100 Coolest Science Videos on YouTube

Just about everybody can find a YouTube video they appreciate these days, whether they love animals, practical jokes, dance, politics, or academia–even science. From evolution to the future of medicine, the following videos encompass nearly every aspect of science a student would need to know. Some are 90 minutes long, while others are 20 seconds, but all of them are full of valuable information for the modern scientist.

Chemistry

Moles, moles everywhere. Learn about chemical reactions, periodic elements, and gas laws with the help of these great videos.

1. The World of Chemistry: This cute and quirky video shows the exciting dynamic of chemical reactions.
2. The Element Song: Explore the periodic table with this song.
3. The First 20 Elements: Here’s a great mnemonic to help you engrain the first 20 elements into your brain.
4. The Basics of Chemistry: Outlines the basic concepts behind chemistry.
5. Electron Spectroscopy: This advanced video from UC Berkeley is not for the faint of heart, but experienced chemistry academics will appreciate this interesting lecture.
6. Electron Spectroscopy II: Here’s the conclusion to the electron spectroscopy lecture.
7. Aromatic Compounds: Professor Peter Vollhardt lectures about aromaticity.
8. O-Chem 101: Chemguy reviews the various diagrams in organic chemistry.
9. Chem Rap: DJ Paul and Big Jim teach you about the gas laws.
10. Recrystallization: A demonstration of the technique of recrystallization used in Organic Chemistry labs.

Experiments

Talk about educational fun. Who doesn’t like to see the powerful reaction of sodium and chlorine? Even non-scientists will think these videos are cool.

11. Colored Flask: Sugar+NaOH and KMnO4.
12. Dehydration of Sugar: C12H22O11(s)–> 12 C(s) + 11 H2O(aq) Chemical dehydration with sulfuric acid.
13. Fire Without Matches: Making fire with KMnO4+H2SO4 and acetone.
14. NaOH + Aluminum: Concentrated sodium hydroxide solution easily reacts with aluminum foil.
15. Sodium and Water: When sodium and water react, sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas are produced. 2Na(s) + 2H2O(l) = 2NaOH(aq) + H2(g).
16. Dry Ice Bubble: Have fun and entertain with this cool dry ice expermiment.
17. Aluminum Bromide: In this experiment we are going to react aluminium with liquid bromine to make aluminum-bromide.
18. Sodium + Chlorine: Pyromaniacs will love this volatile reaction.
19. Gummy Bear Experiment: This classic experiment shows one of the most classic chemical reactions.
20. Physics/Chemistry Mystery: Who doesn’t appreciate the power of liquid nitrogen?

Physics

It used to take a lot to love physics. Boring text books and diagrams don’t exactly captivate the audience. Thanks to YouTube, however, today’s physicist can watch these demonstrations in 3-D, which makes complexs concepts easier to grasp.

21. Diffraction and Interference: Light intensity in Young’s double slit experiment. Slit width increases, then decreases. Diffraction fringes change position, interference fringes keep the same position.
22. Planetary Gear Train: The little sun gear (magenta) is the input, and the ring gear (yellow) is the output. The two yellow ring gears turn together. All planets (short and long) are on the same planet carrier.
23. Incline: A block is held in place on a frictionless incline by a string. This video shows how the normal force and the tension in the string are affected by the angle of the incline.
24. Straight Line Motion with Constant Acceleration: Graphs of position, velocity and acceleration vs time for an object thrown vertically upward.
25. Harmonic Motion: Acceleration vector, graphs of position, velocity and acceleration vs time for a body suspended to a spring.
26. Doppler Effect: The source of sound (red) is stationary. First, the listener (green) is stationary, then he moves toward the source, finally he moves away from the source.
27. Parabolic Motion: Velocity vector and its components during parabolic motion.
28. Direct Current Electric Motor: DC electric motor.
29. Charged Particle in Magnetic Field: Helicoidal motion of a charged particle in a uniform magnetic field.
30. Longitudinal Wave: This is a longitudinal wave: the particles are moving parallel to the direction of wave propagation. Each particle is moving in simple harmonic motion. The dots at the bottom show the position of equilibrium of each particle.

Biology

This subject is one of the most important in the field of science. From muscle contraction to ADP production, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for these wonderful processes.

31. Muscle Contraction: Impulse to activate action potential in skeletal muscle.
32. Action Potential of a Nerve Impulse: Watch this animation of nerve impulses and action potentials.
33. Glycolysis: This is the first step of Cellular Respiration.
34. Kreb’s Cycle Overview: Get to know one of the most complicated steps of Cellular Respiration.
35. ETC Animation: Learn the Electron Transport Chain to watch the synthesis of ATP.
36. Calvin Cycle: Watch Carbon Dioxide become sugar.
37. Fermentation (Anaerobic Respiration): When cells cannot or do not use oxygen in ATP production, they have another pathway to make energy (ATP). This is called Anaerobic Respiration or more commonly Fermentation.
38. Photosynthesis: This is a primer on how sunlight (solar energy) becomes potential energy that plants use for life functions.
39. Light (Dependant) Reactions of Photosynthesis : Photosynthesis takes the human/animal waste product carbon-dioxide (CO2) and in the presence of light and water creates the things we need for cellular respiration, oxygen and glucose.
40. Cellular Respiration Recap: Make sure you know everything you need to know about celluar respiration by quizzing yourself with this awesome video.

Astronomy

These astronomy and cosmology lectures and videos will likely have you looking at the stars tonight in a much more humble manner.

41. Amateur Astronomy for Beginners: Some advice for beginning your hobby in amateur astronomy and how to use a planisphere.
42. Astronomy – Orion: This short astronomy video introduces the constellation Orion and M42, the Orion Nebula.
43. Astronomy Lecture: This lecture will prepare you for any astronomy test.
44. The Universe- How Big Are You: Talk about a sense of humility. See how small the earth is in relation to the rest of the universe.
45. Hubble Space Telescope: Part 3 in a series of videos produced by the ESA for public distribution about the Hubble Space Telescope and much more.
46. Astronomy Lecture- The Planets: This video might be long, but for a planet lover, it’s worth the watch.
47. The Solar System: See all the planets in our solar system and fly inside a comet.
48. The Pleiades: Take an in-depth look at the seven sisters.
49. The Sun: An animated depiction of the surface of the sun.
50. Beyond Einstein: Albert Einstein’s theories rank among humanity’s greatest achievements. They sparked the scientific revolution of the 20th Century. In their attempts to understand how space, time and matter are connected, Einstein and his successors made three predictions…watch the video to find out what they said.
51. Quasars: The advancements in radio telescope technology lead to the discovery of quasars.
52. Black Holes, Neutron Stars, White Dwars, Space and Time: A journey of simulations of Black Holes, Neutron Stars, White Dwarfs and Space and Time.
53. Black Holes: Creation & Consumption of Galaxies: The Creation & Consumption of Spiral Galaxies, by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D.
54. Hubble Universe: Nebula & Galaxies: A Cosmic Journey: A documentary film that explores the universe as we know it.
55. Origin of Life 1: Myth of the Organic Soup & Abiogenesis: A scientist reflects on life on earth and its origins.
56. Cosmology Lecture 1: Lecture 1 of Stanford professor Leonard Susskind’s Modern Physics concentrating on Cosmology.
57. Hubble’s Law and the Big Bang: Hubble’s 1919 finding that the universe is much larger than anyone previously understood.

Psychology

Stress, anxiety, fear, love and sex are all included in these fun, informative psychology videos.

58. 10 Mind & Brain Mysteries: Look at the history of mind control, what it is, and how it works.
59. The Psychology of Fear & Anxiety: Discuss phobias with Sandy.
60. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Learn about human needs, from food to self-actualization.
61. Sex Drive, Libido and a Woman’s Body: The doctor here describes some of the possible causes of libido loss in women, and how sexual dysfunction be remedied.
62. Psychology Origin of Word, Psyche – Mind, Soul, Breath: Shannon discusses the etymology of the word psychology and how psychology today means something different than traditional psychology. This is where we get words like psychic, psychedelic, and psychiatry.
63. Stress and Your Body: Psychology of Stress: The physical effects of stress are well documented, but there are a variety of other issues to consider as well.
64. Physcial Repsonses to Emotion: Emotion Fear is one of the most extreme emotional feelings and, like all extreme emotions, is accompanied by physiological changes in the body.
65. Psychology of Love: Jeremy Wolfe explains love and human nature.
66. Psychology of Religion: Steven Pinker looks into the desire for human beings to seek a higher power.
67. Psychology of Change: Rob Williams, M.A. and Originator of PSYCH-K, discusses how beliefs determine your biological and behavioral realities and shows how to establish communication with the subconscious to "rewrite the software of the mind" and facilitate change.
68. Intro to Pyschology: Introduction to the principal areas, problems, and concepts of psychology.
69. Psychology vs. Psychiatry: Dr. John Breeding, Ph.D. psychologist discusses the difference between psychiatry and psychology.
70. Why Psychology: Martin Seligman talks about psychology — as a field of study and as it works one-on-one with each patient and each practitioner.

Geology

As they say, geology rocks. Get to know the geological face of the earth, from rocks to minerals to plate tectonics to tides.
71. Basic Rock Identification: Geology: This video is a great visual aid for students who need extra help with rock identification.
72. Mineral Identification: Owen Hopkins shows how to identify various minerals using their unique physical properties.
73. Catastrophic Geology: 100,000 years of explosive volcanic eruptions.
74. Bill Nye’s Great Discoveries: Host Bill Nye gives an inside look at planet Earth, from its inner core to its protective magnetic field. Discover how earthquakes and volcanoes help explain plate tectonics and the dynamic geology of oceans and continents.
75. The Early Earth and Plate Tectonics: The Earth is formed by accretion of spatial particulates and large masses and eventually forms an outer crust.
76. Science on a Sphere: Look at billions of years of earth history through geology.
77. Continental Drift: Explores the inner earth and its surface. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the Mount St. Helen’s volcanic eruption are explained and illustrated.
78. Plate Tectonics animation: A short animation about how a continent splits up into a continental rift valley and later into an open ocean by sea floor spreding, and finally the closure of the ocean by subduction.
79. Tides and Waves: Describes tides and waves and how they are created by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon.
80. Coastal Currents: Describes coastal currents and how they might effect oil spills and objects in the ocean.

Genetics

From Mendel’s fruit flies to recombinant science of the future, these videos keep you in the know about heredity and more.
81. Genetics 101: Find out about the basics of cells, chromosomes, and the genes contained in your DNA.
82. Meiosis: The biology of meiosis.
83. Mitosis: One of the most important genetic processes is described here.
84. Introduction to Heredity: This video outlines heredity and classical genetics.
85. From RNA to Protein Synthesis: RNA is synthesized from DNA, and enters the ribosome where protein translation and synthesis occurs.
86. Genetics 101: Where do your genes come from?: Find out how chromosomes and genes are passed down from parent to child.
87. DNA Structure: You’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about the double helix with this video.
88. Genetic Engineering: Look at the latest technologies in controlling genetic outcomes.
89. DNA Fingerprinting: One of the most important tools in crime scene investigating, creating genetic fingerprints is something every forensic lover must know how to do.
90. Recombinant DNA : Using restriction enzymes to create Recombinant DNA.

Paleontology and Dinosaurs

What characteristic of academics makes them invaluable to our society? Not just their reading, theorizing, experimentation and invention; above all else, the true academic has a love and appreciation for history. Learn about our old friends and travel back in time to the age of the dinosaurs.

91. Paleontology and Evolution: It’s worth seeing. Video about evolution from dinosaurus to human.
92. Dinosaurs: Amazing images of 50 dinosaurs species.
93. Jack Horner on Paleontology: Kasey-Dee Gardner finds out from Jack Horner what’s on the horizon in the world of dinosaurs.
94. Virtual Paleontology: Using imaging technologies like CT scans, paleontologists are moving from the pit to the radiology lab, peering into those fossils.
95. NASA and Archaeology: From the Mayan ruins to Jamestown Virginia, current NASA technologies are helping archaeologists uncover exciting artifacts.
96. Jurassic Fight Club: Read about the Albertosaurus and its strength and power.
97. Tyrannosaurus: In this exciting episode, we explore Allosaurus, Utahraptor, Majungotholus, Albertosaurus, and the mighty king of dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus.
98. Prehistoric Short Face Bear: Learn all about this rare, prehistoric animal here.
99. Smilodon (Saber-Tooth Cat): This video tells about smilodon fatalis.
100. Human History 101: This video introduces human prehistory starting over 200,000 years ago. Who were our first human ancestors? Where did they live? Find out more about your deep ancestry here.

[via OnlineSchools]