Science

While we know it’s possible to extract natural colorings from food and other items, is there a way to completely remove its pigmentation and make it white? The Action Lab performed a series of experiments to test this, and provides a brief lesson on the physics of color.

Meet Arnold, the king of animated hypotheticals is here to explore what might happen to us if we actually could cure aging, and live at least 10 times longer we can today. The result isn’t all butterflies and lollipops. Also, nice segway to the sponsorship, guys.

Kurzgesagt looks at one of the many ways in which mankind is leaving its mark on our planet. Despite its usefulness, this man-made invention is one of the most destructive forces when it comes to the environment. But in some cases, it’s still better than other materials.

It’s Okay to Be Smart’s first ever rhyming video title takes us inside the gasses inside of our digestive systems, schooling us on the reasons flatulence happens, how some animals take advantage of them, why farts smell, and why we find them funny.

Engineers from MIT have developed 3D-printed objects with embedded magnetic particles that allow them to change shapes in an instant. The current prototypes are mere playthings, but the tech could give way to tiny, remote-controlled medical devices.

An amazing demonstration of the OpenDrop V3 – a compact system which uses current to precisely control the movement of fluids across the surface of an electrically charged grid. Thanks to its sophisticated control software, it can even play Frogger!

Filmmaker Maria Constanza Ferreira explores the incredibly ethereal and colorful organic patterns that reveal themselves when viewing the microscopic structures of sugar crystals under polarized light.

Engineer Allison Murray from the Purdue University Mechanical Engineering department shows us how their team used a customized inkjet printer to lay down a thin sheet of thermite, resulting in designs which explode into shapes when ignited. Learn more here.

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!)

“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.

Have you ever wondered how its possible for animals to rest for months on end without eating, drinking, or doing their business? Well it’s because sleep and hibernation are completely different things. TED-Ed presenter Sheena Lee Faherty explains.

When it comes to holding things together, two of your best bets are glue or tape. Elizabeth Cox and TED-Ed explore the science behind adhesives, and which are the best for specific uses. We always wondered what kept glue from sticking to its own container, and now we know.

The study of extreme weather like hurricanes can help save lives and property. The engineers at the University of Miami’s Surge Structure Atmosphere Interaction Facility (SUSTAIN) have built an system which allows them to simulate hurricane force winds and water.

By using an air pump and a burst disc to pressurize and release helium gas, The Backyard Scientist shows off an insanely powerful NERF gun that can fire darts faster than the speed of sound. Watch, and you might even learn a thing or two about physics.

Life Noggin explores another one of life’s imponderables – what would have to happen for it to be possible for humans to move through solid objects? Even though there’s lots of empty space between the atoms everything is made of, it’s highly unlikely.

In theory, a clone should be an exact copy. But the reality is even if we chose to create engineered copies of humans, every little variable in their environment would make them a very different person from their genetic doppelgänger. Life Noggin explains.

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.

Engineer Mark Rober and teacher Al “Doc Fizzix” Balmer explain the physics of these primitive race cars that get their power solely from the energy stored in a mousetrap’s spring. Along the way, you’ll learn about the principles of mechanical advantage, levers, and wheels.

This super-fine steel wool reminds us of Donald Trump’s hair. But these skinny metal strands are most interesting when they have their electrons excited by a microwave oven. Steve Mould explains why it behaves so spectactularly. The 9-volt battery trick is pretty neat too.

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.

Theoretically, the reason that whipped cream is thick is because of the air in it. So if you put it in a vacuum chamber and remove all the air, does it go back to the way it was? The King of Random sucks as hard as they can to answer the question none of us was asking.

Kurzgesagt explores string theory, and how it attempts to explain the nature of the universe. It’s supposed to solve the incompatibilities between quantum and gravitational physics by describing particles as “strings” rather than points. Yeah, we’re still confused.

After seeing the unusual way in which magnets interact with copper, NightHawkInLight explores whether an electromagnetically-generated force field in copper could stop or slow a magnetic projectile in mid-flight.

Mårten Ajne skates across a dangerously thin 2″ layer of pristine black ice on a lake outside of Stockholm, Sweden. As he dances along its shimmering surface, the ice emits otherworldly sounds straight out of a science fiction movie.

Have you ever noticed that while wolves have pointy, upright ears, most pet dogs have soft, floppy ears? Skunk Bear explores the fascinating and puzzling evolutionary biology of wild versus domesticated animals that created these distinctions among others.