Veritasium
Can you swim in shade balls?
- Title
- Can you swim in shade balls?
- Date posted
- 9 months ago
- Description
- I bought 10,000 shade balls and tried to swim in them.
They appear to act like a non-Newtonian fluid: rigid under high shear stress, but they flow like a liquid under low shear.
- Title
- Testing the US Military’s worst idea
- Date posted
- 9 months ago
- Description
- Rods from God.
This is the nickname for a theoretical space weapon, in which large rods of tungsten would be dropped onto Earth based targets.
The idea behind this weapon is that the projectiles would build up enough speed, and thus kinetic energy, which would cause bomb-like destruction on the ground below.
The concept was devised during the Cold War but has faced heavy criticism both logistically and scientifically.
However, it has certainly made its mark on science fiction, both appearing in and being referenced across many media, from TV to video games.
But could it work in practice?
We tested to find out.
- Title
- The Perfect Battery Material Is Dangerous
- Date posted
- 9 months ago
- Description
- High-energy rechargeable batteries seemed impossible, until we made them. Sponsored by CodeRabbit. Cut code review time and bugs in half. Try CodeRabbit at https://coderabbit.link/veritasium
If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
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0:00 What’s inside a battery?
4:11 How does a battery work?
7:15 How did we increase battery power?
11:13 The first rechargeable lithium battery
13:29 The Tiny Needles That Kill Batteries
16:06 Goodenough? We can do better
20:07 The birth of the lithium-ion battery
27:10 Why do batteries explode?
29:31 Blowing up a battery
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A massive thank you to Dr Billy Wu, Dr Sam Cooper, Dr Derek Sui, Professor Magda Titirici, Dr Jingyu Feng, Dr Monica Marinescu, Li Ren Thow, Genlin Liu and Sam Riley; and to Professor Guillermo Rein, Dr Harry Mit...
- Title
- The blue LED was almost impossible to make
- Date posted
- 9 months ago
- Description
- LED's don't get their colour from their plastic covers. The blue LED was supposed to be impossible—until a young engineer proposed a moon-shot idea.
- Title
- The Strange Math That Predicts (Almost) Anything
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- How a feud in Russia led to modern prediction algorithms.
👉 To try everything Brilliant has to offer for free for a full 30 days, visit https://brilliant.org/veritasium. You’ll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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A huge thank you to Brian Hayes, David Aldous, Geoff Engelstein, Jeffrey Rosenthal, Jimmy He, Mark Priestley, Michael Choi, Peter Norvig, Sam Power, and Thomas Haigh for their invaluable expertise and contributions to this video.
And a special thank you to Madeline Johnson for her excellent fact-checking.
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0:00 The Law of Large Numbers
4:37 What is a Markov Chain?
9:43 Ulam and Solitaire
12:21 Nucl...
- Title
- Why do all animals jump to about the same height?
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- All animals jump to about roughly the same height, but why is this? Aren't some animals bigger and stronger than others?
- Title
- Why did light bulb lifetimes get shorter?
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- Planned obsolescence, explained. #veritasium #engineeering #lightbulbs
- Title
- This mechanism shrinks when pulled
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- How an unlikely physics paradox controls these counterintuitive structures. Sponsored by Incogni - Use code veritasium at https://incogni.com/veritasium to get an exclusive 60% off.
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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A huge thank you to Paul Ducarme and Bas Overvelde at AMOLF for showing us around.
Check out their research on counter-snapping structures here - https://ve42.co/CounterSnapping
For more on Braess’s Paradox, check out these great videos by Up and Atom (https://youtu.be/cALezV_Fwi0) and Steve Mould (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg73j3QYRJc)
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0:00 What happens if you cut this rope?
1:41 The Spring Paradox
4:59 New York’s Perplexing Discovery
6:2...
- Title
- There are 96 million black balls on this lake
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- I took a boat through 96 million black plastic balls on the Los Angeles reservoir to find out why they're there.
The first time I heard about shade balls the claim was they reduce evaporation.
But it turns out this isn't the reason they were introduced.
- Title
- The Obviously True Theorem No One Can Prove
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- This deceptively simple math problem has stumped mathematicians for almost 300 years! 👉 Head to https://hensonshaving.com/veritasium and enter code 'Veritasium' for 100 free blades with the purchase of a razor. Make sure to add both the razor and the blades to your cart for the code to take effect.
If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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A huge thank you to Steven Strogatz, Alex Kontorovich, Harald Helfgott, Senia Sheydvasser, Jared Duker Lichtman, Roger Heath-Brown, Kevin Ford, Carl-Fredrik Nyberg Brodda, Kaneenika Sinha & Shehzad Hathi for their invaluable expertise and contributions to this video.
Look out for the upcoming @fern-tv video on the tragic life of Srinivasa Ramanujan! A huge thank you to Ruben Katsc...
- Title
- The Biggest Misconception in Football (ft. Tom Brady)
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- Even the GOAT Tom Brady can’t throw a perfect spiral. Here’s why. 🌏 Get exclusive NordVPN deal here ➵ https://NordVPN.com/veritasium It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee!✌
If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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Thank you so much to everyone who voted for this video to win the people's voice awards for best creator-to-creator collaboration at the 2026 Webby Awards. We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you again for all your support!
A huge thank you to Tom Brady for coming and throwing some footballs with us and letting us analyse his throw. You can check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@tombrady
Also thank you to Kevin Bonner and the team at Shadow ...
- Title
- Why do planes fly so high?
- Date posted
- 12 months ago
- Description
- Now, it’s true that one of the benefits of flying at 30,000 ft is a smoother ride. This is high in the troposphere, the layer in which most weather occurs. So, there’s less turbulence and fewer storms to navigate around.
But this is not the main reason that planes fly so high.
- Title
- How One Company Secretly Poisoned The Planet
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The biggest chemical cover up in history. PFAS has polluted the entire global water system. Now, potentially dangerous forever chemicals are being found in the entire US population. Go to https://groundnews.com/Ve to get all sides of every story. Subscribe to save 40% off the unlimited Vantage Plan through our link.
If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
We have a tabletop game launching! Pledge your support now - https://ve42.co/KickStarterD
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0:00 Killed by Fridges
5:27 Teflon and The Manhattan Project
7:59 Teflon is Tricky
11:37 The Teflon Revolution
13:27 Earl Tennant's Farm
17:34 Inside DuPont
20:28 Fluoride In Drinking Water
25:00 It's bigger than that
29:23 What is...
- Title
- How a Student's Question Saved This NYC Skyscraper
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- How a single phone call from a student helped uncover a flaw that nearly toppled Citicorp. Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code veritasium at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/veritasium
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Correction: From construction images of Citicorp, sharp-eyed viewers might see that the mid-V columns are still there. Those columns help prevent buckling of the diagonal and the weight of people on the floor above, but do not take the majority of the gravity load. So we left them out of our diagram to clearly explain the load paths. See page 70 of this source for more details - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ODFo66-_V7Y9vKANbj53mQ0z20RZ2Uai/view
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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0:...
- Title
- Why we put spiders on soccer balls
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- How jumping spiders reveal an entire secret world of colors.
- Title
- The Biggest Misconception in Physics
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Why does energy disappear in General Relativity? 👉 Use code VERITASIUM to get 50% off your first monthly KiwiCo Crate! https://www.kiwico.com/VERITASIUM
Try Snatoms! A molecular modelling kit I invented where the atoms snap together.
https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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A huge thank you to Prof. Geraint Lewis, Prof. Melissa Franklin, Prof. David Kaiser, Elba Alonso-Monsalve, Richard Behiel, Prof. Leo Stein and Jakob Schwintenberg for their invaluable expertise and contributions to this video.
Special thanks to Alessandro from ScienceClic for his help on animations and input on the script. Check out his excellent video on Noether’s theorem here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF_uHfSoOGA
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0:00 What is symmetry?
4:25 Emmy Noether and Einstein
7:33 General Covariance
11:59 The Prin...
- Title
- Can you solve this SAT question?
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- How an SAT question became a mathematical paradox.
- Title
- The Most Controversial Idea In Math
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- How do you make infinite choices? 👉 To try everything Brilliant has to offer for free for a full 30 days, visit http://brilliant.org/veritasium. You’ll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
Try Snatoms! A molecular modelling kit I invented where the atoms snap together.
https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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A huge thank you to Dr Asaf Karagila, Prof. Alex Kontorovich, Prof. Joel David Hamkins, Prof. Andrew Marks, Prof. Gabriel Goldberg and Prof. Elliot Glazer for their invaluable expertise and contributions to this video.
Head over and sign up to our Patreon for some exclusive behind the scenes footage, showing how the animations and illustrations for this video were made - https://www.patreon.com/posts/patreon-behind-126443880?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=j...
- Title
- Can you solve the prisoner's riddle?
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- There is a riddle that is so counterintuitive, it still seems wrong even if you know the answer.
The 100 prisoners problem - comment your answer!
- Title
- How this helicopter survived 1004 days on Mars, then disappeared...
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- How a helicopter built of phone parts survived Mars for 3 years. Use code veritasium at https://incogni.com/veritasium to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.
Try Snatoms! A molecular modelling kit I invented where the atoms snap together.
https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Correction:
0:12, we say that ingenuity is 680g which is its weight on Mars. On Earth however, it weighs around 1800g.
Clarifications:
- A Patreon supporter named Zeus pointed out that we were wrong about Perseverance's/Ingenuity's position on Mars. It is in the Northern Hemisphere and hence Mars would be getting closer to the Sun as it goes into winter.
- Ingenuity was on Mars for 1004 Earth days.
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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A massive thank you to the team at JPL and especially Teddy Tzanetos, Travis Brown, Håvard Grip and DC Agle
...
- Title
- Something Strange Happens When You Trust Quantum Mechanics
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Does light take all possible paths at the same time? 🌏 Get exclusive NordVPN deal here ➵ https://NordVPN.com/veritasium It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee!✌
A massive thank you to Dr. Andrew Mitchell for all his help and expertise. If you want to delve further into this topic then we highly recommend his lecture on Classical physics derived from quantum mechanics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iuLwWDYC4U&t=1s
We’re incredibly grateful to Prof. David Kaiser, Prof. Steven Strogatz, Prof. Geraint F. Lewis, Elba Alonso-Monsalve, Prof. Christopher S. Baird, Prof. Anthony Bloch, and Prof. Stephen Bartlett for their invaluable contributions to this video.
A special thanks to Mahesh Shenoy from FloatHeadPhysics for his help with this video. Check out his excellent intuitive video on the UV Catastrophe here (Sep 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALEDjjAVZSY
We have a tabletop game launching! Pledge yo...
- Title
- The Blender Question Everyone Gets Wrong
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Are you smart enough to solve this Google interview question? Use code veritasium at https://incogni.com/veritasium to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.
A massive thank you to Dan Goldman, Jeff Aguilar, Daniel Soto and Georgia Tech’s Complex Rheology And Biomechanics Lab
We’re incredibly grateful to Carl Zimmer, Gayle McDowell, and Geoffrey West
Correction: Dan Goldman is a Professor of Physics not Biomechanics.
We have a tabletop game launching! Pledge your support now - https://ve42.co/KickStarterD
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0:00 Hard Google Interview Question
2:34 How do Geckos stick to walls?
5:58 Do physicists know the answer?
7:01 The Square-Cube Law
9:10 Tiny Superheroes
10:23 Simulating the problem
13:36 Adding Air Resistance
15:14 The End?
16:16 What would happen if you were shrunk?
17:39 What interviewers actually look for
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Try S...
- Title
- This Is The Perfect Bowling Strategy
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- What is the optimal strategy for bowling? #science #veritasium #physics #bowling
- Title
- AlphaFold - The Most Useful Thing AI Has Ever Done
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The biggest problems in the world might be solved by tiny molecules unlocked using AI. Take your big idea online today with https://ve42.co/hostinger - code VE at checkout.
A huge thank you to John Jumper and Kathryn Tunyasuvunakool at Google Deepmind; and to David Baker and the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington for their invaluable expertise and explanations.
We’re incredibly grateful to Juanita Bagawan and Lucie Kerley at Google Deepmind, and Ian C. Haydon at the UW Institute for Protein Design for their assistance with some of the animation and imagery used in this video.
Special thanks to those at Google DeepMind Production Studios for their help interviewing John Jumper:
Director - Bernardo Resende
Director of Photography - Robert Messere
Senior Audio Technician - Perry Rogantin
Senior Production Coordinator - Sarah Ellen Morton
Studio Manager - Nicholas Duke
For more on ...
- Title
- Can You Keep Zooming In Infinitely?
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Here’s what happens when you just keep zooming in. Use code veritasium at https://incogni.com/veritasium to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.
A big thank you to Magnus Garbrecht from the University of Sydney for showing us around the lab and for his feedback on the script.
Special thanks to Quentin Ramasse for his expertise on the video.
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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0:00 Why is it hard to see atoms?
2:12 How does an electron microscope work?
4:09 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
5:11 Spherical Aberration
8:55 Field Ion Microscope
11:05 Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM)
13:24 Probe microscopes
14:02 An unlikely solution
18:08 Seeing atoms
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Join us on Patreon for early access videos, bonus content, and to support Veritasium! https://ve42.co/Pa...
- Title
- Why Super Glue Is Perfect For Gluing Skin
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Why does superglue always stick to your hands and never what you want it to? Get a little smarter every day with Brilliant. Visit https://brilliant.org/veritasium for a 30-day free trial and 20% off your annual premium subscription.
A heartfelt thank you to Dr. Allison Christy and Dr. John Bobo for their invaluable expertise, fresh perspectives, and explanations.
Thank you to Emily Von Stein and Chris Masahiro at Aron Alpha, Dr. Chantelle Champagne, and Dr. Rohit Gupta for their time and contributions to the initial research that laid the groundwork for this project.
Try Snatoms! A molecular modelling kit I invented where the atoms snap together.
https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
ANIMATION CORRECTION:
At 4:52, the negative charge should be drawn on the carbon at the end of the chain, not on the second to last carbon. This also holds...
- Title
- Why Is MIT Making Robot Insects?
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- What happens when you shrink robots down to the size of insects? Let’s explore the mind-bending physics behind their superpowers! Engineers get Onshape Professional free up to 6 months: go to https://www.onshape.pro/veritasium to create CAD models and bring your ideas to life.
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00:00 The Problem Of Surface Tension
3:16 How Does A Bee Fly?
7:08 What Powers Something So Small?
8:16 Tiny Muscles
10:36 Pogo Sticks On Mars
11:27 Mini Search Parties
13:29 Swarms Of Spybots
15:55 Penny Sized Combustion Engines
18:40 Science For Science’s Sake
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A massive thank you to Kevin Chen and the Soft and Micro Robotics Laboratory at MIT.
for hosting us and showcasing their incredible robots. Do check out their paper Acrobatics at Insect Scale: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.adp4256
We’re incredibly grateful to Mechanical Engineering at Cornell and the Harvard Micro...
- Title
- Why Don’t Railroads Need Expansion Joints?
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- How Thermite turned the clickety-clack of railroads into seamless, silent tracks. Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code veritasium at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/veritasium
A massive thank you to everyone at Goldschmidt for making this possible. With special thanks to Dr. Axel Hoeschen, Christof Gassmann and Claudia Koch.
If you want to learn all the details about why we don’t need expansion joints anymore, check out Grady’s excellent video here: youtu.be/zqmOSMAtadc
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically. https://snatoms.com/
Sign up to the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter
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00:00 The problem with continuous welded rail
03:33 How to weld two rails together
10:16 Why is rapidly cooled steel brittle?
11:40 Thermite ...
- Title
- The Man Who Took LSD and Changed The World
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- LSD-fiend, surfer, maverick — Kary Mullis might be the weirdest person ever to win the Nobel Prize. Get a little smarter every day with Brilliant. Visit https://brilliant.org/veritasium to get 20% off your annual premium subscription.
A massive thank you to Tom White, Hudson Freeze, and Henry Erlich for their time and expertise on the subject.
A huge thank you to Eleni Kleanthous, Jan Novoselec, Kieran Sparkes, Andrew Garcia, and UCSD’s Pride Lab for reviewing the science.
For great coverage of the PCR story, check out ‘Making PCR’ by Paul Rabinow - https://ve42.co/Rabinow1996
For exclusive behind-the-scenes content on the making of this video, join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/119438561
00:00 DNA under a microscope
01:17 Kary Mullis at Berkeley
02:50 Cetus and early biotech
04:16 How to detect sickle cell anemia
09:12 Kary Mullis at Cetus
10:39 Infinite DNA glitch exp...
- Title
- This Is the Oldest, Weirdest Instrument On Earth
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- This musical instrument is 400,000+ years old and still growing. 🌏 Get exclusive NordVPN deal here ➵ https://NordVPN.com/veritasium It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee!✌
Special thanks to Luray Caverns - https://luraycaverns.com/
A massive thanks to Rob Scallon, please check out his YouTube channel -- he posts some incredible videos, like this one -- https://youtu.be/cVqqNigImtU?si=otDDVq_00xB3qCy6
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Join us on Patreon for early access videos, bonus content, and to support Veritasium! https://ve42.co/PatreonDE
Patrons: Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alexander Tamas, Anton Ragin, Autodidactic Studios, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, Evgeny Skvortsov, Farbod Mansorian, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, Greg Scopel, I. H., Juan Benet, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Matthias Wrobel, Meekay, Michael Krugman, Orlando Bassotto, Paul Peijzel, Richard Sundvall, S...
- Title
- Explaining Pi With Pizza
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- When the demonstration hits your eye and it explains the value of pi, that’s Newton! #veritasium #science #physics
- Title
- 34 Years Of Strandbeest Evolution
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The surprising genius of Strandbeests. Fight the data brokers with Incogni. Head over to https://incogni.com/veritasium to get 60% off your annual subscription.
A massive thank you to Theo Jansen, to learn more about him and his Strandbeests check out: https://www.strandbeest.com/
A special thank you to Adam Savage, check out his channel Tested over at: https://www.youtube.com/tested
If you enjoyed the Strandbeest song at the end, you can hear the whole thing on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/by-popular-song-117493336
Also on Patreon: an extended bonus interview with Adam Savage https://www.patreon.com/posts/117886682
0:00 Creation of the Beests
2:40 Learning to walk
6:50 Overcoming the sand
9:00 Surviving the storms
11:46 Building muscle
14:27 A developing brain
17:39 Fossils and decay
18:13 Strandbeests and climate change
19:16 Legacy
20:03 The Virus i...
- Title
- What They (Probably) Don't Teach You About Rainbows At School
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- You probably don’t understand how a rainbow really works. Get a little smarter every day with Brilliant. Visit https://brilliant.org/veritasium to get 20% off your annual premium subscription.
Special thanks to Mats Vermeeren.
00:00 Most people don't understand rainbows
01:08 Light refraction explained
08:20 How does a rainbow form?
13:10 Circular rainbows
15:14 Why are rainbows curved?
17:30 Why can’t you see a rainbow with sunglasses?
18:43 Why is it brighter underneath a rainbow?
20:44 Different types of rainbow
23:46 Invention of the cloud chamber
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Join us on Patreon for early access videos, bonus content, and to support Veritasium! https://ve42.co/PatreonDE
Patrons: Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alexander Tamas, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Bill Linder, Blake Byers, Bruce, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, Evgeny Skvortsov, Farbod Mansorian, Ga...
- Title
- How Dishwashers Actually Work
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- I put cameras inside a dishwasher to wash away some common dishwasher myths. Learn more about the KitchenAid® 360° Max Jets Third Rack Dishwasher by visiting KitchenAid.com/veritasium #sponsored #kitchenaidambassador
- Title
- What Actually Happened To Amelia Earhart?
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The mistakes of Amelia Earhart’s final flight, and the physics that could have saved her. Use code VERITASIUM to get 50% off your 1st club crate when you join a club for kids aged 3+ or go to https://kiwico.com/veritasium
00:00 Amelia Earhart’s final flight
03:33 Who was Amelia Earhart?
05:36 The flight plan
07:13 How celestial navigation works
09:16 Invention of radio technology
12:02 Radio waves explained
22:44 Earhart makes her critical decision
24:55 Communication failures
28:30 “Gas is running low”
31:39 Her desperate final message
33:01 The small detail that could have saved her
Special thanks to Clifford Heath for his help putting together the radio demo, and the folks at the Victorian ARDF group for connecting us.
Thank you to Brian Harrison and Michael Murphy with the AWA Communication Technologies Museum for their assistance with early research.
Thank you t...
- Title
- The BEST way to tie your shoelaces
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Which is better - granny knot or square knot? Most of us are tying our laces wrong.
- Title
- The Most Important Material Ever Made
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Glass is one of the most important materials humans have ever made. Try out Saily by heading to https://saily.com/veritasium and remember to use coupon code veritasium to get 15% off your first purchase.
00:00 Glass and our place in the universe
01:23 How Gorilla Glass works
04:35 What is glass?
05:15 Is glass a liquid?
07:29 Different types of glass
09:59 Invention of transparent glass
11:56 Why is some glass transparent?
14:54 Invention of glass lenses
15:52 Development of magnification
18:02 How to make glass more durable
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Join us on Patreon for early access videos, bonus content, and to support Veritasium! https://ve42.co/PatreonDE
Patrons: Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alexander Tamas, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Bill Linder, Blake Byers, Bruce, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, Greg Scopel, I. H., John H. Austin,...
- Title
- On These Math Problems, Smarter People Do Worse
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Being better at math can make you worse at math problems, and it’s completely rational. Get all sides of every story at https://groundnews.com/Ve and read the news with a data-driven approach. Subscribe through my link for 50% off unlimited access– their biggest discount of the year.
00:00 This research paper has fascinated me for years
00:21 The skin cream question
04:20 How politics influences our reasoning
5:10 The gun control question
8:42 Are people rational decision makers?
9:27 Why people think tribally
10:38 What can we do about political polarisation?
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Join us on Patreon for early access videos and exclusive bonus content https://ve42.co/PatreonDE
Patrons: Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alexander Tamas, Anton Ragin, Bertrand Serlet, Bill Linder, Blake Byers, Bruce, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, Greg Scopel, I. H., John H. Austin, Jr., Juan Be...
- Title
- The Closest We’ve Come to a Theory of Everything
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The single principle that underpins all of physics. Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial and get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
A massive thank you to Prof. Steven Strogatz for his expertise and enthusiasm. As an exclusive bonus for our Patreon members, we've posted a longer interview with Prof. Strogatz over there: https://www.patreon.com/posts/principle-of-116042877
A huge thank you to Prof. Haithem Taha, Prof. Anthony Bloch, Dr. Carl-Fredrik Nyberg Brodda, Dr. Sarah Millholland, and Dr. Andrew Mitchell for all their help with finding the story and getting it right.
A special thanks to Dr. Aurèle Adam, Ron Haaksman, Marc Serra Peralta, and everyone at the Delft Makerspace for their help with preparing and performing experiments.
00:00 One rule that replaces all of physics
00:51 The problem of fastest descent
05:09 Fermat's principle
07:17 Bernoulli's solution
10:3...
- Title
- The real science of black holes
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- What would happen if you fell into a black hole? #astrophysics #einstein #generalrelativity
- Title
- We Might Find Alien Life In 1,796 Days
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Europa Clipper is looking for signs of alien life in a very deadly place. Head to http://80000hours.org/veritasium to start planning a career that can help change the world for the better.
A massive thank you to Dr. Robert Pappalardo for his expertise and time.
A huge thank you to Gretchen McCartney and Cynthia B. Phillips at NASA JPL for their help.
For more on hydrothermal vents, check out NaturalWorldFacts on YouTube - @NaturalWorldFacts
00:00 ATTEMPT NO LANDING.
01:06 Jupiter’s deadly radiation belts
03:56 Europa’s secret
06:15 Why Europa isn’t completely frozen
08:03 Effects of tidal flexing
09:13 Why alien life could exist
10:39 How Europa Clipper detects signs of life
11:34 Why not Enceladus?
13:01 Europa Clipper’s instruments
15:13 Launch date and first results
▀▀▀
Special thanks to our Patreon supporters! Join the community to hel...
- Title
- People said this experiment was impossible, so I tried it - Thermite Part 1
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The world’s first look inside a thermite reaction. Use code veritasium at https://incogni.com/veritasium to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.
A massive thank you to everyone at Goldschmidt for making this possible. With special thanks to Dr. Axel Hoeschen, Christof Gassmann and Claudia Koch.
00:00 What is thermite?
00:51 Hans Goldschmidt and the first thermite reaction
05:55 The reaction as it’s never been seen before
14:57 How thermite welding works
17:43 I destroyed a laptop!
26:44 How thermite is made
31:11 Blow-torching thermite to show how reactive it is
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically. https://snatoms.com/
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References:
Archives from Goldschmidt
Thermite via Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/WikiThermite
From the past to the present. via golds...
- Title
- I built a QR code with my bare hands to see how it works
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- How do QR codes work? The checkerboard patterns taking over the world, demystified. Go to https://Saily.com/veritasium and use the code ‘veritasium’ to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase.
Special thanks to Mashiro Hara and Yuki Watanabe.
00:00 I was wrong
00:49 How Morse Code revolutionized communication
03:57 How barcodes work
10:34 How QR codes store information
18:16 Why damaged QR codes still work
29:54 Why are QR codes so common?
31:21 How safe are QR codes?
32:25 The future of QR codes
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically. https://snatoms.com/
▀▀▀
References: https://ve42.co/QRCodeRefs
Images & Video:
1940’s grocery store - H.I.C - https://ve42.co/1940sShop
Why Americans Are Obsessed With Peanut Butter via Youtube - https://ve42.co/Pean...
- Title
- Exposing The Flaw In Our Phone System
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Can you trust your phone? Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial and get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
A huge thank you to Linus Sebastian and the team at Linus Tech Tips - check them out at @LinusTechTips
A massive thank you to Alexandre De Oliveira and Karsten Nohl (aka @hackingmatters) for making this demo possible. Karsten has made a great follow-up video on the subject, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miXRoy-5LLo
A special thanks to Crofton Black at Lighthouse Reports, Cathal Mc Daid at Enea, and James Hobson at @hacksmith
00:00 I hacked Linus!
00:59 How Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak hacked the telephone network
02:22 Early history of the telephone
07:08 The kidnapping of Sheikha Latifa
08:41 How Signalling System No. 7 works
11:03 Why SS7 is vulnerable to hacking
12:15 How hackers gain access to phones
16:17 How I wa...
- Title
- What Everyone Gets Wrong About Planes
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Myths and misconceptions about planes. Go to https://groundnews.com/Ver to see through media misconceptions and get all sides of every story. Subscribe to save 40% off unlimited access through our link.
If you enjoyed this video and want to go deeper, you'll find extended interviews, deleted scenes, and some of our early thumbnail concepts over on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/patreon-what-112039394
A massive thank you to Petter Hörnfeldt for his expertise and time. Check out @MentourPilot.
A huge thank you to Baz Collins, Nick Woods, Val Bukmanis, and everyone at the Queensland Air Museum for hosting us and making this shoot possible - https://ve42.co/QLDAir
A special thanks to Roddy McNamee for helping out with the script - https://ve42.co/RMcN
A big thank you to Emily Zhang, Petr Lebedev, and Casper Mebius for their help and guidance!
00:00 Can plane doors be opened mid-flight?
00:28 How hig...
- Title
- Why Democracy Is Mathematically Impossible
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Democracy might be mathematically impossible – here’s why. Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial and get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically. https://snatoms.com/
▀▀▀
Massive thanks to Prof. Eric Maskin for helping with the script. Thanks to Chris Dong for inspiring this video. Massive thanks to Latif Nasser for being part of this video. Massive thanks to Curtis Gilberts, and to Radiolab -- listen to their great episode on voting systems here https://radiolab.org/podcast/tweak-vote
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A few great proofs of Arrow’s impossibility theorem:
Yu, N. N. (2012). A one-shot proof of Arrow's impossibility theorem. Economic Theory, 523-525.- https://ve42.co/Yu2012
Geanakoplos, J. (2005). Three brief proofs of Arrow’s impossibility theorem. Econom...
- Title
- What Do You Hear?
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Hearing is about way more than sound #audioillusion
- Title
- These Illusions Fool Almost Everyone
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Audio illusions show us that hearing is about more than just sensing frequency. Which ones trick you every time? Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial and get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically. https://snatoms.com/
▀▀▀
A big thank you to Titus Grenyer over at Pep Organ for showing us around the Sydney Town Hall Organ, to Dr. Diana Deutsch for providing her illusions and insight into the field, to Casey Connor for advice on building sound illusions, and to Dr. Michael Bach for providing the motion-bounce illusion.
Pep organ: https://ve42.co/peporgan
Casey Connor’s Psychoacoustics: https://ve42.co/CaseyConnor
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References: https://ve42.co/AudioIllusionsRefs
Images & Video:
Aircraft Detection before ra...
- Title
- The Real Reason Robots Shouldn’t Look Like Humans | Supercut
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The robots of our future may look nothing like humans at all. Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial and get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
Huge thanks to Dr. Elliot Hawkes for giving us the updates on his robots, and for showing them to us over the years!
Our videos in this supercut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qevIIQHrJZg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daaDuC1kbds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMQbHMgK2rw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97t7Xj_iBv0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=058hRtaCWC0
0:00 - Intro
2:04 - Unstoppable Vine Robot
15:13 - Update on Vine Robot!
20:24 - Highest Jumping Robot
32:15 - Update on the Jumper!
38:26 - Micromouse Competition
1:02:15 - Benefit of non-humanoid robots
1:02:48 - Brilliant
1:04:24 - Bendy Machines
1:16:26 - Soft Robots
1:25:55 - Conclusion
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...
- Title
- Why People Prefer More Pain
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- We experimented to see how much pain our volunteers could handle. Go to https://headspace-web.app.link/e/vstm to try Headspace for free using the code VERITASIUM
Studies on Headspace - https://ve42.co/Headspace
A massive thank you to Rayner Moss for recreating the experiment equipment and making this shoot happen.
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Special thanks to our Patreon supporters! Join the community to help us keep our videos free, forever: https://ve42.co/PatreonDE
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