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Science

Essays and videos exploring physics, evolution, cosmology and other frontiers in science
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Engineering

A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations

9 minutes

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Physics

Is it possible to design a shape to roll along any fixed path?

4 minutes

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Design and fashion

The mundane becomes mesmerising in this deep dive into segmented displays

14 minutes

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Physics

A song of ice, fire and jelly – exploring the physics and history of the trumpet

9 minutes

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Music

Electronic gloves and even potted plants make music in a playground for sound innovation

6 minutes

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Design and fashion

Household items are reborn in a ‘visual symphony of everyday objects’

11 minutes

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Design and fashion

From sheep to sea – an ode to the iconic sweater that warms Cornish sailors

4 minutes

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Astronomy

Raw solar-storm footage is the punk-rock antidote to sleek James Webb imagery

6 minutes

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Physics

Spectacular fractal patterns emerge when electricity meets a wooden surface

4 minutes

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Physics

This is not an animation: the spectacular sight of magnets meeting a metallic liquid

5 minutes

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Architecture

How the Dorze in Ethiopia make ‘beehive’ houses from bamboo that last a lifetime

35 minutes

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Technology and the self

‘Perfection is for the gods,’ and this sculptor gets to a thousandth of an inch of it

14 minutes

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Biology

It’s a massive, winged Cretaceous beast – could a human ride one?

9 minutes

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History of technology

Behold as a mechanical foghorn in Shetland awakes from its year-long slumber

2 minutes

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Physics

Water, salt and music form a mesmerising visualisation of sound waves

7 minutes

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Physics

In this 1975 lecture, the maglev train’s inventor deconstructs his ingenious design

19 minutes

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Design and fashion

Gear up for a stylish celebration of vintage motorcycle design

6 minutes

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essay

Space exploration

Riches in space

Asteroids could pay for so much space exploration. We just need to mine those valuable resources – and duck a direct hit

Martin Elvis

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Making

How sky-high dreams launched one man’s audacious life in homemade rocketry

5 minutes

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Engineering

Why are NASA engineers borrowing techniques from origami artists?

5 minutes

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essay

Ecology and environmental sciences

Nature’s playbook

From termite queens to the carbon cycle, nature knows how to avoid network collapse. Human designers should pay heed

Ruth DeFries

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Engineering

Simple objects make for epic art installations of sound and movement

20 minutes

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essay

Complexity

Uncertain times

The pandemic is an unprecedented opportunity – seeing human society as a complex system opens a better future for us all

Jessica Flack & Melanie Mitchell

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video

Space exploration

What the Martian surface looked like to Oppy – humanity’s most resilient rover

2 minutes