Awesome Physics

Normally, when you knock over dominoes, they stay down. But is it possible to create a domino that stands itself back up using the energy that toppled it? The Action Lab explores this very possibility with some unique 3D-printed dominoes. You can grab the 3D models on Thingiverse if you want to play with them for yourself.

Aerospace engineer Tom Stanton has a thing for flywheels. Here, he first shows us how to build a flywheel that spins smoothly thanks to magnetic levitation, then how that spinning action can be used to generate a small amount of electricity and capture it via copper induction coils.

(Gore) The idea of dropping a crowd of people into a helicopter blade from above is some pretty warped stuff. But as we’ve seen before, CG animator atomic marvel isn’t squeamish about turning anatomical avatars into digital mincemeat. The guy standing over the middle of the rotor gets to take the longest ride.

When space junk falls towards Earth, it’s supposed to burn up in the atmosphere. This video from the ESA simulates the conditions of re-entry on a satellite’s solar array plasma wind tunnel. Satellite operators are required to minimize the risk of casualties from falling debris, and this kind of testing can help reduce such risks.

The vast majority of still and video images captured today are shot with digital equipment. But for more than 150 years, film was king. Destin from Smarter Every Day offers a deep dive into the physics and chemistry of film photography, along with some thoughts on the upsides of using the analog medium vs. digital.

While playing around with the physics capabilities of 3D graphics software Blender, Atomic Marvel decided to test its ability to simulate hundreds of thousands of magnetic balls. And the recipient of said balls? None other than your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Now Magnetic Games needs to do this with real magnets.

A sailboat sailing straight downwind can only match the speed of the wind and never exceed it. But is it possible that a vehicle powered by wind could defy this limitation of physics? Derek from Veritasium risked life and limb to test just that, as he took a ride in an experimental three-wheeler called Blackbird.

Inspired by science instructor Bruce Yeany, YouTuber NightHawkInLight wanted to see if he could cook a hot dog while it floated in the air. NightHawk improved on Yeany’s compressed air levitation, using a nichrome and copper coil to heat his wiener instead of a blowtorch.

With the help of the guys at the Magnet Tricks channel, Magnetic Games shows off a neat effect that occurs when placing tiny magnets between a block of pyrolytic graphite and a strong magnet aimed at them from at a distance. These mini magnets spin, dance, and shuffle about, and can even levitate off of the surface.

A while back, Hacksmith Industries built a working lightsaber with a terrifying 4000º plasma blade. Now James is here to test whether there’s a safe way to put his hand into its beam, along with a lesson on the physics of heat transfer.

A while back, YouTuber Mr. Michal showed off a simple railway he built from coils of wire, batteries, and magnets. Now, he’s back with a much longer and more complex train set that still operates on the same electromagnetic principles. This time, the track measures in at over 20 meters long, or about 66 feet.

We all know that inhaling helium can make your voice higher, and many of you know that sulfur hexafluoride can make it sound deeper. But Cody’s Lab is here to demonstrate what happens when you breathe in perfluorobutane, a non-toxic gas that’s almost twice as dense as the sulfur hexafluoride.

You never want to get too close to a mound of fire ants. But from the comfortable distance of your browser, they’re neat little buggers. Vox explores some of the fascinating ways in which colonies stick together to form structures, and how they can act as both a solid or fluid.

The guys at DipYourCar are known for selling peel-off Plasti Dip coatings which give cars an eye-catching new look. Here, they show off a unique black pigment that turns clear when exposed to heat, so it exposes the car’s underlying lime green paint when in the sun or splashed with warm water.

If you put a bunch of metronomes on a wobbly platform, they will eventually sync up. But given the nature of the universe to tend toward disorder, why do some things seem to defy this basic law of physics? Veritasium explores the science at work when things work their way into synchronized patterns.

Try to balance a bowling ball on a circular object, and you’ll almost certainly fail. But engineer Stepan Ozana shows how it’s possible to do just that with a machine. It uses a principle called LQR and REXYGEN control software to monitor the ball’s position and to rapidly move the wheel back and forth to keep the ball from falling.

After impressing us with a LEGO car that can climb over a stack of books, the Brick Experiment Channel is back with a simpler vehicle design challenge. The plan? Dial in the right mix of traction, gearing, wheelbase, and weight balance to climb the steepest sheet of glass possible. And then, start cheating.

Mathematician mc2 shows off a neat digital simulation that shows how a string with 32 balls hung from it might behave when swung like a pendulum. It starts out smoothly enough, but as they slow down, chaotic movements bring the orbs closer to the fulcrum. We’d love to see how this looks in the real world.

Between the risks of injury and the often precarious locations, parkour and freerunning can be pretty exciting to watch. SciShow goes beyond the athleticism to the physics of the sport, digging into the things that need to happen mechanically to climb walls, vault over obstacles, and land without trauma.

The Action Lab conducted an interesting (and seemingly dangerous) experiment by running backward off of a moving trailer to see if his motion would negate the forward motion of the vehicle. You’d think he’d fall on his face doing this, but he has physics on his side. Regardless, we don’t recommend trying this at home.

The guys at the Hydraulic Press Channel are always on the lookout for things that hold onto so much energy before failing that they explode catastrophically. Paper does the trick quite well, and now we see that solid glass spheres have similar explosive potential.

Everything you’re watching and reading has already happened – even if it was just a few seconds ago. It’s Okay To Be Smart gets really deep with an exploration of how time is relative, and therefore experienced differently for each person depending on their place in the universe.

Top fuel dragsters can accelerate from 0 to 335 mph in 3.6 seconds. While sheer horsepower is part of the equation, their massive rear tires are just as critical. Driver61 explains why dragster tires are designed the way they are and the physics that help them grip like mad and launch cars down the drag strip like a rocket.