Video of an evening celebrating 25 years of cometary science at ESA, from Giotto to Rosetta, held at ESA's Space Operations Centre in Germany.
A snap reflection on the methodologies of history and an invigorating jog along the road to modern man.
The Great American Earthquake of 1906
Working from physical evidence, without prior assumptions, to identify the cause of climate change. Who (what) really dunnit?
This is the DVD version of Neil Oliver's splendid series first broadcast on BBC2.
The story of the Apollo Moon missions
A global climate change equation that provides a simpler way of understanding the energy dynamics of global warming or cooling.
Risk: most people have no grasp of very large or very small numbers, let alone ratios. How can we decide what risky activities to prohibit, what to regulate, and what to permit? Are business investors, racegoers and lottery punters playing the same game? This article offers a simple, intuitive index for the discussion and communication of uncertainty.
How can we reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions quickly without destabilising the world economy or sacrificing Western society? Is carbon dioxide really a significant greenhouse gas? Here is a simple calculation and a proposed experiment to answer both questions.
A visitor's opinions
A layman's guide to scientific discovery, from the Big Bang to modern man.
An Empirically-Based 1st-Order Differential Global Energy Model - Cloud Changes In the Satellite Era.
Written by Robert Ellison
An Introduction to the Fractional Calculus and Fractional Differential Equations
Written by Trifce Sandev
The mathematical tools needed to solve fractional-order differential and integral equations.
Medicine from before Hippocrates to the end of the Roman Empire.
Introduction to modern scientific archaeology
In these articles I hope to promote a better understanding of autism and discuss some of the theories as to its cause.
A kind of companion to the Bad Astronomy website
A crusade against ignorance and irrationality masquerading as science
An account of the ill-fated Beagle Mars lander, written by the man behind it.
The story of the research and development work that led to the building of lasers.
Non-technical descriptions of the ecology of the Hymenoptera
The forensics of aeroplane crashes
Wonderfully impressionistic video sourced from images collected by NASA's twin-satellite solar mission, STEREO.
Alastair Reynolds' first book in a new series, Poseidon's Children, about humans' exploration and colonisation of the galaxy.
The story of the Archaeopteryx fossils and how they contributed to working out the evolution of birds.
The Science of When Things Happened
Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life
Written by David Sebastian
Martin Meredith writes about the people who, over the years, have uncovered the fossil remains and stone tools that have provided the clues of early humans or hominids.
Study of the professional life and projects of I K Brunel
The natural history of animal architecture
Account of the anaesthetic vapour.
Collins' Field Guide: Bird Songs and Calls of Britain and Northern Europe
Written by Tom Deteau
Audiobook with hard copy additional text in one package.
The early years of the Santa Fe Institute and its groundbreaking studies of life, emergent phenomena, artificial life and economics.
How much computer can you get at the bottom end of the market? This 1985 edition of Computer Chronicles does a comparison between the Commodore Amiga and the Atari 520ST.
Today they're called "mac heads", but way back in the 1980's, Apple users were in love with the Apple II. Despite the introduction of the Mac in 1984, the Apple II continued to have its devoted fans. This 1988 edition of the American award-winning TV programme looks at the Apple II culture during the early Mac era.
This 1985 edition of the award-winning American TV series Computer Chronicles looks at the future of computer networks
How a scientific revolution began.
Incredible, real time footage of the Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis - filmed on January 24th 2012 during the peak of a Solar Storm. This is not time-lapse: this is how the Northern Lights really can dance and move across the sky. From Ingenious TV.
Does our expanding universe create a strange apparition of a reverse time-order past? Do we need to re-think some of the ideas of Relativity where time and distances are peculiar to the observer?
Darwin's Island: The Galapagos in the Garden of England
Written by Tom Deteau
Darwin's Island: the Galapagos in the Garden of England. A modern geneticist's take on Darwin's less-famous works
A chronicle of the joint Russian/American missions aboard the space station Mir.
The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum
DVD of the BBC series of the same name.
Timelapse movie filmed on Mount Teide, Canary Islands.
Amazing video of the erupting undersea volcano of El Hierro, in the Canary Islands, taken from a boat on 29th November 2011.
Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology
Written by Andy Briggs
An examination of nanotechnology and its potential to completely transform the world.
Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters
Written by Anne Rogers
A comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the fossil evidence for evolution.
Fact and fiction in the history of scientific discovery.
Interesting as backgound material to the story of the eighteenth-century blossoming of "natural philosophy" into modern science.
An account by a respected epidemiologist of the current problems as tropical diseases appear in temperate climes.
Finding Oregon is the compilation of six months of timelapse photography across the state of Oregon, punctuated by a 1600 mile road trip in September.
From Poison Arrows to Prozac: How Deadly Toxins Changed Our Lives Forever
Written by Tom Deteau
A history of curare
The Fate of the Franklin Expedition
A biography of Galileo Galilei.
There was a theory of (and principles of) relativity before Einstein. This idea of relativity comes from Galileo: one of those Giant shoulders that Newton stood on....
Being a brief but discursive history of some of the developments in general anaesthesia up to the twentieth century, mostly in Europe.
Being a brief but discursive history of some of the developments in general anaesthesia up to the twentieth century, mostly in Europe.
Generating Genius: 4-day sketchPatch.net Workshop
Written by Veronica Martin
Generating Genius ran a four day sketchPatch.net Workshop last week for 40 young people aged 11/12 at Queen Mary, University of London
Geodesics are often explained as “straight lines in a curved space” or sometimes “straightest possible lines in a curved space”, but what exactly is that supposed to mean?
This article considers the implementation and consequences of a radical, rational policy that demands neither suffering nor miracles (and can therefore be considered truly scientific) to produce an indefinitely sustainable quality of life rather better than currently enjoyed in the West, for everyone.
The scientific facts behind the Biblical story
Stories of ten disputes in science and maths.
Stunning timelapse video from the Greenland Ice Project
Toxins, pathogens, and bio-researchers are popular targets for fictional terror plots, but researchers take extreme measures to keep us safe.
Hostile Habitats – Scotland's Mountain Environment
Written by Penny Johnson
A description of the mountain environments and wildlife of Scotland's mountains.
A basic look at the Universe and the Big Bang for the non-specialist.
This is a set of programmes from the US History Channel, about various aspects of earth science.
How the Pacific Ocean Influences Global Climate –a Review of the Physical Evidence
Written by Robert Ellison
Changes in Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature lead the trajectory of global surface temperatures in the last century - rising to the mid 1940's, falling to the late 1970's and increasing thereafter to the late 1990's. Physical mechanisms involving a transfer of energy and moisture between the atmosphere and oceans are identified to explain the influence of sea surface temperature on surface temperature at decadal timescales. The sea surface temperature state changes are abrupt as the system behaves like a complex and dynamic system in the terms of chaos theory
The geology of Scotland, told with reference to relevant localities.
A brief outline of geological theories before Hutton, and what led him to his Uniformitarian ideas.
Midnight Sun: A natural phenomenon occurring in the summer months north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle where the sun never fully sets and remains visible 24 hours a day. This short time lapse film was shot during the Icelandic Midnight Sun in June of 2011.
A controversial idea - is the Universe alive?
A survey of the industrial history of the British Isles.
Ingenious Women from Tincture of Saffron to Flying Machines: A Survey of Women Inventors
Written by Tom Deteau
An account of just some of the technological advances pioneered by women in the recent past, inspired by the author's researches in the London Patent Office.
A biography of Sir Isaac Newton, describing in not overly relentless detail his achievements, passions and failings, and painting for us beautifully the historical context which explains why the greatest of all scientists saw himself as primarily an occultist and alchemist.
NASA's JUNO probe launches to Jupiter atop an Atlas 5 booster.
An account of the events, history and people caught up in the volcanic eruption of the island of Krakatoa in 1883
Dustin Farrell timelapse movie, shot on the Canon 5D2 camera and processed in Adobe After Effects. The majority of the shots are in Arizona. Goblin Valley State Park and Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah also make an appearance.
Photographer Dustin Farrell shot this amazing timelapse video in Arizona and Utah, using a Canon 5D2 camera.
A biography of Leonardo da Vinci
The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution
A very readable account of how humans and other anmals survive (or not!) in extremes of temperature and pressure.
Reflections on a night under the stars. Transcript of podcast for 365 Days of Astronomy, 3rd January 2011.
Today we take accurate maps of our country for granted, but how were the first maps made without the benefit of satellite imagery or GPS? This is the story of how the Ordnance Survey came to be, and how the First Series of One inch to the mile maps were made.
A history of the mapping of the planet Mars
Curiosity is the latest rover to be launched towards the red planet by NASA, on 26th November 2011. Its mission is to investigate Gale Crater for signs that the region has ever had conditions favourable to life. Observations from orbit have already shown that Gale Crater contains exposures of clay minerals, which must have formed under wet conditions.
Gale Crater on Mars has been selected by NASA/JPL as the landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory, due to land on Mars in August 2012. This NASA video describes the landing site, the terrain the rover will traverse and the science objectives for the mission.
The story of William Perkin, the inventor of synthetic dyes.
Conversations with the nine surviving men who walked on the surface of the Moon.
Timelapse video of California's White Mountains and Yosemite.
The BBC's look at the behind-the-scenes work at London's famous Natural History museum.
A brain scientist who suffered a stroke makes subjective and objective observations of the experience.
This series of one-hour DVDs examines the history of American manned spaceflight.
A history of the study of neutrinos, the ghostly sub-atomic particles which may unlock some of the Universe's most closely-guarded secrets.
Biography and contextual study of Florence Nightingale.
Norwegian landscape photographer Terje Sørgjerd has become an Internet sensation in the past year, with his jaw-dropping, color-saturated time-lapse videos of northern landscapes. In his latest video, The Water, he forgoes the long, sub-zero arctic nights to tour the forests and fjords of western Norway.
Not Cocaine: The Other History Of Local Anaesthesia and Analgesia
Written by Tom Deteau
The history of local anaesthesia and analgesics throughout the ages, from Mesopotamia to the present day.
A Father’s Journey into the Lost History of Autism
Award-winning timelapse video, filmed in Australia, from Alex Cherney
Critical care for doctors, nurses and other critical care practitioners.
The story of Osteoarthritis, from the ancient Egyptians to the present - and beyond.
The Science of Geomagnetism
Broad overview of our knowledge of Mars
In his own inimitable words. (Previously published as 80 Not Out)
How NASA's Viking landers showed us a new view of the red planet
A historical study of the transition from rural to urban ways of living, and the development of the necessary technologies.
An account of "cognitive archaeology".
A non-mathematical description of black holes, their physics and current theories about them. All you wanted to know about black holes, written for the layperson.
God, Physics and the Gender Wars.
An excursion into metaphysics and the meaning of reality.
Red For Danger: A History of British Railway Disasters
Written by Tom Deteau
A serious, non-sensational account, by a professional railway engineer.
These are three boxed sets (each series also available as standalone) of the original recordings of the seminal BBC radio science fiction series, broadcast between 1953 and 1958.
The life of James Hutton and the revolution in geology that he started.
35 landmarks in the development of our current scientific knowledge.
Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society
Written by Anne Rogers
A collection of essays about the achievements and developments of science and scientists since the foundation of the Royal Society.
Silphium: A Case of Anthropogenic Extinction? (Part Five)
Written by Tom Deteau
Silphium - was it a case of anthropogenic extinction, and why? Part V - cultivation, harvesting and storage
Silphium: A Case of Anthropogenic Extinction? (Part Four)
Written by Tom Deteau
Geography, climate, distribution and habitat
Silphium: A Case of Anthropogenic Extinction? (Part One)
Written by Tom Deteau
The extinct umbellifer-type herb silphium, once highly valued, is probably the first documented case of anthropogenic extinction due to over-exploitation and habitat destruction. Why was it so highly esteemed?
Silphium: A Case of Anthropogenic Extinction? (Part Six)
Written by Tom Deteau
Some culinary and medicinal uses
Silphium: A Case of Anthropogenic Extinction? (Part Three)
Written by Tom Deteau
Part Three - the other written descriptive sources
Silphium: A Case of Anthropogenic Extinction? (Part Two)
Written by Tom Deteau
A note on taxonomy, and an ancient botanist
Six physics lectures from a series given by Richard Feynman in 1962 at Caltech.
A celebration of self-experimenters
You'd not know it from TV news, but there's a whole fleet of spacecraft currently exploring our solar system...
Science File's guide to the spacecraft currently exploring the solar system.
Science File's guide to the spacecraft currently exploring the solar system.
The DVD of the BBC series, examining land and life in the eponymous region.
The DVD of the BBC series, examining land and life in the eponymous region.
I have always enjoyed programmes on the television which inform you of the latest discoveries in science but until relatively recently it was never more than a healthy curiosity that is common to most people. That started to change one pleasant evening while sitting in a hot tub in 2009 watching the space station fly overhead.
An overview of why sea turtles are important and how the Nature Conservancy is working to protect them around the world.
The autobiography of Christopher Reeve.
As-told-to autobiography (sort of)
What vulcanologists do and why they do it - and what can happen when a volcano decides to erupt with little warning!
An engaging, witty and beautifully designed and illustrated volume, destined to be a classic in the genre of popularisations of mathematics and the philosophy it engenders.
Storm and stars. Winner of the Best Overall and Audience Choice at the 2011 Chronos Film Festival.By Randy Halverson.
What you see is real, but you can't see it this way with the naked eye.
Filmed on the archipelago Lofoten in Norway.
Aurora filmed around Kirkenes and Pas national park, Russia.
Hunting computer spies on the Internet just prior to the advent of the World Wide Web.
A biography of Robert Hooke
The story of the rivalry between Gideon Mantell and Richard Owen, over the interpretation of fossil dinosaur bones.
How would explorers visiting the Earth millions of years hence reconstruct the history of our planet?
How plants changed Earth's history
Space, time and the fabric of reality
Light pollution is everybody's problem. Even yours.
Biography of Sir Bernard Spilsbury.
The story of the Royal Society and a scientific revolution
Episodes in the Making of Geology
How scientists are taking a leaf from nature's book - new technology inspired by nature.
Why is the universe just right for life?
"New Answers to the Ultimate Questions of Life"
The Great Plague of Athens (430-28BCE) is still an unsolved medico-historical mystery. Thucydides’s contemporary account is detailed but inconclusive and further studies, including DNA sampling, have still not provided a definite answer.
Nicholas Culpeper and the Fight for Medical Freedom
A summary of theories about the Higgs Boson - the elusive particle believed to give matter its mass.
Account of the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879
A lavishly illustrated guide to the structure and function of the organ systems in the human body.
The story behind the HeLa cell line used in many thousands of research projects.
The International Space Station: Dreams, Dollars and Destiny
Written by Andy Briggs
The International Space Station is the most expensive object ever built by humans. But what's it for, and why was it ever built?
The story of Joseph Priestley, his discoveries and his life.
Last week's widely-publicised videos purporting to show a UFO over Jerusalem have demonstrated, yet again, that when it comes to trying to explain the unexplained, the voice of rationalism is all but drowned out.
An under-the-field guide to the British Isles
The ecology of the human skin.
The story of the Scottish family responsible for building many of the lighthouses around the coast of Scotland.
Civilizations are far more vulnerable to climate change (not simply global warming) than has been recognised by those civilizations until too late.
100 amazing experiments from the history of science
The life of James Clerk Maxwell.
The tale of William Smith and the Birth of a Science
An account of the use of molecular biology techniques in archaeology.
Filmed between 4th and 11th April 2011 on El Teide, Tenerife.
The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Geometry
Written by Chris Godsalve
A geometrical anthology
The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers
Written by Chris Godsalve
An informative compendium of numbers
An account of the Piltdown Man fraud.
An account of the identification of the cause of bubonic plague
Short pieces by, and interviews with, Richard Feynman.
Dr. Paul Roche, of Cardiff and Glamorgan universities, has recently been appointed Ambassador for Space in Wales. Science File talked to Dr. Roche about his new post.
Mark Carnall is Curator of the Grant Zoological Museum, London's last surviving university zoological museum and part of University College London. Science File talked to him about the institution, its work and its move to new premises.
All about trees, how they live and why they matter
The Shocking History of Phosphorus: A Biography of the Devil's Element
Written by Tom Deteau
Popular scientific account of the element.
The story of the voyage of HMS Challenger - the first dedicated oceanographic voyage.
A history of scientific discovery from pre-history to Newton.
The Undergrowth of Science: Delusion, Self-Deception, and Human Frailty
Written by Tom Deteau
The story of scientific blind alleys.
The Worst Journey in the World / The Log from the Sea of Cortez
Written by Tom Deteau
Two books, two classic field trips.
Historical survey of pain relief through the centuries
Production footage from the forthcoming film Timescapes, due for release in May 2012
Production footage from the forthcoming film Timescapes, due for release in May 2012
Everything you ever wanted to know about trilobites!
The latest in our series looks at the life and work of that "other Herschel" - Caroline, sister of William
Unsung Heroes: Gösta Mittag-Leffler. The first in our series of significant, but not well-known, scientists and mathematicians looks at the life and work of Swedish mathematician Gösta Mittag-Leffler.
The life and work of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, without whose work Edwin Hubble could not have discovered the expanding universe.
Mary Anning (1799-1847) is one of the essential figures in the story of British palaeontological studies
The latest in our series of scientists, mathematicians and engineers who have made major contributions to human knowledge, but whose names have faded from public memory, looks at the life and work of mathematician Paul Pierre Lévy.
Stunning timelapse video showing the Very Large Telescope (VLT) against the desert skies of Chile
An overview of developments in different fields of engineering during the Victorian era
Promotional video from 2006 for Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital space tourism flights.
Teach yourself about...
Forget trying to comprehend planetary distances measured in millions or billions of miles. What's needed is feet.
A popular account of some of the common wild plants found in the British Isles
The story of Alfred Wegener, the man who suggested the theory of continental drift.
Xenobiology and much more.
All about evolution and how we understand it today
The history of self-experimentation in medicine.
A series of essays of scientific analysis about the claims of the Intelligent Design movement.
Photographic Flora
It's not just wind that chills: water helps as well.
Professor Brian Cox takes us on a journey through some of the solar system's most interesting features by visiting analogues on Earth.
Professor Brian Cox is back with a new series in four parts, each an hour long.
Nobel Prize winner George Smoot's compelling account of his work leading up to COBE, which was the first probe to produce maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background.
A look at the discovery of Tiktaalik, and how we are related to it and to fish.