Catalog Search Results
61) Chaos Theory
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Traditional attempts to understand the world assumed that it was regular, simple, periodic, and predictable. But nature surprised scientists, giving them a richer picture of reality through chaos theory, which includes fractal structures. Learn how chaos is not randomness but a previously unimagined complexity within the universe..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Hurricanes destroy life and property in four ways: through storm surge, inland flooding, high winds, and embedded tornadoes. Consider examples of each. Then focus on high water as the deadliest factor, responsible for 80% of all hurricane fatalities.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Heralded by an ominous-looking formation called a shelf cloud, a squall line is a group of thunderstorms that produces intense, destructive winds. Analyze the anatomy of a squall line, so that you know what to expect next time a shelf cloud approaches. Also investigate microbursts, another dangerous product of thunderstorms.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Investigate the underlying reality that governs the universe. Is the universe eternally the same? Or is it changing and unstable? In modern times, this debate culminated in the contest between the steady state theory and the big bang model. Hear how unexpected events led to a spectacular solution..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Culture imprints itself on our brains through the process of socialization. Investigate the insights that sociology provides—from the 19th-century founder of the discipline, Auguste Comte, to Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, and Emile Durkheim, who suggested that crime has an unappreciated positive role in society..
Publisher
TMW Media
Pub. Date
2005.
Language
English
Description
This program covers the important topic of latent heat and phase change in Physics. We begin by discussing the how adding or taking away energy from an object can cause it to change state between solid, liquid, and gas. 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...
Publisher
TMW Media
Pub. Date
2005.
Language
English
Description
This program covers the important topic of standing waves and resonance (part 1) in Physics. We begin by discussing how waves can be made to reflect off of an object and interfere in the opposite direction to the original wave leading to a standing wave. 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...
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
What happens when the accepted picture of reality is dramatically overthrown? Watch this happen in the late 20th century, when scientists suddenly discovered two completely unexpected phenomena: dark matter and dark energy, which together dwarf the contribution of ordinary matter to the cosmos..
Publisher
TMW Media
Pub. Date
2005.
Language
English
Description
This program covers the important topic of Doppler shift in Physics. We begin by discussing how the frequency of a sound wave can be heard differently by various observers depending on if the source or listener is moving relative to one another. 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...
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
In the early 20th century, one of the most popular words in book titles was “crisis,” reflecting a widespread anxiety about a rapidly changing world. Study contrasting assessments of the stability of society from sociologists Max Weber, Pyotr Kropotkin, and Ferdinand Tonnies, as well as the influential analysis by industrialist Andrew Carnegie..
Publisher
TMW Media
Pub. Date
2005.
Language
English
Description
This program covers the important topic of oscillations (part 2) and simple harmonic motion in Physics. We begin by discussing how oscillations arise in nature and how everyday processes such as pendulums lead to simple harmonic motion. We also discuss how this motion can be modeled by a sinusoid. The entire lesson is taught by working example problems beginning with the easier ones and gradually progressing to the harder problems. Emphasis is placed...
72) Race and Reality
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
What differences between groups are real, and what differences are as arbitrary as a political boundary? Address this question regarding race, which less than a century ago was considered firmly rooted in biological reality. Trace the evidence that led this view to be conclusively overthrown..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Fiction writers have led the way in exploring the prospects of life beyond Earth. See how scientists are catching up, looking for extraterrestrial organisms using a variety of ingenious techniques. Learn how they are narrowing the search and which tantalizing clues have already turned up..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Until 1905, physical reality consisted of absolute space, absolute time, and the luminiferous aether. Learn how Einstein’s special theory of relativity overthrew this deeply ingrained view and heralded an entirely new conception of reality. Examine how cultural figures such as Kurt Vonnegut drew on this legacy..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Prosthetics, eyeglasses, and other aids were once seen as less-than-ideal substitutes for normal human abilities. But now technology can enhance us well beyond what’s considered normal. Examine the superhuman traits currently available and those on the drawing board. Has the era of the cyborg arrived?.
Publisher
TMW Media
Pub. Date
2005.
Language
English
Description
This program covers the important topic of traveling sound waves (part 2) in Physics. We begin by discussing how sound waves propagate through the air and other mediums. We discuss the mathematical form of the compression wave and discuss the speed of sound, frequency, and more. 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...
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Look back at historical blizzards that paralyzed major U.S. cities. Then probe the official definition of a blizzard, the cold-weather cyclone systems that create them, and the revolution in forecasting blizzards since 1993. Focus on the role of the jet stream, and dispel a common misunderstanding of the polar vortex.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Study the impact of mountains on weather by investigating the Chinook winds, which can race down the east face of the Rocky Mountains with tornadic force. Also look at the Santa Ana winds of southern California, notorious for fanning the region’s wildfires. Then explore another aspect of extreme mountain weather: avalanches.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Venture into space to see how different types of weather satellites chart large-scale extreme weather systems in both daylight and darkness. Compare two nearly identical hurricanes—one in 1900, the other in 2008—to highlight the life-saving capability of orbiting weather stations.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
The genesis of tornadoes takes place under complex conditions that are still being deciphered by meteorologists who make detailed measurements from up close. Go inside a supercell thunderstorm to see a tornado being spawned. Then learn tornado safety tips and the precautions that professional storm chasers take.
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