This program covers the important topic of refrigerators in Physics. We begin by discussing how refrigerators are just “heat engines” operated in reverse because they require energy to pump heat away from an object. The entire lesson is taught by working example problems beginning with the easier ones and gradually progressing to the harder problems. Emphasis is placed on giving students confidence in their skills by gradual repetition so that...

Quantum mechanics gives us a picture of the world so radically counterintuitive that it has changed our perspective on reality itself. In Quantum Mechanics: The Physics of the Microscopic World, award-winning Professor Benjamin Schumacher gives you the logical tools to grasp the paradoxes and astonishing insights of this field.

This program covers the important topic of the first law of thermodynamics in Physics. We begin by discussing how this law is derived and how it is applied to practical problems in physics. The entire lesson is taught by working example problems beginning with the easier ones and gradually progressing to the harder problems. Emphasis is placed on giving students confidence in their skills by gradual repetition so that the skills learned in this section...

No subject is bigger than reality itself, and nothing is more challenging to understand, since what counts as reality is undergoing continual revision and has been for centuries. For example, the matter that comprises all stars, planets, and living things turns out to be just a fraction of what actually exists. Moreover, we think that we control our actions, but data analytics can predict, with astonishing accuracy, when we will wake up, what we will...

Thanks to an ongoing revolution in the science of meteorology, we can now understand how extreme weather conditions arise, produce far more accurate forecasts, and know how to protect ourselves when dangerous conditions develop. The Science of Extreme Weather is your field guide to the worst that Earth’s atmosphere can inflict. In 24 exciting, informative, and potentially life-saving half-hour lectures aimed at weather novices and amateur forecasters...

Reality for the individual ends at death. But medical technology is making that endpoint increasingly hard to define. Consider what it means to die and the complications that would ensue if we developed brain transplants or found the secret of immortality..

Trace the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) from simple calculating machines to computers that can vanquish chess masters. Learn the distinction between weak AI, such as a chess-playing machine, and strong AI, which is a machine that has a truly human-like mind. Question whether strong AI is even possible..

See how quantum field theory led to a stunning synthesis called the standard model of particle physics, which was confirmed by the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson. Study the startling implications of this theory for our understanding of reality. Close by examining its impact on the visual arts..

Modern technology has transformed procreation, birth, and parenting. Given the different donor and surrogate options, it’s perfectly possible to have a child with five biologically contributing parents. What are the implications of this revolution, especially if human cloning becomes the next new option?.

This program covers the important topic of traveling sound waves (part 1) in Physics. We begin by discussing how sound waves propagate through the air and other mediums. We discuss the mathematical form of the compression wave and discuss the speed of sound, frequency, and more. The entire lesson is taught by working example problems beginning with the easier ones and gradually progressing to the harder problems. Emphasis is placed on giving students...