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Its feet stick to the glass using a tiny attractive force
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Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies

Its feet stick to the glassusing a tiny attractive force called the van der Waals force

Its feet stick to the glass
using a tiny attractive force called the van der Waals force

Full Transcript

00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:05.199
Its feet stick to the glass using a tiny attractive force
00:00:05.002 --> 00:00:07.044
called the van der Waals force.
Duration
7 seconds
Views
21
Timestamp in Movie
00:25:00
Uploaded
May 06, 2025
Season
1
Episode
1
Genres
documentary

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Movie Summary

In this mind-bending series, Jim Al-Khalili explores the vast range of size in the universe, from tiny atoms to gigantic, interconnected galaxies.
S01 • E01 Van der Waals forces exist because of a rather quirky aspect - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:08
Van der Waals forces exist because of a rather quirky aspect
S01 • E01 Think of an atom as a tiny positively charged nucleus - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:09
Think of an atom as a tiny positively charged nucleus
S01 • E02 These are stellar nurseries, - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:11
These are stellar nurseries,
S01 • E01 But, crucially, these electron clouds aren't static, - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:09
But, crucially, these electron clouds aren't static,
S01 • E01 So the clouds can become lopsided, - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:06
So the clouds can become lopsided,
S01 • E02 These are the places where new stars are born. - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:05
These are the places where new stars are born.
S01 • E01 Because opposite charges attract, - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:09
Because opposite charges attract,
S01 • E01 The force that an individual atom feels is, of course, minuscule. - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:05
The force that an individual atom feels is, of course, minus...
S01 • E02 But by studying the operation of gravity at a galactic scale, - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:07
But by studying the operation of gravity at a galactic scale...
S01 • E01 But these effects can add up. - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:04
But these effects can add up.
S01 • E01 And this, in turn, means that the molecules on the surface - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:11
And this, in turn, means that the molecules on the surface
S01 • E02 As our galaxy revolves around the centre, - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:14
As our galaxy revolves around the centre,
S01 • E01 And that's what the gecko is taking advantage of. - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:05
And that's what the gecko is taking advantage of.
S01 • E02 During the second half of the 20th century, - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:09
During the second half of the 20th century,
S01 • E01 A gecko's feet are covered with billions of tiny structures - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:08
A gecko's feet are covered with billions of tiny struct...
S01 • E02 She worked with instruments that could measure it - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:06
She worked with instruments that could measure it
S01 • E01 When these press against the glass, - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:07
When these press against the glass,
S01 • E02 As she did the maths, she realised something extraordinary. - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:05
As she did the maths, she realised something extraordinary.
S01 • E02 OK, so we've shrunk the Milky Way - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:09
OK, so we've shrunk the Milky Way
S01 • E01 Billions of atoms are now in contact. - Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies 00:04
Billions of atoms are now in contact.