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ICYMI It's more fun to SUPER-compute
What makes supercomputers millions of times better than the one on your desk? Here's our quick introduction to supercomputers and massively parallel processing...
Flushed with success - the tech behind toilets!
Toilets are one invention we can't live without, though many people in the world unfortunately do. Do you know how your toilet really works, and how it differs from unusual varieties like macerating,…
Reinventing instruments - how music synthesizers work
If you can play an electronic keyboard, you can play not just any instrument in the orchestra but any instrument you can possibly imagine. But how exactly do keyboards - music synthesizers - work?
Sea change - how OTEC turns ocean energy into useful power
There's enough heat energy in the oceans to meet our energy needs many times over, but can we harness it effectively? In this week's episode, we look at OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) -…
Driving through time - a brief history of cars
How did we get from the wild horse to the horseless carriage - in other words, the modern car - in about 5000 years? Here's a half-hour, whistle-stop tour of automobile history!
ICYMI: Smashing atoms - making power from nuclear fusion
Nuclear power plants make about 10 percent of the world's energy by splitting atoms apart, but they have a very mixed history. So what about nuclear fusion, a better kind of nuclear power, that joins…
Living in a material world - a quick guide to materials science
Why don't we build houses from leather or planes from glass? Many of life's problems boil down to putting the right material in the right place - which is what materials science and technology is all…
Let there be light - the science of candles
A candle is an ingenious chemical factory that converts hydrocarbon molecules into light. Which part is hottest? Which is brightest? Can you burn a candle in space? Do candles make harmful pollution?
Why do tiny bullets do so much damage?
Today, a look at the science behind bullets - how do they work and how are they designed to do maximum damage when they hit the target?
Whatever happened to 3d TV?
It's just over a decade since The New York Times declared 3D TV "an expensive flop". How did it work, why didn't it catch on... and will it make a comeback in future?
ICYMI: What is science and why does it matter?
Science seems our best hope for making sense of the world - and ourselves - but what makes it a better bet than, say, art or religion. What exactly *is* science, anyway? What makes a scientific…
The greatest physics experiments of all time?
From Galileo to Henry Cavendish and Robert Millikan to Ernest Rutherford, here are 10 of the greatest physics experiments - and why they mattered.
Motion in the ocean - the energy in waves
Ocean waves contain surprising amounts of energy - which is why surfing is such a cool sport. This week, a quick look at just how much energy there is in waves... and what we can do with it.
Electronic ears - the magic of hearing aids
How exactly does a hearing aid work? Why is it so much more effective than simply shouting louder? Do the latest digital aids really work better than old-fashioned analog ones?
Braking the habit - how regenerative brakes save energy
Friction brakes are brilliantly simple, but they're a huge waste of energy. How can different vehicles - from trucks and trains to bikes and elevators - work more efficiently with energy-saving…
The great carbon trap - how does carbon capture and storage work?
With thousands of fossil-fuel power plants dotted round the world, we're locked into burning huge amounts of carbon for decades to come. Can carbon capture and storage help us get around the problem…
Suck it up - how do vacuum cleaners really work?
What's the difference between an old-style Hoover and a new-style Dyson? This week, we take a quick look at the technology that gets your rugs and carpets clean...
ICYMI: Alphabet to Internet - a brief history of communication
From the alphabet to the Internet, enjoy a 10,000-year, whistle-stop tour through the whole history of human communication!
VoIP phone home - a quick guide to Internet telephony
Old-style telephones are giving way to Internet phones - or Skype-style VoIP. What is it and how exactly does it work?
Static fantastic - what really causes static electricity?
The Ancient Greeks knew about static electricity but, surprisingly enough, 2600 years later, we still don't understand it completely. What really causes it, how can it help us, and how can we keep…
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Explain that Stuff has published 50 episodes since June 2024, covering topics in Science, Technology.
Explain that Stuff is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 21m.
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