TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Transistors Work
Gokul J. Krishnan describes what a transistor is and how this small device enables all the amazing things computers can do. [4:54]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Computer Memory Works
In many ways, our memories make us who we are, helping us remember our past, learn and retain skills, and plan for the future. And for the computers that often act as extensions of ourselves, memory plays much the same role. Kanawat...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The World's Roundest Object (And Why It Exists)
The world's roundest object helps solve the longest running problem in measurement- how to define the kilogram. A kilogram isn't what it used to be. Literally. The name, weight, and definition of a kilogram has been changing constantly...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Turing Test: Can a Computer Pass for a Human?
What is consciousness? Can an artificial machine really think? For many, these have been vital considerations for the future of artificial intelligence. But British computer scientist Alan Turing decided to disregard all these questions...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Do Solar Panels Work?
The Earth intercepts a lot of solar power: 173,000 terawatts. That's 10,000 times more power than the planet's population uses. So is it possible that one day the world could be completely reliant on solar energy? Richard Komp examines...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Ethical Dilemma of Self Driving Cars
Self-driving cars are already cruising the streets today. And while these cars will ultimately be safer and cleaner than their manual counterparts, they can't completely avoid accidents altogether. How should the car be programmed if it...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Let's Make History by Recording It
What if Anne Frank hadn't kept a diary? What if no one could listen to Martin Luther King's Mountaintop speech? What if the camera hadn't been rolling during the first moon landing? Actively listening to the voices of the past and the...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Do Hard Drives Work?
The modern hard drive is an object that can likely hold more information than your local library. But how does it store so much information in such a small space? Kanawat Senanan details the generations of engineers, material scientists,...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Computers Translate Human Language
Is a universal translator possible in real life? We already have many programs that claim to be able to take a word, sentence, or entire book in one language and translate it into almost any other. The reality, however, is a bit more...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How a Few Scientists Transformed the Way We Think About Disease
For several centuries, people though diseases were caused by wandering clouds of poisonous vapor. We now know that this theory is pretty ridiculous, and that diseases are caused by specific bacteria. But how did we get to this new idea...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Incredible Collaboration Behind the International Space Station
The International Space Station is roughly the size of a six-bedroom house and weighs more than 320 cars- it's so large that no single rocket could have lifted it into orbit. Instead, it was assembled piece by piece while hurtling...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Treadmill's Dark and Twisted Past
The constant thud underneath your feet. The constrained space. The monotony of going nowhere fast. Running on a treadmill can certainly feel like torture, but did you know it was originally used for that very purpose? Conor Heffernan...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Can You Solve the Bridge Riddle?
Taking that internship in a remote mountain lab might not have been the best idea. Pulling that lever with the skull symbol just to see what it did probably wasn't so smart either. But now is not the time for regrets because you need to...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Solid, Liquid, Gas and Plasma?
Have you ever seen static electricity cause a spark of light? What is that spark? What about lightning, the Northern Lights, or the tail of a comet? All of those things and many others in fact, 99.9% of the universe -- are made of...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Do Pregnancy Tests Work?
Over-the-counter pregnancy tests give potentially life-changing results with a pretty high rate of accuracy. But how do they work? Tien Nguyen explains how each test performs a scientifically rigorous, multi-stage experiment that goes...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How to Detect a Supernova
Just now, somewhere in the universe, a star exploded. In fact, a supernova occurs every second or so in the observable universe. Yet, we've never actually been able to watch a supernova in its first violent moments. Is early detection...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Will Future Spacecraft Fit in Our Pockets?
When you picture a rocket, you might imagine a giant ship carrying lots of fuel, people and supplies. But what if the next wave of spacecraft were small enough to fit into our pockets? Dhonam Pemba details the future of microspacecraft,...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Batteries Work
Batteries are a triumph of science-they allow smartphones and other technologies to exist without anchoring us to an infernal tangle of power cables. Yet even the best batteries will diminish daily, slowly losing capacity until they...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How to Spot a Counterfeit Bill
Authentic dollar bills are equipped with many security features to make them difficult to forge. But that doesn't stop counterfeiters from trying to fool people with fakes. Luckily, anyone can help catch a counterfeit; all you need are a...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: What's the Difference Between Accuracy and Precision?
When we measure things, most people are only worried about how accurate, or how close to the actual value, they are. Looking at the process of measurement more carefully, you will see that there is another important consideration:...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Can Robots Be Creative?
People have been grappling with the question of artificial creativity- alongside the question of artificial intelligence- for over 170 years. For instance, could we program machines to create high quality original music? And if we do, is...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Real Story Behind Archimedes' Eureka!
When you think of Archimedes' Eureka moment, you probably imagine a man in a bathtub, right? As it turns out, there's much more to the story. Armand D'Angour tells the story of Archimedes' biggest assignment- an enormous floating palace...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Sonic Boom Problem
Objects that fly faster than the speed of sound create a shock wave accompanied by a thunder-like noise: the sonic boom. These epic sounds can cause distress to people and animals and even damage nearby buildings. Katerina Kaouri details...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Does Your Smartphone Know Your Location?
GPS location apps on a smartphone can be very handy when mapping a travel route or finding nearby events. But how does your smartphone know where you are? Wilton L. Virgo explains how the answer lies 12,000 miles over your head, in an...