Less than three months into its mission, NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, is already exceeding scientists' expectations. The satellite is measuring the height of sea ice to within an inch,...

ICESat-2's main science objective is ice, but the mission is also able to measure the heights of other features, including ocean bathymetry, trees and mountain glaciers.



Ryan Fitzgibbons (USRA): Lea
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With the Bohr model we start to get a better sense of the nature of matter, particularly the way light interacts with atomic matter such that we can see it. But how do we do calculations regarding these interactions? Let's practice now!

Resonance Fluorescence: A Special Case of Fluorescence

In our study of physics, we have become aware of four forces, and the fields that mediate them. Once we got deep into quantum theory, we started to realize that these forces are not mediated by fields at all, but rather by quanta. That's...

So Max Planck kicked things off, but how does the story of modern physics continue? With none other than your favorite scientist and mine, Albert Einstein! He did more than just stick his tongue out and have crazy hair. He elucidated the...

This nugget describes the nucleus of an atom. It talks about the various aspects of a nucleus like atomic number, atomic mass unit, isotopes and isobars, with examples.

Lasers are known to burn things, fix eyes, and dance on powerpoint presentations. But they can also be used to cool objects to some of the coldest temperatures in the universe.

We get energy by eating other organisms, but plants don't have to do that. They can build their own food out of water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight. I'm sure you've heard of photosynthesis before, but let's take a look at some of the...

Look, up in the sky, it's a particle! It's a wave! Actually it's both. It's light! How do we know about this stuff? Well, because of Einstein for one. He did more than E = mc^2, you know. But don't stare at the sun to see for yourself,...

Melanin Physiology: Melanin Absoprtion of UV Light and Internal Conversion to Heat

Using real world demonstrations and colorful graphics, Real World Science: Light teaches students the different properties of light, pertinent definitions and how light travels. Students will learn how different mediums can affect light,...

We just learned about electron microscopy, so what was the next major innovation in microscopy in the 20th century? That would be fluorescence microscopy, of both the widefield and confocal varieties. How does this work? What is...

Why don't protons and electrons just slam into each other and explode? Why do different elements emit light of different colors? Niels Bohr knew why. And now you will too!

Students will learn about the different frequencies along the electromagnetic spectrum. Vivid animation is used to explore the visible spectrum of light and the colors it allows us to see everyday. The video also investigates various...

Upon viewing the Light video series, students will be able to do the following: List some of the reasons light is important to all living things. Understand that light is a type of energy. Describe how light behaves both as a wave and...