Awesome Science

How much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black. This desktop curiosity is made using a carbon nanotube array to absorb 99.% of visible light, so when you look into it up close, it’s the darkest void you’ve ever seen. Available in 2.5cm and 4cm sizes.

The Backyard Scientist doesn’t have a volcano around his house, but still wanted to play around with some molten lava. So he got to simulating the stuff by melting down some lava rock and then poured it into his parent’s swimming pool to see how it would behave.

Using computer modeling and robotics, scientists are attempting to replicate the movements of creatures who have long been extinct. Nature video shows us how they brought back the Orobates pabsti – a crocodile-like animal who lived before the dinosaurs.

The Slow Mo Guys introduce their new YouTube series Planet Slow Mo by heading to Iceland and flying one of their pricey Phantom Flex high speed cameras over a geyser, strapped to an industrial-strength drone. The color of the water as the geyser blows is stunning.

As George Carlin once taught us, there are no blue foods. It’s Okay To Be Smart explores the why there is so little naturally-occuring blue pigment in animals, plants, insects, and other organic matter. Oh, and those Morpho butterflies aren’t actually blue. Minds blown.

Gavin and Dan of The Slow Mo Guys turn their attention inwards, capturing detailed macro footage that shows how the pupil of a human eye reacts to light. Gav used one of those unique Laowa macro probe lenses to get right up to Dan’s peepers.

2046 Design offers a variety of prints inspired by space, science, science fiction, and nature. The prints come in a variety of art styles, and many are limited editions. They also offer apparel and accessories. Touch of Modern has a limited number of designs on sale.

Science fiction is loaded with depictions of artificial intelligence – usually becoming sentient and running off the rails. BuzzFeed’s Professionals Review asked an AI scientist for her take on the on-screen tech, and how far away we are from such realities.

Things Made of Cardboard shows off 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!)

While we’re most familiar with planets which are bound to a solar system, there are countless rogue planets out there which float in the darkness of space. It turns out that those frozen conditions might actually provide a home to lifeforms. Kurzgesagt explains.

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.

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.

No, Kurzgesagt’s latest video isn’t about building a fancy vacuum cleaner. Instead, it’s an explanation of how we might go about creating a megastructure in space, capable of harnessing the power of a star, by containing it. Basically, it would be the largest task every undertaken.

The Slow Mo Guys decided to see if they could determine the speed at which glass shatters. With the help of some specially-marked sheets of glass and a super slow-motion camera, they were able to answer the question at hand, while also revealing the way in which it cracks.

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 segue to the sponsorship, guys.

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.

TED-Ed shares a head-scratcher that you can solve, even with brute force thinking. You need to build a time travel machine by forming a triangle of one of two colors. But you have no way of knowing which color will appear when you connect the time travel dots.

These days, we all spend countless hours staring at digital screens, from smartphones, to tablets, to televisions, to computers. But is the notion that looking at these backlit devices can permanently harm your eyesight a myth or reality? SciShow provides their brief take.

Real Life Lore schools us on things that can kill us, and makes us even more afraid of spiders, snakes and frogs. They list everything from common substances such as water and sugar, to wild venom and rare elements that can easily do you in.

If you thought that rain had a teardrop shape as it fell, you’d be totally wrong. With the help of a vertical wind tunnel, It’s Okay to Be Smart shows us what these droplets of water look like as they head towards Earth, while teaching us about surface tension and air resistance.

The Backyard Scientist is back with his latest build – a ridiculous microwave oven, cobbled together from the magnetrons from multiple ovens. He even tried microwaving a microwave with it. We’re just going to say this is a really bad idea.

Unlike the undying affection and dedication that dogs offer their masters, cats seemingly couldn’t care less about us humans. SciShow provides a biological explanation for the expression of disdain that felines show for those of us who keep them warm and fed.

We all know that boys’ voices get deeper as they go through puberty, but hormones aren’t the only process in play as our voices evolve. TED-Ed educator Shaylin A. Schundler explains how other physical changes affect the sound of our voices as we get older.