NASA Physics and Engineering

Special Collection

Inspiring STEM Educators: The NASA Physics and Engineering Collection is designed to bring real-world applications of physics and engineering concepts into high school classrooms. The videos and interactive presentations that make up the collection are drawn from NASA's vast collection of media resources.

This project is a collaboration between WNET and the WGBH Educational Foundation.

Funding for this collection was provided by NASA.

RESOURCE	GRADE LEVEL	MEDIA TYPE
Beyond Einstein NASA scientists describe some of the ways current science is addressing several of Einstein's fundamental questions and theories in this video adapted from NASA.	9-12	Video
Blacker Than Black In this video adapted from NASA, two members of a NASA research team working to produce carbon nanotubes share some background behind this new technology, show examples of how it will be useful, and explain the various tests being performed to ensure readiness for spaceflight.	9-12	Video
Building Curiosity: Rover Rocks Rocker-Bogie NASA engineers test Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory rover, and demonstrate its material properties, its handling and mobility, and its design features in this NASA video.	9-12	Video
Colliding Neutron Stars Create Black Hole and Gamma-ray Burst This video from NASA describes the detailed computer modeling used to predict that colliding neutron stars can produce gamma-ray bursts similar to those associated with black holes.	9-12	Video
Composite Materials for Space Discover why engineers use composite materials to build spacecraft prototypes in this video segment adapted from NASA 360.	9-12	Video
Counting Neutrons on the Moon Find out how scientists are using a neutron detector onboard a satellite to try to find water on the Moon in this video adapted from NASA.	9-12	Video
The Deployable Energy Absorber Watch how engineers stage a crash to test a new helicopter safety design technology in this video from NASA.	9-12	Video
Design a Liquid Fuel Rocket Engine Learn about rocket engines, and then design and launch a liquid fuel rocket in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.	9-12	Interactive
Einstein's Cosmic Speed Limit This video, adapted from NASA, presents rare experimental evidence from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope supporting Einstein's prediction that space-time is smooth.	9-12	Video
Eve: Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment In this NASA video, scientists describe how the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment will sample and track the Sun's ultraviolet irradiance, providing a detailed time sequence of extreme ultraviolet output -- data that can provide advance warning for potentially disruptive energy bursts.	9-12	Video
Gamma Ray Telescope Senses High-Energy Radiation This video from NASA describes the GLAST satellite, which is equipped with a gamma-ray telescope, and shares some background about the kinds of extreme universal phenomena indicated by the presence of gamma rays.	9-12	Video
Glory: The Rough Road to Space This video adapted from NASA describes the various factors engineers must consider when designing a spacecraft that can withstand the extreme conditions in space.	6-12	Video
Inflatable Moon Habitat Visit an inflatable habitat designed for astronauts to live in on the Moon in this video adapted from NASA 360.	6-12	Video
Infrared Energy Explore infrared energy and how NASA detects it to study our Earth's systems more completely in this video adapted from NASA.	6-12	Video
James Webb vs Hubble Compare two space telescopes—the Hubble Space Telescope and its planned successor, the James Webb Space Telescope —in this interactive activity from NASA.	7-12	Interactive
LAMP: Peering into the Lunar Dark In this video from NASA, learn more about the Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP), an instrument on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission to map and study the Moon.	9-12	Video
LIDAR 3D Mapping See how researchers create 3-D maps of planets by using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) instruments in this video adapted from NASA.	9-12	Video
Light Wave Behaviors Discover the ways light interacts with objects in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.	9-12	Interactive
Making Space Shuttle Tiles Follow the fabrication process for the space shuttle's thermal tiles and see a surprising demonstration of their insulating qualities in this video segment adapted from NASA 360.	9-12	Video
Mapping Magnetic Fields This video adapted from NASA explains how a magnetometer determines magnetic fields around planets.	9-12	Video
Mass Spectrometry 101 Learn how mass spectrometry can identify the chemical composition of matter in this video from NASA.	9-12	Video
Mass vs. Weight: Accelerating Mass Astronauts on the International Space Station demonstrate Newton’s Second Law of Motion in this video from NASA's Teaching From Space initiative.	6-12	Video
Mass vs. Weight: Air Powered Mass In this video from NASA's Teaching From Space initiative, astronauts on board the International Space Station conduct an experiment using an air gun to exert a consistent force on two difference masses -- an empty water bag and a full water bag.	6-12	Video
Mass vs. Weight: Introduction Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) describe mass and weight and the differences between the two in this video from NASA’s Teaching From Space initiative.	6-12	Video
Mass vs. Weight: Stretching Mass In this video from NASA's Teaching From Space series, an astronaut on board the International Space Station demonstrates weightlessness by comparing two water bags - one full and one empty - tethered to a line by stretchable bands.	6-12	Video
Meet ATHLETE, a Moon Rover Learn about ATHLETE, an all-terrain rover designed to transport astronauts and equipment on the Moon, in this video segment from NASA.	9-12	Video
Meet Carrie Anderson: Taking on Titan In this video from NASA, astronomer Carrie Anderson studies Saturn's moon, Titan, using data transmitted from the Cassini space probe.	9-12	Video
Meet Curiosity, a Mars Rover Learn about the sophisticated scientific instruments on Curiosity, the latest Mars rover, in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.	9-12	Interactive
NASA Aeronautics Research Onboard In this interactive activity from NASA, learn some of the ways in which NASA's research has improved the safety, efficiency, and performance of aviation aircraft—from cockpit designs to the grooves on the runway.	9-12	Interactive
Spectrometry Explained Find out how light can be used to identify chemical compounds in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.	9-12	Interactive
Thunderstorms Produce Antimatter This video from NASA explains the process by which gamma-ray flashes associated with storms produce matter/antimatter particle pairs.	9-12	Video
Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Gamma Waves Get an overview of gamma waves and examples of conditions and events that produce gamma waves, the highest-energy radiation on the EM spectrum, in this video from NASA.	6-12	Video
Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Infrared Explore the ways scientists use technology to “see” infrared light in this video from NASA.	6-12	Video
Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Microwaves See microwaves in the context of other areas of the electromagnetic spectrum in this video from NASA.	6-12	Video
Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Radio Waves This video from NASA provides an overview of the radio band of electromagnetic spectrum and offers a brief history of the discovery and early applications of radio waves.	6-12	Video
Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Ultraviolet Explore the ultraviolet band of the EM spectrum in this video from NASA.	6-12	Video
Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Visible Light See just how narrow the visible light band is relative to other EM energy in this video from NASA.	6-12	Video
Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: X-rays Get both an “everyday” and an “exotic” view of x-rays in this video from NASA.	6-12	Video
Viewing Gamma Rays Learn how high-energy gamma rays interact with electrons and discover how astronomers create images from high-energy gamma rays, in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.	9-12	Interactive
Viewing Radio Waves Discover how astronomers create images from radio waves, in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.	9-12	Interactive
Viewing X-Rays Learn about high-energy light waves and how astronomers visualize X-rays in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.	9-12	Interactive
What Is a Laser? Learn how lasers are different from natural light in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.	6-12	Interactive