Things get weird under pressure.

What do raindrops look like? Exactly how we drew them as kids, right? Wrong! Teardrop-shaped rain is physically impossible. This week I went inside a vertical wind tunnel to bring you the true shape of rain.

Winter is upon us, and for many that includes snow! And although snowflakes are ice crystals that become flakes under the right conditions, they also have mysteries that can be less simple to explain!

What do airplanes, power plants, ships, and explosions have in common? They all make clouds!

Want to learn more about the topic in this week's video? Here are some key words/phrases to get your googling started:

- Condensation - the process of water molecules glomming together into visible dro
plets
- Condensation...

There are quite a few ways that humans influence the weather, and even on local levels, human activity can produce more rain. Whether by accident or on purpose, increasing rainfall isn't as far-fetched as it sounds.

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Dan Reisenfeld from the University of Montana joins us this week to talk about his work with three different NASA missions (Genesis, IBEX, and Cassini), and Jessi from Animal Wonders brings along Ginger and Maui the Green Cheek Conures!

One of the most fundamental ideas in physics is that the disorder of the universe, also known as entropy, is constantly increasing. But, life’s inherent chemical makeup has been hacking the disorder of the universe for billions of years!

In this collection of classic MinuteEarth videos, we tackle the science of size.

We’ve discovered a planet that, for its size, is in a very strange place around it’s star! And other scientists, inspired by comets, have come up with a new way to potentially make breathable oxygen for people exploring Mars in the future.

Explore the process of osmosis in this updated Amoeba Sisters video! Video features real life examples of osmosis, important vocab, and introduces concept of water potential and turgor pressure in plant cells. Expand details for table of...

We’re told that all snowflakes are unique. But when you really think about them, snowflakes get even more interesting - as ice crystals forming in 3D space, why are snowflakes basically 2D?

You may have satisfied your inner five-year-old by learning why the sky is blue, but where does the ocean's color come from?

Paul Andersen explains how the structure of objects are related to their function and vice versa. He begins with a quick quiz on bicycle construction and ends with a progression of teaching for students grades K-12. He also explains...

Salt dissolves in water; oil does not. But why? You can think of that glass of water as a big, bumpin' dance party where the water molecules are always switching dance partners -- and they'd much rather dance with a salt ion. John...

The constant motion of our oceans represents a vast and complicated system involving many different drivers. Sasha Wright explains the physics behind one of those drivers -- the concentration gradient -- and illustrates how our oceans...

So, what happens to normal stuff (like water) when it goes to not so normal places? What happens if you take a glass of water to the top of Mt. Everest? Or Space? In this episode of Crash Course Kids, Sabrina shows us how matter is...

We’ve known about different types of supernovas for some time, but researchers now believe they have observed a previously unseen kind! And, sadly, the odds of life on Venus may not be as high as we once believed.

So when water evaporates, what happens? Where does that water go? Does just vanish? Is it no more? Can matter every just go away? Well, the answer is no, it can't. But it can LOOK like it does. In this episode of Crash Course Kids,...

In something like water, particles like electrons can beat light in a race - and cause a blue glow to prove it.

Water is one of the most abundant and important substances on Earth, so you think we'd know everything there is to know about it. But it turns out water is way weirder, and it often behaves in ways that leave scientists with more...

If you stick water in the freezer, it will take a few hours to freeze into ice. How is it, then, that cold packs go from room temperature to near freezing in mere seconds? John Pollard details the chemistry of the cold pack, shedding...

Have you ever wondered why 75% humidity in the summer feels sticky, but 75% humidity in the winter feels super dry? Turns out, the common definition of humidity is inconvenient and confusing. But there is a better way!

Water doesn't always freeze when it's supposed to. Learn about supercooling, and how to supercool a bottle of water at home -- and then turn it to ice instantly!