Explain that Stuff

<p>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 atoms together...

<p>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 about.</p>

<p>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?</p>

<p>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?</p>

<p>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?</p>

<p>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 theory and how do you...

<p>From Galileo to Henry Cavendish and Robert Millikan to Ernest Rutherford, here are 10 of the greatest physics experiments - and why they mattered.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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?</p>

<p>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 regenerative...

<p>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 and slow the...

<p>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...</p>

<p>From the alphabet to the Internet, enjoy a 10,000-year, whistle-stop tour through the whole history of human communication!</p>

<p>Old-style telephones are giving way to Internet phones - or Skype-style VoIP. What is it and how exactly does it work?</p>

<p>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 dangerous static...