Everyone loves bubbles, but have you ever seen them up close? Check out the video below to see the hypnotic surface of a bubble.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory is constantly keeping a close track of the surface of our Sun. In order to observe the wide variety of features exhibited photos are takes at 10 different wavelengths every 12 seconds. A collection of these photos have been stitched into a video showing the beauty of our Sun, and the many interesting features it
Most of us know someone with a pacemaker, it is an invention which has extended millions of lives. But these battery-powered devices are going to become battery-free. Where will they get their power from? The heart?!
The vibrational energy created in the chest by each heart beat is enough to provide the electrical energy required to power the pacemaker. Watch the video below to find out more.
Thanks to NASA and GoPro, now you can share in the breathtaking views/sheer terror that astronaut Terry Virts enjoyed during a recent hour-long spacewalk.
How small is an atom?
Have you ever tried to wrap your head around just how small an atom is. Maybe this video can help.
Periodic table of videos
A team of scientists at the University of Nottingham have created a series of videos about all of the different elements in the periodic table, including why do ice cubes crack in drinks, and what happens when ice cubes are put into liquid nitrogen? As well as the barking dog, in slow motion.
What happens to liquid nitrogen under vacuum?
Summarised from the link below:
Liquid nitrogen has a boiling point of -196°C making it difficult to contains. As soon as it is exposed to air it instantly boils away. But something very unusual happens when it is placed inside a vacuum chamber.
NASA wants to capture an asteroid in 2019
Summarised from the link below:
NASA plans to snatch an asteroid out of space and send it into orbit around our moon for study. Examining an asteroid could give scientists a view into the earliest stages of the universe. Sometime in the 2020s, a crew of astronauts will follow the rock, hooking up to the spacecraft and mining the 32-meter asteroid. The video below shows a concept animation featuring notional crew operations during NASA's proposed Asteroid Redirect Mission
NASA also plans to launch a robot into space in 2016, have it latch onto an asteroid, and return samples by itself in 2023.
GLaDOS Explains Fission and Fusion
Want to know the difference between fission and fusion, or just a fan of portal? Check out this video from NASA!
Super Hydrophobic Surface and Magnetic Liquid
The Slow Mo Guys - Gav and Dan are in the GE lab using nanotechnology to show you cool liquid physics in slow mo.
Why it's hard to control your thoughts
What are thoughts, and what exactly is thinking? Take a trip into the fantastic, ceaseless world our minds create.
Bill Nye YouTube series about NASA's mission to Jupiter
Why With Nye features legendary educator and entertainer Bill Nye demystifying the cutting edge science behind NASA's groundbreaking Juno mission to Jupiter. Watch Nye bring the Juno mission to life with his signature blend of props, performance, and solid scientific know how.
Central Limit theorem explained with bunnies and dragons
Many real-world observations can be approximated by the normal distribution, a bell shaped curve. However, many important things we would like to measure and test that do not follow a normal distribution, but there is often a normal distribution lurking within it. The existence of this hidden normal distribution is known as the Central Limit Theorem. In this episode of CreatureCast, Shuyi Chiou, an animator, presents the Central Limit Theorem.
Brian Cox describes how black dwarfs will be the end of our Universe
A clip from the BBC's Wonders of the Universe special with Brian Cox. In this clip he describes how black dwarfs will be the end of our Universe, a long time from now.
Brainstuff YouTube Channel
Whether the topic is popcorn or particle physics, you can count on the HowStuffWorks team to explore - and explain - the everyday science in the world around us on BrainStuff. The link will take you to their YouTube channel where you will find loads of great videos.
Brit Lab YouTube Channel
Ever wondered what causes a beer belly? How does glue work? How far can bullets travel? Where does all the snot come from? BRITLAB is where we answer all your curious questions about science in the world around you.
How Big is the Universe...Compared to a Grain of Sand?
This video clip tries to put into perspective just how mind bogglingly huge the Universe is, and it explains some of the techniques scientists use to calculate the distances between stars and objects in the Universe.
Richard Feynman 1983 BBC TV Series 'Fun to Imagine'
Richard Feynman is a Nobel Prize winning phycisist and is brilliant at engaging with his audience when he speaks. In all of these short clips from the BBC TV Show he is sitting in his armchair in his California home explaining different aspects of physics that explains the world around us.
The Higgs Field Explained
One of the most important and exciting discoveries of the 21st Century is that of the Higgs Boson, at CERN. This discovery may enable us to explain where certain particles get their mass, but what is the Higgs Boson and the Higgs Field?
Stephen Hawking's Big Ideas Made Simple
Stephen Hawking is the planet's most famous living scientist, and one of the brilliant minds of the 21st Century. In just two and a half minutes Alok Jha explains some of Hawking's big ideas about black holes and the origin of the Universe.
The Physics Bohemian Rhapsody Cover
An informative and entertaining cover of the Bohemian Rhapsody made by a masters student from McGill University, Timothy Blaise. This cover manages to include all the confusing elements of String Theory and is complete with an Einstein sock puppet.
Why we live in 3D
Have you ever wondered why we live in three dimensions? Check out this New Scientist video for more of an explanation.
