Awesome Science

It turns out most of the stuff that comes out of your butt when you pass gas is odorless. Michael from Vsauce explains the 1% that makes farts stink, and the theoretical possibilities if your body emitted much more of that noxious stuff.

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.

This book helps inquisitive minds of all ages understand all 118 elements of the periodic table and their place in the universe. It features lots of colorful charts and illustrations and explains the relationships between elements with similar attributes.

Chemistry can be pretty awesome (and dangerous at times). MEL Science show off an energetic reaction that happens when you soak aluminum foil balls in sodium hydroxide, then expose them to oxygen and a flame. By placing the balls inside of a tube, the combustion causes them to race around like tiny cars on fire.

This laser-engraved stainless steel card is packed with reference information for scientists and engineers. Its front side has the periodic table of the elements, along with rulers and a protractor, while its back offers up quick access to important constants, formulae, and conversions. There’s also a version for chemistry.

As early as the 1950s, oceanographers like Jacques Cousteau were experimenting with the idea of setting up shop deep beneath the ocean and living down there for extended periods of time. Bloomberg sat down with experts in the field to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities presented by undersea living.

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.

Howdy, folks! It’s science time! Veritasium explains how gravity isn’t a force according to the General Theory of Relativity. He then demonstrates how the way we are moving through space-time while standing on Earth isn’t really any different from what an astronaut experiences as their rocket accelerates through space.

The word “meteorite” conjures images of rocks falling from the heavens, but each day our planet is pelted with tons of micrometeorites, mostly smaller than grains of sand. Project Stardust founder Jon Larsen gets us up close and personal with 41 of these tiny, otherworldly objects thanks to a scanning electron microscope.

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.

Are you craving your daily dose of math and science? Veritasium is here to fill our brains with all kinds of interesting facts about geometry and patterns, eventually leading to a demonstration of interlocking tiles that can extend infinitely across a plane without ever repeating their layout.

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.

Because of their power and extreme nature, black holes are some of the most awe-inspiring objects in the universe. Kurzgesagt offers a deep dive into these regions of spacetime and ponders what might happen if their immense gravity got a hold of you. Also, we just learned an awesome new word: spaghettification.

Scientists from Russia’s ITMO University have developed a technique that uses lasers to create different colors on a sheet of metal. The laser is used to create oxide layers on a sheet of titanium, producing a variety of colors. The method can even be used to change or erase images multiple times. Read more in Optica.

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.

Unless you’re a snake or a fish, there’s a pretty good chance you have legs and feet. Journey to the Microcosmos gets up close and personal with microorganisms to look at how they get around using their tiny feet and other moving appendages.

This Cognitive Surplus mug celebrates the science of coffee. Science nerds will geek out on its breakdown of the molecules that give coffee its flavor, aroma, and kick. Choose from a 13 oz. borosilicate glass or 11 oz. ceramic mug. Their Social Chemistry collection includes beer, whiskey, tea, wine, and water glasses.

Every living thing on Earth is made up of mix of chemical elements, including carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. This animated short from NM State University’s Learning Games Lab provides a laypersons’ explanation of how chemical bonds create life and provide the nutrients needed to keep it going.

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.

Did you know that the sunlight you’re looking at now is 8-minutes old? Or that the most common maps completely distort the relative size of countries? Mental Floss Editor-in-Chief Erin McCarthy digs into these and plethora of other facts about our planet in this extensive trivia video.

Siphonophores are deep-sea colonies of organisms that link together to work as one. Each section provides a different function, including buoyancy, propulsion, feeding, reproduction, and defense. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute take us deep beneath the ocean to witness some of these unique creatures.

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.

Mold takes many forms, from harmful to helpful, from toxic to delicious. But one thing we never thought mold could be is beautiful. Through the macro lens of Beauty of Science, enjoy this incredible close-up look at four kinds of molds used in food fermentation. As they grow, they look like plants on an alien landscape.

Despite their lack of wings, spiders can actually take flight. This video from the University of Bristol video explains a process called ballooning, in which spiders take advantage of static electrical charges and wind currents to carry silk – and their bodies – through the air.

Unlike US paper sizes, metric paper sizes like A3 and A4 can be folded into quarters to make smaller standard size sheets. CGP Grey explains the satisfying math of this paper sizing standard, then zooms in and out to see how it relates to the exponential nature of the universe.