Science

There’s a lot of debate as to whether the universe goes on and on forever, or if you kept going, you’d eventually reach its edge. PBS Space Time digs into this astrophysics quandary. Whether the universe is geographically-flat and infinite, or it curves in on itself, it’s still more enormous than most of us can fathom.

The macrophotography experts from the Beauty of Science present a stunning close-up look at the formation of crystals with razor-sharp clarity. The time-lapse, black-and-white imagery was selected to evoke the icy cold sensation of the Arctic. Still image gallery on Behance.

We know John D. Boswell aka Melodysheep best for his awesome musical mashups, but he is also fascinated with science. The first episode of his series “Live Beyond” explores the origins of life and humanity’s place in the universe, while further episodes will dig into the potential for life beyond our world.

If you live somewhere that snow coats roads in the wintertime, you’ll want to check out Engineering Explained’s latest clip, as Jason walks us through the variables at work when driving on slippery surfaces, and provides some tips on how to maintain control on the snow.

Sending cargo and ships into space is extremely expensive and resource-intensive. But there’s an idea that’s been bandied about that would use endlessly-moving tethers to catapult ships into space from Earth’s orbit. Kurzgesagt explains how this relatively simple concept could dramatically improve space travel.

Martin Kristiansen of My Microscopic World used a polarized light source, a lab microscope, and an iPhone to capture these incredibly detailed, colorful, and otherworldly images of insect larvae, isopods, and tiny crustaceans. Check out more amazing close-up images on his Instagram feed.

Smart MicroOptics‘ tabletop gadget is designed to turn any smartphone into a high resolution microscope. The system will offer 35x-200x, 75x-500x, and 150x-1000x magnification modules, capturing details as small as 0.7 micron. Both a basic and precision sample stage are available.

If you find space science fascinating, check out this clip from Kurzgesagt, in which they explain how neutron stars work. These phenomena may only be a few kilometers in diameter, but have an insanely dense atomic nucleus and powerful gravity, thanks to their origins as massive stars which have collapsed and gone supernova.

The Earth’s lone moon is very important to the way the world works, affecting everything from the ocean tides, to the regularity of our seasons and the length of our days. But what would happen if another similar asteroid got pulled into the Earth’s orbit? SciShow explores some of the potentially serious implications.

If you spent any time paying attention in class, you’d know that every planet spins at a different speed. Scientist and data geek James O’Donaghue put together this nifty visualisation that shows the the relative speed and axial tilt of our Solar System’s planets (and Pluto). We had no idea Jupiter was such a speed demon.

The always awesome Chop Shop Store teamed up with The Planetary Society to create 20 wooden blocks, each featuring a planet, dwarf planet, or moon from our solar system, and printed with useful data. They’re also offering space-themed add-ons like posters, tees, and stickers. Shipping starts 11/2019.

There are lots of things to be frightened of in the world, but is there a universally worst terror for all people, regardless of age, race, sex, culture or other attributes? Michael Stevens of Vsauce digs into the notion of fear, and how these unpleasant feelings are triggered in our brains. He also hates purple squares now.

There’s no question that we live in a vast and incredibly complex universe. The fact that life exists at all has led some scientists and philosophers to ponder whether or not we are all just living in a computer simulation. This TED-Ed clip by theoretical physicist Zohreh Davoudi and animator Eoin Duffy explores just that question.

There are thousands of videos out there showing how to make a potato cannon. But this clip from The Backyard Scientist shows how to use one to launch a glider. Working with his pal Joe – with a nod to the guys at FliteTest – they work out the most balanced and airworthy glider design.

“There are more phages on Earth than every other organism combined.” Kurzgesagt takes a few minutes to educate us on the finer points of the bacteriophage, a type of virus which is constantly killing off billions of microscopic organisms all around and inside of us.

Ever wonder what the quietest and loudest sounds in the universe might be? With the help of their imaginary robot Noisy, and Microsoft’s anechoic chamber, Bright Side digs into this question, and some of the science behind the way sounds travel and how our hearing works.

If you’ve ever played with one of those drinking bird toys, you know it can be quite fascinating to watch as it dunks its beak in and out of a glass of water. Engineerguy Bill Hammack pops off the bird’s festive blue hat to explain the thermodynamics which make the nearly endless fun happen.

If you thought the only way to bend a beam of light was with mirrors, you’d be wrong. MEL Chemistry shows off a few simple experiments you can do with a laser pointer and household items like oil, water, and salt, that demonstrate the nature of reflection and refraction. More here.

Want to know about our genetic ancestors? American Museum of Natural History’s fascinating video takes us back to the moment where humans branched off from chimpanzees, and illustrates our progress via maps of significant archaeological discoveries.

The What If channel likes to imagine some pretty gory hypotheticals, but this one takes the cake so far, as they envision what might happen to our bodies if we were to jump into a swimming pool filled with stomach acid. TL;DW: just get out of there and hose off quick.

After seeing the Disney flick The Black Hole, we already were pretty cautious about visiting such an astrophysics phenomenon. But this clip from NASA Goddard provides some much more scientific reasons you’d never want to get close to one.

Have you ever wondered why insects, birds, fish, and bats gather together into huge and coordinated groups? TED-Ed’s Maria R. D’Orsogna explores the fascinating science behind this behavior, which drives many species as a method of survival and group productivity.

There’s nothing quite like the delicious flavor of grilled, seared, or smoked meats. But the way you cook and handle meats after cooking can dramatically improve its quality. SciShow explains tips for making the perfect BBQ meal and the scientific reasons that these techniques improve flavor and texture.

Stephen Low’s big-screen 3D film Secrets of the Universe introduces us to some of the world’s brightest minds as they unravel the mysteries of the universe. Along the way, journey to the Large Hadron Collider and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Observatory (LIGO), and meet the scientists of the Perimeter Institute. (Thanks Susan!)

For those of you who were sleeping in class that day, before the earth broke into continents, about 1/3rd of our planet was covered with a landmass known as Pangea. What If attempts to deduce what life might be like if we could still drive from Chicago to Paris, and assuming that we actually evolved to become what we are.

This new channel is a collaboration by SciShow host Hank Green, musician Andrew Huang, and microorganism enthusiast James Weiss. It delves deep into the world of the trillions of microscopic organisms that surround us. We recommend starting off with Meet the Microcosmos for a primer to this fascinating universe.

Aerogel has some amazing properties. It’s insanely lightweight, and is an incredible insulator. Recently, Derek Muller of Veritasium put this to the test, by standing behind a blanket infused with silica aerogel being hit by a Boring Company Not a Flamethrower. Now we’d like to see the same test with a serious flamethrower.

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.

Macrophotography experts Beauty of Science captured incredible close-up footage of the interactions between water, ice, vinegar, and other substances to demonstrate endothermic processes in front of a high-resolution thermal camera. If you haven’t seen Getting Hot, it’s worth a watch too.

The cinematic trailer for the interstellar follow-up to the popular space sandbox game Kerbal Space Program doesn’t show any gameplay, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome, as Kerbals race through space backed by M83’s epic Outro. For more on the game’s new features go here, and learn more from the developers.