Physics (Video)

Victor Minces teaches the science of music. He seeks to transform our perception of everyday experiences by revealing the physics behind them. Through his program, Listening to Waves, he works to make science accessible to all and imbue creativity in the scientific process. Hear his perspectives on teaching, arts education and more in this engaging conversation. Series: "Education Channel" [Science] [Arts and Music] [Education] [Show ID: 37090]

Proteins are nature’s machines, performing tasks from transforming sunlight into useable energy to binding oxygen for transport through the body. These functions depend on structural arrangement of atoms within the protein, which was, until recently, only possible to measure statistically, in easily crystallized samples via conventional X-ray diffraction. In the past decade, X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs), a new type of X-ray source, have begun to come online. Using ultra-bright, ultrafast X-ray pulses of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, this technology allows us to measure not only static pictures of protein structure but to record “molecular movies” of proteins in action. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 33432]

Particle accelerators have been revolutionizing discoveries in science, medicine, industry and national security for over a century. An estimated 30,000 particle accelerators are currently active around the world. In these machines, electromagnetic fields accelerate charged particles, such as electrons, protons, ions or positrons to velocities nearing the speed of light. Although their scientific appeal will remain evident for many decades, one limitation of the current generation of particle accelerators is their tremendous size, typically a mile long, and cost, which often limits access to the broader scientific community. Acceleration of electrons in plasmas, in particular in laser-driven plasmas, has been drawing considerable attention over the past decade. These laser wakefield accelerators promise to dramatically reduces the size of accelerators and revolutionize applications in medicine, industry, and basic sciences. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 33429]

Do complex systems exhibit fundamental properties? This talk looks at tradeoffs between robustness and fragility that occur in biological, ecological, and technological systems that are driven by design, evolution, or other sorting processes to high-performance states which are also tolerant to uncertainty in the environment and components. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 32758]

UC Berkeley mechanical engineers have shown why your shoelaces keep coming untied. It’s a question that everyone asks themselves, often after stopping to retie their shoes, yet no one had investigated. The answer, the study suggests, is that a double whammy of stomping and whipping forces act like an invisible hand, loosening the knot and then tugging on the free ends of your laces until the whole thing unravels.

Using a slow-motion camera and a series of experiments, the study shows that shoelace knot failure happens in a matter of seconds, triggered by a complex interaction of forces. The study is more than an example of science answering a seemingly obvious question. A better understanding of knot mechanics is needed for sharper insight into how knotted structures fail under a variety of forces. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Science] [Show ID: 32685]

Lakshana Huddar, Berkeley: How to Build an Advanced Nuclear Reactor in a University Laboratory Series: "Women in Science" [Science] [Show ID: 31079]

Tianyu Liu, Santa Cruz: Enhancing the Performance of Supercapacitors Through Facilitation of Ion Diffusion Series: "Women in Science" [Science] [Show ID: 31080]

The 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson completes a powerful and comprehensive description of nature known as the standard model of particle physics. The next step is to find the new physics that underpins this model, which many physicists believe could solve mysteries first seen in astrophysical and cosmological data, such as dark matter and neutrino mixing. Joseph Incandela, UCSB Professor of Physics, gives a general overview of where things stand and what’s being planned, including his own research plans to address very fundamental questions about the universe. Series: "Scientific Horizons" [Science] [Show ID: 31621]

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is the world's largest and most powerful laser system. Experimental physicist Tammy Ma explores how and why scientists and engineers are working hard to demonstrate sustainable fusion burn - the same reaction that occurs in the sun - to one day harness as a source of limitless, clean energy. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 31523]

A simple question from his wife – Does physics really allow people to travel back in time? – propelled physicist Richard Muller on a quest to resolve a fundamental problem that had puzzled him throughout his 45-year career: Why does the arrow of time flow inexorably toward the future, constantly creating new "nows"? Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Science] [Show ID: 31548]