Unit 3: Work and Energy

When a nuclear reactor is no longer in use, the radioactivity in its materials remains. That’s why it’s important to safely deal with the radioactive waste those plants leave behind.

Learn how people came to understand the source of cosmic radiation, as well as how this radiation impacts those who work in and travel on airplanes.

This backgrounder explains the different ways that cells repair damage to DNA.

Pecking puts a lot of force on a woodpecker’s brain. But scientists think woodpecker bodies are adapted to help keep them from being injured during pecking-related collisions.

Sometimes, power plants make too much electricity. Energy storage technologies can help! They store the extra electricity and release it when demand goes up.

The game of billiards shows the principles of collisions, momentum & impulse, and kinetics at work!

This backgrounder explains the effects of radiation on cells and DNA.

This backgrounder has information about both cosmic & neutron radiation.