Curated Video
What Are Asteroids?
How are asteroids in our Solar System formed, where are they found, and what danger do they pose to life on Earth? Physics - Our Solar System - Learning Points. Asteroids are made from rock, metal or carbon, while comets are made of rock...
Curated Video
Chernobyl Disaster
In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. What caused the explosion and why has Chernobyl become a lasting reminder of the dangers of nuclear power? Earth Science - Earth's Resources - Learning Points. The world's first...
Curated Video
Next Stop Mars
The Sun is dying, and getting hotter as it does. As life on Earth becomes unsustainable, could we move to Mars? Physics - Universe - Learning Points. The Sun will die in approximately 5 billion years. As the Sun ages, it will get hotter,...
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How to Make Fake Snow
Snow forms in the atmosphere as a result of water molecules attaching themselves to nuclei bacteria. But scientists have found ways to manipulate the freezing process of water and the production of these nuclei to create snow...
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Mars: The Search for Water
We know that Mars once had a landscape with oceans and rivers, but what happened to it? Physics - Universe - Learning Points. Although Mars is a freezing dry world today, it is thought the planet was once like Earth. If liquid water once...
Curated Video
Clathrate Gun Hypothesis
The largest volumes of methane on Earth are frozen deep underground. Learn how global warming could melt these stores and start the irreversible process predicted by the Clathrate Gun Hypothesis. Earth Science - Human Impacts - Learning...
Curated Video
Earth's Twin
Billions of years ago, Earth collided with its twin planet Theia. The impact and resulting geophysical changes prepared Earth for complex life. Physics - Our Solar System - Learning Points. 4 billion years ago Earth had a twin called...
Curated Video
The Carbon Cycle
Through organic matter, rocks and the oceans, the element central to all life on Earth is constantly on the move. Earth Science - Earth's Resources - Learning Points. The carbon cycle is a transfer of carbon between living matter and the...
Curated Video
Place Like Home: Life On a Moon
The discovery of Titan's atmosphere excited scientists, who believe it could hold the key to life on Earth. Physics - UniverseLearning Points. Titan is the only moon in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere. Titan's atmosphere is 98%...
Curated Video
The Ozone Layer
The world has already faced a major global climate challenge: the hole in the ozone layer, discovered in 1985. Find out what ozone is, why it's important, and how the ozone hole is being repaired. Earth Science - Human Impacts - Learning...
Curated Video
Tropical Rainforests
Tropical rainforests are competitive environments where plants must compete for space and resources. But other dangers threaten the balance and future of these important habitats. Biology - Ecosystems - Learning Points. Tropical...
Curated Video
Cloud in a Bottle
We create a cloud in a bottle using warm water and smoke. Some warm water is placed in a plastic bottle and then some smoke is drawn in using a glowing splint. The bottle is sealed and then squeezed and released. The change in pressure...
Curated Video
Can Crusher
We demonstrate the effects of imbalances of pressure. A metal can is crushed by atmospheric pressure. We add some water to a can and boil it until the can is full of water vapour. It is then sealed and left to cool and after a few...
Curated Video
The Bends
The potentially deadly threat changes in pressure pose for divers. What happens when a diver experiences the bends, and how can they be saved? Physics - Forces - Learning Points. The Bends is decompression sickness, which affects divers...
Curated Video
Inventions to Save the Planet
Discover some geo-engineering techniques that scientists are developing to manipulate Earth's climate. What are they and how would they work? Earth Science - Human Impacts - Learning Points. Geo-engineering strives to use technology to...
Curated Video
Climate Influences
Climate varies across the world, producing distinct climate zones. Discover the many factors that create these differences. Earth Science - Weather - Learning Points. Climate varies across the world. The world can be divided into six...
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Northern Lights
Discover how the chemical reactions which produce the extraordinary colours of the Northern Lights have their origins in outer space. Chemistry - Atoms And Bonding - Learning Points. Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, is a natural...
Curated Video
Climate Cycles
How climatologists use ice cores, cylindrical cones of ice drilled from glaciers, to reveal Earth's historical cycles of climate change. Earth Science - Human Impacts - Learning Points. The Earth has natural, long cycles of climate. The...
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Santorini: Looking for Atlantis
Could Atlantis, the mythical city which sank beneath the sea, be based in historical fact? The story of how a volcanic eruption on Crete may have inspired this enduring myth. Earth Science - Geology - Learning Points. In 1630BC, the...
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Venus 1: Atmosphere
The first attempts to land a probe on a different planet. Scientists hoped an Earth-like world might lie beneath Venus' dense atmosphere, but a very different reality awaited. Physics - Our Solar System - Learning Points. Venus was...
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Planetary nebula
A glowing cloud of dust and gas surrounding a star towards the end of its life cycle. A Twig Science Glossary Film. Key scientific terms defined in just 60 seconds using stunning images and concise textual definitions. Twig Science...
Curated Video
Lightning - Atmospheric Discharge
A high-current electrical discharge in the atmosphere that may occur during thunderstorms, or sometimes dust storms or volcanic eruptions. A Twig Science Glossary Film. Key scientific terms defined in just 60 seconds using stunning...
Curated Video
Radio waves
The lowest frequency range of electromagnetic radiation, with wavelengths from millimetres to many kilometres. A Twig Science Glossary Film. Key scientific terms defined in just 60 seconds using stunning images and concise textual...
Curated Video
Troposphere
The lower and most dense part of the atmosphere, extending to an altitude of about 20km at the equator and 11km at the poles. A Twig Science Glossary Film. Key scientific terms defined in just 60 seconds using stunning images and concise...