Awesome Physics

Filmmaker Roman De Giuli used crisp macro photography of iron powder, magnets, pigments, and glitter to capture this visually spectacular short film, which despite its otherworldly looks was created without any CGI. Music by Son-J.

On the surface, the power to see through anything seems like a pretty useful superhero ability. But as What If explains, not only would you need an X-ray emitting sidekick to take advantage of your power, but your viewing subjects would probably end up getting cancer unless they wore safety aprons.

xkcd creator Randall Munroe’s latest book offers solutions to real-world problems. But don’t expect to get advice you can actually use. Instead, you’ll receive overly-complicated and impractical methods, in what he calls “world’s least useful self-help book.” Drops 9/3/19.

Utah State University Professor Boyd F. Edwards uses a Hoberman sphere to demonstrate the conservation of angular momentum. After spinning the sphere to generate angular momentum, he pulls its string to shrink its size, and its speed increases dramatically.

Destin of Smarter Every Day put together a device that demonstrates reversible laminar flow. He uses it to blend together several different colors of corn syrup, then geeks out about how reversing its direction can completely unmix the blended fluids.

The Engineer Guy explains how droplets form. It happens when fluid is allowed to drip such that it takes a form with the smallest surface area – a sphere. By vibrating the fluid’s container, one can control how fast droplets form. This knowledge is used in printing, painting, and even medical applications.

Ever wonder why the sound echoes in an enclosed room? This 2013 clip from Acoustic Geometry, demonstrates some of the key principles of direct and reflected sounds using a combination of NERF disc guns, moiré patterns, and more than 1100 feet of fluorescent string.

You’d think that bouncing on a trampoline while it’s being driven down the road would be a bad idea. You’d probably be right, but at least the guys from the Dunking Devils Squad have physics on their side as the forward momentum of both the trampoline and jumpers keep them in sync.

The man we know as Vsauce Michael of the channel formerly known as DONG is shows off a nifty plaything. Designed by Pacific Puzzle Works, this oversize top conceals a smaller top inside that automagically spins when you spin the larger top. Available as a kit or fully-assembled.

Maxim Zhestkov’s experimental film was inspired by the nature of our universe – in which stars explode, leaving behind the matter to create new things. There’s just something so satisfying about the millions of particles flying around in this mesmerizing CGI short.

A neat little loop captured from The Royal Institution’s fascinating video about trapping particles in a particle accelerator. The machine shown here is a rudimentary version of a Paul Trap – a saddle-shaped device that can hold an object in its center as it rotates.

To show how easy it is to visualize magnetic fields, Magnetic Games tossed a super-strong neodymium magnet into a pile of magnetite sand sitting on an impromptu trampoline. As the magnet and particles fly through the air, the patterns emerge.

Have you ever noticed how when a bicycle wheel rolls along the ground that its top spokes appear to be much more blurred than the bottom ones? Michael of DONG explains the physical and optical properties that bring this effect to life.

A wonderfully satisfying video of a 100kg (~220 lb) weight being dropped directly onto a TEIN shock absorber to show not only how well it can cushion such force, but how smoothly it can do it. It’s a pretty magical effect.

(PG-13: Language) “The universe is as mad as a bucket of coked-up ferrets.” Exurb1a looks at universal constants and laws of physics which provide us with context for everything, and help us make sense out of the seemingly random nature of things.

Things Made of Cardboard shows off a simple, but fascinating construction that demonstrates the energy transfer that occurs when two pendulums are placed along the same string. Each one almost completely stops as its momentum moves to the other one like some kind of a seductive dance. (Thanks Kate!)

A hypnotic video of a martini glass filled with some kind of black fluid that is both thick and viscous, and exhibits elastic properties as well. This unspillable gunk looks like the lifeblood of some sort of demonic creature.

We know there are always crumbs and debris at the bottom of containers of chips, cereals, nuts and other solid mixtures. What’s strange is that shaking the container doesn’t solve the problem – it makes it worse. Scientists call it the Brazil Nut effect.

Stanford mathematician Tadashi Tokieda explains a strange phenonmenon which occurs when tapping the inside of a coffee mug with a spoon – as it creates differently-pitched tones depending on where you place the spoon. More from Quanta Magazine. (Thanks Susan!)

Physicsfun presents a brief demonstration of one of the more interesting motors we’ve seen – the Mendocino motor uses magnets and a solar energy source to levitate as it spins. You can pick up a similar version for your own desk over on Amazon.

Getting spaceships and satellites into orbit requires powerful rockets and all of the challenges that come with them. But would it be possible to use a giant cannon of sorts to shoot these objects safely into orbit instead? Curious Droid explores the possibilities.

A while back, a video made the rounds showing what was supposedly a flying phone case. We figured it was fake, but as Mark Rober and Captain Disillusion point out, it also scammed people out of cash. Keep an eye on Peter Sripol’s channel for his WORKING version.

A look at Universal Everything’s latest interactive visual experiment, in which you control a character standing in the midst of thousands, each of whom reacts to your movements while you remain an individual. We’re dying to try a real-time version of this.