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This animation explains how a material's chemical composition affects the wavelengths of light it absorbs and the color it displays.

This animation explains the difference between the alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays emitted by various radioactive materials.

Have you ever wished you could hide under an invisibility cloak, like Harry Potter did? This video explores the science behind light, sight, and invisibility. Though we can’t make ourselves invisible yet, some promising research may light the…

Helium has helped create revolutionary scientific innovations, and has industrial uses that simply cannot be replicated. Yet helium—a gas that defies gravity—is constantly being lost as it escapes Earth’s atmosphere into space. This video…

This animation shows how a nuclear chain reaction works and explains how it is used in nuclear fission devices.

This animation shows how chaotic systems are unpredictable because of their extreme sensitivity to their initial conditions.

People who shave share one concern—the threat of razor-sharp metal. Luckily, aerosol-based shaving cream packs the right chemistry to protect sensitive skin, thanks in part to surfactants. Watch this video to learn more about this fantastic…

This video tracks the formation of snowflakes from their origins in bits of dust in clouds that become droplets of water falling to Earth. As each snowflake rises and falls through warmer and cooler air, it develops its own distinctive shape.…

This animation explains the phenomenon of collision and shows the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions.

This animation explains what a comet is and shows the different graphical distinctions of a comet with respect to its distance from the Sun

This animation explains conservation of energy and shows how the total amount of kinetic and potential energy in an isolated system is constant.

This animation explains the phenomenon of conservation of momentum and shows how momentum is the product of mass and velocity and is conserved in collisions.

This animation describes how a shock absorber minimizes the effect of shock on a mechanical system.

Yes, you read that correctly. Comets may have helped seed life on Earth. Far out, right? Sarah Everts of C&EN has the chemical clues that back up this out-of-this-world hypothesis. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

How do astronauts survive the deadly radiation of deep space? NASA is still figuring out how to protect astronauts from cosmic radiation using plastic shielding and magnetic deflectors. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

This animation explains the Doppler shift and shows how the movement of a sound source relative to a listener raises or lowers the pitch.

This animation explains how seasons depend on the Earth's orbit and explains how the earth's orbital distance and axial tilt give rise to seasons.

This animation explains echoes and shows how echoes occur when soundwaves bounce off objects.

This animation shows how eclipses occur when the Sun's rays are blocked.

From the dinner table to the human body, crystals are everywhere. This video highlights five scientific facts about this ubiquitous solid. [Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society (www.youtube.com/acsreactions)]

We all want to be healthy, but some food myths can actually get in the way of good nutritional decisions. This video shatters one food myth that you may have heard: microwaving your food zaps its nutritional value. Watch to find out why that…

This animation depicts how the solar system formed from a spinning disk of interstellar gas.

Battered and deep-fried chicken might be one of the world's most delicious foods. But what makes fried chicken so tasty? It all comes down to the chemistry of frying. In the video, learn how the delicate dance of fat at high temperatures…

This video explains how graphene's remarkable properties come from the unique arrangement of its atoms. (Correction: The video's narration incorrectly states that Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov are chemists. Both Geim and Novoselov are…

This animation shows how all objects fall at the same rate of accelleration due to the force of gravity.

This animation explains harmonic motion damping and shows how an applied force can decrease a simple harmonic motion.

Four elements were added to the periodic table in 2016, completing the seventh row. However, these new elements are not naturally occurring. Scientists had to create them and overcome a number of challenges to do so. This video explains some…

To beat the heat, many people turn to air conditioning. That sweet, cool relief isn’t magic, it’s the science of heat transfer and the chemistry of refrigerants. This video explains the science and chemistry of air conditioning. Credit:…

Since ancient Greek times, philosophers and scientists have tried to figure out what an atom looks like. It wasn't until the 1980s that chemists could see individual atoms. In this video, bestselling author Sam Kean discusses the nearly…

If you’re in an automobile accident, you want to be sure the vehicle's airbags protect you. Airbags work because of chemistry, with some physics thrown in. This video explores the science of airbags. And remember, airbags are meant to work in…

A large snowstorm could produce trillions of tiny snowflakes. Through advances in crystallography, scientists have learned much about the structure of this form of precipitation. Although snowflakes all start out similarly, once they begin…

What's the difference between fluorescence and bioluminescence? This video illuminates the biochemical distinctions. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

Have you ever wondered what makes a fluorescent color stand out so brightly from other colors? This video digs into what makes those colors pop, and highlights some of the brilliant applications of fluorescence coming out of nanotechnology.…

This video explores the chemistry behind how clouds develop and how they stay aloft in the sky, despite their tremendous weight. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

When Thanksgiving comes around, many people think about taking their turkey preparation to the next level. But before you whip out that deep fryer, you're going to want to watch this video. This video brings you the do's and don'ts of turkey…

New smartphones are slimmer and faster than ever. But like most new generations of smartphones, their battery has pretty much stayed the same over the years. Short of carrying an external battery all the time, is there any way to extend the…

Do you have a special someone you want to impress? This video might help. Learn how to turn white flowers into fluorescent masterpieces. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

This video examines some novel proposals for combating climate change—including space mirrors, seeding the ocean with iron, and feeding cows seaweed. In reality, these ideas may or may not be feasible, but they are all supported by valid…

This animation explains Kepler's first law of planetary motion and demonstrates a planet's elliptical orbit around the Sun.

This animation demonstrates Kepler's second law of planetary motion using 12 triangles of equal area.

This animation shows Kepler's third law of planetary motion by comparing the revolutions of two planets around the Sun.

This animation explains the phenomenon of laminar flow and shows how the movement of air past a moving vehicle creates laminar flow and boundary flow.

This animation shows how lasers result from the light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation and explains why laser beams are sharply focused.

Have you ever seen a drop of water navigate a maze? It’s possible, thanks to an unusual phenomenon called the Leidenfrost Effect. Understanding this effect—first described more than 200 years ago—helped engineers make more efficient steam…

This animation explains the concept of a lever and shows how the amount of force a lever exerts depends on the distance between the fulcrum and the end of a lever.

This animation shows how the phases of the Moon depend on the relative positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun.

This animation shows how a pulley applies the concept of mechanical advantage to make it easier to lift heavy objects.

This animation shows how the behavior of quantum mechanical systems differs from that of classical systems and allows phenomena that would be impossible in classical mechanics.

This animation shows how light moving into a denser medium is both reflected and refracted.

This animation explains how the reverberation of sound results from the echo bouncing off the walls of a room.