Awesome Science

Engineers from Japan’s Furukawakikou Corporation have devised SWITL, an unusual tool capable of sorcery picking up solid and gel compounds without disrupting their shape at all.

A brief overview of the Aquarius, the world’s last undersea laboratory. It is located in the Florida Keys and is used by aquanauts to perform experiments and study marine life. More here.

DARPA demonstrates technology which can extinguish flames using a pair of speakers and sound. As the acoustic field increases air velocity, the flame boundary thins and disrupts the fire.

Using electromagnetism and wireless power transfer, engineering student Chris Rieger shows off a seemingly magical effect of a light source that floats in mid-air with no built-in power source.

If you missed the once (or twice)-in-a-lifetime Transit of Venus in front of the Sun, here’s the best view ever, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, captured in glorious high-def.

Ever wondered what would happen if you dropped something into the molten hot lava of a volcano? Here we see what happens when a bag of trash (mostly food garbage) plummets to a fiery death.

Drexel U. math professor Dr. R. Andrew Hicks created this mirror which provides a distortion-free 45 degree field of view by turning numerous tiny mirrors into one larger mirror, like a disco ball.

Watch what happens to droplets of colored water as they hit the surface of a piece of paper that’s been rubbed with superhydrophobic aerogel powder. More fun with science here.

10th grader Eli Cirino was asked by his chemistry teacher to make a video that explains the basics of chemical bonds. Eli ended up making something much dorkier and sweeter than that.

Why not take a break from wasting time on the internet and learn something? The Royal Observatory Greenwich explains the geometry, math, and optics used to measure objects in space.

Cathy Hutchinson suffered a stroke 15 years ago, and is unable to move her limbs or speak. Using a neural interface called BrainGate, watch as she is able to use her thoughts to control a robotic arm.

Don’t get bored or sleepy while Vsauce shares some facts and theories about yawning. The leading theory why humans yawn maybe more intense than you think, but it actually makes sense.

The Russian Federal Space Agency’s Elektro-L satellite captures astounding 121mp images of the Earth. In this video, we get a time-lapse comprised of color-enhanced shots. Hi-res pics here.

By dripping water in front of a speaker, brusspup creates the illusion that the water has frozen in mid-air. And by changing the frequency, he can make it look like the water is flowing backwards.

While we learned from the Mythbusters that folding paper more than seven times isn’t impossible, but extremely difficult. But if you could fold it 45 times, guess what would happen?

Orfield Labs has an anechoic chamber that absorbs 99.9% of sound but becomes unbearable after just 45 minutes. Apparently having no external noise to reference causes your mind to hallucinate.

In a high-tech submarine armed with 3D cameras, the director is diving solo 36,000 ft. down to the deepest point on Earth. No man has been in 50 years, and they couldn’t see through the silt.

Superstar physicist and TV host Neil DeGrasse Tyson responds to the question, “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the universe?” Watch the original interview here.

We’ve seen a periodic table of tables, but this one’s more impressive. Wolfram Research co-founder Theodore Gray made this wooden table and filled each drawer (and his office) with element samples.

Looking for a cool parlor trick? Watch this metal spoon completely disintegrate as it’s stirred into water. The trick? It’s made out of 99.998% pure gallium, which melts at 86°F. Try it yourself here.

The Inside Knowledge Project took random lab equiment and turned it into instrumentation for the classic White Stripes tune – though it would have been cooler as a live performance.

Researchers near Madagascar have discovered chameleons that measure in at just 29mm long when fully grown. We’re still waiting for microscopic polar bears we can have as pets, though.

When ISS astronaut Don Pettit whips out a pair of needles in orbit, he’s not making a blanket, he’s demonstrating the strange forces at work when you combine static electricity, water and zero-gravity.