Why It's HARD To Land on Mars
AdultsScienceSpaceTechnologyThis video is about why it's harder to successfully land spacecraft and landers and rovers on Mars than on Earth, or Venus, or the Moon, or Titan, or asteroids. It all comes down to atmospheric density! When there's no atmosphere, you can do a powered descent in a flimsy tinfoil spacecraft like the Lunar Module, and when there's plenty of atmosphere you can do an unpowered descent via heat shield and parachutes like the space shuttle, Apollo command module, Soyuz, Huygens, etc. But on Mars with its thin air, you have to do both powered & unpowered descent, getting the worst of both worlds.
Why Socrates Hated Democracy
AdultsHistoryPoliticsPhilosophyWe're used to thinking hugely well of democracy. But interestingly, one of the wisest people who ever lived, Socrates, had deep suspicions of it.
Baymax from Big Hero 6 is real. Here's who created him.
AdultsCreativityFilmTechnology...Chris Atkeson, the creator of Big Hero 6's Baymax, wants to bring soft robots to the world.
The snakey, viney robot that can go almost anywhere
AdultsCreativityScienceTechnology...Researchers at Stanford University developed a soft, squishy robot that "grows" like a vine and can squeeze through tight spaces. It can also lift heavy objects, which makes it potentially ideal for search-and-rescue operations.
MEGACITIES: Crisis in CDMX
AdultsCitiesWorldEnvironmentMexico's vast capital - Ciudad de Mexico, the largest city in the Americas - is threatened by a severe water crisis.
Why We Hate Cheap Things
AdultsFoodPersonal FinanceEconomy...In assessing what material things are important and worth paying attention to, we're oddly prejudiced against cheapness - and frustratingly drawn to the expensive, for reasons that don't necessarily stand up to examination.
More ice is about to break off of Antarctica - and it's what scientists feared most
AdultsGlobal WarmingNatureWorld...The giant crack that's been racing across Antarctica Larsen C ice shelf finally met its breaking point between July 10 and 12. The result was an iceberg the size of Delaware and weighing a trillion metric tons.
The sound illusion that makes Dunkirk so intense
AdultsCreativityFilmScienceWhy Christopher Nolan is obsessed with Shepard tones.
Why Only the Happily Single Find True Love
AdultsFamilyRelationshipsSelfOne of the key requirements for having a good chance of finding the right partner is not to mind too much being single.
What happens when you have a concussion? - Clifford Robbins
AdultsHealthNeuroscienceSports...Each year in the United States, players of sports and recreational activities receive between 2.5 and 4 million concussions. How dangerous are all those concussions? The answer is complicated and lies in how the brain responds when something strikes it. Clifford Robbins explains the science behind concussions.
Can Exes Be Friends?
AdultsRelationshipsSocietyMental HealthPartners who break up frequently think that the nicest thing to do is to try to remain good friends. But this nice-sounding gesture frequently brings with it unexpected consequences. It may be better to plot a different course.
6 things in tech today that Bill Gates accurately predicted back in 1999
AdultsHistoryTechnologyBusinessThe Microsoft co-founder imagined much of the tech we use today before it even existed. He shared his thoughts in a 1999 book called "Business @ the Speed of Thought." Here's a quick look at 6 of his predictions that eventually came true, including a device you are probably holding in your hands right now.
The bizarre physics of fire ants
AdultsAnimalsNatureTechnology...They're not just an animal, they're a material. And that's got engineers interested.