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.

Monday 31 December 2012

How High Can We Build?

What's the tallest THING we've ever built? How tall will we EVER be able to build?

Other VSauce videos

 

Pressure Fields and Fluid Acceleration

National Committee for Fluid Mechanics Films
Ascher H. Shapiro, MIT

Other videos from this series

Film notes


Sunday 30 December 2012

Hewitt-Drew-it! 28. Work and Potential Energy

Paul illustrates work and potential energy via a barbell and other vertical lifts, and the energy states of a simple pendulum.

Other Hewitt-Drew-it! videos

Julius Sumner Miller - Soap Bubbles

Physics demonstrations by Julius Sumner Miller- soap bubbles and soap films (and some mercury droplets).

Other physics demonstrations by Julius Sumner Miller



Saturday 29 December 2012

Supernova Shock Waves—Powerhouses of the Galaxy

Yasunobu Uchiyama, a scientist with the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at SLAC, delivered the Nov. 27 SLAC Public Lecture, "Supernova Shock Waves: Powerhouses of the Galaxy."

Uchiyama's talk highlights the powerful remnants of exploding stars, called supernovae, which are among the universe's most spectacular pyrotechnics displays.

For thousands of years after a supernova explosion, massive orbs of high-energy particles with strong magnetic fields remain confined by the expanding shock wave. These remnants "are among the most beautiful and mysterious objects in the cosmos," notes Uchiyama, a member of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Large Area Telescope collaboration who has expertise in supernova remnants.

The Fermi space telescope allows researchers to study supernova remnants in many wavelengths, from visible light to radio waves, X-rays and gamma rays. Uchiyama describes Fermi telescope observations that reveal how supernova remnants act as giant particle accelerators, spewing high-energy cosmic rays. Lecturer: Yasunobu Uchiyama, SLAC

Mechanical Universe 06 - Newton's Laws

Unfortunately, this video has been deleted.

Top 10 reasons Why We Know the Earth is Round

10 reasons why we know the earth is round.

Other Minute Physics videos

Friday 28 December 2012

Wobbly Earth - Sixty Symbols

Axial precession is the reason the Earth's axis has a long-term but quite dramatic "wobble", as explained here by Roger Bowley and Mike Merrifield.

Other Sixty Symbols videos

 

Hewitt-Drew-it! 27. Freddy-Frog Momentum Problem

Paul explains two ways that Freddy the Frog slows a horizontally-moving skateboard by vertically falling on it.

Other Hewitt-Drew-it! videos

Dark Matter

Physicists estimate that dark matter accounts for about twenty three percent of the known universe - the only problem is that no one really knows what it is...

Other Sci-Show videos

 

Thursday 27 December 2012

Measuring the Universe

The vast size of the universe requires special units when measuring distances. This video explains the Astronomical Unit, the Light-year and the parsec.

 

Is There Poop on the Moon?

All about toilets in space.

Other Minute Physics videos

Inverted Pendulum

A physical pendulum finds stability in its inverted position when driven at the proper frequency and amplitude combination.

The physical pendulum seen here is mounted on a ball-bearing pivot and can rotate 360 degrees; the pivot is driven at about 50 Hz with an amplitude of about 1 cm (3/4" per stroke) by a Sears Craftsman Auto Scroller Saw (model 315.172090); the length is 45 cm and the center of mass is slightly above 15 cm from the pivot; the rotational inertia is roughly 4x10^(-4) kg*m^2; the mass is about 100 grams.

For more details and references for further study see: http://sciencedemonstrations.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k16940&pa... 

 Shot in 24 and 300 fps. Thanks to Rob, Fu, and Daniel for their help.

    

Wednesday 26 December 2012

X-ray Laser Captures Atoms and Molecules in Action

The Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC is the world's most powerful X-ray laser. Just two years after turning on in 2009, breakthrough science is emerging from the LCLS at a rapid pace. A recent experiment used the X-rays to create and probe a 2-million-degree piece of matter in a controlled way for the first time—a significant leap toward understanding the extreme conditions found in the hearts of stars and giant planets, and a finding which could further guide research into nuclear fusion, the mechanism that powers the sun. Upcoming experiments will investigate the fundamental, atomic-scale processes behind such phenomena as superconductivity and magnetism, as well as peering into the molecular workings of photosynthesis in plants.

 Filmed and produced by SLAC Multimedia Communications; Music ("The Dig") courtesy Dwight Chalmers @ The Listen Laboratory. Copyright 2012 SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

 

Hewitt-Drew-it! 26. Fish-Lunch Momentum Problem

Paul illustrates momentum conservation with a two-fish system.

Other Hewitt-Drew-it! videos

Tuesday 25 December 2012

ScienceCasts: Christmas Sky Show

The Moon and Jupiter are converging for a heavenly sky show on Christmas 2012. Got a telescope? Something extra-special is happening on Jupiter that makes it an appealing target for backyard optics.

 

ReMakingHistory: Magdeburg Hemisphere

MAKE magazine Contributing Editor William Gurstelle recreates the vacuum forming experiment performed by Otto von Guericke in the 17th Century. You can do it, too.

 

Monday 24 December 2012

The Physics Of Santa

Breaking down the physics behind Santa and whether he can really deliver all of those presents on Christmas Eve.

 

Is it Better to Walk or Run in the Rain?

Is it Better to Walk or Run in the Rain?

Other Minute Physics videos

 

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Jocelyn Bell Burnell: is the world going to end in 2012?

Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell is a visiting Astrophysics professor at the University of Oxford and now guest lectures on whether the world is going to end.

 This is in response to the Mayan calendar ending on 21 December 2012.

 She is famous for discovering the first radio pulsars and is one of the great minds in physics.

 

Cheers Physics (the physics of beer)

Physicist Rik Sargent meets Andy Moffat, a real ale brewer in North London with Redemption Brewing. They discuss the science involved in controlling the taste and colour of beer, focusing on the mashing of the grains and the temperatures involved in the brewing process.

 


Physicist Rik Sargent talks to Josh and Andy from Redemption Brewing who are experts in perfecting their real ale. They discuss how the sugar and alcohol affect the density of the beer and how to measure the ABV (alcohol by volume) in beer.

 


Physicist Rik Sargent chats to Andy from Redemption Brewing about why temperature is important in brewing a good beer. They also discuss hops and how they work efficiently by incorporating physics into their process.

 

Physicist Rik Sargent chats to Andy from Redemption Brewing about how the isinglass is used to clarify you beer towards the end of the brewing process.

 

 Physicist Rik Sargent chats to Andy from Redemption brewing about the physics behind keeping beer separate from oxygen in the air when moving it to a conditioning tank. Exposure to oxygen causes reactions in beer that lead to unwanted flavours. Therefore the physics of storing beer is paramount for keeping beer tasting its best.

    


Monday 3 December 2012

Hewitt-Drew-it! 25. Conservation of Momentum

Paul shows how Newton's laws lead to the impulse-momentum relationship, which then leads to the conservation of momentum.

Other Hewitt-Drew-it! videos

 

Weird Surface Tension - Sixty Symbols

Sixty Symbols regulars Roger and James are part of a team investigating surface tension in granular systems. Their new paper is published at http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v109/i22/e228002

Other Sixty Symbols videos

 

Sunday 2 December 2012

Dark Energy

The universe is huge and getting bigger all the time, and we have we have dark energy - the most mysterious force in the universe - to blame/thank for it. Thought to make up more than 70% of the energy in the whole universe, Hank describes how dark energy was theorized to exist, and how scientists are trying to explain it.

Other Sci-Show videos

 

Dark matter is a circus master in the universe

The expansion of the universe, the big bang and dark matter. Astronomers talk us through what we know and don't know about the universe.

 

Saturday 1 December 2012

From Kepler to Webb: The History of the Telescope

Hank regales us with the history of the telescope, and then introduces us to some folks from the team who are working on the newest telescope in the chronology - the James Webb Space Telescope, an infrared telescope due to launch in 2018. Thanks to the team at Northrop Grumman for allowing us the privilege of touring their facility, and to the scientists at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for their help with this video.

Other Sci-Show videos

 

How Big is the Universe?

Explains how astronomers have learnt to measure the distance to the stars. How many stars are in the observable universe and is it possible to comprehend the size of it all?