Physics

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle | Atom

Jim Al-Khalili explains Heisenberg's famous Uncertainty Principle that explains why an atom can't be visualised.

How electrons determine the shape of an atom | Atom

Electrons make all the difference when it comes to atoms; gold and mercury are vastly different yet only consist of a dif...

Nuclear fusion | Atom

Sunlight is created by nuclear fusion in the Sun when two protons are fused together.

The alpha particle scattering experiment | Atom

Rutherford used radium to produce alpha rays in the first experiment of its kind.

The big bang and the creation of hydrogen and helium | Atom

George Gamow believed that helium existed in the universe before the sun and the stars were formed.

The discovery of neutrons | Atom

Professor Jim Al-Khalili explains how the missing ingredients of the atom were discovered in 1932.

The discovery of nuclear fission | Atom

Scientists in the 1930's toyed with neutrons colliding with nucleai and were excited at the thought that such experiments could creat...

The furnaces in which everything was made | Atom

Fred Hoyle worked out how the heaviest elements were created through nuclear fusion.

The quantum jump | Atom

Jim Al-Khalili attempts to explain one of the most difficult scientific concepts, but one that underpins everything.

The strong nuclear force | Atom

Like a magnet, protons will repel each other, however, as soon as they are close enough they will stick together.

Alternating current | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Nikola Tesla invented alternating current (AC) which allowed no electrical power to be lost when passing throug...

The electromagnetic spectrum | Short Circuit

The visible spectrum is only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and it is the wavelength that determines how they are...

The invention of the electricity generator | The Genius of Invention

Mark Miodownik explores the scientific achievements of Michael Faraday. He linked ideas of motion and ma...

How Nikola Tesla electrified his Victorian peers | Victorian Sensations

Hannah Fry describes the first moment Nikola Tesla demonstrated the power of electricity.

Crystal Junctions | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explores the race between scientists to create a reliable way to amplify electrical signals, and i...

Electricity and the Atomic scale | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explores how Ernest Rutherford's work on the atom revealed what electricity was on ...

Electricity, Magnetism, Motion | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Hans Christian Ørsted discovered that an electric current creates a magnetic field.

Electromagnetic waves | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explains Michael Faraday's theory that any electrical charge can create a forcefield surroundi...

Electromagnets and telegraphs | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explains how an electromagnet works and how it paved the way for the birth of the tele...

Insulators and Conductors | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Stephen Gray, a silk dyer, was used to seeing sparks leap from the silk so he began experiments conductin...

Leyden Jar | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

A Leyden jar is a device for storing static electricity, discovered accidentally in Leiden, Netherlands.

Positive and negative charges | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Benjamin Franklin discovered that electricity could be like money in a bank, it could be in credit (p...

Resistance | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explains how, as we made microchips smaller, the electrical feature of resistance was becoming more probl...

Semiconductors | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explores how JC Bose and his wave detector made use of crystals to conduct electricity.

Semiconductors and WWII | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explains the importance of semiconductors, particularly with regard to fighting WWII.

Superconductors | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili looks at how, in 1986, IBM researchers discovered a breakthrough regarding superconductivity in cera...

The first light bulbs | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explores the history of Thomas Edison's first incandescent light bulb.

The race to prove Maxwell's theory | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explains how physics professor Oliver Lodge proved Maxwell's theory that electrom...

Valves | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Jim Al-Khalili explains how William Crooks experimented with sending electrical currents through a vacuum.

Voltaic Pile | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Invented by Italian chemist Alessandro Volta in 1799, the voltaic pile was the first electrical battery that could con...

What is electricity | Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

An electric current is essentially the flow of electrons (which are electrically charged) from one atom to anot...

Gas turbine technology | Bang Goes the Theory

A demonstration of how gas turbine technology works.

Greenhouse effect | Making Scotland's Landscape

An experiment that demonstrates the greenhouse effect.

Carbon capture and storage | Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World

Professor Iain Stewart investigates CCS, a process that is attempting to reduce carbon dioxide...

Britain's relationship with nuclear energy | Powering Britain

The history of Britain's relationship with nuclear energy.

Carbon footprint of a loaf of bread | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

Dr Tara Shine discusses the carbon emissions from the process of baking a loaf of bread.

Radioactive waste | Bang Goes the Theory

Dallas investigates the clean up operation for radioactive waste.

Sustainable cities | Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World

Professor Iain Stewart visits Masdar in Abu Dhabi, a city that relies on renewable energy.

Electricity and the National Grid | Powering Britain

How the National Grid is able to regulate electricity throughout Britain.

Reducing demand on the grid | Bang Goes the Theory

A company that aims to reduce the demand on the grid at key moments in the day,

Energy transportation | Powering Britain

How energy made by the wind turbines is transported to our homes.

Storing renewable energy | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

Dr Tara Shine and Dr Enass Abo-Hamed explain how we can store renewable energy.

What went wrong at Fukushima? | Bang Goes the Theory

Jem explains what caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Prof Jim Al Khalili goes inside Calder Hall for his first look inside the core of a nuclear reactor | Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield

Nuclear physicist Professo...

The properties of different types of radiation | Short Circuit

An explanation of how a radiation detector picks up different types of radiation.

Types of nuclear radiation | Short Circuit

An explanation of alpha, beta and gamma radiation.

The ultraviolet catastrophe and black-body radiation | The Secrets of Quantum Physics

Max Planck was interested in why light changed colour as it got hotter, so built a blac...

Radioactive particle clean up mission | Bang Goes the Theory

Following a leak of thousands of radioactive particles in the 60's, a team at Dounreay are attempting to find an...

Radioactive waste | Bang Goes the Theory

Dallas investigates the clean up operation for radioactive waste.

Chernobyl disaster | Inside Chernobyl's Mega Tomb

Introduction to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the temporary construction that was built to contain the radiation.

Radiation risk | Powering Britain

Precautions put in place by Heysham nuclear power station to reduce the risk of radiation.

The electromagnetic spectrum | Short Circuit

The visible spectrum is only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and it is the wavelength that determines how they are...

What is the Infrared? | The Sky at Night

The infrared are the wavelengths of light beyond the red, an essential extension of the optical spectrum.

Refraction & Total internal reflection | Short Circuit

An explanation of refraction and reflection.

How tsunami waves differ from normal waves | Bang Goes the Theory

An explanation of the differences between tsunamis and other waves.

The importance of diffraction | Short Circuit

An explanation of diffraction and the factors that affect it.

Seismic waves | Volcano Live

Demonstration of the two types of seismic wave in an onland earthquake - primary and secondary.

Black hole | Horizon

An explanation of what a black hole is and the mystery surrounding their existence.

An introduction to Dark Energy and Dark Matter | James May's Things You Need to Know

James May explains what elements our universe is made up of.

The chances of alien life within the Solar System | Short Circuit

An explanation of what variables are needed for life on other planets and why looking at life under the oce...

An introduction to the planets in the Solar System | The Planets

A short explanation of the planets and their order away from the Sun.

A chaotic beginning | Wonders of the Solar System

The chaotic birth of the solar system is incomparable to the relatively stable system that we see today.

How stars are made | Horizon

The remarkable story of how Hubble revealed the awe and wonder of our universe and how a team of daring astronauts risked their lives to keep it...

Evidence of the Big Bang | James May's Things You Need to Know

James May explores the clues left in outer space that are proof of the Big Bang's occurrence.

Billions of Galaxies Out There | The Planets

Exploring the fate of our solar system and the new planetary systems that are being found around nearby stars.

The centre of our solar system | Wonders of the Solar System

Professor Brian Cox describes each planet's perspective of the star at the centre of our solar system.

Introduction to the Hubble Telescope | Horizon

An introduction of the Hubble telescope, launched in 1990 but concieved in the 1940s.

How the sun creates energy | James May's Things You Need to Know

James May explains how stars work and the difference between fission and fusion.

Proof of the accretion theory | The Planets

Accretion is the accumulation of particles into a massive object by gravitationally attracting more matter.

The influence of Jupiter | Wonders of the Solar System

Jupiter's gravitational influence extends across the Solar System, by not only collecting up objects but also pushing ...

Journey to Hubble | Horizon

Astronauts describe the journey travelling from Earth to the Hubble telescope.

The death of a star | James May's Things You Need to Know

James May explains how as a star dies, it gets brighter, hotter and smaller.

The formation of planets | The Planets

An explanation of astronomer Viktor Safronov's low-mass-nebula model of planet formation.

The life cycle of the sun | Wonders of the Solar System

An exploration of each stage of our sun's lifecycle, from clumps of hydrogen and dust to being the most powerful forc...

The Hubble Deep Field | Horizon

'Deep Field'' is an image the Hubble telescope took that encapsulates the most definitive image of our visible universe to date.

The formation of our Solar System | James May's Things You Need to Know

James May explains how our solar system began as a solar nebula, a formation of clouds and dust.

The formation of the moon | The Planets

The moon was born from a large mass colliding with the early formation of Earth.

The retrograde motion of Mars | Wonders of the Solar System

This explanation of the retrograde motion of Mars through the Earth's skies proves beyond doubt the sun's positio...

The Hubble Telescope | Horizon

The Hubble telescope has provided some of the most incredible and startling images of the cosmos.

The suns empire | Wonders of the Solar System

Professor Brian Cox explains the immense power of the Sun, and the extent of its gravitational influence.

Bob Nichol Explains Dark Matter | Horizon

A look at dark matter and dark energy ahead of the Large Hadron Collider being switched on in March 2015, having been upgraded.

Evidence of the Big Bang | Wonders of the Universe

Brian Cox simply explains how light and colour are crucial evidence for the Big Bang.