Royal Institution

When you add water to a chip pan fire, it instantly turns to steam under the superheated oil, blasting burning oil droplets into the air 💥 Ben Ebbrell and Dan from our Demo team showed exactly why you don't want this to happen. 📺 Watch the full talk: youtu.be/8vCgNB6osSs

Loneliness can negatively affect your physical health more than smoking 🧠 Psychologist Bruce Hood illuminated what science can tell us about happiness. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=LtGY85JXTUM

The “pendulum of doom” looks terrifying. 🫣 But thanks to the conservation of energy, the cannonball can never swing back higher than the point it was released from. Watch the full show with the Ri Demo team: youtube.com/watch?v=wQTvf2vsxEU

If matter and antimatter had existed in perfectly equal amounts after the Big Bang, our universe would be nothing but light. 💫 Watch the full talk with @tarashears.bsky.social: youtu.be/0Fy6oiIRwJc

Bees are some of nature’s most impressive engineers. Here’s why hexagons are the perfect shape for their honeycomb. 🐝

What has more genes: a banana or a human being? 🍌🧍 The answer might surprise you! Philip Ball reveals how life is a far richer, more ingenious affair than we had guessed. Watch the full talk here: youtube.com/watch?v=tw54LmxR21A

Why do Jubilee line trains on the London Underground make that distinctive sound? 🚇 Next time you hop on a Jubilee line train, stop by the Ri—we're just a five-minute walk from Green Park! rigb.org/visit

Can you help us find the missing Christmas Lectures? 📼 31 episodes of the Christmas Lectures broadcast between 1966 and 1973 are missing, presumed "wiped" by the BBC. This includes one of Sir David Attenborough's lectures, not seen since it was first broadcast live over 50 years ago. (1/2)

Sir David Attenborough's 1973 Christmas Lectures broke the cardinal rule of broadcast television: "never work with animals or children"—and because of that, they gave us some truly magical moments, like this interaction with a ring-tailed lemur.

Happy 100th birthday to national treasure, Sir David Attenborough! 🎂 To mark this fantastic milestone birthday, we rounded up all the animals he brought to his 1973 Christmas Lectures to create a Countdown-style maths challenge you can also play from home.

Our Sun is about 4.5 billion years old, but its story began much earlier. ☀️ Solar scientist Helen Mason tells us how the elements within it were forged in a previous star, long since gone.

Colour isn’t just what you see, but what your brain constructs. 👀 Physicist Andrew Hanson tells us how a simple illusion helped James Clerk Maxwell uncover how we perceive colour. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=af78RPi6ayE

As jellyfish move, they generate vortices in patterns that also appear in the human heart. 🪼 Healthcare Engineer Becky Shipley illustrates how simple models can lead to life-changing insights. 🧪 Watch the full talk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=idL3...

The way our brain works is why eyewitness testimony can be unreliable 🧠 Psychologist Chris French explains how this is related to top-down processing, where the brain uses prior knowledge to interpret new sensory information. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=i8mjM3PB_Tk

In Einstein’s theory of gravity, mass and energy curve spacetime, and light travels along these curves. Astronomer Hiranya Peiris explains how we can use this effect (known as gravitational lensing) to map dark matter. Watch the full talk here: youtube.com/watch?v=1x7BAOi5noU

Tools designed to detect generative AI don't always work, creating distrust between students and academic institutions. Mhairi Aitken from @theturing.bsky.social explains where things can go wrong. 🧪 Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=si1jcl7UFqU

Space missions often bring back samples to study...only this time, they accidentally returned a bit of Earth to sender 📦 @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social told us about his favourite asteroids during the Q&A portion of his talk. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=E7gSucS56kM

"Dessert tummy" exists. It's just in your brain, rather than your stomach 🧠 @gilesyeo.bsky.social explains this delicious phenomenon. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=pOJYTMe_bp4

Why are almost all tortoiseshell cats female? 🐈 In his 1984 Christmas Lectures, geneticist Walter Bodmer explained this "patchwork" phenomenon with the help of some four-legged assistants. Watch the full series: www.rigb.org/explore-scie...

How far is the Moon, really? 🌕 UK Space Agency's Anu Ojha helps us visualise this with a simple demo that might surprise you. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=7kCdY8o8cFI

Sometimes, the biggest discoveries begin with the simplest tools. Physicist @suziesheehy.bsky.social replicates JJ Thomson's demonstration showing that atoms were made of smaller components. What he discovered would become known as the electron. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=aXg3edeUrtc

Matter is mostly empty space—yet, it feels solid. Electromagnetism holds it together… and helps explain why dark matter slips straight through. @mattbothwell.com leads us through the mysterious world of dark matter. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=bLa3k0NoHvY

We put Newton's third law to the test by simulating the science behind how rockets lift off 🚀

Steel is a material shaped not just by elements, but by process 🔨 Engineer @romatheengineer.bsky.social explains how when steel is struck and cooled, its internal crystals rearrange, becoming harder and stronger. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=K055I7iYqUM

Melting icebergs don't significantly affect water levels. 🧊 So why are sea levels rising? Oceanographer John Englander explains this with a simple yet brilliant visualisation. Watch the full talk: youtu.be/MvqY2NcBWI8

Could anyone fake a Jackson Pollock? 🫟 Mathematician @marcusdusautoy.bsky.social says otherwise. Hidden within those sweeping drips lies a fractal signature born from the physics of motion. Watch the full talk: youtu.be/thc2bWGNY2k

Those colourful swirls on a soap bubble are caused light interfering with itself inside a tiny “soap sandwich.” 🌈 Watch the full talk with the Ri Demo Team: youtube.com/watch?v=wQTvf2vsxEU

The word "algebra" originates from the work of a 9th-century Islamic scholar. Al-Khwarizmi’s ideas went on to shape modern science and technology. Wishing all who celebrate a joyful and peaceful Eid Al-Fitr. 🌙 Watch the full talk with Timothy Winter: youtube.com/watch?v=7EKtVx2A6d4

"It looks magic, but it's not, it's good science" 🦋 For 36 years, Bill Coates was the master of science demonstrations behind the Christmas Lectures. (1/2)

Could a monkey eventually type Shakespeare? ⌨️🐒 The Infinite Monkey Theorem says yes, but maths says our universe simply doesn’t have the time.

Podcast alert! 🎧 Planets outside of our solar system can unlock an abundance of secrets about our Universe. But how do we study them? Astrophysicist Jonathan Tennyson discusses his own research into exoplanets. Listen here: shows.acast.com/ri-science-p...

Synaesthesia is a neurological phenomenon where stimulation of one sense triggers an extra sensory experience for someone 🧠 Cognitive psychologist Mary Jane Spiller explains why researchers think this may develop shortly after birth. 🧪 Watch the full talk: youtu.be/XsYa1fXGKIs

We're celebrating #InternationalWomensDay by shining the spotlight on one of the most remarkable women of science, who also worked here at the Royal Institution: Kathleen Lonsdale. Watch the short documentary here: youtube.com/watch?v=FNNI0R2gwM4

Happy birthday to us! 🎂 The Ri is turning 227 today, and what better way to celebrate than with a delicious cupcake? Of course, this one didn't quite make it to our birthday party... 🧪

Animals don't just play-fight: they enjoy being tickled, and even tell jokes! 🐁 Neurologist Kelly Clancy illustrates the important role play has in building social circuits. 🧪 Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=KNn-Sa8T3iw

Add water to calcium carbide and a vigorous reaction releases acetylene (C₂H₂). Andrew Szydlo shows us how burning the same gas can have dramatically different outcomes. 🔥 Watch the full talk: youtu.be/uswf_8Ch39s

Will AI outsmart us and take over? 🤖 'Godfather of AI' Geoffrey Hinton says this possibility isn't science fiction. 🧪 Watch the full talk: youtu.be/IkdziSLYzHw

Your smartphone chip operates at a power density comparable to that inside a nuclear reactor. ☢️ Theoretical and computational physicist Johan Mentink reveals just how extraordinary (and energy-intensive) today’s processors really are. Watch the full talk here: youtu.be/VTKcsNrqdqA

How one handwritten notebook changed the course of history 📖 #OnThisDay in 1813, Michael Faraday got a job here at the Royal Institution, kick-starting his scientific career and his work in electrochemistry and electromagnetism. Watch the full talk with Judy Wu: youtube.com/watch?v=0kYMUFzylOs

Your feet are younger than your head (by fractions of a second) ⏱️ Vlatko Vedral explains how gravity slows time, ever so slightly, closer to Earth’s centre. With today’s atomic clocks, even a few centimetres in height reveals the effect. 🧪 Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=TKBqNHEHgj0

Sharks don't have any bones in their body. 🦈 Their skeletons are made of cartilage, giving them more flexibility and shorter healing times. Watch the full talk with David Shiffman: youtube.com/watch?v=RYXQs1g8dw0

How were the remains found under a car park in Leicester confirmed to be those of Richard III? 👑 Lead geneticist Turi King shares the role Bayesian statistics played in the project. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=dsTyGKKl8UA

Happy Lunar New Year! 🌙 🐎 We have been observing the Moon with wonder since the dawn of time. Maggie Aderin-Pocock tells us about the first recorded image of our planet's satellite as observed through a telescope. Watch the full talk here: youtube.com/watch?v=DGSJlXjqsZM&t=2167s

Are you perfecting your pancake flipping skills for Shrove Tuesday? 🥞 These physics facts might just help you stick the landing. 🧪

Applications for the Ri's Freer Fellowship are now open! This is a fully funded opportunity for doctoral candidates researching the history of science, the history of the Royal Institution, or heritage conservation science. Find out more and apply here: rigb.org/about-us/ri-freer-fellowship

This "forbidden doughnut" is a floating plasma toroid 🍩 Made with xenon gas within a custom-built globe, it's sitting on an oscillator that creates a strong magnetic field. Find a more in-depth explanation here: youtube.com/watch?v=iXqbCmTt1Yg 🧪

Dmitri Mendeleev, who created a version of the periodic table of elements, was born #OnThisDay in 1834. 🧪 Of the 10 elements discovered or first isolated here at the Ri, one has a bit of an image problem. @helenarney.bsky.social wrote a great song to remind us that boron isn't boring at all!

Do you thrive under pressure? 🏋️ Felix Flicker shows us how materials such as quartz and certain ceramics generate an electrical charge when mechanically stressed. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=H3wSaLSXdBM

The Vespa wasn’t designed by a motorbike expert, but by an aircraft engineer. 🛩️ César Hidalgo tells the story of how aviation engineers around the world turned to scooters and motorcycles—revealing the hidden geography of knowledge itself. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=q_Hm5Zx-jew

Galileo’s telescope provided crucial evidence for the heliocentric model, placing the Sun at the centre with the planets orbiting it. 🔭 See this demo in action in the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI. Find out where to watch: www.rigb.org/explore-scie...

When you've got a building full of space experts and science communicators, it's impossible not to discuss what's the best space-themed film 🍿 Did we miss any good ones? Watch the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI, on demand: www.rigb.org/explore-scie...

A lesson from WWII planes reveals how to spot what really matters. Applied to genetics, it shows which parts of our genome were critical to evolution. 🧬 Watch the 2018 Christmas Lectures with Aoife McLysaght and Alice Roberts: rigb.org/explore-science/explore/video/who-am-i-where-do-i-come-2018

In just a century, human intelligence has measurably changed. Not because our genes have—but because our world has. 🧠 Cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett explained how the Flynn effect reveals that culture reshapes the human mind. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=TTFoJQSd48c

Prime numbers (divisible only by 1 and themselves) show up not just in maths but in art and creative writing too. ✍️ Marcus du Sautoy explains the poetic maths of Shakespeare. Watch the full talk: youtu.be/thc2bWGNY2k

What tunes do you think we should send out there into the Universe? 👽 We asked people behind the scenes of the 2025 Christmas Lectures (supported by CGI) which song they would put on a new Voyager golden record. Watch the lectures on demand: www.rigb.org/explore-scie...

Nitrogen triiodide is a highly unstable substance that detonates when disturbed. So, of course, we disturbed it. 💥🧪

Great discoveries don’t arrive fully formed. They emerge from simple experiments—and minds ready to notice what others might miss ⚡ David Ricketts traces history, from Volta to Ørsted and Ampère, following the connection between electricity and magnetism. Full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=z1uOsg2-LTA

What looks like one substance rarely is. 🔍 Baljit Thatti shares how chromatography reveals the hidden components inside everyday materials, helping forensic scientists separate the truth from the mix. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=QW3c4aNXKAE

What happens when matter sits between solid and liquid? Physicist Rachel Edwards explains the science of liquid crystals and switchable privacy windows. Watch the full talk: youtube.com/watch?v=g3MAx1TDEGg

Have you ever noticed a cloud that looked like a familiar object? ☁️ This is a psychological phenomenon called pareidolia. Anomalistic psychology expert Chris French explains how it's related to how our brains perceive the world around us. Watch the full talk here: youtube.com/watch?v=i8mjM3PB_Tk

When you light a candle, it’s the vaporised wax that burns, not the solid or liquid wax 🕯️️ This demo inspired by Faraday's 1848 lecture series "The Chemical History of a Candle" shows how a simple burning candle is a treasure trove of chemistry. Watch the full lecture here: youtu.be/cqTPYoye2J8

We couldn't miss the opportunity to catch up with Tim Peake and ask him all about his time in space, exactly 10 years after mission Principia. 🧑🚀 Here's how to watch the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI: rigb.org/explore-science/explore/blog/how-watch-2025-christmas-lectures-supported-cgi

This demo from the 1800s still blows our minds today 💥 Peter Wothers recreates one of Humphry Davy's signature demos: the potassium volcano.

Aliens, autopsies and a whole lot of hot air 🎈 We visited our friends at the National Space Centre to learn how this fake alien tells a very real story about secrecy, science and sensational headlines. Alien head on loan from the Charles Fort Institute

The Ri is for life, not just for Christmas (Lectures) 🎁 We're here all year-round, giving everyone opportunities to explore science and the fascinating world around us—both in person and online. Follow @rigb.org to stay with us in 2026!

An ancient traveller from deep space has just swept past Earth ☄️ Astronomer Chris Lintott explains how objects like this one may be the key to understanding planet formation.

10 years ago, Tim Peake joined the Christmas Lectures via video link from the International Space Station. Today, he takes centre stage in our Theatre, right here on Earth! 🌍 Tune in at 7.00pm on BBC Four and iPlayer for the grand finale of the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI!

11 km beneath the ocean surface. No sunlight, enormous pressure, and still...life! Space instrumentation expert Carly Howett will reveal how clues about alien life might be hiding right here at home 🌊 Watch the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI, on BBC Four and iPlayer tonight at 7.00pm

Isn’t it amazing that 'shooting stars' are caused by space dust, often the size of a grain of sand?  🌠 We asked Sara Russell, cosmic mineralogy expert from @nhm-london.bsky.social, about different kinds of cool space rocks. Join us tomorrow, 29 December, for Maggie’s second Lecture.

The Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI, are starting TONIGHT! We couldn't wait either, so here is a little sneak peek of what's to come... 🎁 Tune in at 7.00pm on BBC Four and iPlayer to follow Maggie Aderin-Pocock on a fantastic voyage through space, searching for evidence of alien life.

Those 'classic' Solar System diagrams you see in textbooks are wrong… and we can prove it with a clementine 🍊 Don't miss the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI, on 28, 29 and 30 December on BBC Four and iPlayer. Find out more: rigb.org/christmas-lectures

The countdown begins 🚀 Set your reminders for the 2025 Christmas Lectures, supported by CGI: 28, 29 and 30 December at 7.00pm on BBC Four and iPlayer. Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock will take us on a whistle-stop tour of the Universe searching for evidence of extra-terrestrial life.

This instrument is on its way to Mercury right now 🚀 Studying the planet's extreme weather could tell us more about its origins and how it interacts with the Sun.

Astronomers in the 1800s couldn't figure out the nature of the mysterious 'flames' observed during a total solar eclipse. 🔭 This is the story of how a first-of-its-kind photograph put the controversy to rest.

We're not sour about our Guinness World Record being beaten, because this was so much fun 🍋 2016 Christmas Lecturer, Saiful Islam, tells us about a fantastic moment from his series. 🎄 Don't miss the massive 200th anniversary of the Christmas Lectures, on BBC Four late this December.

Exploding bubbles are always a pop-ular demo at our family science shows 🫧💥 Dan Plane, Head of Demo at the Ri, puts the flammable properties of hydrogen into action. Watch the full show here: youtube.com/watch?v=5XOQ-wFF_P4

The cloud chamber shows the natural radiation in the atmosphere. ☢️ Peter Wothers shows how, when the charged alpha particles and smaller beta particles fire through its alcohol-heavy atmosphere, they cause little droplets to form, leaving cloud-like trails. ☁️

Earth's atmosphere was initially rich in hydrogen 🌍 Carl Sagan explained why that changed during his legendary 1977 Christmas Lectures. Watch the whole series in our online archive: rigb.org/explore-science/explore/video/planets-earth-planet-1977

How does carbon dating determine the age of organic material? 🏺 Nanochemist Suze Kundu explains that the technique measures how much of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 has decayed. 🧪 Watch the full talk on the periodic table: youtube.com/watch?v=bgwjnrIL08Y