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Chemistry · Physics

Particle Lab

One box of particles: melt and boil it, prove the gas laws, speed up reactions and push an equilibrium around.

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First lesson01 · Everything is made of moving particlesSee all 21 lessons →

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The course

5 worlds · 21 lessons

World 1 · States of Matter

FREESolid, liquid, gas — one box of atoms
  1. 01Everything is made of moving particlesMelting, seen from the inside · 7 min
  2. 02Boiling and evaporationBreaking free from the liquid · 6 min
  3. 03Freezing and orderCooling a liquid into a crystal · 6 min
  4. 04Inside view: molecular dynamicsLennard-Jones atoms and g(r) · 9 min

World 2 · Gas Laws & Kinetic Theory

PROPressure is particles hitting walls
  1. 01What pressure really isMomentum delivered to the walls · 6 minPRO
  2. 02Boyle’s lawP × V stays constant at fixed temperature · 7 minPRO
  3. 03Charles’s lawVolume grows with temperature · 7 minPRO
  4. 04Gay-Lussac’s lawPressure grows with temperature · 6 minPRO
  5. 05PV = nRT and kinetic theoryOne law from particles in motion · 9 minPRO

World 3 · Reaction Rates

PROCollision theory, live
  1. 01Collision theoryHit often, hit hard · 7 minPRO
  2. 02Temperature and rateWhy a little heat goes a long way · 7 minPRO
  3. 03CatalystsA lower hill, the same valley · 6 minPRO
  4. 04Concentration and rateCrowded particles meet more often · 7 minPRO

World 4 · Equilibrium

PROTwo-way reactions and Le Chatelier
  1. 01Dynamic equilibriumBusy, but balanced · 7 minPRO
  2. 02Le Chatelier: add a reactantThe box pushes back · 6 minPRO
  3. 03Le Chatelier: temperatureHeat as a reactant or a product · 7 minPRO
  4. 04Le Chatelier: squeezingFewer particles take less room · 7 minPRO

World 5 · Heat Engines

PRODrive the piston, draw the cycle: Carnot and Otto
  1. 01Squeeze without heatThe first law and adiabatic compression · 10 minPRO
  2. 02Close a Carnot cycleFour reversible legs and η = 1 − Tc/Th · 10 minPRO
  3. 03The Otto cycle: compression ratioWhy petrol engines squeeze hard · 10 minPRO
  4. 04Why no engine beats CarnotTemperature jumps waste work · 10 minPRO
Read first

Guides for Particle Lab

All guides →
Parents
Sun, Earth & MoonScreen Time That Teaches: A Parent Guide for Ages 6–10How to tell active, curious screen time from passive scrolling, how to choose good activities, keep sessions short and talk about them afterwards.3 min read
Explainer
Particle LabStates of Matter: The Particle Model of Solids, Liquids, GasesSee why ice, water and steam are the same particles in different states: how heat sets speed, why liquids evaporate and boil, and why cooling builds crystals.4 min read