Travelling waves I
In an extended medium, inertia and a restoring force can lead to waves, which reflect at boundaries, either erect or inverted.
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Inertia and restoring forces can, with low friction or damping, lead to oscillations and resonance. We analyse the mechanics of vibrations.
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The inverse square law explains planetary motion - and apples falling. Newton's law, measuring G, calculating orbits.
More details | Watch nowPlastic fantastic: electronics for the 21st century
Plastics - or, more correctly, polymers have traditionally been used by the electronics industry as passive materials. Now however, new types of polymers have been discovered which behave as semiconductors. For example, they can emit light when subje....
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Structures looking broadly the same in the optical microscope are found in starch granules within plants, in polythene bags and in sections of diseased brain tissue. Athene Donald explores structural similarities between different assemblies of polym....
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99.9% of the visible material in the universe is made of quarks and yet we know surprisingly little about them. Professor Davies describes how the properties of the quark are now being revealed, and the implications that this will have for our unders....
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In this talk Wilson Sibbett introduces some of the underlying concepts that have enabled us to develop practical ultrafast lasers and a selection of applications that range from the fundamentals of chemical bonding to weapons decommissioning!
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What might 'new Einsteins' achieve in the 21st century? Science offers more intellectual challenges than ever, but is a less individualistic enterprise. Technology offers imense opportunities, but poses threats and ethical dilemmas. Can scientists re....
More details | Watch nowWhat is quantum non-locality?
In his talk Sandu will explain this quantum non-locality and present some of the uses of non-locality for quantum information and communication - strange effects such as teleportation - and will discuss the implications of non-locality for understand....
More details | Watch nowParticle Physics and the Mysteries of the Early Universe
Dr Cristina Lazzeroni, a Royal Society University Research Fellow from the University of Birmingham, reveals the secrets of the world's largest accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider and how the LHC experiments hope to answer big questions about the ....
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The LHC is the most powerful particle accelerator ever built. It is capable of recreating the very energetic conditions last seen in the universe a billionth of a second after the Big Bang, and allows particle physicists to study the fundamental ingr....
More details | Watch nowEvery picture tells a story
We will look at the role of pictures and images in the development of science. From the first graphs and illustrated books to Molscript, the influence of the first pictures of spiral galaxies on Van Gogh's 'Starry Night', to the artistic resonances o....
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Devices are now reaching the realm where individual structures are made up of only a few atoms so that quantum mechanics, the theory of the very small, is playing a crucial role. The inevitable quantum fluctuations produce noise which was initially e....
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Emergence, and its contrary, reduction, are buzz-words in both physics and philosophy. Both physicists and philosophers disagree about the extent to which we can understand large-scale or complex phenomena in terms of their microscopic parts.
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Torques produce angular acceleration, moment of inertia 'resists' it. Rotational kinetic energy and angular momentum.
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Peeling sticky tape emits energy that extends into the X-ray regime, reports a study in Nature. The research provides evidence for a phenomenon that was first observed more than 50 years ago.nnIt is well known that unwinding sticky tape produces spar....
More details | Watch nowDark Matter, Dark Energy
Smoot's Nobel Prize was awarded for his analysis of that whisper from the Big Bang, the cosmic microwave background radiation. Today he hopes CERN's data will again transform our understanding of the universe. Young scientists Bilge Demirkoz and Benj....
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Awarded a Nobel Prize for using lasers to control and cool atoms, producing the Bose-Einstein condensation, Bill Phillips is eager to hear about new theories from young scientists like Hannah Venzl. An exciting dialogue develops between them on a boa....
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Fine tuning the frequencies of light gave John Hall a Nobel Prize, and helped transform the fields of precision measurement and information transmission. Iris Choi and Andrei Ghicov are young scientists excited by the ways physics can change our worl....
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David Gross's Nobel Prize was for work on the 'strong' force which acts between quarks inside the atom. Now he works on string theory, hoping to understand how all the forces of nature could be united. He believes the next steps may involve throwing ....
More details | Watch nowA linear collider at CERN – from IOP
The boss of CERN wants the next big experiment in particle physics after the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to be built at the Geneva lab. Speaking in an interview with physicsworld.com, Rolf-Dieter Heuer said that CERN should host the experiment, which....
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p=mv. If external forces are zero, momentum is conserved. In collisions, energy may be conserved (elastic) or not (inelastic).
More details | Watch nowThe Nature and Physics of Lightning
Nuclear Power in the United States
Diffraction and Fourier Transforms
Why can’t we see atoms?
John talks about diffraction and the limits it puts on our ability to image atoms. Can we make an electron-microscope without lenses?
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In finite objects, the total external force equals the total mass times the acceleration of a point called the centre of mass.
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Energy and power
The total work done on an object equals the increase in its kinetic energy. For conservative forces, we can define potential energy.
More details | Watch nowThe Physics of Angels and Demons
Professor Harrison Prosper of FSU Physics Department looks at the science behind the recently released movie 'Angels and Demons', starring Tom Hanks and based upon a Dan Brown novel. Prof. Prosper discusses topics such as antimatter, dark matter, dar....
More details | Watch nowCentripetal force – how do we measure it?
A short video showing a simple classroom method of checking the way in which this force is related to mass, speed and radius.
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A presentation showing both the ideas about centripetal force and a simple classroom method of checking the way in which this force is related to mass, speed and radius.
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A short clip showing the experimental measurement of the speed of electrical pulses in a cable - a large fraction of the speed of light.
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A presentation showing how to measure the speed of sound over a short distance on a laboratory table.
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A short clip showing the measurement of the speed of sound over short distances.
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Carefully distinguish mass and weight. Hooke's law quantifies deformation. Contact forces have normal and frictional components.
More details | Watch nowThe Quantum World abserver by Electron Waves
Dr. Tonomura is a world renowned pioneer and authority in the field of electron holography, for which he has received many national and international recognitions. He is recognized for his contributions in the development of electron holography, the ....
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Light is reflected off a flexible shiny surface fixed to the end of a plastic tube. When one speaks into the tubes sound vibrations pass down the tube and make the surface vibrate. The reflected light is therefore sent off from the surface in a con....
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When two different types of conductors are pushed into a potato chemical reactions take place charging them up - we have a simple electrochemical cell. A potato, zinc screw and carbon rod produce about 1V. We experiment joining a few of these cells u....
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This is a simple yet effective demonstration of electricity generation. 500 turns of wire are wound onto a 35mm film can and the two ends are attached to an LED light. A strong magnet is placed in the can and the lid fixed back in place. The generato....
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When two different metals are placed in a salt solution (an electrolyte) the chemistry produces a voltage. This is called a cell. By wiring up a number of these cells we can make a battery and use it to power electrical circuits.
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Converting wind power into electricity seems like an ideal way of helping to solve our energy problems. However, the power generated by a windmill is dependent on the wind speed. If the wind drops to half its speed there is as little as an 1/8th of t....
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Parabolic surfaces can be used to concentrate energy for example to focus sunlight to heat things. Using an old World War II spot light mirror we demonstrate how easy it it is to concentrate enough energy to cause combustion. Finally, we show how to ....
More details | Watch nowTemperature and States of Matter
Temperature Scales
John Murrell explains scales and colour changes with temperature, boiling and melting,
More details | Watch nowPiezoelectricity
Some minerals such as quartz can produce electricity simply by squeezing or bending them - these are called piezoelectric crystals. Here is a simple and cheap demonstration you can do.
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Although essentially a very simple device the Gieger Counter is an exquisitely sensitive detector of ionising radiation. It can detect a single particle. Here we demonstrate its use in detecting radiation from minerals and describe in simple terms ho....
More details | Watch nowThe Quest for The Higgs Particle
A Breathtaking Journey into the Innermost Structure of our Universe. Runner up: Best use of Animation and Best Short Documentary for the 2002 International Festival of Cinema and Technology.
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This short documentary explains why the Large Hadron Collider was built and what scientists are using the collider to look for.
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Dr Tara Shears explains why scientists are convinced that Dark Matter exists and how a new experiment called the Large Hadron Collider might finally tell us exactly what this mysterious missing mass is made of.
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If equal amounts of matter and anitmatter were created at the birth of the universe then why does our universe seem to be made almost entirely from matter? Dr Tara Shears tells us how this mystery could be explained by the Large Hadron Collider exper....
More details | Watch nowBig Bang – a tour of the Large Hadron Collider
Dr Brian Cox takes us on a tour of the Large Hadron Collider where the conditions moments after the Big Bang are to be recreated.
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Dr Tara Shears explains that one of Science's greatest achievements is to have accurately measured everything from the width of the universe to the diameter of a quark. This film features an animated zoom in from the universe to the heart of a hydrog....
More details | Watch nowThe Building Blocks of Matter
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is the biggest science experiment ever built. Scientists from all over the world are heading to CERN with the aim of recreating particles from the beginning of the universe. Dr Brian Cox takes us on a scientific jour....
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Can everything that happens in the universe be explained in terms of just three forces? Particle Physicist Brian Cox talks us through the history of our scientific understanding, revealing why scientists have come to believe this. Brian explores the ....
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Particle physicist Brian Cox explains how quantum mechanics has changed the way that we think the world works and why it predicts the existence of a particle that has never been seen. The Higgs boson is a mysterious particle that explains why things ....
More details | Watch nowElectron Waves Unveil The Microcosmos
Since the time of Faraday lines of force in space have been 'observed' by sprinkling iron filings around magnet. The lecturer explains how, with modern techniques we can 'see' lines of force inside a solid magnet. The studies reveal a fascinating dyn....
More details | Watch nowNuclear Power Plant Safety – What’s the Problem?
A significant proportion of our electricity is generated by thermonuclear reactions. The dangers attached to these processes and the radioactive products are well known and publicised. Much less well known are the measures taken to ensure that the hi....
More details | Watch nowThere Ain’t Nothing Nowhere
With his innate ability to explain the most abstract and complex concepts of modern physics in accessible terms David Miller convinces even the most sceptical that 'empty space' is teeming with a new cast of fundamental characters from virtual photon....
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An elegantly simple optical diffraction demonstration with an inexpensive laser pointer is used to show the way in which x-rays can reveal the structure of crystals, and in particular, the double helix structure of DNA.
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Helen Sharman, the UK's first astronaut, gives a vibrant account of her personal experience of life in space using models and film to illustrate the key scientific concepts involved in spaceflight. Among other things she discusses the way Newton's Th....
More details | Watch nowSpectroscopy and beyond
Professor Sir Richard Friend is Cavendish Professor of Physics and part of the Optoelectronics Group at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.His research interests cover: 1) Conjugated Polymers, in particular the development of new semic....
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Charles Hard Townes received the Nobel Prize for Phyiscs in 1964 'for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle' He was award half of the P....
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When asked how does he think about the problems of the physics of light, Glauber says that it is an off-shoot of particle physics. He says that he has mainly worked in nuclear physics, quantum electro-dynamics and the quantum theoretical version of M....
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Are we on the verge of that holy grail of science, a single theory that explains everything from planets to atomic particles, and if we ever get there, will it be the end, or the beginning of physics? Physicists have theories covering everything fr....
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What is antimatter? What does it tell us about the structure of our universe? Can we ever detect it?
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A presentation discussing the science of mobile phones and associated radiation. Are mobile phones safe?
More details | Watch nowMillie Dresselhaus
Mildred Dresselhaus was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in a poor section of the Bronx. She was a Fullbright Fellow at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University (UK) in 1951-52 and obtained a PhD at the University of Chicago in 1958. Mill....
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Walter Kohn is a condensed matter theorist who has made seminal contributions to the understanding of the electronic structure of materials. He played the leading role in the development of density functional theory, which has revolutionized scientis....
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Interview with Nicolaas Bloembergen, USA, who shared half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1981 with Arthur Leonard Schawlow, USA 'for their contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy' He discusses the technical developments of his work ....
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Leo Esaki is a Japanese physicist who shared half the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 with Ivar Giaever for the discovery of the phenomenon of electron tunneling. The second half of the prize was awarded to Brian David Josephson. He is known for his i....
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Riccardo Giacconi , USA was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2002 for 'for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, which have led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources.
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Ivar Giaever won the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his investigations of tunneling in semiconductors and superconductors. Giaever worked on metal thin films and tunneling and took a Solid State physics course. Although he knew nothing about Superconductivi....
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In 2000 Herbert Kroemer, who was born in Germany, and works at UCSB in the USA shared half of the Nobel Prize for Physics with Zhores I. Alferov ( Russia ) 'for basic work on information and communication technology' and in particular 'for developing....
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K. Alexander Müller shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with J. Georg Bednorz in 1987 'for their important break-through in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials'. At the age of 9 Mller was given a radio (a single vacuum tube receiv....
More details | Watch nowSuperfluidity in Helium 3 – Nobel Physics Prize 1996
Together Osheroff and Richardson talk about their different scientific research backgrounds which leads a fascinating discussion on their joint work for the Noble Prize.
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Gerardus 't Hooft, the Netherlands shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1999 with Martinus J.F. Veltman, the Netherlands 'for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions in physics'. He came from a family of intellectuals. His great....
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Martinus J.F. Veltman, the Netherlands shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1999 with Gerardus 't Hooft the Netherlands 'for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions in physics'. Not all areas of Holland were very advanced when V....
More details | Watch nowRichard Feynman – The Douglas Robb Memorial Lectures – Part 1
A gentle lead-in to the subject, Feynman starts by discussing photons and their properties.
More details | Watch nowBlack holes, Wormholes and Time Travel
The idea of time travel makes great science fiction, but can it really be achieved? Paul Davies, Visiting Professor of Physics at Imperial College, describes wormholes in space and other ways that might allow travel into the past or future.
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