When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Awesome Physics

Recirculating Gravity Well

Recirculating Gravity Well

A gravity well is a cone-shaped device that pulls marbles or other small balls into its center like a vortex. JBV Creative built a version of a gravity well connected to an elevator, so as spheres drop through its middle, they head back up to the top and start their journey all over again. It’s incredibly satisfying once he drops thousands of steel balls into it.

Why Does Some Sand Squeak?

Why Does Some Sand Squeak?

We’ve heard the phrase “singing sands” but never really knew what it meant. James from Atomic Frontier headed to Australia to explore why some sand makes a squeaking noise when you walk on it. After putting some of the rare squeaky sand beneath a microscope, he explains how sand dune can make a much larger sound under the right conditions.

Advertisement

Could a Nuclear Submarine Work as a Spaceship?

Could a Nuclear Submarine Work as a Spaceship?

xkcd’s What If? is back with another hypothetical question. This time, a follower asked: “How long could a nuclear submarine last in orbit?” Along the way, you’ll learn if a sub’s hull could withstand the conditions in space, and more importantly, what might happen to its occupants and nuclear reactor.

Can You Blow Your Own Sail? and Other Physics Questions

Can You Blow Your Own Sail? and Other Physics Questions

If you put a powerful fan on a boat and blew it at its sail, would the boat move? Engineer Mark Rober channels Mr. Wizard with a series of experiments and easy-to-understand explanations of this and six other perplexing physics questions. He also debunks a viral video along the way.

Full-Size Flywheel Car

Full-Size Flywheel Car

You know those toy cars that move using a flywheel? The car-chopping madmen of Garage 54 took another rusted-out old Lada and fitted it with such a mechanism. They connected its engine and transmission to the flywheel via a differential, pulley, and belts. After giving the car some gas, let it coast to see how far it would go under flywheel power.

The Infinite Universe Paradox

The Infinite Universe Paradox

Astrophysicists estimate that our universe came into existence roughly 14 billion years ago, and it’s been expanding ever since. Kurzgesagt ponders the question whether the universe is truly infinite if it keeps growing, or if it has an edge somewhere that we just can’t see.

Patterns in Heated Fluids

Patterns in Heated Fluids

When you heat fluids, they typically produce patterns. Science expert Steve Mould built a special rig that lets us see how these turbulent patterns emerge when applying heat. He tested with a few different liquids and particles to visualize these fascinating flows. Things get really interesting when mixing oil with mica.

Advertisement

If You Could Throw a Baseball Near Light Speed

If You Could Throw a Baseball Near Light Speed

Imagine, for a moment, that it was possible to pitch a baseball at 90% of the speed of light. Not only would you easily eliminate the batter, but there would be other major consequences according to this hypothetical physics exploration by the mighty Randall Munroe of xkcd. Weapons makers, don’t get any funny ideas.

Lighting Matches with a Bullet in Slow Motion

Lighting Matches with a Bullet in Slow Motion

Over a decade ago, Destin from Smarter Every Day and his pal John Henry tested the idea that you could light a match with a bullet. Now that he’s got a much better high-speed camera, he and John wanted to revisit the experiment. Once they dialed in the aim, they captured some incredible slow-motion macro footage at speeds up to 380,117 FPS.

Loki TVA Time Cube vs. Human Avatar

Loki TVA Time Cube vs. Human Avatar

Season two of Loki featured one of the nastiest torture devices imaginable. The TVA’s Time Cube shrinks around its subjects until they relent – or die a horrific, squishy death. While Disney+ was relatively tame depicting the prison box’s wrath, Atomic Marvel scratches the itch for more, using a human avatar made up of thousands of tiny particles.

What If the Earth Suddenly Stopped Spinning?

What If the Earth Suddenly Stopped Spinning?

You might not feel it, but the Earth is spinning quite quickly. Depending on your latitude, you could be going more than 1000 MPH. xkcd’s What If? explores what might happen if, all of a sudden, the planet stopped spinning and the atmosphere kept going. Things wouldn’t bode well for living creatures or structures, thanks to the extreme wind and waves.

Slow-Motion Explosion Collisions

Slow-Motion Explosion Collisions

The Slow Mo Guys, Gav and Dan, stopped by the Colorado School of Mines to observe what happens when you fire two identically shaped charges into each other. Their high-speed cameras captured the 15,000 MPH collision in slow motion for us to enjoy. It was really tough to keep the exposure from blowing out because of the intensity of the fireball.

Advertisement

What If Car Races Had No Rules?

What If Car Races Had No Rules?

xkcd’s What If series ponders another viewer-submitted question. With no regard for rules, what would be the fastest way to get a human around a race track 200 times – without killing the driver. After coming up with some creative solutions, it turns out the limiting factor isn’t the vehicle, it’s the person inside of it.

Throwing a Ball on Other Planets

Throwing a Ball on Other Planets

Have you ever wondered how the gravity on different planets might affect your ability to throw a ball? Dr. James O’Donoghue created this infographic that explores how far and high you could toss a ball, assuming no air resistance. Basically, on Mars, Mercury, and Pluto, you could hit a home run without a baseball bat.

Facts About Time

Facts About Time

Time isn’t as simple as what shows up on your phone’s screen. Erin McCarthy of Mental Floss offers up a number of interesting tidbits about the nature of time, how humans perceive its passage, how space and time relate, and the different ways of measuring time itself.

Separating Beans from Dirt

Separating Beans from Dirt

For today’s physics lesson, kids, we will learn about weight, density, and air resistance. In this very short video, we’ll see one worker’s simple yet effective method of separating red beans from dirt. Sure, a machine might be more efficient, but we appreciate this guy’s low-tech solution.

Measuring the Horsepower of a Horse

Measuring the Horsepower of a Horse

Contrary to popular belief, one horse is said to produce about 15 horsepower. But that number is disputed because there’s some question about the accuracy of the original measurements. With the help of Motivo, the guys from Donut came up with a new test: connecting a horse to a dynamometer to measure its true pulling power.

Making a Vacuum-powered Dragster

Making a Vacuum-powered Dragster

Using large syringes, Tom Stanton shows us how the vacuum captured inside can be used to drive gears, a belt, and an axle. The result is a mini dragster that travels an impressive distance compared to the short distance that the syringe’s piston moves.

Why This Medical Saw Can’t Cut Your Skin

Why This Medical Saw Can’t Cut Your Skin

Medical professionals use a special power saw to cut through casts when it’s time to remove them. While the high-speed saw blade slices effortlessly through a hardened cast, it does nothing to your body if it makes contact with your skin. Steve Mould investigates the physics that allows this ingenious device to work without causing bodily harm.

Cars vs. Giant Baseball Bats

Cars vs. Giant Baseball Bats

The vehicle physics simulator BeamNG.drive has given us countless hours of entertainment. In this crazy video from wecrashgames, they pitted various cars, trucks, and vans against a trio of massive baseball bats. Side impacts appear to be easier to escape. Play ball!

Making a Ground Effect Hoverboard

Making a Ground Effect Hoverboard

No matter how much we’ve wanted one, Mattel never made a real-world Hoverboard like the one in Back to the Future II. JLaserVideo built a working hoverboard that can float a couple of inches off the ground. After exploring various kinds of levitation technology and their limitations, he settled on a design that works like an upside-down air hockey table.

Bending Images with a Concave Mirror

Bending Images with a Concave Mirror

When you apply a curve to a mirror, it distorts the image it reflects. In these two videos, Dr. Boyd F. Edwards shows some of the strange visual effects that happen when an object is placed in front of a large concave mirror. Objects can appear upright, inverted, magnified, or minified depending on their distance relative to the mirror’s focal point.

Can an Explosion Change the Path of a Bullet?

Can an Explosion Change the Path of a Bullet?

If you set off an explosion next to a bullet, would the shockwaves affect its path? That’s the question that The Slow Mo Guys and the Colorado School of Mines sought to answer in this fascinating experiment. It took several tries to get the timing right between the explosion and the passing bullet, but it gave them an excuse for more explosions.

ADVERTISEMENT

Home | About | Suggest | Contact | Team | Links | Privacy | Disclosure
Advertise | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Sites We Like

Awesome Stuff: The Awesomer | Cool Cars: 95Octane
Site Design & Content © 2008-2024 Awesomer Media / The Awesomer™