Resources by Open University
Displaying 51 - 58 of 58
Special Relativity
This animated clip describes Einstein’s theory of special relativity: if the speed of light is constant then time and space must be experienced differently, depending on the observer. Richard Feynman showed how this can be proved using a moving light clock compared to stationary clock.
Supernovae
This animated clip explains that the Crab Nebula that we see today was from a supernova in the year 1054. The star that went supernova is now a neutron star with very high density. The clip explains that elements are created in a supernova that go on to form planets and life itself.
Taking a Galactic Census
This animated clip introduces the Gaia spacecraft, which will take measurements of one billion stars in the Milky Way. Using two optical telescopes the Gaia spacecraft will use parallax to measure their position, it will measure their Doppler shift, and by measuring the bending of starlight from the Sun’s...
The Big Bang
This animated clip explains how the Big Bang was not really big and it was not really a bang. We learn that the term Big Bang was coined in 1949, by Fred Hoyle, as a way of sarcastically dismissing the theory. However, observations of the expanding universe tell us that the universe did start out from a single...
The Rotating Moon
This animated clip explains how we always see the same side of the Moon and that the Moon used to spin much faster and has since become gravitationally tidally locked to the Earth. This is the case with most moons within the solar system.
The Search for Fundamental Particles
This Open University text was designed as a unit for undergraduate level physics courses. Unit 32 was part of the S102 course, which was last presented in 1989. Although high energy particle physics has advanced since this time, with larger particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider, the information...
The vomit comet
This animation explains how we can use microgravity, using parabolic flights on aircraft, to test how particles come together. This allows scientists to study how planets may have formed in the early solar system. The animation is part of the 60 Second Adventures in Microgravity and is narrated by David...
What is microgravity?
This animation explains what microgravity is and how scientists can achieve these conditions on Earth. The animation is part of the 60 Second Adventures in Microgravity and is narrated by David Mitchell.