The Earth is clearly old, but exactly how old was difficult to work out. People long believed the Earth had only existed for several thousand years. Then, in the 1800’s, a study of geological features (including fjords) led scientists to the conclusion that the planet must be much older – at least millions of years
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All the large-scale structure in the universe may owe its existence to nothing. Sponsored by the Dyson 360 Eye Robot #ad: http://bit.ly/2cGqBRV Support Veritasium on Patreon: http://bit.ly/VePatreon Thanks to Patreon supporters: Bryan Baker, Donal Botkin, Tony Fadell, Saeed Alghamdi Let’s see how clearly I can explain this. We think of empty space as, well… empty,
What happens when a chain ladder lands on a table? Great video and concept by Andy Ruina. Let me know if you want me to post a follow up explaining the answer.
An introduction to alpha, beta, and gamma radiation
Which weight hits the ground first – the free weight or the weight attached to the chain?
A forest is like a meadow on useless stilts. Most amazing thing about trees: http://bit.ly/TFilQ8 We often imagine that unregulated competition produces optimal outcomes, behaviours, efficiencies, but trees and baggage carousels are two examples where the stable solution is worse for everyone than another strategy. This I find surprising and interesting – that evolution doesn’t
I’ve created an educational product to help people learn chemistry! You can buy it here: http://www.snatoms.com
To see what this looks like from under a glass table, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9WUaBGH7_I
If you spin a raw egg and then stop it, it will start spinning again without you having to touch it. A boiled egg, on the other hand, stops and stays stopped. Why is this? Well a raw egg contains a yolk that moves inside the egg independently of the shell. If you stop the
The Nobel Prize for physics in 2011 was awarded to Brian Schmidt, Adam Riess, and Saul Perlmutter for discovering that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. This finding was completely unexpected because it was thought that gravity should slow the expansion of the cosmos. The best current explanation of why the universe is
If the Earth were the size of a basketball and the moon a tennis ball, how far apart would they be? Diagrams that are not to scale make us think that they’re closer than they really are.
Can you solve these four rotation-related riddles? Support Veritasium on Patreon: http://ve42.co/patreon Test yourself playlist: http://ve42.co/testurself Huge thanks to Patreon supporters: Jeff Straathof, Zach Mueller, Ron Neal, Nathan Hansen I came across these four physics puzzles over the years in discussions with Neil deGrasse Tyson (riddle 4: which part(s) of a moving train are going
ZoggFromBetelgeuse’s solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwl-rBVbWAY This is a preliminary solution to the spinning disk trick based on the commonly cited tippe top explanation. I have my doubts that it tells the whole story because the disk seems to tilt, so the argument about constant angular velocity is in doubt. I wonder if the weight of the disk
What forces (i.e. pushes or pulls) are acting on you right now? Most people can identify the gravitational force down, but there must be something else otherwise you would accelerate down towards the center of the Earth. The other main force on you is called the normal force. It is a force perpendicular to the
This is the first Veritasium science video. It addresses one of the most fundamental concepts in science: the idea that all things are made of atoms, tiny particles that are in perpetual motion. They attract each other when a little distance apart and repel when squeezed together.
What passes through a block of ice more quickly, copper wire or fishing line?
Scientists have combined ultrasound, viruses and synthetic drugs to control regions of the brain. Check out Skillshare: https://skl.sh/veritasium (first 500 get 2 months free) Special thanks to Prof. Mikhail Shapiro and Dr. Jerzy Szablowski: http://shapirolab.caltech.edu Human brains are complicated – the most complicated thing in the known universe, many people say. So far we understand
An experiment on how turbulent convection in Earth’s core makes a magnetic field Get a free audiobook with a free 30 day trial at http://www.audible.com/Veritasium or text Veritasium to 500-500 Huge thanks to Prof. Dan Lathrop and team: http://ve42.co/Lathrop Companion video to explain Earth’s magnetic fields in more detail: Australians! I’m on my way. I’ll
This is the solution to: http://youtu.be/QD3hbVG1yxM Watch this first!
The story of a controversial physics question on the qualifying exam for the 2014 US Physics Olympiad team. How does a uniform cable beneath a helicopter hang? Visit https://SimpliSafe.com/veritasium to learn more and to get at least 30% off your SimpliSafe security system! Thanks to SimpliSafe for sponsoring a portion of this video. Thanks to
Most people recognize that atoms are the fundamental building blocks of all matter around us. An atom itself is composed of protons, neutrons and electrons. The simplest atom is the hydrogen atom because it consists of only one proton and one electron. If a neutron is added to the nucleus, the atom is still hydrogen,
Kodak detected the first atomic bomb before anyone else figured it out. Then they made a deal not to tell anyone. Thanks to HBO Max, and their new show raised by Wolves for sponsoring this video! https://rb.gy/alghwn Thanks to Uranium: Twisting the Dragon’s Tail for the opening clip: https://www.pbs.org/show/uranium-twisting-dragons-tail/ References: Albuquerque Tribune Bulletin, July 16,
I saw my first wild koalas while driving on the great ocean road. Generally their days are not very exciting. They spend most of their time sleeping and the rest of the time eating eucalyptus leaves. The eucalyptus leaves are tough to digest which explains their consumate napping. Plus they require bacteria in their gut
Watch this first! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD3hbVG1yxM Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/veritasium Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veritasium Special thanks to the Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, especially Gary for helping source the equipment and Raquel for filming.
Fritz Haber is the scientist who arguably most transformed the world. Part of this video is sponsored by Wren. Offset your carbon footprint on Wren: https://www.wren.co/start/veritasium1. For the first 100 people who sign up, I will personally pay for the first month of your subscription! ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ A huge thanks to Dan Charles for writing a
I am working on some big new projects I’m excited to share with you! So this video is a little different from most of the others. The channel is an element of truth, after all, not an element of science. This is my truth. It may not be everyone’s but that’s ok too. Clips included
NEW CHANNEL! http://youtube.com/sciencium For a long time we thought the Moon was completely dry, but it turns out there are actually three sources of lunar water. Thanks to Google Making and Science for supporting the new channel! http://youtube.com/makingscience Thanks to Patreon supporters: Nathan Hansen, Donal Botkin, Tony Fadell, Zach Mueller, Ron Neal Support Veritasium on
Chaos theory means deterministic systems can be unpredictable. Thanks to LastPass for sponsoring this video. Click here to start using LastPass: https://ve42.co/VeLP Animations by Prof. Robert Ghrist: https://ve42.co/Ghrist Want to know more about chaos theory and non-linear dynamical systems? Check out: https://ve42.co/chaos-math Butterfly footage courtesy of Phil Torres and The Jungle Diaries: https://ve42.co/monarch Solar system,
Learned helplessness can prevent people from achieving their goals, something I’ve experienced first hand. Check out Audible: http://bit.ly/AudibleVe More walk and talk videos: http://bit.ly/2Veritasium
For a report on ABC’s Catalyst program (http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/), I visited the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland to find out what is being done now that the Higgs Boson has been discovered. Although its mass has been measured around 125-126 GeV most of the other properties of the particle remain unknown. Its spin appears to be
Bayes’ theorem explained with examples and implications for life. Check out Audible: http://ve42.co/audible Support Veritasium on Patreon: http://ve42.co/patreon I didn’t say it explicitly in the video, but in my view the Bayesian trap is interpreting events that happen repeatedly as events that happen inevitably. They may be inevitable OR they may simply be the outcome
The answer to the question – what happens to a tennis ball tied to the bottom of a slinky after the top of the slinky is let go? For a great explanation, check out Rhett Allain’s analysis here: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/09/modeling-a-falling-slinky/
A short a cappella tribute to experimentalists. It is sung while performing three simple experiments with household items: Mentos dropped in diet Coke, a tea bag emptied and burned, and a ping pong ball floating in the air stream of a hair dryer.
This video is sponsored by Brilliant. You can get started for free, or the first 200 people to sign up via https://brilliant.org/veritasium get 20% off a yearly subscription. Check out Adam Savage’s video: https://youtu.be/h_zytOcMwys A massive thanks to Adam Savage and the whole Tested Crew – especially Kristen Lomasney, Ryan Kiser, and Joey Fameli. Thank
The merging of two neutron stars was detected by gravitational waves and then by telescopes in all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. This is a historic detection as it demonstrates: – the first gravitational waves detected from inspiraling neutron stars – the first joint observation by gravitational wave and electromagnetic wave astronomy – identification of
As the universe expands, #expanding #space is said to “stretch” photons. But if it stretches photons, does it also stretch molecules, galaxies and you? A portion of this video was sponsored by Salesforce. Go to https://salesforce.com/veritasium to learn more. Special thanks to Geraint Lewis – this video was based on his paper “On the relativity
Physics of contraptions meant to go faster than light. Audible: http://bit.ly/AudibleVe My video about the problem with Facebook: http://bit.ly/PwFB Special thanks to MinutePhysics for visual effects and Prof. Geraint Lewis for revisions to earlier drafts of this video.
If you repeat something enough times, it comes to feel good and true. Support Veritasium on Patreon: http://bit.ly/VePatreon Science with Hot Wheels! My vids for kids: http://bit.ly/VeHotWheels More info on cognitive ease: http://bit.ly/29OMGas This episode was inspired by the book Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. This video was edited by Daniel Joseph Files,
The Salton Sea is the largest body of water in California, home to the second most diverse group of birds in America and it exists by accident. Another great video on the Salton Sea: https://youtu.be/otIU6Py4K_A I used archive from this video. Music by Kevin MacLeod, www.incompetech.com ‘Mirage’, ‘Hyperfun’, ‘Marty Gots a Plan’, ‘Past the Edge’
In 2015 astronomers successfully predicted the appearance of a supernova within a couple weeks. How did they do it? Win your Ultimate Tech Bundle by entering Fasthosts’ Techie Test here: https://fasthosts.com/veritasium (Competition now closed) This video was sponsored by Fasthosts. Special thanks to Geraint Lewis for consulting on gravitational lensing. Check out his YouTube channel:
Which experts have real expertise? This video is sponsored by Brilliant. The first 200 people to sign up via https://brilliant.org/veritasium get 20% off a yearly subscription. Thanks to https://www.chess24.com/ and Chessable for the clip of Magnus. ▀▀▀ Chase, W. G., & Simon, H. A. (1973). Perception in chess. Cognitive psychology, 4(1), 55-81. – https://ve42.co/chess1 Calderwood,
This video is sponsored by Brilliant. The first 200 people to sign up via https://brilliant.org/veritasium get 20% off a yearly subscription. Astronomers think there should be 5 times as much dark matter as ordinary matter – a shadow universe that makes up most of the mass in the universe. But after decades of trying, no
Congratulations, the acceleration of the bungy jump is greatest at the jumper’s lowest point. This is because the bungy is now stretched to its maximum, meaning if applies a force up on the jumper more than twice his weight. This means he accelerates up at a greater rate than the acceleration down when he left
The General Theory of Relativity tells us gravity is not a force, gravitational fields don’t exist. Objects tend to move on straight paths through curved spacetime. Thanks to Caséta by Lutron for sponsoring this video. Find out more at: https://www.lutron.com/veritasium Huge thanks to Prof. Geraint Lewis for hours of consulting on this video so I
Is the future of the universe already determined? Vsauce tackles “What is Random?”: https://youtu.be/9rIy0xY99a0 Special Thanks to: Prof Stephen Bartlett, Prof Phil Moriarty, Prof Andrea Morello, Prof Tim Bedding, Prof Michio Kaku, A/Prof Alex Argyros, Henry Reich, Vanessa Hill, Dianna Cowern, George Ruiz and Mystery Cat. Views expressed in this video are not necessarily those