The Science of Light and Lasers | Szydlo's At Home Science

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The laser is a key part of so much of our modern world, from fibre-optic cabling to eye surgery. The origin story of lasers goes all the way back to the pioneering work of Isaac Newton. Join Andrew as he spins a tale of the the study of light and lasers, from Newton's prisms to the Nobel prize winning laser photochemistry of George Porter. Andrew would like to thank Steve Conduit, physics technician at Highgate School, and Jonathan Ryder, precision engineer, for their considerable help in the preparation and explanation of the demonstrations on this talk. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 03:50 - What is a laser? 06:28 - Newton and the prism 09:42 - The wave theory of light 10:50 - Everyday types of light 14:41 - Young and diffraction 16:24 - Dalton's atomic theory 17:50 - Lines in the solar spectrum 20:00 - Faraday and electromagnetism 22:45 - The spectroscope and spectral analysis 29:14 - Matter and light 35:20 - Crookes' radiometer 39:12 - JJ Thompson and the electron 41:29 - Planck's constant 45:08 - Albert Einstein and the photoelectric effect 47:25 - Looking inside the atom 50:54 - Exciting electrons and the laser 53:00 - Metastability 54:45 - The first lasers 56:20 - A modern gas laser Andrew Szydlo is a chemist and secondary school teacher at Highgate School, well-loved by pupils and Ri attendees alike. He has given public lectures around the country, been featured on TV shows and has become a popular regular face on our channel. Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe The Ri is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/ Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter

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00:52:48

Quantum physics and gender equity - Ri Science Podcast with Jess Wade

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3K views 2 weeks ago

,2025 is the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, as marked by the UN, to celebrate 100 years since the birth of quantum mechanics. But quantum science is one of the least diverse areas of science in terms of gender and other protected characteristics. Jess Wade, a physicist and lecturer in functional materials at Imperial College London, has been fighting the inequality in quantum physics and beyond by creating thousands of Wikipedia pages for women scientists. Jess joins us this month to discuss the past, present, and future of quantum science along with what can be done to increase diversity within the field. Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to be notified as soon as episodes are released! --- Jess Wade is a British physicist in the Blackett Laboratory at Imperial College London, specialising in Raman spectroscopy. Her research investigates polymer-based organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Her public engagement work in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) advocates for women in physics as well as tackling systemic biases such as gender and racial bias on Wikipedia. Read more about here here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jess_Wade --- Producer: Lia Hale Assistant producers: Katie Mortimer, Isla Nakano Interviewer: Lia Hale Music: Joseph Sandy -- Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYeF244yNGuFefuFKqxIAXw/join Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ri_science Listen to the Ri podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ri-science-podcast Donate to the RI and help us bring you more lectures: https://www.rigb.org/support-us/donate-ri Our editorial policy: https://www.rigb.org/editing-ri-talks-and-moderating-comments Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.

00:02:02

Can you solve this puzzle WITHOUT a calculator? #maths

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4K views 3 weeks ago

00:55:09

Waking up in the universe - Richard Dawkins 1991 Christmas Lectures 1/5

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746 views 3 weeks ago

,In the first of his CHRISTMAS LECTURES, Richard Dawkins explores the origins of life. Beginning with a look at our ancestry, he shows how the probability of our existence is very small. Watch all the lectures in this series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbnrZHfNEDZwJw3_jDeusmHuVYDdKRpo9 Watch our newest Christmas lectures here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbnrZHfNEDZyQJZLPMjwEoOLdkFBLU2m1 This lecture was filmed at the Ri on 1 December 1991. These lectures were originally a YouTube member exclusive for our Science Supporters, and now we’re putting them out for everyone to watch. If you can’t wait for them all to be published, get access now by signing up as a YouTube channel member, and help us bring science to more people: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYeF244yNGuFefuFKqxIAXw/join --- Life grows up in the universe by gradual degrees of evolution. Billions of years ago, there existed a vast population of bacteria. But it was only an elite group of these bacteria that evolved to become humans. In truth, we are lucky to be alive. In the first of his CHRISTMAS LECTURES, Richard Dawkins explores the origins of life. Beginning with a look at our ancestry, he shows how the probability of our existence is very small. Becoming an ancestor is much more difficult than simple reproduction, and Richard reveals how our ancestors did what it took to survive and pass on their genes. But although some of our life must be devoted to perpetuating it, surely there must be more to it? Richard explores the role of art and culture in society, and examines how the capabilities of the human body have enabled us to accomplish complex tasks. When it comes to our understanding of the meaning of life, science is important. As Richard explains, science can help us uncover both when we arrived on this planet, and why we are here. Some people turn to the supernatural for the answer to such questions. Richard looks at the limitations of beliefs in the supernatural and uses a cannonball to prove why instead we should have faith in science and its predictions. -- About the 1991 CHRISTMAS LECTURES The world-famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins presents the CHRISTMAS LECTURES on "our own growing knowledge of how life grows up in the universe." Just as children grow up to be adults, so too does life gradually evolve on a planet over thousands of generations, to move from “nonliving simplicity” to become “living complexity”. Combining beautiful writing with a range of illuminating demonstrations, the series featured a variety of wildlife, a virtual reality Lecture Theatre, and special guests – including the late Douglas Adams reading an excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Find out more about the Ri CHRISTMAS LECTURES here: https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures --- Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYeF244yNGuFefuFKqxIAXw/join Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ri_science Listen to the Ri podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ri-science-podcast Donate to the RI and help us bring you more lectures: https://www.rigb.org/support-us/donate-ri Our editorial policy: https://www.rigb.org/editing-ri-talks-and-moderating-comments Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.