Stephen Wolfram Livestreams

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others (152 videos)

Weekly ask-me-anything about science & technology

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New episode streaming Friday, December 27, at 3:30pm ET. Submit your questions

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 14] »

1 hour 14 minutes

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​What's your opinion of the usability and programmability of current computers in comparison to the ones you have used ind your live? Do you have any wish regarding future computers? ​How do you think we can fix the shortcomings of the current neural network architectures? ​Why does hitting a bucket of water on the side with a tennis ball make the water surface splash with plenty of tiny droplets which go very high, but hitting it with the same force with the foot make the water move as a big lump which don't splash. Is it analogous to the photoelectric effect? ​What sources do you use for keeping up with science news? ​I'm 12yrs old. How can I get my PhD in physics at age 20 like you? I can solve Differential equations with no difficulties now but I don't know how much I should master too early. Thank You. ​Were you involved with the SICP course over at MIT? or Dana Scotts work? ​Why computational science is not spreading among high schools? View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 13] »

1 hour 11 minutes

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​Is the number 0 a natural or an integer number? ​How do you do calculus on round object like spheres or donuts? ​If you could change how we measure time, would you and to what? ​​Good morning all. I have a weird question about clouds of alcohol in space. Not sure if I asked it before though. Please forgive. Here goes. ​I've read that their is/are giant clouds of (methyl) alcohol in space. Can it be a possibility that those clouds of alcohol have to chance to potentially "sanitize" microbes that one day could lead to complex and or intelligent life? ​Speaking of the Romans, do you think Latin is a better language than English for science and mathematics? ​I mean we have hills on earth, how can we get the slope of hills when the earth is round and not flat picture of a curve. ​Hello I'm a kid and I have a question. How can one achieve file fragmentation in a filesystem designed for archive files? For example how can one append x number of sectors to a static list of Tar Posix Headers and file data sections. ​Do you have any ideas on how to solve protein folding? Would your math research help with this problem? ​​Is there a relation between the classification of finite simple groups and your physics theory? View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 12] »

1 hour 10 minutes

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​Why does matter and anti-matter annihilate when they come together? What is the mechanism behind an electron and a positron to convert to energy when they meet? Saying that they are of opposite charges doesn't really explain it. So entropy always tends towards the lowest energy state? What is the most "scientifically" interesting place you have visited? How long does the "virtual photon" live before it converts into a pair of particles? Why do humans have unique fingerprints, iris etc? and do other creatures also have these features? What is your favorite unsolved problem? If you could go back in time and help a legendary scientist solve a problem, who and what would it be? What is the oldest known and unknown civilization which had the notion of universe and mathematics? View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 11] »

1 hour 7 minutes

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What is dark matter? Why is the Sun's corona hotter than its core? Q4kids, are white holes only theoretical or are they real? Is a black hole a sphere with condensed light and matter? or does all that light and matter go somewhere? A question from 8 years old boy from Houston enjoying this stream but can't stop himself from asking: is it possible now to clone a dinosaur (given that proper quality DNA material will be found)? Thanks in Advance! Stephen, how can we tell the difference between science and pseudoscience? ​In convection, what drives the flow of air/fluid in the first place? is it just the potential energy stored in the temperature gradient? ​​Is there any possibility of creation of dark matter in fusion reactors like tokamak? ​Why is the moon the same size as the sun? [from what we see on Earth]. ​​What do you do for fun? View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 10] »

1 hour 41 minutes

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​​What is the difference between fusion and fission? What is the difference between regular helium, like those in balloons, and Helium-3? Can you explain the physics of why ice is slippery? Would you mind explaining Van der Waals force? I recently draw a social network form my .gml file using Graph3D in Mathematica, but when I put more than 1200 nodes, all color of my nodes became blue instead of my settings. Why? Is it a bug? Does quantum mechanical tunneling play much of a role in nuclear fusion? ​Are you planning on ever releasing the raw data of all the possible simple programs you generated while working on "A New Kind of Science"? A friend and I want to work on a neural network to see if we can make something that discriminates complex behavior. When Andromeda collides with the Milky Way, what's going to happen to life on Earth, neighboring planets, and solar systems? What advice would you give to someone who is starting to study analysis from scratch (i.e. from Zermelo Fraenkel axioms and so on)? Speak about Einstein's correct prediction of the perihelion of Mercury when people realized Einstein's theory was better than Newton's. What might be the equivalent for the Wolfram Physics Project? What gave you the confidence to study physics since you were a kid?. What advice would you give to a kid interested in learning that has an internet connection and a Raspberry Pi? View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 9] »

1 hour 35 minutes

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When will we run out of scientific innovations? Is there a limit to technology? Is it possible to build a place without gravity? Do you think there is anything between the known particles (and Planck length 10^-33) and your hypergraphs (at length 10^-93), such as another set of "elementary" particles? Will technology allow for one true universal language [for the deaf, blind, romance languages, Arabic languages, Asian languages, computer languages, etc...], eliminating the need for translations? Who is the leader in information technology at the moment (my guess is China!)? Is there a relationship between computational irreducibility and the uncertainty principle from Quantum Mechanics? Is there a formal definition of Number? Why all electrons are same? What temperature does a laser have? How does a laser work? How can galaxies retain their shape for billions of years? It would be really interesting to observe the effect of a logic-based language on the cognitive development of children. Will it be possible to tell a joke in a symbolic discourse language. Who (and what) may find it funny? You once said that when you were starting out, Feynman gave you a collection of his mathematical tricks for integration, which you didn't end up using. Have you published this? I would really really like to see his notes! View Less »
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