I'm sure you've heard of Isaac Newton and maybe of some of his laws. Like, that thing about "equal and opposite reactions" and such. But what do his laws mean? And how do they help us understand the world around us? In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about just that. Air Date : 28th-Apr-2016

In this, THE FIRST EPISODE of Crash Course Physics, your host Dr. Shini Somara introduces us to the ideas of motion in a straight line. She talks about displacement, acceleration, time, velocity, and the definition of acceleration. Also, how does a physicist discuss speed as opposed to a police officer? And did you deserve that ticket? You can figure it all out with the help of Physics! Air Date : 31st-Mar-2016  Read More

CALCULUS! Today we take our first steps into the language of Physics; mathematics. Every branch of science has its own way to describe the things that it investigates. And, with Physics, that's math. In this episode, Shini talks us through derivatives and how calculus helps us to understand the world around us. Air Date : 7th-Apr-2016  Read More

Continuing with last week's calculus introduction, Shini leads us through how integrals can help us figure out things like distance when we have several other essential bits of information. Say, for instance, you wanted to know how far your window was off the ground. You can figure that out by using integrals, a tennis ball, and a stopwatch! It's all here in this episode of Crash Course Physics! Air Date : 14th-Apr-2016  Read More

Continuing in our journey of understanding motion, direction, and velocity... today, Shini introduces the ideas of vectors and scalars so we can better understand how to figure out motion in 2 dimensions. But what does that have to do with baseball? Or two baseballs? Air Date : 21st-Apr-2016  Read More

I'm sure you've heard of Isaac Newton and maybe of some of his laws. Like, that thing about "equal and opposite reactions" and such. But what do his laws mean? And how do they help us understand the world around us? In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about just that. Air Date : 28th-Apr-2016  Read More

Why is it hard to move a heavy bookcase across a carpeted floor? And why is it easier to keep it moving than it was to get it started moving? You might think it's all about weight, but actually it's about friction. Two kinds of friction! In today's episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini Somara tells us about Static and Kinetic friction; how they work and how they're different. Air Date : 5th-May-2016  Read More

Did you know that centrifugal force isn't really a thing? I mean, it's a thing, it's just not real. In fact, physicists call it a "fictitious force." Mind blown yet? To explore this idea further, this week Shini sits down with us to discuss centripetal force, centrifugal force, and a few other bits of physics to help us understand uniform circular motion. Air Date : 12th-May-2016  Read More

I'm sure you've all heard about Isaac Newton and that apple that fell on his head and how that was a huge deal to our understanding of gravity. Well... let's talk about that. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini sits down to talk about the realities of the apple story and how Newtonian Gravity is more than a little important. Air Date : 19th-May-2016  Read More

When you hear the word "work," what is the first thing you think of? Maybe sitting at a desk? Maybe plowing a field? Maybe working out? Work is a word that has a little bit of a different meaning in physics and today, Shini is going to walk us through it. Also, energy and power! Air Date : 26th-May-2016  Read More

COLLISIONS! A big part of physics is understanding collisions and how they're not all the same. Mass, momentum, and many other things dictate how collisions can be unique. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini sits down to lead us through an understanding of collisions. Plus, she brings along our old friend Sir Isaac Newton. Air Date : 2nd-Jun-2016  Read More

Did you know that at a certain point on a moving wheel... there's no motion? I mean, kinda... it's all relative, right? Prepare to have your mind blown in this episode of Crash Course Physics where Shini delves into the world of rotational motion! Air Date : 9th-Jun-2016  Read More

What is torque? This is one of those things that you may have heard about in passing but never really understood. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini sits down with us to discuss what torque is, how it works, why it works, and what it all has to do with this thing called "moment of inertia." Air Date : 16th-Jun-2016  Read More

The Physics we're talking about today has saved your life! Whenever you walk across a bridge or lean on a building, Statics are at work. Statics is the study of objects when they're NOT accelerating. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about stretching, compressing, and springing as they relate to statics! Also... Game of Thrones. Air Date : 23rd-Jun-2016  Read More

In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini is very excited to start talking about fluids. You see, she's a fluid dynamicist and mechanical engineer, so fluids are really important to her. Actually, they're really important to anyone studying physics. So, let's start down this path of understanding, not only how fluids work, but what they are! Air Date : 8th-Jul-2016  Read More

Today, we continue our exploration of fluids and fluid dynamics. How do fluids act when they're in motion? How does pressure in different places change water flow? And what is one of the motion annoying things about filming outside on a nice day? I'll give you a hint on that last one... it's lawnmowers. Air Date : 14th-Jul-2016  Read More

Bridges... bridges, bridges, bridges. We talk a lot about bridges in physics. Why? Because there is A LOT of practical physics that can be learned from the planning and construction of them. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about a particular mistake made in engineering the Millennium Bridge which allows us to talk about simple harmonic motion. Air Date : 21st-Jul-2016  Read More

Waves are cool. The more we learn about waves, the more we learn about a lot of things in physics. Everything from earthquakes to music! Ropes can tell us a lot about how traveling waves work so, in this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini uses ropes to talk about how waves carry energy and how different kinds of waves transmit energy differently. Air Date : 28th-Jul-2016  Read More

We learn a lot about our surroundings thanks to sound. But... what is it exactly? Sound, that is. What is sound? And how does it travel? And what is this doppler effect that we've heard so much about? In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini goes over some of the basics (and some of the not-so-basics) of the Physics of Sound. Air Date : 4th-Aug-2016  Read More

Music plays a big part in many of our lives. Whether you just like to listen or you enjoy playing an instrument, music is powerful. So what is music? How does it work? What are the physics of music? In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about how music functions in terms of waves and how these waves interact with our ears. Air Date : 11th-Aug-2016  Read More

Bridges. Bridges don't deal well with temperature changes. In order to combat this, engineers have come up with some workarounds that allow bridges to flex as they expand or contract. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about temperature and the ideal gas law. Also, we figure out how much air is in your car. Air Date : 18th-Aug-2016  Read More

How the heck do we map out a planet without oceans? NASA had to figure that out when we sent the Mariner 9 probe to Mars. There's some tricky, yet fascinating science behind all of it! In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about sea level, kinetic theory, and phase changes. Air Date : 1st-Sep-2016  Read More

Have you ever wondered why we wear clothes? I mean, beyond the obvious. Why does wearing a jacket in the cold keep you warmer? What is happening to all the heat inside your body? In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks about the physics of heat! Air Date : 8th-Sep-2016  Read More

Have you ever heard of a perpetual motion machine? More to the point, have you ever heard of why perpetual motion machines are impossible? One of the reasons is because of the first law of thermodynamics! In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about thermodynamics and entropy. Also, we learn about isovolumetric, isobaric, isothermal, and adiabatic processes. It'll all make sense in a minute! Air Date : 15th-Sep-2016  Read More

One of the greatest inventions is the steam engine. But why? What makes it so useful? And how does it work? In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about how engines work, what makes them efficient, and why they're pretty cool. Air Date : 22nd-Sep-2016  Read More

Moving on to our unit on the Physics of Electricity, it's time to talk about charge. What is charge? Is there a positive and negative charge? What do those things mean? In this episode, Shini talks about electrostatic forces, electrical charge, Coulomb's law, and the force between charged particles. Air Date : 29th-Sep-2016  Read More

As we learn more about electricity, we have to talk about fields. Electric fields may seem complicated, but they're really fascinating and a crucial part of physics. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini chats about capacitors, conductors, electric field lines, and how objects with net charge generate electric fields. Air Date : 7th-Oct-2016  Read More

So, how do those defibrillators you see on TV actually work? Surprise! Physics can explain! Okay, buckle up, everyone! Today, Shini has the task of breaking down electrical potential energy, electric potential, voltage, capacitors, energy storage, and potential energy... it's a lot! Air Date : 14th-Oct-2016  Read More

So, electric current works like a river... kinda... Instead of flowing based on elevation, electric current works a little differently. But it's a good metaphor. In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini talks to us about electric current, voltaic cells, and how we get electric charge. Air Date : 20th-Oct-2016  Read More

Batteries power much of your daily life, so today we're going to talk about how they work. We're also explaining how terminal voltage results from the natural internal resistance of every real battery. We'll get into both series and parallel circuit configurations, and how the laws of conservation affect the current and voltage for each. Air Date : 27th-Oct-2016  Read More

How does Stranger Things fit in with physics and, more specifically, circuit analysis? I'm glad you asked! In this episode of Crash Course Physics, Shini walks us through the differences between series and parallel circuits and how that makes Christmas lights work the way they work. Air Date : 4th-Nov-2016  Read More

By now you know your way around a basic DC circuit. You’ve learned how to simplify circuits with resistors connected in series and parallel with a single battery source. But a lot of the real-world circuits that you encounter — and will have to describe — are much more complicated. For example, what happens when there are MULTIPLE batteries, connected in ‘parallel’? And what happens when we add ‘capacitors’ into the mix, with resistors in our DC circuits? On this, our last go-round inside a DC circuit, we’ll encounter junctions, loops, and capacitors! Air Date : 18th-Nov-2016  Read More