The relativistic Universe
Thanks to cutting edge technology, scientists can peer deeper into space than ever before. The audio tracks in this album feature Dr Robert Lambourne and Dr Stephen Serjeant of The Open University's Department of Physics and Astronomy. They introduce the origin of relativistic cosmology and share the latest ideas about the structure and evolution of the universe. Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicts the existence of black holes and gravitational waves, and the Cosmic Microwave Back
Ecosystems: living communities
What are ecosystems, and what do different ecosystems have in common? How are they affected by human activity? From the diverse rainforests of the tropics to the smallest microbial communities, ecosystems support life on Earth. This album reveals the ecological relationships that create these living systems of energy transfer and explores some of the key processes that occur. It goes on to show how these complex systems can be affected by external influences and harmed by the activities of human
Ecosystems: the carbon cycle
What is photosynthesis, and why does Sir David Attenborough describe it as 'the very basis of life?'. This album explains how the balance of sunlight, water and nutrients are fundamental to the process and how this balance acts to regulate individual ecosystems. But photosynthesis is only part of the carbon cycle. How is carbon returned to the atmosphere, how do carbon containing gases influence the Earth's climate, and what role do peat bogs play in tackling global warming? This material forms
Social care, social work and the law
The law and aspects of the legal system have a massive impact on the lives of social workers, from defining policy and procedure to the actual process of day-to-day working. This album presents an encompassing and engrossing look at the interaction between legal and social teams, and how different professions and groups interact to ensure equality and representation for all members of society. Not only do these discussions offer an insight into the justification and implementation of policy, the
Reducing your ecological footprint
Concerned about your impact on the environment? Interested in learning how to shape a more sustainable future? This album shows you simple ways to adapt your lifestyle and how to think globally. Five video tracks demonstrate how to assess the ‘ecological footprint’ of your household, examine the effects of personal transport on the environment, and explore how your decisions as food consumers are part of a supply chain stretching across Europe and the rest of the world. They feature an energ
Belfast - healthy city
In the late nineteen eighties, Belfast became part of the World Health Organisation's Healthy Cities Project. The aim was to get as many institutions as possible to make health central to their planning and to give the diverse communities of Belfast a real say in their future. What were the challenges they faced? What solutions did they evolve? In this album Healthy Cities founder member Ilona Kickbusch and Belfast health promotion professionals Joan Devlin, David Stewart and Mary Black explore
Darwin and Evolution
2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On The Origin Of Species. This album introduces Darwin's great revelation: that species change and adapt according to their environment. Apparently diverse specimens and fossils reveal surprising results, such as the common ancestry of the hippopotamus and the dolphin, whose evolutionary paths diverged when their habitats changed. Research on sparrows show how particular characteristi
Evolution
In the sub-arctic environment in northern Norway and the high arctic climate of Svalbard, reindeer have adapted to their environment in different ways. The five video tracks in this album explore the key concepts of evolutionary science and investigate how these account for the characteristics of arctic reindeer. How do natural selection and other evolutionary processes produce changes in genes? How do new species originate? And how are large-scale evolutionary patterns generated. The material
Investigating flagellates, plankton and filter feeders
How do we enter the strange and fascinating world of small organisms? How do scientists explore their habits, growth, and rather intriguing behaviours? In this album, scientists from Italy, the US and the UK reveal some of the technologies and techniques they use to investigate the behaviour of small aquatic organisms such as flagellates, plankton and filter feeders. In the audio track, Dr David Robinson of The Open University talks about some of the problems and rewards of investigating very sm
Investigating fungi: the wood-wide web
How fundamental are fungi to a forest's eco-system? And how can they be utilised to reclaim barren land and grow sustainable plantations for economic markets? In this album, scientists from the UK and Malaysia explore how fungi form constructive and cooperative partnerships with other plants and trees, and how such symbiosis can be used for economic and environmental benefit. In the audio track, Professor David Robinson of The Open University delves deeper into the techniques scientists use to l
Investigating spiders: life on a thread
Whether you find spiders fearful or fascinating, they are to be admired for their web-spinning and prey-catching techniques, and the remarkable methods they use to move from one place to another. In this album, researchers in Denmark and the United States use an 8-legged robot and a virtual spider, high-speed photography, a hot air balloon and a rowing boat to explore the biophysics of spiders. In the audio track, Dr David Robinson of The Open University explains how advances in technology allow
Bottled Water
Have you ever wondered where bottled water comes from and what impact this has on the environment? This informative, animated video looks at the complete process of producing bottled water and strives to answer the question, 'Bottled water - who needs it?' Highlighting the effects this has on the carbon footprint, we learn how bottled water is disseminated worldwide. This material forms part of the course U116 Environment: journeys through a changing world.Author(s):
Earth and Life
This series of tracks focuses on geological phenomena, Gaia theory and volcanoes. Included is a discussion on Climate Change and whether the uplift of Tibet caused global cooling. Material is taken from The Open University Course S269 Earth and Life. The iTunes U team. The iTunes U Team at The Open University produce audio and video podcasts
First published on
Introduction James Clerk Maxwell produced a unified theory of the electromagnetic field and used it to show that light is a type of electromagnetic wave. This prediction dates from the early 1860s when Maxwell was at
King's College, London. Shortly afterwards Maxwell decided to retire to his family estate in Galloway in order to concentrate on research, unhindered by other duties. He was lured out of retirement in 1871,
when he became the first professor of experimental physics in the Cavendish Laboratory
Energy resources: Hydropower
Hydroelectric energy is ultimately solar energy converted through evaporation of water, movement of air masses and precipitation to gravitational potential energy and then to the kinetic energy of water flowing down a slope. That energy was harnessed for centuries through the use of water wheels to drive mills, forges and textile works, before being supplanted by coal-fired steam energy.
The free course, Energy resources: Hydropower, considers hydropower as a potential source of useable energy.
Groundwater
Water is arguably the most important physical resource as it is the one that is essential to human survival. Understanding the global water cycle and how we use water is essential to planning a sustainable source of water for the future. In the UK there are areas where water supplies are limited, as shown by recent droughts. Globally, there are many reas that do not have enough water to support the current population adequately. Decisions will have to be made on the best way to use water in a wo
Introduction Polymers are materials composed of long molecular chains that are well-accepted for a wide variety of applications. This unit explores these materials in terms of their chemical composition, associated properties and processes of manufacture from petrochemicals. The unit also shows a range of products in which polymers are used and explains why they are chosen in preference to many conventional materials. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of level 3 study in Author(s):
Detecting Down’s syndrome in the unborn fetus
Downs syndrome is the condition that is screened for the most in pregnant women because of the increased risk with the increasing age of mothers. This free course, Detecting Downs syndrome in the unborn fetus, describes several bioanalytical tests, and how these are used in conjunction with scans to screen and diagnose the condition.Author(s):
Conclusion Eutrophication is a process in which an ecosystem accumulates mineral nutrients. It can occur naturally, but is usually associated with human activity that releases nutrients into the environment. Anthropogenic eutrophication has caused a widespread loss of biodiversity in many systems. Recent attempts to reverse the process are proving difficult and expensive. Symptoms of eutrophication are most readily seen in aquatic sys
3.2.5 Sediments Sediments have a variable but complex role in nutrient cycling in most aquatic systems, and are a potential 'internal' source of pollutants. Release of phosphorus from lake sediment is a complex function of physical, biological and chemical processes and is not easy to predict for different systems. Nitrogen is not stored and released from sediments in the same way, so its turnover time within aquatic systems is quite rapid. Nitrogen concentrations tend to fall off relatively quickly followin
