With the a little hydrogen, a few balloons and a couple of makeshift rockets, Valeska Ting launches into an ex‘’, or ‘energy is always conserved’. But what does that mean? Chemical engineer Valeska Ting explains. The 2016 advent calendar explores the four laws of thermodynamics with a new short film each day, with explosive demonstrations, unique animations, and even a musical number. Open the calendar at http://rigb.org/advent?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=201612_channel_advent Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/ Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter