How Scientists Cracked the Secret To Making Diamonds

12m 15s

For centuries, diamonds were one of the most mysterious materials on Earth. They were beautiful, indestructible, and completely unexplained. Today, we’re exploring how scientists unlocked their secrets, and how one lab recreates the extreme conditions in Earth's mantle to make diamonds… out of dead people.

Episodes

  • How Scientists Cracked the Secret To Making Diamonds: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How Scientists Cracked the Secret To Making Diamonds

    S12 E16 - 12m 15s

    For centuries, diamonds were one of the most mysterious materials on Earth. They were beautiful, indestructible, and completely unexplained. Today, we’re exploring how scientists unlocked their secrets, and how one lab recreates the extreme conditions in Earth's mantle to make diamonds… out of dead people.

  • Camouflage Isn't What It Appears To Be: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Camouflage Isn't What It Appears To Be

    S12 E15 - 11m 20s

    See how they trick the brain to make themselves invisible — and what this can teach us about how other animals see and perceive the world.

  • Why Don’t Humans Hibernate?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Why Don’t Humans Hibernate?

    S12 E14 - 11m 17s

    Nature has had to come up with some crazy ways to survive harsh winters. But none are weirder than hibernation. Turns out there is more than one kind of hibernation, and studying all these ways that life slows down in the cold might help humans one day become an interplanetary species.

  • The Paradox of Voting: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Paradox of Voting

    S12 E13 - 12m 40s

    Political scientist Don Green joins Joe to figure out the complex psychological and social factors that motivate us to vote - or not to. They discuss how and why this decision making process may be in conflict with certain scientific principles of rational decision making. And why it is important to understand that. And why it’s important to vote!

  • Why Do We Hate Certain Sounds: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Why Do We Hate Certain Sounds

    S12 E12 - 16m 27s

    Ever wonder why certain sounds make us cringe or even feel sick? Join Joe as he reacts to some of the most hated sounds, from nails on a chalkboard to the infamous "moist," and explores the science of why these sounds are so unbearable to so many and how they can impact our lives.

  • The Sun is NOT the Center of the Solar System: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Sun is NOT the Center of the Solar System

    S12 E11 - 11m 43s

    Despite what you may have heard or learned in school, the sun is NOT in fact the center of the solar system. And it won’t be until 2027… But this being a science channel, you might be thinking “What the heck is this guy talking about? Of course the sun is the center of the solar system. We’ve known that for more than 600 years.” Like most things in science, it’s not quite that simple.

  • Why You See Faces in Things: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Why You See Faces in Things

    S12 E10 - 10m 23s

    Have you ever looked at a cloud and seen a face? Or the front of a car and seen a face? Or an electrical outlet and seen a face? You definitely have. We all see faces everywhere we look thanks to a fun quirk of the human brain called visual pareidolia.

  • The Real (Weird) Way We See Numbers: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Real (Weird) Way We See Numbers

    S12 E8 - 15m 25s

    Would it surprise you to learn that fish and birds count in pretty much the same way that we do? And that infants can do math? Our animal brains deal with quantities in very specific ways, from quick counts of a few dots to how we perceive larger numbers. This "number sense" impacts our psychology, history, and behavior in the most fascinating ways.

  • The Surprising Power of Sex in Evolution: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Surprising Power of Sex in Evolution

    S12 E7 - 8m 46s

    We all know Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, right? Natural selection? But what about his lesser-know theory of evolution: sexual selection. Let’s talk about how animals like peacocks, whose eye-catching physical traits make them evolutionarily stronger, even though their flashy looks make them more vulnerable to predators. Hint: it’s all about the chemistry.

  • Computers Can Predict When You're Going to Die… Here's How: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Computers Can Predict When You're Going to Die… Here's How

    S12 E6 - 12m 54s

    Predictive analytics uses math and historical data to make predictions about the future. It’s used in commerce, sports, politics, social media and tons of other places. And as it turns out, people have been using math to predict people’s death for centuries. Can it predict mine?

  • Can AI Help Us Talk to Whales?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Can AI Help Us Talk to Whales?

    S12 E5 - 21m 33s

    New technology is revolutionizing how we study and protect nature. In this video, we’ll learn how artificial intelligence is being used to decode the sonic landscapes of the ocean - specifically, whale song. That’s right, there may come a day soon where AI allows us to understand and talk to whales. But some scientists are saying: the question may actually be, SHOULD we talk to whales?

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