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.

Friday 31 August 2012

ScienceCasts: Watch Out For The Blue Moon

The second full Moon of August--a "Blue Moon"--is just around the corner. It will probably look just like any other full Moon but, on rare occasions, the Moon really does turn blue. Could it happen this month?

 

Mechanical Universe 02 - The Law of Falling Bodies

Unfortunately, this video has been deleted.

Double Vision - Sixty Symbols

A huge crystal of calcite is used to demonstrate birefringence, a side-effect of light's refraction through certain materials.

Other Sixty Symbols videos


 

Thursday 30 August 2012

Mechanical Universe 01 - Introduction

Unfortunately, this video has been deleted.

Galileo and Motion

Galileo studied the motion of objects rolling down an inclined plane, and made note of patterns in those motions which he extrapolated to the motion of falling objects.

Other animations by Penn State Schuylkill

ScienceCasts: The Radiation Belt Storm Probes

Most spacecraft try to avoid the Van Allen Belts, two doughnut-shaped regions around Earth filled with "killer electrons." This morning NASA launched two heavily-shielded spacecraft directly into the belts. The Radiation Belt Storm Probes are on a two-year mission to study the Van Allen Belts and to unravel the mystery of their unpredictability.

 

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Guns in Space

Why firing a gun on the moon is not a good idea.

Other Vsauce videos

 

Microwave Fabry-Perot interferometer

Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic wave, just as visible light is. Being a way, it can experience interference, just as light can, but having a wavelength on the order of an inch long, in this demonstration, it is much easier to observe the interference. In this video, we see how a Fabry-Perot interferometer works.

 

Transverse Zeeman effect

Starting with no magnetic field, then up to 0,8 T.    See the splitting of spectral lines of Cd light.

 

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Hewitt-Drew-it! 12.Free Fall

Paul investigates and develops free-fall equations as Phil Physiker drops a boulder, with a speedometer attached, from a high cliff.

Other Hewitt-Drew-it! videos

SLAC at 50: "Creating the Future"

For five decades, scientists from around the world have been coming to SLAC to seek answers to some of the most challenging questions about our universe. This video, produced in honor of SLAC's 50th anniversary, celebrates the lab's evolution from groundbreaking particle physics research facility to one of the world's foremost multi-program laboratories, leading the way with some of today's most important discoveries.

 

Monday 27 August 2012

Sunday 26 August 2012

Foam Physics - Sixty Symbols

What is the link between giraffes, wine corks and the map of the Universe? More videos at http://www.sixtysymbols.com/

Other Sixty Symbols videos

Collapsing Solenoid

A slinky is stretched out on a glass rod and connected to 120 VAC. When power is applied, the slinky immediately collapses due to Lenz's Law.

See other MIT physics demos

Saturday 25 August 2012

Schrödinger's Cat

No cats were harmed in the making of this video.

Other Minute Physics videos

Michio Kaku Explains String Theory

Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku explains the basics of String Theory in this clip from his Floating University lecture.

IDTIMWYTIM: Centrifugal Force

In this edition of IDTIMWYTIM, Hank addresses the so-called centrifugal force, and explains why you really mean centripetal force.

Other Sci-Show videos

Friday 24 August 2012

Magnetizing and Demagnetizing an Iron Rod

An iron bar is used to try to pick up some paperclips or thumbtacks. It is not able to do this because it is not magnetized. The rod is placed in a long solenoid and DC power applied. The rod becomes magnetized and is able to pick up some of the paperclips or tacks. The rod is again placed inside the solenoid and 120 VAC applied. This demagnetizes the rod and it will not pickup any tacks.

See other MIT physics demos

Misconceptions About Temperature

Made for ABC TV Catalyst  as an extended version of "Comparing Temperatures" video.

Other Veritasium videos

Hewitt-Drew-it! 10. Unit Conversion

Paul discusses unit conversion by means of cancellation, illustrated with a simple average-velocity problem featuring Fast Freda.

Other Hewitt-Drew-it! videos

Thursday 23 August 2012

Rare Type 1a Supernova Progenitor System Observed

The multi-institutional Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) team has released the first-ever direct observations of a Type 1a supernova progenitor system. Astronomers have collected evidence indicating that the progenitor system of a Type 1a supernova, called PTF 11kx, contains a red giant star. This artist's conception shows a binary star system that produces recurrent novae, and ultimately, the supernova PTF 11kx. A red giant star (foreground) loses some of its outer layers though a stellar wind, and some of it forms a disk around a companion white dwarf star. This material falls onto the white dwarf, causing it to experience periodic nova eruptions every few decades. When the mass builds up to the near the ultimate limit a white dwarf star can take, it explodes as a Type Ia supernova, destroying the white dwarf. (Animation credit: Romano Corradi and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias)

 

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Electromagnetism - Magnetic Force: The Four Fundamental Forces of Physics

In this final segment on the four fundamental forces of physics, Hank tackles the magnetic force, the second of the two ways in which electromagnetism is apparent in the universe.

Other Sci-Show videos



Current and Magnets - Sixty Symbols

Professor Roger Bowley uses fuse wire, magnets and electrical current for a quick demonstration.

Other Sixty Symbols videos

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Bimetallic Strip

A bimetallic strip (12" ) of iron and aluminum is vertically fixed at one end to a board. The top end has a pointer that is free to move. The bimetallic strip is straight at room temperature. When heated with a blow torch, the strip curves due to differential expansion.

See other MIT physics demos

Electromagnetism - Electrostatic Force: The Four Fundamental Forces of Physics

Hank reaches the fourth and final of the four fundamental interactions in physics: electromagnetism. In this part, he teaches us about the electrostatic force, which builds up a charge in an object and can travel in the form of an electron stream. Stay tuned for Part II, where we will finish up the series with the magnetic force.

Other Sci-Show videos

The Electric Cannon - Sixty Symbols

We use an unusual cannon to demonstrate electrical conductivity at different temperatures.

Other Sixty Symbols videos

Hewitt-Drew-it! 9. Bikes and Bee Problem

Paul shows a simple solution to a classic problem involving the motion of a bee that flies to-and-fro between approaching bikes.

Other Hewitt-Drew-it! videos

Friday 17 August 2012

How Does A Boomerang Work?

A boomerang can execute its unique roundtrip flight by making use of three fundamental physics principles: lift, relative velocity, and gyroscopic precession.

Other Veritasium videos

The Evolution of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Over the course of its 50 year history, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has evolved from a groundbreaking particle physics research facility to one of the world's foremost multipurpose laboratories. Here lab director Persis Drell tells the story of how the focus of research at SLAC has grown and changed since the earliest days.

(SLAC is for Stanford Linear Accelerator Center)

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Change in Frequency of Voice with Helium

Helium introduced into a resonant cavity, including the lungs of the demonstrator, will increase the frequency of all pitches originating in the cavity. This is because the speed of sound in helium is greater than the speed of sound in air.

See other MIT physics demos

Thursday 16 August 2012

Gigayear - Sixty Symbols

Astronomers have a symbol for 1,000,000,000 years - that's a billion years.
More symbols at http://www.sixtysymbols.com/

Other Sixty Symbols videos

Gravitation: The Four Fundamental Forces of Physics #3

Hank continues our series on the four fundamental forces of physics with a description of gravitation - the interaction by which physical bodies attract with a force proportional to that of their masses, and which is responsible for keeping planets in orbit, among other things.

Other Sci-Show videos

 

Refraction & Total Internal Reflection

A beam of light from a helium-neon laser is directed at a tank of water and is refracted as it enters the water. The outgoing angle of refraction is smaller than the incident angle. Next, the laser is directed from below the water's surface. At a certain critical angle, the beam is totally reflected at the surface, there is no outgoing refracted beam.


See other MIT physics demos

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Monday 13 August 2012

Dark Matter - Sixty Symbols

We take a look at mysterious dark matter - and a chocolate pie.
More videos at http://www.sixtysymbols.com/

Other Sixty Symbols videos

Weak Interaction: The Four Fundamental Forces of Physics #2

Hank continues our series on the four fundamental forces of physics by describing the weak interaction, which operates at an infinitesimally small scale to cause particle decay.

Other Sci-Show videos

Rutherford Scattering - A Classroom Demo

A simple way to demonstrate back-scattering in a classroom. For more information on this and many other demonstrations of physics and astronomy, please visit us at:
http://www.ap.smu.ca/demos

Sunday 12 August 2012

Hewitt-Drew-it! 7.Force Vectors on an Incline

Paul analyzes forces acting on a block on an inclined plane, leading to forces on a block sliding on a curved surface.

Other Hewitt-Drew-it! videos

Usain Bolt vs. Gravity

Who's faster over 10 meters - the fastest sprinter in the world, or gravity?

Other Minute Physics videos

Saturday 11 August 2012

Strong Interaction: The Four Fundamental Forces of Physics

Part one of a four part series on the fundamental forces (or interactions) of physics begins with the strong force or strong interaction - which on the small scale holds quarks together to form protons, neutrons and other hadron particles.

 

 Hank continues his primer on the strongest of the four fundamental interactions of physics, the strong interaction. Today he talks about the nuclear force and a force carrier called a pion.

 

Other Sci-Show videos

ScienceCasts: 2012 Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid meteor shower is underway. There's more to see than meteors, however, when the shower peaks on August 11th through 13th. The brightest planets in the solar system are lining up in the middle of the display.

 

Friday 10 August 2012

Gargamelle and Neutral Currents - Sixty Symbols

Gathering dust (and beer cans) under a tree at CERN - it's Gargamelle. This experiment played a key role in Nobel Prize-winning research into the weak force. It's now on public display

Other Sixty Symbols videos

Science off the Sphere: Yo-Yos in Space

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit uses his off-duty time to practice his microgravity yo-yo skills.

Other Science off the Sphere videos

Thursday 9 August 2012

Physics of Sailing ft. Olympian Hunter Lowden - Creators Invade London

How does a sailboat work? The standard idea is that the wind pushes the sails from behind, causing the boat to move forward. Although this technique is used at times, it is not the most efficient way to sail a boat (and it means the boat can never go faster than the wind). Lift is the key mechanism driving a boat forwards. As air flows over the sails, it moves faster over the outer side, creating lower pressure than on the inner side. This produces a force which is mostly to the side and a bit forwards. Lift on the centerboard pushes to the opposite side, cancelling the sideways force and adding a forward component of force to the boat.

Other Veritasium videos

Physics of High Jump - Fosbury Flops Invade London

The strange thing about high jump is that the technique changed dramatically after 1968, when Dick Fosbury used his trademark flop to win the gold medal at the Olympics in Mexico City.

Previously the straddle had been the most common jumping technique, but after the introduction of safer landing matts, the new unorthodox Fosbury Flop became the jump of choice.   There are good physical reasons for this - the style allows the jumper to pass over the bar while his or her centre of mass actually passes below the bar.

Other Veritasium videos

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Curiosity mars rover

Some videos about Mars rover Curiosity.







Monday 6 August 2012

Kepler's Laws Tutorial

In this video you will be introduced to Kepler's 3 laws and see how they are relevant to orbiting objects. The video also makes use of computer simulations created by PhET Interactive Simulations (University of Colorado).

Friday 3 August 2012

How A Wing Actually Works

Lift is an important concept, not only in flying but also in sailing. This week I'm talking to Olympic Sailor, Hunter Lowden. But before I get to the physics of sailing I thought I would explain lift since it's generally poorly understood.

 Wait a minute: is it Veritasium, or Minute Physics?!?!?

Other Veritasium videos

 

The Most Burly Hurls

Which is the most intense Olympic throwing event? Shot put? Hammer? Discus? Javelin?

Other Minute Physics videos