The most explosive science demos - with The Royal Institution
For 200 years, spectacular science demonstrations have lit up the famous theatre at the Royal Institution.This year we’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of the CHRISTMAS LECTURES. And 200 years means there have been a lot of science demonstrations performed in our iconic theatre, bringing the most fascinating science to life.
This session was recorded on the 17th July 2025
So we’ve teamed up with the British Science Association to bring you the very best of them, the cream of the crop, hosted by our expert Ri Demo Team. Our theatre has seen snot-filled fake noses and lightbulbs dipped in liquid nitrogen, animal magnetism and exploding balloons; but what will we see this time?
Join us for a flagship event of British Science Week, help us kick start our special year of Discover200 celebrations with a bang (quite literally), and let’s choose the greatest science demos. Of. All. Time!
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction – 200 Years of Royal Institution Demonstrations
01:12 Faraday’s Candle & The Chemical History of the Candle
09:47 Relighting a Candle with Smoke (Faraday Demo)
15:30 The First Christmas Lectures (1825)
18:10 Thomas Young’s Double Slit Experiment
21:50 Ripple Tank – Visualising Wave Interference
25:40 Waves & Vibrations Machine
28:40 Giant Bubble Experiments & Thin Film Interference
34:30 John Tyndall’s Fire Piston
38:40 Red-Hot Cannonball & Parabolic Mirrors
44:50 Maths Demo – The Gunge Drop
48:50 Newton’s Cradle & Conservation of Energy
51:20 The Pendulum of Doom
55:30 Spinning Chair – Conservation of Angular Momentum
01:02:10 Gyroscope Demonstration
01:06:40 Joseph Swan & The Incandescent Light Bulb
01:10:10 Liquid Nitrogen Light Bulb Demo
01:14:00 Camera Obscura – Early Photography
01:18:20 James Dewar & Cryogenics
01:20:10 Tesla Coil & Glowing Gas Tubes
01:22:30 Plasma – The Fourth State of Matter
01:23:40 Finale & Closing
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