Science

While you might think the universe is just an endless expanse, it actually has a shape that holds it together. MinutePhysics teamed up with PhD Comics to explore this puzzling astrophysical question and try to suss out some answers for us.

Back in 1952, London, England was engulfed in a think blanket of smog that was so nasty that it caused the city to come to a halt, and actually ended up killing an estimated 12,000 people. SciShow looks back at this tragic result of industrial development without controls.

Students from the Ithaca College Low Temperature Physics Lab created a neat version of a quantum levitation track. It still uses supercooling and magnets to work its magic, but adds a fun (and literal) twist to by running its course around a triple-twist Möbius Strip.

Veritasium takes a look at a neat physical property – the ability to levitate a lightweight ball or disc atop a jet of water. The trick involves getting the water to flow along one side, runs up and over the object, creating a state of equilibrium which allows it to spin.

So is the vastness of space an actual thing, or is it merely the absence of things? It’s Okay To Be Smart explores this perplexing question that at first seems to be philosophical, but is really something that can be answered with science.

After giving us a gross, but fascinating view of his talented vocal chords using an endoscope, beatboxer Tom Thum subjected himself to a claustrophobia-inducing MRI tube and headcage to get a look at how things work inside his face, neck, nose, and throat.

Vsauce3 provides a layperson’s look at how a video camera breaks down images in such a way that it can be turned into data, and then reconstructed into a realistic picture. In a way, everything we see is simply perception of a thing rather than an actual thing.

Thermite is some nasty stuff, but the extremely hot-burning material needs an ignition source around 3,000° F to get started. Grant Thompson decided to see if the solar light concentrator he built is up to the challenge of sparking a thermite blaze.

As NASA’s Juno spacecraft orbits Jupiter, it’s sending back data and imagery that reveals new details about the gas giant. The planet’s poles are awash with constantly swirling cyclones, and its powerful magnetic field is even stronger than scientists had estimated.

If you thought the expressions beatboxers make while producing sounds were weird, wait till you get a load of this. Tom Thum allowed a doctor to place an endoscopic camera with a view of his throat while he beatboxed. The video is equal parts fascinating and disgusting.

The Action Lab shows off a cool property of polyethylene glycol, a chemical with a crazy high molecular weight. As a result, they stick together in very long chains, so once he pours out a little bit of the liquid, the rest follows on its own, much like metal beads do.

The process of sandwiching oil and ferrofluid between sheets of glass is messy to say the least, but the result is amazing – the ability actually view the radiating fields created by magnets placed on the surface of the glass. Magnetic Games shows us how its done.

They sound cute and cuddly, but the white dwarfs that Kurzgesagt is talking about here will be the last bastions of light and energy in the universe as our universe eventually expires. These highly dense objects are basically the remnants of stars after they burn out.

John Edmark has created a variety of static and kinetic objects, many of which share a common thread – spirals, which he uses because of their potential to go both infinitely small and infinitely large – a reflection of the endless nature of the universe. More here and here.

Destin of Smarter Every Day follows up his epic high-speed video of a Prince Rupert’s Drop being shot by shooting it with a bigger bullet. Instead of a lead-tipped .22, he works up to a .38 cal bullet with a full metal jacket, and it doesn’t behave as expected. (Thanks Orion!)

Hold a floating, glowing microcosm in your hand. Simply fill the hand-blown, flat-bottomed glass orb with the included dinoflagellates and seawater to create a beautiful bioluminescent blue glow. The creatures thrive on sunlight and simple nutrients by day, and glow by night.

For Inventables’ fidget spinner challenge, Giaco Whatever decided to see if he could make one that could float in mid air. After a bunch of experimentation, he was able to get it to work by placing it between two opposing magnetic fields, and spinning it for stabilization.

ElectroBOOM’s Mehdi Sadaghdar expresses his disdain for “perpetual motion” devices which are claimed to produce more energy than is put into them, thus defying the basic laws of physics. The only thing these guys seem to be able to actually generate are YouTube views.

Grant “The King of Random” Thompson previously tested the myth that mixing propane and Coca-Cola would turn it into a pressure-packed rocket, and failed. He tried it again with butane, and the highly-flammable stuff works brilliantly. Definitely don’t try this one at home.

Tom Scott headed to the University of Manchester’s High Voltage Laboratory to see what would happen when a DJI Phantom 3 drone gets struck by more than 1 million volts of electricity from a simulated lightning bolt. TL;DW: don’t fly your drone in a thunderstorm.

Ever wondered what our skies might look like if the Earth were somewhere else in the universe? Russia’s space agency Roscosmos created a series of images which envision some of the alternative views we could have – assuming our pesky atmosphere didn’t get in the way.

Engineering firm Teratec uses a shake table to demonstrate how hydraulic dampers can be used to offset forces on a structure, reducing the likelihood of the sort of resonant frequency disasters which can happen from earthquakes, wind, or other vibrations.

The Vacuum Chamber answers a question we never knew we wanted the answer to until now: What does a giant marshmallow gummy bear look like when you suck all the air out of the room? Press play and find out.

The Backyard Scientist takes a look at an interesting property of the liquid metal substance gallium when it’s mixed with water and sulfuric acid. The metal turns into perfectly round beads, then coalesces with an almost magnetic force due to surface tension.

The Beyond the Press channel raises the stakes (and steaks) against the old Red Hot Nickel Ball folks, heating up a cube of tungsten to over 3000º C (~5432º F), then uses it to quickly cook some meat and take on a shockingly resiliant watermelon.