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Expansion and Contraction
Discover how different materials react to heat, and why this can be both useful and dangerous. Physics - Energy And Radioactivity - Learning Points. Temperature affects the size and shape of an object due to the expansion and contraction...
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Laws of Thermodynamics
Find out what these two principal laws explain about the way energy can and cannot be used throughout the entire Universe. Physics - Energy And Radioactivity - Learning Points. The 1st law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither...
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Hot Air Balloons
Hot air balloons rely on heat alone to keep them in the sky. How does this work? Physics - Energy And Radioactivity - Learning Points. Hot air rises in cool air because it is less dense. The hot air within a hot air balloon creates the...
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The Energy of Formula 1
Learn how Formula 1 engineers have managed to recapture 'lost' energy to power their cars and win races. Physics - Energy And Radioactivity - Learning Points. Car brakes lose a massive amount of energy as heat. Acceleration and...
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Resistance
What is resistance? Discover how it impedes electrical flow, and why understanding it can help us to build more effective circuits, and stay safe. Physics - Electricity And Circuits - Learning Points. Resistance is how well or poorly an...
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Red Hot: Emergency Stop
Revealed: the tremendous heat created and energy 'lost' when cars brake. Physics - Energy And Radioactivity - Learning Points. Car brakes convert kinetic energy into heat energy. When you press the car brake pad a system of levers and...
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The Elements: Uranium
Discover the vital role uranium plays in nuclear technology. Chemistry - Periodic Table - Learning Points. Uranium was discovered in 1789. Uranium was named after the planet Uranus. Uranium is weakly radioactive. Uranium is important in...
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How Are Mirrors Made?
The process of manufacturing lumps of glass into sophisticated mirror systems in the world's largest telescopes. Physics - Universe - Learning Points. Mirrors are made from glass, which is melted and spread over a base. Telescopes use...
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Death of the Sun
The Sun is dying, getting hotter as it goes. Eventually it will shrink into a black dwarf, but life will have vanished long before. Physics - Our Solar System - Learning Points. The Sun is 5 billion years old and will begin to die in 5...
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Steam Power
Steam power lay at the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Discover steam power's historic legacy, how it works, and how much it is still used today. Physics - Energy And Radioactivity - Learning Points. The steam engine is one of the...
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Factpack: Experience Friction
An interactive demonstration of how friction is created, and its effects. Physics - Forces - Learning Points. A Twig FactPack Film. Open a discussion on what has been already learnt in a topic, or use to grab attention at the start of a...
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The Sun - Our Star
Our Sun is a medium sized star, which creates the perfect conditions for life on Earth. What happens on the Sun and how do stars, including the Sun, live and die? Physics - Our Solar System - Learning Points. The Sun is 4.6 billion years...
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The Elements: Potassium
Potassium is one of the most unpredictable elements, a soft metal that is essential to life. Chemistry - Periodic Table - Learning Points. Potassium is a soft metal. In our bodies potassium compounds help keep us healthy. Potassium...
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Place Like Home: Cassini
The enormous challenge of building a probe capable of travelling over 1 billion kilometres to reach Saturn's moon, Titan. Physics - Universe - Learning Points. Huygens probe was designed by the European Space Agency at a cost of £400...
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Oxygen and Combustion
Combustion reactions are vital: from keeping us warm and cooking our food, to providing electricity and propelling rockets into outer space. What do we know about these chemical reactions? Chemistry - Reactions - Learning Points....
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Oxidation Reactions
Why do we cook our food wrapped in aluminium foil? Why does metal rust? It all comes down to oxidation reactions. Discover what happens to cause these reactions, and how to stop them. Chemistry - ReactionsLearning Points. The combustion...
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How Hot Is the Earth's Core?
Unreachable by man, scientists have developed a complex experiment to demonstrate the heat and pressure at the centre of the Earth. Earth Science - Geology - Learning Points. The Earth's core is a dense ball of iron and nickel. To...
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Metallic Bonding
Metals can be strong and hard, or they can be flexible. It's the special behaviour of ions that give metals their different properties. Chemistry - Atoms And Bonding - Learning Points. Metal atoms bond together and create giant lattice...
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Rock Types - Geological Formations
An explanation of the geological processes which lead to the formation of different types of rock. Earth Science - Geology - Learning Points. There are three types of rock: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Sedimentary rock forms...
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Making a Star on Earth
Large-scale nuclear fusion is one of the ultimate goals of science which has yet to be achieved. How does nuclear fusion work and is a future likely in which we can reproduce the power of a star on Earth? Earth Science - Earth's...
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Radioactive Substances
What is radioactivity? Explore the difference between alpha, beta and gamma radiation and how their different properties can make them useful. Physics - Energy And Radioactivity - Learning Points. Radioactivity is the nuclear decay of...
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Manipulating Light
When light hits something, a number of things can happen: it can be reflected, refracted, diffracted or absorbed. But what does this mean? Physics - Waves - Learning Points. Manipulation of light is vital to our survival. Light waves...
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Solar Power - Harnessing Sun’s Energy
The Sun has the potential to meet all our energy needs, if only we could harness it efficiently. Why is it so difficult to efficiently convert and store this energy? Earth Science - Earth's Resources - Learning Points. The Sun provides...
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Ocean Conveyer
A super-current runs from the Arctic past South America to the Indian Ocean. This is major factor influencing our climate, controlling everything from currents to the weather. Earth Science - Human Impacts - Learning Points. The great...