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 ...

Informatics expert Jane Hillston explores how we model the world around us, and how new algorithms can help us face our resource-hungry modern society. How long is the security queue at the airport ...

From the first electrical transformer to the tube that told us why the sky is blue, view the actual objects scientists of the Royal Institution built in some of the world's most famous experiments.

Light is one of the most interesting aspects of the universe, letting us see and feel the world around us in the most beautiful colours and phenomena. No wonder light is one of the most studied topics ...

Humphry Davy was a chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He was director of the Ri from 1801–1825. Born in Penzance, Sir Humphry Davy attended Truro ...

The Royal Institution was founded to 'introduce new technologies and teach science to the general public through lectures and demonstrations'. We've been connecting people to science for over 200 ...

Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? The answer was first discovered over 150 years ago right here at the Royal Institution using this tube. John Tyndall was a keen mountaineer and spent quite ...

The first ever prototype of Davy’s miner’s safety lamp. Created in 1815, it prevented the methane gas present in the depths of the mines from reacting with the flame and exploding. Following a number ...

The first surviving Faraday apparatus, dating from 1822, demonstrates his work in magnetic rotation. Faraday used this mercury bath to transform electrical energy into mechanical energy, creating the ...

The 2024 CHRISTMAS LECTURES are on BBC Four and iPlayer 29, 30 and 31 December at 9pm, and on our YouTube channel for those outside the UK. In this year’s Christmas Lectures, Dr Chris van Tulleken ...

This vessel consists of glass flasks fitted one inside the other and sealed at the neck with a partial vacuum between them. The central flask is therefore insulated, keeping the contents cold and ...

In 2025 we’re celebrating 200 years of the CHRISTMAS LECTURES and Ri Discourses – both landmark moments in the Ri’s rich history of engaging public audiences with science – as well as the discovery of ...