Welcome


The title says it all: this blog features physics videos found everywhere on the web: animations, demonstrations, lectures, documentaries.
Please go here if you want to suggest other nice physics videos, and here if I mistakingly infringed your copyrights. If you understand French, you'll find a huge selection of physics videos in French in my other blog Vidéos de Physique.

Tuesday 31 May 2011

Eureka! Episode 18 - Evaporation and Condensation

A goldfish bowl filled with water demonstrates the process of evaporation, in which speeding molecules escape from a liquid to form a gas.

Other Eureka episodes

Monday 30 May 2011

Atomic Theory

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.

Other Veritasium videos

Sunday 29 May 2011

Yale: Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics, Lecture 13

ASTR 160 - Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics
Spring 2007
Source: Yale University, Open Yale Courses

Four post-Newtonian gravitational effects are introduced. The first of these is the Perihelion Precession, which occurs when the major axis of a planet's elliptical orbit precesses within its orbital plane, in response to changing gravitational forces exerted by other planets. Secondly, deflection of light is described as the curving of light as it passes near a large mass. Gravitational redshift is explained as a frequency effect that occurs as light moves away from a massive body such as a star or black hole. Finally, the existence and effects of gravitational waves are discussed.

See other lectures in this series.

Saturday 28 May 2011

Introductory NMR & MRI: Video 09-1: Introduction to k-space

Paul Callaghan gives an introduction to NMR and MRI. This is part 1 of the 9th video of the series and talks about Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). 10 episode series produced by Magritek Ltd.

View other videos of this series.

Julius Sumner Miller - Levers and inclined planes

This is Julius Sumner Miller and physics is his business!  Here he shows that all simple machines can be considered as a lever or as an inclined plane.

Other physics demonstrations by Julius Sumner Miller




Friday 27 May 2011

Frequency - Sixty Symbols

You've heard of kilohertz and megahertz, but when things get down to the size of atoms, wave frequency gets to some seriously high values.   With Professor Philip Moriarty.

Source:  Sixty Symbols.


Thursday 26 May 2011

IBPH Episode #8 - Simple Harmonic Motion (Part 2)

This is the second video on "Simple Harmonic Motion" (SHM)
Topics covered in this episode: (a) The period of a gravitational pendulum (b) Using a gravitational pendulum to determine the acceleration due to gravity, g, (c) Measuring mass using harmonic oscillators, (d) Energy in SHM, (e) Connection between SHM and uniform circular motion.

Source:  Horatiu Pop

Other videos by Horatiu Pop

Wednesday 25 May 2011

MIT 8.01 Classical Mechanics Lecture 16

MIT Physics Course
Professor Walter Lewin
8.01 Physics  I: Classical Mechanics, Fall 1999

Elastic and inelastic collisions, conservation of momentum, conservation of energy, center of mass frame of reference.

See other videos in this series.

Eureka! Episode 17 - Molecules in Liquid

As molecules in a solid get hotter, they vibrate faster and faster and eventually slip out of their lattice-work pattern. When this occurs, the substance melts, changing from a solid to a liquid state.

Other Eureka episodes

Tuesday 24 May 2011

What causes the seasons?

There are a few persistent misconceptions about what causes the seasons. Most believe it is the distance between the Earth and sun which varies to give us seasonal temperature variations. However it is actually the directness of the sun's rays leading to more intense sunshine in summer and less in winter.

Other Veritasium videos

Monday 23 May 2011

de Broglie Waves - Sixty Symbols

Professor Roger Bowley talks about the strange world of de Broglie waves and particles, and applications to the electron microscope.

Source: Sixty Symbols

Building Stonehenge in your backyard

A very clever way of moving heavy things.

Found on Science Hobbyist

Saturday 21 May 2011

Collin's Lab: Homebrew Piezo

Piezoelectric materials are about as close to magic as you can get. They turn physical pressure into electricity and can even turn electricity into physical pressure - an amazing sort of bidirectional converter for mechanical and electrical energies. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that you can easily 'grow' your own piezoelectric crystals overnight using just a couple of common ingredients.

Friday 20 May 2011

IBPH Episode #7 - Simple Harmonic Motion (Part 1)

Simple harmonic motion (SHM) is a type of periodic motion for which the force that drives it is proportional to the displacement from the equilibrium position. What is the equation that describes this type of motion? The answer and more in this video.

Source:  Horatiu Pop

Other videos by Horatiu Pop


IBPH Episode #7 - Simple Harmonic Motion (Part 1) from Horatiu Pop on Vimeo.

Thursday 19 May 2011

Imaginary Number - Sixty Symbols

Whether you call it "i" or "j", this is one symbol which is hard to fathom.

Source: Sixty Symbols .

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Introductory NMR & MRI: Video 08: Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Paul Callaghan gives an introduction to NMR and MRI. This is the 8th video of the series and talks about Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

View other videos of this series.

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Eureka! Episode 16 - Molecules in Solids

This program defines the three states of matter, and illustrates the lattice-work pattern of molecules in solids.

Other Eureka episodes

Monday 16 May 2011

Mass to Light Ratio - Sixty Symbols

It's a funny symbol that looks like a seagull - but it helps astronomers learn what galaxies are made of.

Professor Michael Merrifield from Sixty Symbols .



Sunday 15 May 2011

Misconceptions About Falling Objects

If you drop a heavy object and a light object simultaneously, which one will reach the ground first? A lot of people will say the heavy object, but what about those who know both will land at the same time? What do they think? Some believe both objects have the same gravitational pull on them and/or both fall to the ground with the same constant speed. Neither of these things is true, however. The force is greater on the heavy object and both objects accelerate at the same rate as they approach the earth, i.e. they both speed up but at the same rate.

Other Veritasium videos

Saturday 14 May 2011

Make your own capacitor

2 sheets of aluminium foil separated with saran wrap.

Friday 13 May 2011

How to build a radiation detector from household materials

IBPH Episode #6 - Graphs of Motion

What is the purpose of plotting various graphs for moving bodies? How are quantities like displacement, velocity and acceleration calculated from graphs of motion? This podcast covers the three main types of graphs: displacement-time, velocity-time and acceleration-time graphs.

Source: Horatiu Pop

Other videos by Horatiu Pop

Wednesday 11 May 2011

How smoke detectors work

Bill Hammack from University of Illinois takes apart a smoke detector and shows how it uses a radioactive source to generate a tiny current which is disrupted when smoke flows through the sensor. He describes how a special transistor called a MOSFET can be used to detect the tiny current changes.

Other "Engineer Guy" videos


Tuesday 10 May 2011

Introductory NMR & MRI: Video 07: Measuring T1 and T2 Relaxation

Paul Callaghan gives an introduction to NMR and MRI. This is the 7th video of the series and covers the topics of "Measuring T1 and T2".

Source: Magritek Ltd.

View other videos of this series.

Eureka! Episode 15 - The Pulley

Eureka! shows viewers how a pulley works to lift a heavy object. If you double the number of ropes supporting the weight, you double the mechanical advantage.

Other Eureka episodes

Monday 9 May 2011

How MRI works

Howard Hart explains how the magnetic resonance imagaging works. Hart pioneered MRI design with General Electric.

MIT 8.01 Classical Mechanics Lecture 15

Momentum - Conservation of Momentum - Center of Mass.


MIT Physics Course
Professor Walter Lewin
8.01 Physics  I: Classical Mechanics, Fall 1999

See other videos in this series.

Sunday 8 May 2011

Running on a pool of oobleck

Oobleck, a mixture of cornstarch and water, is a non-newtonian fluid.

Hubble Constant - Sixty Symbols

Its exact value has been the subject of debate, but the Hubble Constant is an important figure in modern astronomy. With Professor Michael Merrifield, from University of Nottingham.

Saturday 7 May 2011

Making Muons - Backstage Science

Strange, exotic particles which are made at the huge ISIS particle accelerator in Oxfordshire.

Other Backstage Science videos

Gravity, gas and stardust: School's lecture 2006

The Institute of Physics Schools lecture for 2006 was delivered by Pete Edwards of Durham University.

Questions about the universe have preoccupied mankind since the beginning of civilisation. The last three years have witnessed considerable progress in our understanding of what makes the universe tick.

The show includes demonstrations, stunning images and 3D movie clips to uncover the evidence for the birth of the universe in a Big Bang an explore its structure. It shows how, using supercomputers, cosmologists can predict the fate of the cosmos.

Friday 6 May 2011

Monday 2 May 2011

IBPH Episode #5 - Uniform Motion

The topic of this episode is Uniform Motion. What is an equation of motion? How does the equation of motion look like in the specific case of uniform motion? How do we use equations of motion in solving problems? The answers, with examples, in this episode.

Source:  Horatiu Pop

Other videos by Horatiu Pop


IBPH Episode #5 - Uniform Motion from Horatiu Pop on Vimeo.

Sunday 1 May 2011

Yale: Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics, Lecture 12

ASTR 160 - Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics
Spring 2007
Source: Yale University, Open Yale Courses

Metrics in general relativity, Schwarzschild metric,  perihelion precession of Mercury.

See other lectures in this series.