Colour Mixing: The Mystery of Magenta
Why doesn’t magenta appear in the rainbow? The answer lies not in physics but in biology.
Lectures
A mini robot – powered by your phone
Your smartphone may feel like a friend — but a true friend would give you a smile once in a while. At TED2013, Keller Rinaudo demos Romo, the smartphone-powered mini robot who can motor along with you on a walk, slide you a cup of coffee across the table, and react to you with programmable expressions.
Cosmic Journeys : Voyager Journey to the Stars
Cosmic Journeys examines the great promise of the Voyager mission and where it will lead us in our grand ambition to move out beyond our home planet. The two Voyager spacecraft are part of an ancient quest to push beyond our boundaries… to see what lies beyond the horizon. Now tens of billions of kilometers from Earth, two spacecraft are streaking out into the void. What will we learn about the Galaxy, the Universe, and ourselves from Voyager’s epic Journey to the stars?
The beginning of the universe, for beginners
How did the universe begin — and how is it expanding? CERN physicist Tom Whyntie shows how cosmologists and particle physicists explore these questions by replicating the heat, energy, and activity of the first few seconds of our universe, from right after the Big Bang.
Momentum and Portal – Sixty Symbols
Professor Moriarty requested that we re-visit one aspect of physics in the game Portal 2 – humour him!
Freeman Hrabowski: 4 pillars of college success in science
At age 12, Freeman Hrabowski marched with Martin Luther King. Now he’s president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he works to create an environment that helps under-represented students — specifically African-American, Latino and low-income learners — get degrees in math and science. He shares the four pillars of UMBC’s approach.
Healthier men, one moustache at a time
Adam Garone has an impressive moustache, and it’s for a good cause. A co-founder of Movember, Garone’s initiative to raise awareness for men’s health — by having men grow out their moustaches every November — began as a dare in a bar in 2003. Now, it’s a worldwide movement that raised $126 million for prostate cancer research last year.
A call to invention: DIY speaker edition
There’s a pleasure in making things for yourself — especially something unexpected. William Gurstelle shows how to make your own speakers from objects probably already laying around your house, like copper wire and an empty yogurt cup.
The future of lying – Jeff Hancock
Who hasn’t sent a text message saying “I’m on my way” when it wasn’t true or fudged the truth a touch in their online dating profile? But Jeff Hancock doesn’t believe that the anonymity of the internet encourages dishonesty. In fact, he says the searchability and permanence of information online may even keep us honest.
Want to be happier? Stay in the moment
When are humans most happy? To gather data on this question, Matt Killingsworth built an app, Track Your Happiness, that let people report their feelings in real time. Among the surprising results: We’re often happiest when we’re lost in the moment. And the flip side: The more our mind wanders, the less happy we can be. (Filmed at TEDxCambridge.)
Neuroscience, game theory, monkeys
When two people are trying to make a deal — whether they’re competing or cooperating — what’s really going on inside their brains? Behavioral economist Colin Camerer shows research that reveals just how little we’re able to predict what others are thinking. And he presents an unexpected study that shows chimpanzees might just be better [...]
“The World in 2030″ by Dr. Michio Kaku
“The World in 2030: How Science will Affect Computers, Medicine, Jobs, Our Lifestyles and the Wealth of our Nations” Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist and the Henry Semat Professor at the City College of New York and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he [...]
Creating a Fireball – Pouring Water on an Oil Fire
Watch Peter Wothers deliver the 2012 Christmas Lectures: http://richannel.org/christmas-lectur… Most people know the advice about never putting water on an oil fire. We joined Dr Peter Wothers on the roof of the Ri building in London to show exactly why. Above the famous Lecture Theatre, the team set up a clear protective shield around a [...]
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
Professor Ed Copeland on the latest news to come from the Planck project – talking about the Big Bang and the resulting microwave radiation.
