Between Two Nerds

Tia, aged 13, asks the nerds how much the Earth weighs and the conversation quickly leads to far more mysterious topics in astrophysics, like dark matter and dark energy.

How much does the Earth weigh? What the difference between mass and weight? How can Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation help us find out the mass of distant celestial objects? How can it help us discover objects that are invisible to our eyes? What is dark matter? What is dark energy?

This chat helps to illuminate the importance of math and its power in leading scientific discoveries!

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out:
https://www.curiositylab.ae

Zaraar, aged 8, has questions about the Earth's magnetic field. 

Why is the Earth's magnetic field so weak, even though the Earth is so big? What causes the Earth's magnetosphere? Do other planets have magnetic fields around them? 

Great questions that lead to discussions about some of the quirks of our magnetic field. Like the South Atlantic Anomaly, magnetic pole reversals and the most stunning light show on the planet; aurora borealis and aurora australis. 

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at: 
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds 

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out: 
https://www.curiositylab.ae 

Ayla, aged 6, wants to know more about her favourite animal...tigers! 

What's the deal with tiger stripes? How do stripes help a tiger camouflage? Where would you find the most tigers in the world? Who would win in a fight, a tiger or a bear? Could you have a tiger as a pet? 

This little tiger is obsessed with tigers and impressed the nerds with all her tiger knowledge! 

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at: 
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds 

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out: 
https://www.curiositylab.ae 

Marwan, aged 6, asks the nerds some great questions about gravity and orbits. He even throws in a random question about popcorn! 

Why does the Earth orbit the Sun? Why does it take a year? Why does the Sun bend spacetime? What is escape velocity? How do we predict orbits? What are eclipses? 

This chat is orbital mechanics 101! 

Oh yeah, Marwan also asked why popcorn is soft when the corn kernel is hard. A great random question to start things off! 

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at: 
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds 

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out: 
https://www.curiositylab.ae 

Shehrezad, aged 11, want to know more about some of the things kids are obsessed with... Slime, Blue Tack & Oobleck!

How does slime work? Why does soap dissolve blue tack? How does oobleck work?

Trying to answer these questions, the nerds discuss the states of matter and molecular arrangement, adhesives and friction, non-newtonian fluids and the obsession with slime!

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out:
https://www.curiositylab.ae 

Athena, aged 11, wants to know if time travel is possible! 

We will be upfront and say that the nerds don't really have an answer to this one because there really isn't one yet. 

We discuss Einstein's theory of relativity and how it says that we are all travelling into the future at different rates due to time dilation. And how the bending of spacetime and wormholes may create opportunities for travel into the past, but there is probably some undiscovered law of nature, like quantum gravity, that makes it impossible. Oh, and there is no such thing as the "present"! 

This turned out to be a great little chat on the mysterious nature of time. 

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at: 
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds 

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out: 
https://www.curiositylab.ae 

Indiana, aged 8, ask the nerds all about human evolution!

How did human beings start? Did we evolve from apes? What are the milestones in human evolution? What were the other human species? Like the Neanderthals? Why did the other species go extinct but we survived? What's so great about standing up? Why was controlling fire so important? Why are our hands so great?

This is a controversial topic and we clarify a lot of misconceptions about it as we delve deep into anthropology and travel through the six million year history of human evolution!

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out:
https://www.curiositylab.ae 

Hussein, aged 9, ask the nerds all about DNA and genes!

What is DNA? What is RNA? What is it made from? What are genes? What are chromosomes? What is a gene mutation? How can DNA be responsible for all this genetic variation we see? What is genetic engineering?

We loved this chat! Hussein was an awesome guest. Genuinely curious and hilarious! And the questions came thick and fast!

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out:
https://www.curiositylab.ae 

Mia, aged 5, ask the nerds all about germs in this episode. Yuck!

What are germs? Bacteria, viruses, fungi and protists? How do they spread and make us ill? Why do I keep getting the flu? What is our microbiome? What are good germs?  How can they keep us healthy? What are antibiotics? How was penicillin discovered? How did we discover microbes?

Believe it not, even though they may be disgusting, we owe a lot to these little guys!

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out:
https://www.curiositylab.ae 

Spatika, aged 6, gets electric with the nerds and asks them all about electricity.

Who makes our electricity? How do we make it electricity? What is a generator? How does it work? How can we replace fossil fuels with renewable energy? How does solar power work? What are the challenges with solar power?

One thing is for sure, it has nothing to do with hamsters running on wheels!

If you would like to see what the nerds look like, check us out on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BetweenTwoNerds

And for more information about Curiosity Lab, how we make kids fall in love with science, check out:
https://www.curiositylab.ae