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Science, Maths & Technology
Earth's physical resources: renewable energy
As the world responds to climate change, we explore whether sustainable energy can satisfy our need for endless economic growth, without radical changes in the way we live. This album examines power sources which provide cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels, such as wind power, biomass, hydro power, wave and tidal power, solar and geothermal ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Earth's physical resources: extracting coal and oil
Most people throw coal on the fire and put petrol in their cars without really thinking about it. But, looking at sediment deposits can reveal what type of environments created our coal and oil hundreds of millions of years ago. The five video tracks in this album examine the role of geology in determining the global distribution and ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Predicting Volcanoes
The Open University's researcher in volcanoes, Hazel Rymer explains why the Poás volcano in Costa Rica is her favourite, and how evidence form previous experiments there has lead her to believe there may be an environmental crisis - similar to one in the 1990's - on it's way. There have been changes in gravity above Poás, and Hazel talks us ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Engineering small worlds: micro and nano technologies
How do you see the invisible? Today, mechanical, electrical, chemical and biological engineering of ‘small worlds’ is revolutionising our lives. Atomic Force Microscopes are an important tool when creating engineering solutions on the micro and nano scale. The 4 video tracks on this album examine the AFM's engineering and operation, explain how ...
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Money & Business
How much home do you own?
You pay your mortgage, month-in, month out - but how much home do you own?
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Science, Maths & Technology
Probability compared
You know you'll die. You know you'll probably never win the lottery. We show you some points in between...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Complex Systems
Open University researcher Jeff Johnson talks of the importance of the Science of Complex Systems as a means to unravel real-world, complex problems that cannot be tackled by conventional reductive methods. Using Bird Flu as an example he demonstrates how complex systems thinking allows researchers to approach problems in novel ways.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Moon Rocks
Researcher Mahesh Anand of The Open University's Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research (CEPSAR) is undertaking analysis of lunar basalt collected during the moon landings of the late 1960s and 1970s. The results may provide clues into the origins of the earth. To find out more, follow the research links.
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Science, Maths & Technology
The Physical World
This series of tracks introduces the basics of helicopter flight, quantum theory, special relativity, wave mechanics and particle physics, providing practical applications of physics and historical footage of Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr. Material is taken from The Open University course S207 The physical world.
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Science, Maths & Technology
The geological record of environmental change
This series of tracks looks at evidence of geological change in the field. Using examples in the UK and the USA they examine how geologists can map past activity from geological evidence. Material is taken from The Open University course S369 The geological record of environmental change.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Investigating addiction
What makes some people develop an addiction while others don't? Could genes or social environment influence addictive behaviours? In this album, scientists in the US and the UK explore the psychology and biology of addiction by subjecting a recovering alcoholic and his sister, a non-addict, to a range of physiological, psychological and genetic ...
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Nature & Environment
Explore your digestive system
An interactive exploration of how the digestive system works