Search Results for Physics

Do other planets like Earth exist? To find out, a team of astronomers from the University of California is building a new telescope in the hills east of San Jose. QUEST finds out what the chances are that there are others like ours somewhere in the cosmos.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: May 5 2008

Buildings, concrete, asphalt, tar roof tops and industry have caused cities to reach higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. Now, green-minded architects are taking cooler approaches to their designs.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Apr 4 2008

It looks like frozen smoke. And it's the lightest solid material on the planet. Aerogel insulates space suits, makes tennis rackets stronger and could be used one day to clean up oil spills.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Apr 1 2008

QUEST visits the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, where scientists will soon aim the world's largest laser at a target the size of a pencil eraser. The goal? Nuclear fusion -- and, they say, the answer to the world's clean energy needs.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Jan 10 2008

Northern California residents may not be able to see the northern lights like people in Alaska can, but Bay Area scientists are playing a key role in understanding them. Find out more about the spectacular light shows up north and what scientists at UC Berkeley are discovering about the Earth's magnetic field.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Jul 24 2007

Silicon Valley is planning one of the world's largest wireless networks, providing outdoors Web access to all and services to police and first responders. But how exactly does the technology known as Wi-Fi work?

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Jul 10 2007

At UC Berkeley, a team of undergrads is experimenting with velocity, force, and aerodynamics. But you won't find them in a lab-- they work on a baseball diamond, throwing fast balls, sliders and curve balls.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Jul 3 2007

Have you ever looked at your credit card bill and thought you needed to have your head examined? Stanford University is using complex brain imaging to study how humans make shopping decisions, and are finding that emotions play a large role in everyday purchases.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Jun 22 2007

A growing number of Bay Area police are putting away their old radar guns and embracing new laser beam guns, clocking cars with much more precision than before. QUEST TV finds out how they work.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: May 1 2007

The monster waves at Mavericks attract big wave surfers from around the world. But what exactly makes these Half Moon Bay waves so big?

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Apr 24 2007

QUEST TV talks with George Smoot, big bang researcher at UC Berkeley and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Apr 24 2007

It's a typical evening at a popular SF cafe - cappuccinos, beer, conversation... and a lecture on mathematical theorems? Bay Area "science cafés" have exploded in popularity, putting scientists and everyday folks face-to-face for casual science lectures and Q&A.

Listen to this Radio Report Air Date: Apr 13 2007

What's 100,000 times thinner than a strand of hair? A nanometer. Discover the nanotech boom in Berkeley, where researchers are working to unlock the potential of nanoscience to battle global warming and disease.

Watch this TV Story Air Date: Mar 27 2007