Bill Nye: The Science Guy

FavoritedFavorite 29
Disney Channel (ended 1997)

Episode Guide

Add Episode

FILTER BY SEASON

  • Season 5
  • Season 4
  • Season 3
  • Season 2
    • Ep 20
      Respiration
      1/1/07
      9.6
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
      How breathing supplies the body with the oxygen it needs
    • Ep 19
      Atmosphere
      1/1/07
      9.5
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
      Bill Nye explains the atmosphere and the layers that compose it.
    • Ep 18
      Reptiles
      1/1/07
      9.5
      Bill Nye teaches us about reptiles.
    • Ep 17
      Momentum
      9.8
    • Ep 16
      Communication
      9.5
    • Ep 15
      Forest
      1/1/07
      9.5
      Bill Nye talks about forests all over the world. He also explains the various parts of the forest and how they all link together.
    • Ep 14
      Brain
      9.5
      Bill Nye looks at how the brain controls the body and stores information
    • Ep 13
      The Sun
      1/11/10
      0.0
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
    • Ep 13
      Sun
      0.0
      The Sun is huge. It's bigger than huge. It's so big that 1.3 million Earths would fit inside a hollowed-out''Sun. It's really far away, too - about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) Even at that distance the Sun''affects everything on Earth. All the energy we have comes, or once came from, the Sun. That includes''energy to light a lamp, energy to kick a soccer ball, and energy in batteries that play your personal stereo.''We're talking about nearly all of the energy. There's a little bit of energy that comes from nuclear reactions''deep in the Earth's core. But that energy pales compared with the nuclear fusion fueling the Sun. Without''the Sun, the Earth would be a big hunk of rock with nearly nothing on it.''The Sun is made of gas. It has so much gravity that it's atoms are smashed into hot gas. In the sun, atoms''of gas are constantly crashing into each other. When they collide, they form new atoms and release energy.''Scientists call this atom smashing "nuclear fusion," and it gives off a lot of energy. A very small portion''of this energy beams straight through space to Earth, giving living things like us the power to live, grow''and eat.moreless
    • Ep 12
      Balance
      1/1/07
      9.5
      Bill Nye's going to use the force to pull you into the world of balance.''''A force is a push or a pull. You can feel a force when someone pushes you. You can use a force to pull a door shut. Anyone can make forces by pushing and pulling, and you don't need to be Luke Skywalker to use a force.''''In a game of tug-of-war, if the pull of your team is the same as the pull of the other team, the forces are equal. The two teams are in balance, and the rope doesn't budge. Things are in balance when forces that are pushing or pulling them are equal.''''If your tug-of-war team pulls harder than the other team, the forces are not equal. The other team falls all over the place. Unequal forces make things move and twist. A lot of things are designed to take advantage of unequal forces. Wrenches, screwdrivers, door handles, and water faucets use forces made by you to do work.''''A well-balanced science diet starts with Bill Nye.moreless
    • Ep 11
      Insects
      1/1/07
      9.5
      Bill Nye's not here to bug you - he just wants to tell you about insects.''''Do you know when you're looking at an insect? All insects have six legs, three body segments, antennae, and an exoskeleton. Insects don't have bones. Instead, they have hard shells called exoskeletons. Like a little suit of armor, an exoskeleton protects the insect's body and also keeps it from drying out. Although people call any crawling critter with an exoskeleton a "bug", the "true bugs" are insects that have special mouth parts for piercing and sucking. And, spiders are not bugs or even insects. They're built differently with only two main body parts and eight legs instead of six.''''If you think you have a wild time growing up, take a look at an insect's life. Most insects go through at least four stages of growth -- egg (little round thing), larva (a bit like a worm), pupa (insect in a cocoon), and adult. It's a long road to maturity for an insect.''''Everyone's buzzing about the "Insects" episode. Don't miss it.moreless
    • Ep 10
      Heat
      9.8
      Things sure are heating up at Nye Labs.''''Snow cones, flowers, hot dogs, people -- everything is made of molecules. No matter what they're in, solid, liquid, or gas, molecules are always moving, even if just a little bit. The speed of the molecules depends on their temperature. Cold things have slow-moving molecules, while hot things have fast-moving molecules. In fact, temperature is really a measurement of molecule speed. For a cold thing to get warm, its molecules have to speed up.''''Heat moves in three different ways -- conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the flow of heat between two solid objects that are touching. Heat conducts from your warm fingertips into a cold can of soda. Convection is the transfer of heat with a liquid or gas. A hot bath feels warm all over not just where you're sitting. Convection also happens naturally. When air gets warmed by a hot burner, it's molecules speed up and spread out. Then, cold air molecules squeeze the warm spread-out molecules up. That's why people say hot air rises. It's natural convection. Radiation is when heat beams or radiates from a warm object to cold surroundings. Sit in front of a window at night. Hold your hand up with your palm facing the window, then twist your wrist so your palm faces inside. You'll feel the heat radiate from your hand into the dark outside.''''Bill Nye the Science Guy shows you that the science of heat is hot.moreless
    • Ep 9
      Ocean Currents
      1/1/07
      9.8
      Surf's up! Get the current information as Bill Nye explains''why oceans are salty and explores the ocean currents.''''Go with the flow of ocean currents with Bill Nye the Science Guy.''''Most of the Earth is covered with water - we're talking 71% of the entire Earth, and most of that water is in oceans. It depends how you count, but you cay say that there are five oceans on Earth - the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian, the Arctic, and the Antarctic. They are all connected into one World Ocean by the flow of ocean currents.''''Ocean water is moving around all the time. Some of the moving water forms rivers in the ocean.''''Oceanographers, scientists who study oceans, call these rivers of ocean water "currents". Currents help sea animals move around, they bring up deep ocean water with lots of nutrients for small animals to eat, and they push warm and cold water around, creating different climates in the oceans.''''As the sea surface gets warmed by the Sun, water evaporates, but salt stays in the sea. The salt makes the water heavier, and it sinks, squeezing other masses of water up. Wind blowing over sea drags huge expanses of ocean water all over the planet. Without ocean currents, our weather, our world, would look very different.''''In the sea of science shows, the Science Guy show knows how to flow.moreless
    • Ep 8
      Bones and Muscle
      1/1/07
      9.5
      In this show, you can Bone up on Muscles.''When you clicked on the Nye Labs web site to read this, you used your bones and muscles. Without them,''you can't click, surf, or even sigh. Bones and muscles work together, or you aren't going anywhere.''Muscles always pull, even when you push on something like a door somewhere in your body your arm''and leg muscles are in tension. They are all attached to bones, and those bones are pushing; they're in''compression. By pulling on bones you can breathe, talk, and move all over the world.''Your bones support your weight like beams of steel or wood. They're stiff and strong. Rigid as they might''seem though, they do flex. And, if you bang one hard enough, it swells up. You have a lump. That's because''bones are full of blood vessels. Bones are not solid like rocks or skeletons in a dinosaur museum. Bones''flex and grow. In fact, putting healthy amounts of stress on your bones is good for them. The flexing helps''them get nutrients and stay strong through your whole life''Your muscles are bundles of fibers. As you use your muscles, the fibers absorb nutrients from your blood.''If you work your muscles hard, your muscle cells absorb extra nutrients and they grow strong. Bones and''muscles let us push, pull, breathe, and dance. Go flex your muscles. You'll know it's good for you; you'll''feel it in your bones.''Bill Nye uses his bones and muscles to pull you into this show!moreless
    • Ep 7
      Light Optics
      1/11/10
      0.0
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
    • Ep 7
      Light Optics, Bending, and Bouncing
      1/1/07
      9.5
      Don't stay in the dark - Bill Nye will help you absorb the science of light optics.''Light is energy that normally moves in a straight line, but often something gets in the way. When light runs''into something, three things can happen - the light can bounce off, it can go through, or it can be absorbed.''Often all three things happen at the same time.''Light bounces off mirrors. You see yourself in a mirror when light bounces off your face, into the mirror,''and then into your eyes. Light goes through glass. If the glass is bent or curved, the light gets bent on''its way out of the glass. The glass in a magnifying glass or a pair of eyeglasses is curved so that it bends''light, making things look bigger. More light is absorbed by dark-colored things than by light-colored things.''Colors are made when some light is absorbed while other light is bounced back. Black things look black''because when light hits them, they absorb almost all of the light. In outer space, there are objects with''so much mass, so much material in them, that their gravity can bend the path of beams of light.''Be sure to brighten your day with Bill Nye the Science Guy.moreless
    • Ep 6
      Food Web
      1/1/07
      6.1
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
      Feeling a little hungry? Then grab a snack and watch Bill Nye the Science Guy's episode on the''Food Web.''When it comes to eating, all living things depend on other living things. Take a chicken sandwich, for''example. The bread came from plants. So did the lettuce and tomatoes. The cheese was made from milk,''which came from a cow. To make milk, the cow had to stay alive by eating grass. The meat came from''a chicken who once ate seed, and maybe the occasional bug. The animals that helped to make your''sandwich depended on other living things to survive. The lettuce, grain (for the bread), and tomato got''by fine on their own. Then some animal came along (you).''Plants are the only big living things that don't need other living things to survive. All they need are sunlight,''carbon dioxide, and water to make their own food. But it doesn't stop them from being eaten -- no way.''In fact, plants are great things to eat. All animals need them in some way for food by the way, don't''forget that, without plants, there would be no oxygen to breathe.''The lives of living things are intertwined -- that's why we scientists call it a food web. Mice are eaten by''bats, snakes, birds, and foxes, to name a few. Insects are eaten by other insects, birds, snakes, cats, rats,''raccoons, and even humans. All living things on the Earth's surface need plants. The cool part about the''food web is that living things are made of other living things. It's a cycle -- you're either eating or being''eaten.''Bill Nye the Science Guy will get you all tangled up in the food web.moreless
    • Ep 4
      Chemical Reactions
      1/1/07
      9.8
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
      Bill is practically exploding with excitement about the "Chemical Reactions" show.''Every single thing around you is made of chemicals. Plants, rocks, computers, food, and you are bunches''of chemicals. All chemicals are built with elements, the 109 different symbols on the Periodic Table. Different''combinations of elements make different chemicals.''Lots of times, chemicals just sit around, but sometimes, when certain chemicals get together, they react.''Chemical reactions take the starting chemicals and end up with new chemicals. Sometimes chemical''reactions are hard to miss. Explosions, burning, color changes, and gas are all good signs that a reaction''is going on. Some chemical reactions are less obvious - changes in temperature, a different smell, or''differences in taste are clues that a chemical reaction is happening. The key is to figure out if you could''get back the same chemicals you put in. If the answer is no, you've got a chemical reaction on your hands.''Just be sure to wash it off!''With Bill Nye the Science Guy, chemical reactions are a blast.moreless
    • Ep 2
      Earth's Crust
      1/1/07
      9.8
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
      Don't just go with the flow. Settle down on the crust.''Imagine a world without any crust. There would be no pies, just goopy filling, no bread, no hamburger''buns, and no you or me. That's right. You, and every living thing we know of, live on or in the Earth's crust.''And, living things need the Earth's crust to survive. Let's look at the science of the surface.''By carefully studying the Earth's surface, scientists have discovered that the Earth is made up of gigantic''layers. At the center of the Earth, there is a core a big ball of solid metal mostly iron.''The core is surrounded by a layer of liquid iron and other minerals. We usually just call it the outer core.''The next layer, around the outer core is called the mantle. You may have seen a mantle above a fireplace.''Well, the mantle is above the Earth's hot core places. The mantle is gooey hot nearly melted rock that''flows the way asphalt does on a hot summer day. Scientists often say that the mantle is plastic. It bends.''We call the mantle's nearly liquid rock magma. When magma flows onto the surface, on top of the crust,''we call it lava.''The Earth's crust is thin, only about 100 kilometers thick. If the Earth were the size of a peach, the crust''would only be as thick as the peach's skin (and not as fuzzy). If the Earth hadn't cooled enough for the''crust to form on its surface, we wouldn't be here. Neither would any living thing we know of.''Scientists have never been able to dig or drill down through the crust to the mantle. Driving 100 kilometers''is easy. Drilling that far through solid rock is hard. Well, it's solid rock. But, we can study the inside of the''Earth by observing volcanoes and geysers. The heat that melts rock into magma, and turns underground''water into steam, comes from under the crust.''We haven't even begun to scratch the surface. Watch Bill Nye the Science Guy to find out more about''"The Earth's Crust."moreless
    • Ep 1
      Magnetism
      1/1/07
      9.5
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
      They're on your refrigerator, they're inside your computer, and you're even standing on one right''now. They're magnets, and forget about being repulsed. Bill Nye the Science Guy's "Magnetism" episode''is totally attractive.''All magnets have certain things in common. All magnets have two poles - north and south. You could''take a magnet and break it into pieces and all of the pieces would have north and south poles. Ever play''with two magnets? If you hold them with one magnet's north pole facing the other's south pole, they will''stick together. If you put two of the same poles together, the magnets will push apart. With magnets,''opposite poles attract, and "like" poles repel.''Ever wonder why the Earth has a North and South Pole? The Earth's hot, churning, iron core is like a giant''magnet. The magnetic force of the Earth stops a lot of harmful radiation from reaching us. Charged''particles streaming from the Sun get pulled down by the Earth's magnetic field, creating the Northern and''Southern Lights. Near the Arctic and Antarctic the sky often glows with beautiful colors. Magnets are used''to make electricity. Video and audio cassette tapes are made with plastic that is magnetized. Computer''disks store data with magnetized coatings. Television screens control beams of electrons with magnets.''All compasses have a magnet inside that lines up with the Earth's magnet.''Don't forget to watch the "Magnetism" show - Bill Nye's science can really stick with you.moreless
  • Season 1
    • Ep 25
      Static Electricity
      1/1/07
      9.8
      Bill's all charged up about the "Static Electricity" show.''It happens to all of us. You're causally walking along, maybe dragging your feet a little, when you reach''out to shake a friend's hand and - ZAP! Both you and your friend get shocked. The spark is static electricity,''a buildup of charged electrons.''Electrons are a part of all atoms, the building blocks of all stuff, including you and me. All electrons have''a negative charge. Negatively charged electrons push away from other negatively charged electrons. Like''charges repel each other. When electrons build up in an area, a charge builds up, and it's just waiting to''be released. This buildup of charge is called static electricity.''Charges can jump around between things, especially when things are rubbed together. When you drag''your feet on the carpet, electrons from the carpet jump onto you. As the charge builds up, the electrons''get too close to each other, and they need a place to escape. They get their chance when you touch''something or someone else. The electrons jump onto your pal, making both of you jump at the electric''shock.''Watch the "Static Electricity" episode it's shocking!.moreless
    • Ep 23
      Blood and Circulation
      1/1/07
      9.8
      It's time for a heart-to-heart talk about blood and circulation with Bill Nye the Science Guy.''Your blood is your bud. Without blood, your skin would dry up and fall off, your internal organs would die,''and your brain would be kaput. Blood gives every cell in your body the food and oxygen it needs to survive.''Blood also cleans up after our cells by carrying away waste. Blood even protects your body from disease.''What more could you ask from a friend?''Blood patrols your entire body. Blood is pushed around by a powerful pump called the heart. Every time''your heart lub-dubs, blood is propelled through tubes called arteries, capillaries, and veins. Your heat''pushes your blood in a complete loop around your body about 2,000 times every day.''Your heart is a muscle, and, like all muscles, it can get stronger. A healthy heart needs exercise to stay''strong. An average heart pumps about 70 times a minute, but a healthy, well-exercised heart pumps 50''or 60 times a minute. Healthy hearts don't have to work as hard to move your blood around. Now that's''pumped up!''Be sure to watch the "Blood and Circulation" episode, because Bill Nye really takes science to heart.moreless
    • Ep 22
      Wind
      1/1/07
      9.8
      Some answers, my friend, do in fact, blow in the wind.''A cool breeze is great on a hot summer day. A cold winter wind can chill you until you can't stop shivering.''Where does all that wind come from? It starts with the Sun. Energy from the Sun warms the Earth and''the atmosphere, the air, above it. As the world turns into darkness each night, the atmosphere cools off.''The molecules in a mass of warm air are more spread out than the molecules of air in a cold air mass.''So cold air is heavier than warm air. Cool air masses squeeze warm air up. That's why you may hear''people say, "Warm air rises." The Sun warms the Earth with huge amounts of heat each day. And, the''Earth is spinning. So, as air masses move up and down, they get nudged sideways along the Earth's''surface at the same time. Try drawing a straight line on a spinning ball. It'll curve. The same thing happens''to make wind.''Air travels all over the Earth moving across deserts, up and down mountains, through valleys, and over''the oceans. These features churn the atmosphere and make wind as well, picking up and releasing water.''That's why it rains, snows, sleets, and hails.''To survive, we humans have to handle tornadoes, hurricanes, and typhoons every year. There is a huge''amount of energy in the wind. That's why humans harness the wind's energy with sails, wind turbines''(windmills), and kites.''What Bill Nye will show about the wind will blow you away.moreless
    • Ep 20
      Eyeball
      1/1/07
      9.8
      Look no further ... Bill Nye is on the ball - the eyeball.''For their small size, your eyes do an important job. By working with your brain, your eyes can tell the''difference between thousands of different colors. They can follow a fast-moving hockey puck across the''ice. They are even sending messages to your brain about what you're reading right now. Eyes work a lot''like a camera. They take in light, focus light, and make images. With help from the brain, your eyes help''understand the world around you.''Light bouncing into your eye passes through an opening called the pupil. If you look in the mirror, your''pupil is the black area in the middle of your eye. The pupil can open or close, depending on the brightness''of the light. After passing the pupil, the light is focused onto the back of your eye by the lens, a thin layer''of cells. On the back of your eye are special cells called rods and cones that are sensitive to light. These''cells send electrical messages to your brain through your big optic nerves. Having two eyes lets us look''at the same features from two slightly different angles. We can see how far away things are. Then it's up''to your brain to decipher what exactly you're looking at.''The "eyes" have it -- Bill Nye's "Eyeball" episode is outta site!moreless
    • Ep 19
      Outer Space
      1/1/07
      9.9
      The show is way out there, way far away. After all, it's in Outer Space.''When you look at the night sky on a clear dark night, you can see thousands of stars. There are far more''than you could count. And, they are way out there. They are very, very far away. It's about the hardest''thing to imagine about space. Let's talk about the nearest star to us, the Sun. If somehow outer space''were not an icy cold vacuum with nothing to eat, drink, or breathe, and we could drive there in a car, to''get to the Sun at freeway speed of 100 kilometers/hour (61 miles/hour), it would take171 years of driving''without stopping to sleep or get gas out in the near nothingness of space. That's just to the Sun. To get''to even the closest star, Proxima Centauri, would take 40,000 years. On top of that, most things, billions''and billions of stars, are much, much farther away than that! It is just astonishing.''How do we know that everything is so far away? We have watched the sky for centuries. By watching''carefully the motions of the points of light across the sky, humans have been able to estimate how far''away objects are. It took us years, and years, but you can watch this episode in less than 29 minutes.''Bill might seem a little far out in this episode. Maybe he's getting spacey.moreless
    • Ep 18
      Electricity
      1/1/07
      9.5
      It's time for Bill Nye to shed a little light on electricity.''Electricity might seem mysterious, but once you understand the science the light goes on (so to speak).''You flip a switch, and the lights turn on. You push the play button, and your personal stereo starts playing''music. When you flip the switch or push play, you start a flow of electrons. Electricity is the flow of''electrons, and electrons are very tiny charged particles. Electrons are found in atoms, the tiny pieces that''all stuff is made from. We can make electrons flow in two ways. Batteries make electricity by mixing up''chemicals -- making a chemical reaction that forces electrons to move in a path from the battery to the''personal stereo and back to the battery. Electricity that turns on lights in your home is made by power''plants. Most power plants use big machines called generators to make electrons by twirling wire in a''magnet. The magnet makes electrons in the wire move around, creating electricity. Electrons really know''how to go with the flow.''Electricity sure gets Bill charged up, so be sure to watch the show!moreless
    • Ep 17
      Cells
      1/1/07
      9.8
      You can't see them, but they're everywhere even inside Bill Nye. This is not science fiction, it's the''science of cells.''All things that live are made from cells. You can't see them, but every part of your body, including everything''inside your body, is made from cells. Cells eat, they grow, and they make more of themselves (what''scientists call replicate).''There are millions of different types of cells. Dog cells are different from fish cells. Bird cells are different''from your cells. And inside your body, there are many different cells, each one doing a different job to''keep your body going.''Cells may be tiny, but without them, we'd be nothing.moreless
    • Ep 16
      Light and Color
      1/1/07
      9.8
      Lighten up. It's the "Light and Color" episode.''Without light, we wouldn't be able to see. It would be like living in a room with no windows, doors, or''lamps. There's an old saying, "We don't see things; we see light bouncing off of things." We see things,''and colors, when light bounces off things and into our eyes. White light, like the light from the Sun, is''made up of all the different colors of light blended together. When white light hits something white, almost''all of the light bounces into our eyes, and we see the color white.''Things are different colors because some light bounces off and other light gets absorbed.''An orange is orange because it absorbs all different colors of light except orange light.''Grass is green because it absorbs all different colors of light except green light.''Bill Nye's lab coat is blue because it absorbs all different colors of light except blue light. All colors,''including black, are made in the same way. It's just a matter of reflecting or absorbing light.''Science will "color" your world with Bill Nye the Science Guy.moreless
    • Ep 15
      Earth's Seasons
      1/1/07
      9.8
      It doesn't matter if it's spring, summer, winter, or fall - Bill Nye is always in season.''Every year, we experience the seasons. Some months have snow and rain, while other months have''warmth and sunshine. Temperatures go from cold, to woarm, to cold again winter, spring, summer, and''fall. The cycle of the seasons takes one year, and the Earth takes one year to go around the sun.''Coincidence? No way.''The Earth's orbit around the Sun is flat, as though our planet were spinning over a tabletop. Compared''with flat plane of its orbit, the Earth is tilted. Its axis, the imaginary line between the North and South''Poles, is tipped over a bit. In June, the north half of the Earth (the Northern Hemisphere) is tilted toward''the Sun, and it's summertime in places like Nye Labs in the United States. Meanwhile, the south half (the''Southern Hemisphere) is tilted away from the Sun, and it's winter there, in places like Australia and South''Africa.''The Earth's orbit isn't quite a perfect circle. It's like a circle that's been squeezed a little. It changes the''Earth's distance from the Sun. We're closest to the Sun in December, when it's summer in the Southern''Hemisphere. The tilt affects the seasons more than the slightly oblong orbit.''Neither rain, nor sleet, nor wind, nor snow can stop Bill Nye or the Earth's Seasons.moreless
    • Ep 14
      Structures
      1/1/07
      9.6
      Are you tense? Need some structure to your life? Then tune in to Bill Nye the Science Guy as he''explains the science of structures.''All structures give support or create a shape. You can find structures everywhere. Bridges, buildings,''chairs, shoes, plants, spiderwebs, tables, and even your own body are all structures. A structure's shape,''size, and what it's made of depend on what the structure does and how strong it needs to be.''When structures give support, they either experience a pull (tension) or a push (compression). Structures''in tension, such as ropes, cables, or blimps are made from stuff that is good at pulling. The materials in''tension are usually thin. Structures under compression, such as elephant legs and courthouse columns,''are made from hard stiff stuff. Compared to structures under tension, structures under compression are''much thicker. When it comes to structures, form (the size and shape) depends on function (what it does).''Build support for Bill by watching the "Structures" episode.moreless
    • Ep 13
      Garbage
      1/1/07
      9.8
      Bill Nye explains garbage and how it is a growing concern. He also demonstates ways of reducing the amount of garbage produced.
    • Ep 12
      Sound
      1/1/07
      9.8
      Listen up, scientists. Bill Nye is here to make some noise in the "Sound" episode.''Your vocal cords do it. Speakers playing rock music do it. Even a school bell does it. They all vibrate; and''that's how sound is made. Plucking a stretched rubber band makes the rubber band vibrate. Air molecules''around the rubber band move, pushing other air molecules. As the rubber band continues to vibrate, it''sends waves of sound through the air. It's a lot like the ripples you see when you drop a rock into a pond.''You hear sound when rippling air pushes on tiny bones in your ears. Nerves in your ears send a message''to your brain about the sound you're hearing.''Different sounds make different patterns of waves with different distances between them. Plucking,''banging, whispering, and yelling are all vibrations in air, yet they all sound very different. Sound vibrations''can be thought of as waves moving through molecules. Low-pitched sounds have big gaps between''waves, while high-pitched sounds have waves that are bunched together. Loud sounds have more''molecules moving and more energy than soft sounds.''Sound is much more than music. It's not just noise...it's science.moreless
    • Ep 11
      Moon
      1/1/07
      9.8
      Let the moon master Bill Nye teach you the ancient and not-so-ancient secrets of the Moon.''Wax on, wax off. The Moon grows bigger (waxes) and smaller (wanes) every 30 days or so. The word''"month" comes from the word "moon". The Moon is the closest thing in space to Earth, and it's one of''the most well-studied orbs in our solar system. We know that Moon rocks are rich in calcium and aluminum,''that the Moon has no atmosphere, and that there are over a million craters on the Moon's surface. The''Moon doesn't glow on its own, it reflects sunlight.''Watch the Moon every night for a month as it grows, shrinks, and at one point disappears. The Moon''doesn't actually change it's shape. It's the way the sun shines on the part of the Moon we see that makes''the phases change. The Earth moves around the Sun, the Moon moves around the Earth. As the Moon''moves through its orbit, the Sun shines on bigger or smaller portions of it. If you were looking at the Moon''from the Sun, it would always be full, as long as the Earth weren't in the way.''Bill Nye and the Moon - it's lunar lunacy.moreless
    • Ep 10
      Simple Machines
      1/1/07
      9.8
      Learning about science can be hard work, but simple machines can make it easier. Let Bill Nye''push and pull you around ramps, levers, screws, and pulleys.''Simple machines simply make work easier by directing forces over distances. Instead of lifting a heavy''box upstairs, you can hook it to some ropes and pulleys and pull it up. Or you can get a ramp and slide''it upstairs. Either way, it's less sweat to use the pulleys or the ramp than it is to lift the box straight up''by yourself because the force you need is more spread out. Levers, ramps, screws, wheels, wedges, and''pulleys are all simple machines designed to direct forces.''With simple machines we don't have to push or pull as hard, but we have to push or pull over a longer''distance. It's easier to walk up a long set of stairs to the top of the Empire State Building than it would''be to climb a ladder to the top, but the set of stairs would be much longer than the ladder.''Simple machines are simply scientific.moreless
    • Ep 9
      Biodiversity
      1/1/07
      9.7
      Ecosystems are areas where things live. Ecosystems that are biodiverse are home to a variety of''plants and animals. A healthy ecosystem is one with a lot of biodiversity.''Imagine if humans could only eat one kind of food, say corn. We'd be in big trouble if all the corn''disappeared. Besides not having anything to munch on at the movies, we'd have nothing to eat at all.''Luckily, our ecosystem covers a big part of the Earth, and there are lots of different plants to eat. Ecosystems''are not as simple as one living thing eating another, as the corn example. The lives of animals and plants''are intertwined - what happens to one animal can have an impact on all sorts of living things.''As humans, we have a big effect on the other living things around us. We are the only animals to leave''lots of stuff around, such as houses, cars, and malls. It's important for us to think about the choices we''make and how they will affect the other living things around us. Remember: The Earth is not just our home,''it's home to all living things. Without those other living things, there would be no you or me.moreless
    • Ep 8
      Phases of Matter
      1/1/07
      7.8
      Bill Nye is going through a phase - a phase of matter. Check out the "Phases of Matter" episode''to find out about rock-solid solids, liquidy liquids, and gassy gases. It's phase-tastic!''Everything around us is made of stuff called matter, and all matter is made of atoms. Matter is anything''that comes in three varieties, what scientists call phases. There are solids like rocks, cookies, and desks.''There are liquids like water, honey, and juice. And there are gases, we breathe air and the helium in''balloons. The main difference between the three phases is how fast the matter's atoms move.''All atoms move around because they have energy. The more energy that's in something, the faster the''atoms move. Atoms in an ice cube don't move very much - they're frozen in place. The atoms in liquid''water slip and slide around - that's why you can pour it and spill it. Water vapor atoms are moving pretty''fast - that's why they float around in air (a mixture of other gasses). Changing an object's phase of matter''is just a matter (ha, ha) of adding energy to atoms or taking it away.''Heating adds energy to atoms, and cooling takes energy away from atoms. If you fried an ice cube in a''pan on a stove, you would see all three phases of matter - ice cube, liquid water, and water vapor.''Watch the "Phases of Matter" show and your science will be solid!moreless
    • Ep 7
      Digestion
      1/1/07
      9.8
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
      Take time to digest this show.''They say that your food is no more inside you than a pencil is inside a donut, when it's poked through''the hole. Instead of the food going in you, food goes through you. But, all the energy you get to live and''grow comes from your food. All the chemicals that become your body and brain as you get bigger, come''from your food. You get these vital chemicals through a process called "digestion." Your body breaks''food down and grabs all the nutrients you need from it. Then, your body gets rid of what's left over.''Digestion starts in your mouth. You begin breaking food down by breaking it into pieces with your teeth''and jaw muscles. Your saliva (your spit) is full of chemicals that react with the chemicals in food and''make them break apart. Then you swallow. Your food goes down a tube (your esophagus) to your stomach,''where powerful hydrochloric acid breaks it down further into a mushy mash we call chime (kime). From''there, the chime goes into your intestines, and that's where your body starts to absorb the nutrients you''need. Eating is complicated. For your body to have energy to do work, your digestive system has to do''some work. So take care of it. Then, you'll have energy to play.''Chew it up; soak it in acid; use those chemicals to watch Bill.moreless
    • Ep 6
      Gravity
      1/1/07
      9.8
      go
      iTunes
      Buy
      Next time you throw a ball in the air, and it doesn't fly off into outer space, thank gravity.''Right now, you and everything in the room where you are, is getting pulled down by gravity. If you don't''believe it, push a book of your desk. It will go plummeting toward the center of the Earth. It's gravity. The''Earth's mass, the stuff it's made of, creates gravity. It's pulling down on you and every other object you''can see; it's even pulling down on the air and the ocean. Not only that, you and every atom of every thing''around you has gravity. So, the objects and atoms are all, ever so slightly, pulling up on the Earth!''Without gravity, there would be no weight. When you step on a bathroom scale, the scale is getting''squeezed between you and the Earth. The scale measures how strong this mutual attraction is. Gravity''makes a force that pulls objects together.''Not only is gravity pulling on every atom and molecule of everything around us, it pulls over huge, gigantic''distances. The planets are held in the orbits around the Sun by gravity. The Sun's mass and the mass of''the Earth create enough gravity to hold us in orbit, even though we're 150 million kilometers away. The''gravity for the Earth, all the other planets in our Solar System, and all the stars and galaxies in the Universe''has been pulling steadily for billions of years.''Since gravity only pulls, and since gravity pulls on every speck of matter, when there's enough matter in''one place like a planet or moon, gravity makes them form into a ball or sphere. The reason the Earth, the''Moon, the Sun, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto are all round is that their own gravity pulls evenly in all directions''at once.''Bill Nye pulls you into this show with Gravity!moreless
    • Ep 5
      Bouyancy
      1/1/07
      9.9
      A hot-air balln ride and a trip to the aquarium help Bill Nye explain why things float
    • Ep 4
      Skin
      1/1/07
      9.3
      Learning about skin science is no sweat.''It's gigantic. It's gargantuan. It's your skin. It's your body's biggest organ. If you could lay your skin out''flat, it would cover about one and a half square meters. Your skin stops you from drying out, protects you''from the weather, and keeps bacteria and viruses from getting inside your body.''Your skin is also your personal air conditioner and heater all in one. Sweating cools you off. When you're''hot, glands in your skin push a mixture of water and other chemicals onto the surface of your skin. When''the water evaporates, it takes some of the heat with it, and you're cooler. When you're too cold, your skin''muscles start twitching. Shivering makes your body warm up.''Without skin, you wouldn't be able to feel the difference between a sheet of paper and a wool blanket.''There are thousands of touch receptors inside skin. When you touch the remote control, the receptors''send information about the remote's temperature, thickness, and feel of the buttons to your brain. Your''brain makes decisions about what to do with the remote control. But here's hoping your brain would never''tell you to turn the channel while the Skin show is on...right?moreless
    • Ep 3
      Dinosaurs
      1/1/07
      9.7
      We can dish the real dirt about dinosaurs, thanks to fossils - traces of theses astonishing animals.''Dinosaurs did not print newspapers. They did not take family snapshots or videos 65 million years ago.''The only proof scientists have of dinosaurs is their fossils, especially bones. They would never have''survived billions of years waiting for some human to trip over them. Luckily for paleontologists (scientists''who study the past), now and then dinosaurs died, and their bones were covered by mud, or sand. As''the bones sat protected from weather, they absorbed minerals from the soil around them. The minerals''chemically worked their way into the bones. Millions of years later, we can find them and dig them up.''Humans were not around to see what actually killed the ancient dinosaurs. Many scientists think a''meteorite, or lots of meteorites, crashed into the Earth. When the space rocks hit the ground, they made''big craters and kicked up a lot of dust and dirt. If enough dust flew into the air, sunlight couldn't get''to Earth, and the plants died off. Without plants for food and oxygen, the dinosaurs died. The meteorite''impact is just a theory, but a very, very good one. We may never be sure what really happened because,''as this episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy points out: dinosaurs and humans did not live at the same''time!moreless
    • Ep 1
      Flight
      1/1/06
      9.0
      Things that fly need air. Even though we walk through it, breathe it, and sneeze it, air seems to be a whole bunch of nothing. But air is there, and it's powerful. Balloons inflate because air presses on the insides and outsides of the balloon. Air pressure in tires supports the weight of bikes, buses, trucks, cars, and planes. But air doesn't need to be inside something to exert pressure. Air that moves around pushes, too.''What do birds, planes, kites, Frisbees, and helicopters have in common? They fly because moving air creates lift, or a push up. Airplane wings are shaped to push air down. The momentum of the air going down pushes wings up. Air above the wing gets going faster than the air underneath. Fast-moving air zips along, without pushing as hard side to side or up and down. The slow air pushes up from below harder than the fast air pushes down from above ... and you're airborne!''Every flying thing, from the tiniest flying insect to the biggest airplane, uses momentum and these differences in air pressure to fly. The pressure force is called the Bernoulli Effect, named after the scientist who discovered it. Without it, we'd be grounded.''So don't miss the "Flight" show -- where Bill Nye takes you up, up, and awaaaay.moreless

Related Shows

TV Listings

Full Listings
BROWSE | Shows | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | TV.com Blog

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use