This program covers the important topic of refrigerators in Physics. We begin by discussing how refrigerators are just “heat engines” operated in reverse because they require energy to pump heat away from an object. The entire lesson is taught by working example problems beginning with the easier ones and gradually progressing to the harder problems. Emphasis is placed on giving students confidence in their skills by gradual repetition so that...

Updated for 2020, Emergent readers learn about solids and liquids.

Updated for 2020, Emergent readers explore various scientific tools such as a microscope, magnifying glass, and ruler.

Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes--good and bad--are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees argues that humanity's prospects depend on our taking...

Life for early humans wasn't easy. They may have been able to walk on two feet and create tools 4 million years ago, but they couldn't remember or communicate. Fortunately, people got smarter, and things got better. They remembered on-the-spot solutions and shared the valuable information of their experiences. Clubs became swords, caves became huts, and fires became ovens. Collectively these new tools became technology. As the 21st century unfolds,...

"One of the internet's most celebrated hi-tech culture mavens returns with this second collection of essays and polemics. Discussing complex topics in an accessible manner, Cory Doctorow shares visions of a future where artists control their own destinies and where freedom of expression is tempered with the view that creators need to benefit from their own creations. From extolling the Etsy marketverse to excoriating Apple for dumbing-down technology...

Quantum mechanics gives us a picture of the world so radically counterintuitive that it has changed our perspective on reality itself. In Quantum Mechanics: The Physics of the Microscopic World, award-winning Professor Benjamin Schumacher gives you the logical tools to grasp the paradoxes and astonishing insights of this field.

"A revelatory take on where technology is taking us, from one of the worlds most-followed tech writers. We are entering the Exponential Age. Between faster computers, better software and bigger data, ours is the first era in human history in which technology is constantly accelerating. Azeem Azhar--writer, technologist, and creator of the acclaimed Exponential View newsletter--understands this shift better than anyone. Technology, he argues, is developing...

"Who could imagine an idea born on a space station would help sustain our planet? Astronauts, living on the International Space Station, have to protect their resources because their lives depend on it. They learn to conserve water, air, food, energy, and waste. These efforts have in turn lead to . . . innovative ideas for air quality, food production, and water purification here on Earth"--Provided by publisher.

Trace the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) from simple calculating machines to computers that can vanquish chess masters. Learn the distinction between weak AI, such as a chess-playing machine, and strong AI, which is a machine that has a truly human-like mind. Question whether strong AI is even possible..