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In this brief yet expansive science lesson, the UK physicist and science educator Brian Cox explores how ‘each snowflake is a microcosm of the laws of physics’. Narrating over charming paper cut-out animation, Cox details a snowflake’s journey from its birth in the clouds to its final melting place, as well as how Johannes Kepler’s theory about their hexagonal shape would take some four centuries to be proved correct. Connecting the structure of these small ice crystals to that of spiral galaxies, this riveting dive into the natural laws that govern all things great and small will almost surely make you see the humble snowflake anew.
Video by The Royal Society
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Animals and humans
Why be dragons? How massive, reptilian beasts entered our collective imagination
58 minutes
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Biology
How the world’s richest reds are derived from an innocuous Mexican insect
5 minutes
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Physics
The abyss at the edge of human understanding – a voyage into a black hole
4 minutes
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Chemistry
Why do the building blocks of life possess a mysterious symmetry?
12 minutes
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Cosmology
Tiny, entangled universes that form or fizzle out – a theory of the quantum multiverse
11 minutes
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Astronomy
The history of astronomy is a history of conjuring intelligent life where it isn’t
34 minutes
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Metaphysics
Simple entities in universal harmony – Leibniz’s evocative perspective on reality
4 minutes
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Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes
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Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes