It’s been 110 years since Georges Méliès sent a spaceship slamming into the eye of the man on the moon. So how far have visual effects come since then? Working closely with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Don Levy takes us on a visual journey through special effects, from the fakery of early technology to the seamless marvels of modern filmmaking.
We can send satellites in the orbit and people to the Moon and predict solar eclipses thousands the years into the future but yet we cannot reliably predict the weather…
This week’s SciShow news brings you discoveries involving two of the most exotic substances on Earth – the world’s rarest element and the world’s oldest water. Two great tastes that taste great together?
Imagine you’re a shipwrecked sailor adrift in the enormous Pacific. You can choose one of three directions and save yourself and your shipmates — but each choice comes with a fearful consequence too. How do you choose? In telling the story of the whaleship Essex, novelist Karen Thompson Walker shows how fear propels imagination, as it forces us to imagine the possible futures and how to cope with them.
Why is the sky blue? It’s a question that you’d think kids have been asking for thousands of years, but it might not be that old at all. The ancient Greek poet Homer never used a word for blue in The Odyssey or The Iliad, because blue is one of the last colors that cultures pick out a word for.
James Glattfelder studies complexity: how an interconnected system — say, a swarm of birds — is more than the sum of its parts. And complexity theory, it turns out, can reveal a lot about how the economy works. Glattfelder shares a groundbreaking study of how control flows through the global economy, and how concentration of power in the hands of a shockingly small number leaves us all vulnerable.
Fran Scott shows us how you can make your own Van de Graaff using household objects. How big a spark can you create?
Krista Tippett talks about the beauty and mystery in science and religion and how they go hand-in-hand, not head-to-head.
You have been predicted — by companies, governments, law enforcement, hospitals, and universities. Their computers say, “I knew you were going to do that!” These institutions are seizing upon the power to predict whether you’re going to click, buy, lie, or die.
There are a lot of ways to kill and be killed in the animal kingdom, but only a lucky few use the powers of venom. Not all are closely related, so how did they acquire the same defenses, where did venom come from, and how does it work? And what animals can kill you the most quickly?
In this second of two videos looking at ‘How big is a trillion?’ Matt Parker tells you how to pay off one trillion dollars, pounds, Galactic Credits, bitcoins… what ever your currency.
Some lucky animals are naturally endowed with bioluminescence, or the ability to create light. The firefly, the anglerfish, and a few more surprising creatures use this ability in many ways, including survival, hunting, and mating. Leslie Kenna investigates this magical glow – and our quest to replicate it.
Ever wondered if humans will ever be able to fly? Does stress really cause grey hair? And what exactly is the tingling feeling in our arms?
Why does music make us feel happy or sad? Or angry or romantic? How can simple sound waves cause so much emotion? I went from my comfy chair to the streets of Austin to investigate how it might be written into our neuroscience and evolution. Modern neuroscience says our brains may be wired to pick certain emotions out of music because they remind us of how people move!
