Science

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.

Ideally, you’ll strap on a VR headset for this, but if you don’t have one, you can still appreciate the ethereal fractal journey that Julius Horsthuis has laid before you, accompanied by excerpts from one of evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins‘ most profound lectures.

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 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.

That acid green stuff in your car’s radiator not only helps keep your engine cool, it keeps it from freezing. Grant Thompson wanted to know if it’s possible to freeze the stuff with liquid nitrogen. The slow-mo of the nitrogen hitting the table is literally super cool.

It’s a question many of us who have worn glasses have pondered – does the simple fact that we started wearing glasses when our eyes were only slightly blurry make our vision worse, or is it just age working against us? SciShow explores this myth and sets the record straight.

Reigarw presents a comparison of all kinds of matter in the universe, from the tiniest subatomic particles to giant superclusters of galaxies, you’ll quickly feel insignificant right after we zoom past the human race. The voiceover is a bit silly, but it’s still amazing.

One of the few self-illuminating materials to find its way in front of The Slow Mo Guys‘ lens is this liquid copper being poured at more than 1200ºF. We’re sure glad they didn’t splash any on their schmancy high-speed camera.

Applied Science shows us how to use anhydrous ammonia to change the properties of paper money, gradually shrinking the size of a dollar bill by letting the solution boil and evaporate multiple times. The same chemical process can be used to easily bend wood.

Stuff built from carbon fiber looks cool, but what makes it so amazing is its incredible ability to be manipulated to serve a variety of lightweight structural needs. Real Engineering takes a look at this awesome woven material and explains what makes it so work so well.

Veritasium explores the work our brains perform to process information, and how the shortcuts our minds automatically take can lead to mistakes. Bottom line is that study and practice are key to improving our brains’ ability to reach sound, but quick conclusions.

Quirkology shares a handful of visual illusions sure to mess with your brain. We understand how most of them work, but the color changing ring in the mirror is still a totally nifty trick.

The Slow-Mo Guys ignore all the warning labels on a bunch of small lithium batteries, exposing them to fire, and turning them into tiny rocket ships and bombs in front of their Phantom high-speed camera. We can only imagine how nasty large batteries would be if they blew up.

Epic How To provides a brief lesson in physics, and delves into but a few of the complexities that stand between us and the ability to turn an 88mph trip in a DeLorean or a blue police box into a journey through space and time.

Applied Science shows off a thermodynamic property of rubber bands – that they change in temperature as they stretch and contract, then takes advantage of this to create a refrigerator. It’s not very effective, but still a cool idea. That Shaper CNC router is awesome too.