Awesome Science

Each of our bodies is teeming with trillions of bacteria at any given moment. Thankfully, these microscopic organisms generally work in harmony with our cells. But how did evolution prevent bacteria from becoming as big as a whale? Kurzgesagt explores this question in the latest episode of their Life & Size series.

Nibbling on crushed ice can produce a satisfying and cooling sensation. But we can’t advise doing the same with dry ice. What If explores what kind of terrible things would probably happen to you if you downed a big hunk of the solidified carbon dioxide that likes to maintain a temperature around −109.3 °F.

Physics can be so much fun. The Lutetium Project shows how a dropper filled with a mixture of water, alcohol, and dye dripped into an oil bath can create beautiful and unexpected patterns thanks to their differences in surface tension. For more droplet fun, check this out.

We all know that breathing helium makes you sound like Mickey Mouse. But does that pitch change affect the air you blow into a saxophone or a bagpipe? The guys from The King of the Random conducted a few experiments to test out the impact of helium and sulfur hexafluoride on the frequencies wind instruments produce.

While we’re not sure that Liam Thompson really set any kind of world record, we’re still mighty impressed with the gigantic soap bubble he and his sister managed to make using dish soap, dry ice, an inflatable kiddie pool, and a piece of string.

Artist and museum exhibit designer Shawn Lani has built a machine that circulates dry ice into a shallow tub of water, resulting in captivating cloud-like motion as the frozen carbon dioxide melts. His Icy Bodies exhibit can be found in a number of science museums around the world.

LaughsMicroscopically uses a scanning electron microscope to take us deeper and deeper inside of a series of integrated circuits dating from 1989 to 2001. These now “vintage” circuits are far less dense than today’s designs, but are still an amazing marvel of engineering viewed in this way.

Scientist Steve Mould shows us how, with the right conditions, you can make a viscous liquid like oil levitate by vigorously shaking it. The rapid vibrations end up stabilizing the equilibrium of the fluid as it rises and falls within a vessel.

We’re used to seeing our solar system illustrated in concentric rings. This helps us to understand their positions, but this animation by Dr. James O’Donoghue provides a different perspective, showing the relative sizes, rotational speeds, and axial tilts of everything from the dwarf planet Ceres to our mighty Sun.

The speed of light is pretty darned fast, but given just how far the Earth is away from the Sun, its light doesn’t get here instantly. It’s Okay to Be Smart teaches us how it’s not just a simple math equation, but complex astrophysics explain how sunlight is much older than you’d think.

To celebrate the release of their Human Era Calendar for the year 12,021, Kurzgesagt looks to the distant future to imagine what it might be like for future archeologists as they attempt to reconstruct our present, along with the challenges we face figuring out our past.

Science education channel Kurzgesagt teamed up with storytellers Wait But Why to create their first official mobile app, an interactive plaything that lets you view the relative size of things in the universe. Swipe left to zoom in. Swipe right to zoom out. Then tap on objects for fun facts about them. Available on iOS and Android.

If you think our galaxy’s sun is big, wait ’til you get a load of Kurzgesagt’s latest science video, which explores the universe in search of the biggest, brightest, densest, and most energetic stars. Along the way, you’ll learn how a star’s age can influence its size dramatically.

Sound doesn’t travel all that far in the air or on the surface of the Earth. So how is it possible the sound of explosives detonated off the coast of Australia traveled half-way around the globe to be heard in Bermuda? MinuteEarth dives into the physics that allow sound to travel so much further at the bottom of the ocean.

Rock out with all your favorite metal bands every time you take a nap. These silly home accessories from Threadless and designer Grant Shepley looks like concert posters, but the headliners and second-stage acts are all made entirely from actual metal. Available in blankets, duvets, throw pillows, shower curtains, and bath mats.

Warped Perception enjoys seeing how things look in slow-motion. He recently got the idea to launch a model rocket from inside of an aquarium, letting us see how it behaves both in and out of the water. We love the way its exhaust plume changes as it breaks the surface of the water.

Many of the rarest and most precious materials used here on Earth comes from some form of mining. But might there be a better way to harvest these without depleting and polluting our home planet? Kurzgesagt explores the potential for mining a nearly endless supply of resources from lifeless asteroids.

Despite its two tragic missions, with 135 launches to its credit, the Space Shuttle was arguably the most successful space program of all time. 3D animator Jared Owen explains how shuttle missions worked, along with an in-depth look at the orbiter, where astronauts spent their time throughout their journeys.

After an earlier experiment with trying to get sharks to swarm into human blood, Engineer Mark Rober teamed up with Discovery’s Shark Week to build a single-person shark cage, and headed into the waters of the Bahamas to see if he could get a feeding frenzy going around him using fish blood instead.

Back in the 1980s, hairdresser and inventor Maurice Ward came up with a substance that was apparently incredibly resistant to heat and fire. NightHawkinLight explores the history of the material known as Starlite, what happened to it, and then makes his own version of the compound.

We prefer the title “What MIGHT Aliens Look Like?” for Kurgezagt’s video, in which they explore the possibilities of alien life forms, and attempt to explain how they might appear, using something called The Kardashev Scale, which estimates a civilization’s potential for technology based on the availability of energy.

As NASA engineers work on the Space Launch System (SLS) it will use for its Artemis lunar missions, they must perform extreme tests to determine its structural limits. In this short video, they intentionally squeezed this liquid oxygen tank with millions of pounds of force until it burst, sending water everywhere.

Using high-precision digital models and laser etching techniques, CinkS labs is creating a series of glass cubes which display intricate 3D images of viruses, bacteria, and cells. The crystal cubes come in 3cm, 7cm, and 10cm sizes, as well as an 8cm sphere. And yes, they even have a COVID-19 model.