Video Transcripts

This page will provide an index of transcripts for some of the videos shown in class. We will not be posting the videos themselves due to copyright considerations, but these will give you a chance to review points made by the speakers.

Terrestrial vs Jovian Planets - [pdf] Explains why the inner, terrestrial planets are much smaller than the outer, Jovian ones. From "How the Solar System was Made," shown on November 29.

Molten Earth - [pdf] Consequences of the bombardment of the Earth by planetesimals and internal heating: how the Earth acquired an Fe core and magnetic field. From "Earth is Born," shown on November 29.

Meteorites - [pdf] Meteorites are messengers from the early Solar System, and from even longer ago when the atoms were part of ancient stars. From "Earth is Born," shown on November 29.

Formation of Planetesimals - [pdf] This clip from the PBS series "Nova: Origins," episode entitle "Earth is Born," discusses the growth of planetesimals in the solar nebula. Shown in class Nov. 22.

Cotton Candy - [pdf] A clip from the episode "How the Solar System was Made," from the History Channel's Universe, Season 6. Shown in class Nov. 22. It makes an analogy between making cotton candy and the formation of planets in the disk of the forming Solar System.

Formation of a Protostar - [pdf] A short clip from the episode, "How the Solar System was Made," from Season 6 of Universe on the History Channel. Shown in class on Nov. 17.

X-ray Binaries with Black Holes - [pdf] A short clip from Neil Tyson's (2004) Great Courses series "My Favorite Universe," from the episode entitled "Death by Black Hole." Shown in class on Nov. 15.

Pulsar Slowdowns - [pdf] and Millisecond Pulsars - [pdf] Two additional excerpts from the episode on pulsars. Shown on Nov. 8.

Pulsars - [pdf] A clip from Season 1, Episode 10 of The History Channel's 'Universe' series, on the discovery and basic properties of pulsars. Shown on Nov. 3.

Tom Lehrer's Elements Song - [pdf] There are many versions on YouTube, most of them using the same audio but different graphics. Played on Nov. 3.

Iron Core Collapse - [pdf] and Neutron-Capture Reactions - [pdf] Two short clips from "Forged in the Stars," part of a Great Courses lecture series by Neil Tyson. The first recounts how a high-mass star becomes a supernova, while the second clip discusses reactions in which free neutrons are captured by nuclei. Shown in class Nov. 1.

Post-Main Sequence Stellar Evolution - [pdf] This clip from the History Channel's "Universe" series reviews the stages a lower-mass star like the Sun goes through from the Main Sequence to its final state as a white dwarf. Shown in class on Oct. 25.

Cosmic Soup - [pdf] On the buildup of chemical elements by stars, from the "Origins" episode, "Back to the Beginning," part of a NOVA mini-series. Shown in class on Oct. 18.

First Stars and First (Star-Made) Elements - [pdf] From the PBS NOVA "Origins" segment, the properties of the first stars in the universe are described, as well as some of the main elements they created. Shown in class on Oct. 6.

From Cosmic Inflation to "Recombination" - [pdf] From a PBS NOVA series entitled "Origins," this clip gives a quick overview of stages in the early universe. Shown in class Sep. 22.

Inside the Sun - [pdf] Excerpt from a Nova special entitled "Secrets of the Sun," covering nuclear fusion and energy transport. Shown in class on Sep. 6, 2016.

Nuclear Fusion - [pdf] From the History Channel's "Universe" series, Season 1, Episode 10. Shown in class on Sep. 1, 2016.