The Arctic is changing in dramatic and disturbing ways with giant lakes replacing what used to be ice fields. This video lecture presents data showing ice over the Arctic Ocean retreating over recent decades; military submarine data from under the Arctic ice showing the thickness of the ice decreasing everywhere over the last 50 years; and pictures 50 miles from the North Pole revealing open ocean ... Full description.

This video lecture explores the effects of climate change on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Slides depict how a large iceberg fell off the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. The lecturer describes his expedition to the ice shelf shortly after this event. He describes dives conducted to observe the underwater ecosystems containing krill and jellyfish, and the ocean currents around the icebergs. Facts ... Full description.

In 1985 an experiment, designed to unravel the carbon chemistry in red giant stars, revealed the existence of C60 or buckminsterfullerene (a special form of carbon, known also as bucky balls). This video lecture describes the story of the discovery of this molecule and the way its symmetry relates to the natural and physical world. This elegant hollow cage-like molecule which has the same shape as ... Full description.

In this set of video lectures given in 1979 by Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, presents not only a lesson in basic physics but also a deep insight into the approach of the 17th century physicist, Isaac Newton. The first lecture, Photons - Corpuscles of Light, is an introduction to photons and their properties as well as to the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the calculation of ... Full description.

In this video lecture, Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut, gives an account of her personal experiences on the space station Mir. Using models and film to illustrate key scientific concepts, she discusses the way the Third Law of Newton and convection apply to rockets, space flight, weightlessness and survival. Sharman explains how breathing, eating, using the toilet, and recycling were accomplished ... Full description.

This video lecture uses satellite-mounted instruments, ship surveys and computer modeling studies of the workings of the marine environment to explore oceanography and current fish supplies worldwide. There is discussion of the need for global farming strategies necessary to ensure that the oceans can continue to provide food. The lecture uses successive satellite images of algal blooms in oceans ... Full description.

This video lecture includes discussion of the physical properties of gases and demonstrates how air is liquefied. Liquefied gases are a key resource for survival with an amazing range of applications and there are now few industries which are not in some way dependent on this major raw material. Life-saving operations in hospitals, the purification of polluted rivers and lakes, and superconductivity ... Full description.

In this lecture, a physics professor describes wormholes in space and other ideas that might allow travel into the past or future, based on special and general relativity and quantum physics. The physicist explains how oscillating particle worldlines can be due to a force or curved spacetime; how time travel can be possible with closed timelike loops in spacetime; and what the main time travel paradoxes ... Full description.

Natural history information on some of the organisms found on soft-bottoms mainly in the coasts of Washington. Good pictures and highlights on common invertebrates and plants species, with scientific names provided. Special emphasis on evolutionary adaptations of feeding and other interesting physiological issues. Information on sampling devices also included. Full description.

This article from Science at NASA discusses how satellite data and computer simulations can assist forest managers and fire fighters in planning and training for fighting wildfires. It is also available as a streaming or downloadable audio file. Full description.