Awesome Science

A mystifying physics demonstration from science teacher Bruce Yeany, in which he shows off a simple device known as a “string shooter.” It uses a motor drive to fling a loop of string into the air and keep it there thanks to their light weight and the inertia that keeps it moving forward.

This video comes with no explanation, but it appears that it’s a group of students in a science class passing around a flaming ball of propane. It’s also possible that it’s just the Fire Manipulation 101 class at Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

“Check when Elon Musk says it’ll happen on Twitter… and it’s not that.” Casually Explained looks at some of the many things we’re hopeful for in the future, and does his best to predict new products and when we can expect them.

You might have seen How Ridiculous’ videos where they tortured a watermelon, an egg, and more that have been coated with Line-X. Veritasium met with the company behind the protective coating to find out how it works.

While most of the world measures temperature in Celsius, we here in the US are one of a handful of places which still use Fahrenheit, a system in which water freezes at 32º rather than zero. Veritasium explores the convoluted story behind this unusual measuring system.

TaoFledermaus was playing around with some small magnets and decided to see what their movements would look like when captured at 4,000 fps with a prototype Chronos 1.4 camera. The resulting video reveals some of their strange and wonderful behaviors.

TheBackyardScientist shares a simple way to create a small fire tornado with no moving parts. The trick is to split the glass receptacle in half and place each half around the flame slightly off center. The wind that comes in through the gaps will create the tornado effect.

(PG-13: Language) While there’s a very good chance that there is or has been other life in the universe, why is it that we’ve yet to run into any of it? YouTuber exurb1a tackles the frustrating search for extraterrestrial life with his usual wit and cynicism.

Do quick snap decisions outperform carefully studied ones? AsapSCIENCE explores how our brains can work in different ways to help reach conclusions either methodically or intuitively.

While we’ve seen all eight of the optical illusions featured in SciShow’s video before, what makes this clip most interesting is the how much you’ll learn about human vision and perception.

WIRED looks one of nature’s stranger creations – the mudskipper, an odd little dude who’s somewhere between fish and reptile, able to crawl out of the water and walk on land, while still breathing through water it stores in its cheeks. Also, they remind us of Ren & Stimpy.

A different view of objects being subjected to the mighty hydraulic press. This time, the steel crushing victims aren’t what’s special, but the FLIR thermal camera that captured the heat energy being released as they are flattened like pancakes.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab shows off a small robot that’s capable of driving straight up the side of a building. One version uses gecko-like microsuction to stick to smooth surfaces, while another uses insect inspired microspines to grab onto rough walls.

Destin of SmarterEveryDay has long wondered why water droplets sometimes bounce or slide off of a body of water instead of immediately coalescing with it. He consulted astronaut and chemical engineer Don Pettit and got two answers: air and vibration.

That unpronounceable acronym stands for “Tesla Coil Triggered, Ethanol Powered, Film Canister Gatling Gun,” a silly, overcomplicated, yet awesome weapon created by “Science Bob” Pflugfelder, capable of firing over 300 film canisters in 20 seconds.

Real Engineering explores the architecture and technology which have allowed for the construction of such mega skyscrapers as the 2716 foot-tall Burj Khalifa and the 1761 foot-tall Taipei 101, and how they resist massive forces from wind vortexes.

If you thought the best way to illuminate the inside of your jack-o-lantern was with a little candle, or maybe an LED tealight, you’d be wrong. PhotonicInduction shows us that a 5000-watt lamp is the way to go if you’ve got the proper power supply lying around.

“Imagine it like setting a sea of gasoline the size of the universe on fire.” Kurzgesagt sums up vacuum decay, a theoretical catastrophe that would wipe out the universe at the speed of light and reconfigure it into a state where life as we know it would be impossible.

ElectroBOOM promotes the new Seek CompactPRO smartphone thermal imaging camera. He shows us a couple of fun and educational applications for the camera, such as making sure that your kid is still alive and just sleeping.

If you’ve ever been to a science museum, there’s a good chance you’ve seen one of those walls that temporarily glows and captures shadows when exposed to light. Mark Rober shows us how to make your very own glow wall. Grab the phosphorescent vinyl sheets here.

RealLifeLore performs a stressful thought experiment: what if all 7.4 billion humans moved together into one city? He doesn’t go into the economics or engineering of such a feat. Instead, he looks at the smallest area that we can realistically occupy.

On The Late Late Show, Andy Samberg asked astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson some big questions, and he responded with his typical combination of intelligence, passion, and humor. He never answered the time travel one, so he needs to go back in time and fix that.

Real Engineering looks at one of the most basic electronic components, and how its ability to change between states is at the core of every bit of technology we count on every day. While early devices had just a handful of transistors, today’s computer chips pack billions.