Category Archives: Veritasium

Everyone will say this craft breaks the laws of physics. This video is sponsored by Kiwico, For 50% off your first month of any subscription crate from KiwiCo (available in 40 countries!) head to https://www.kiwico.com/Veritasium50 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ A HUGE thanks to Rick and Neil for letting me drive Blackbird. Check out Rick’s YouTube Channel for more […]

Not everything that is true can be proven. This discovery transformed infinity, changed the course of a world war and led to the modern computer. This video is sponsored by Brilliant. The first 200 people to sign up via https://brilliant.org/veritasium get 20% off a yearly subscription. Special thanks to Prof. Asaf Karagila for consultation on […]

If there’s a hotel with infinite rooms, could it ever be completely full? Could you run out of space to put everyone? The surprising answer is yes — this is important to know if you’re the manager of the Hilbert Hotel. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ References: Ewald, W., & Sieg, W. (2013). David Hilbert’s Lectures on the Foundations […]

This robot has applications to archaeology, space exploration, and search and rescue — with a simple elegant design inspired by a plant. Sign up to Morning Brew for free today: https://ve42.co/mb Make your own Vine Robot! — https://www.vinerobots.org Special thanks to A/Prof. Elliot Hawkes, Nicholas Naclerio, Margaret Coad, David Haggerty for appearing in this video […]

How does order spontaneously arise out of chaos? This video is sponsored by Kiwico — go to https://www.kiwico.com/Veritasium50 for 50% off your first month of any crate. An enormous thanks to Prof. Steven Strogatz — this video would not have been possible without him. Much of the script-writing was inspired and informed by his wonderful […]

This video is about stuff: light bulbs, printers, phones and why they aren’t better. Go to https://NordVPN.com/veritasium and use code VERITASIUM to get a 2-year plan plus 1 additional month with a huge discount. It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! References: The Man in the White Suit — https://ve42.co/Suit London, B. (1932). […]

For thousands of years, mathematicians were calculating Pi the obvious but numerically inefficient way. Then Newton came along and changed the game. This video is sponsored by Brilliant. The first 314 people to sign up via https://brilliant.org/veritasium get 20% off a yearly subscription. Happy Pi Day! (for a few days ago…) References: Arndt, J., & […]

Robots of the future may be softer, squishier and bendier than robots today. This could make them ideal for space exploration. Check out http://kiwico.com/Veritasium50 for 50% off your first month of any subscription! On Thursday February 18th, 2021 the NASA Perseverance Rover will land on Mars. It is a wonderful robot, made out of steel […]

I got the chance to interview Bill Gates so I asked him: Will Covid-19 be the last pandemic? How does he deal with misinformation and conspiracy theories? And what is the next disaster? The Foundation Letter is here: https://ve42.co/BG21 Special thanks to Patreon supporters: Ludovic Robillard, jim buckmaster, Robert, fanime96, Marc Forand, Juan Benet, Robert […]

What are these electric blue ponds in the middle of the Utah desert? And why do they keep changing color?

Thank you so much for an amazing 10 years! If you would like one of the giveaway items, fill out the form: https://ve42.co/10yr (you’ll need the password from this video). Any comments posting the password will be blocked. Spanish:https://ve42.co/VeEs Arabic: https://ve42.co/VeAr Thanks to Vorso for the spinning tops https://www.vorsospin.com Huge Thanks to Patreon Supporters: Ludovic […]

Ames window illusion illustrates how we don’t directly perceive external reality. Special Holiday deal! Go to https://NordVPN.com/veritasium and use code VERITASIUM to get 68% off a 2 year plan plus 4 additional months free. It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Special thanks to: Prof. Phil Kellman from UCLA Psychology https://kellmanlab.psych.ucla.edu Museum of […]

Steven Hawking thought an asteroid impact posed the greatest threat to life on Earth. Thanks to Kiwico for sponsoring this video. For 50% off your first month of any crate, go to https://kiwico.com/veritasium50 For other potential world ending catastrophes, check out Domain of Science: https://ve42.co/DoS Special thanks to: Prof. Dave Jewitt from UCLA Astronomy Scott […]

Physics students learn the speed of light, c, is the same for all inertial observers but no one has ever actually measured it in one direction. Thanks to Kiwico for sponsoring this video. For 50% off your first month of any crate, go to https://kiwico.com/veritasium50 Huge thanks to Destin from Smarter Every Day for always […]

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 […]

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 This video was sponsored by Fasthosts. Special thanks to Geraint Lewis for consulting on gravitational lensing. Check out his YouTube channel: https://ve42.co/gfl and books: […]

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 […]

Simples rules of geometry meant that 5-fold symmetry was impossible as were crystals without a periodic structure. This turns out to be wrong. Thanks to LastPass for sponsoring a portion of this video. Click here to start using LastPass: https://ve42.co/LPs Huge thanks to Prof. Paul Steinhardt for the interview on this topic. Check out his […]

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 References: Albuquerque Tribune Bulletin, July 16, 1945 – https://www.marshallfoundation.org/library/documents/albuquerque-tribune-bulletin-16-july-1945/ Webb, J. H. (1949). The fogging of photographic film […]

In a competitive world, tiny advantages can make all the difference. Get 10% off Snatoms with code ‘giveluck’ in the US: https://ve42.co/USA or International: https://snatoms.com If you would like to receive Snatoms, submit the form here: https://ve42.co/getluck Snatoms are also available on Amazon Prime in the US but with no discount code: https://ve42.co/Asnatoms Huge thanks […]

People claim that 70-80% of household dust is dead skin, but is it true? Thanks to Google for sponsoring this video! Learn more about Search here: https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/ Special thanks to J.M.E.H van Bronswijk, author of ‘House Dust Biology’. We exchanged emails to make sure I got my facts straight for this video. Below is an […]

Half of the ordinary baryonic matter has been tough to find but Fast Radio Bursts made it possible to detect the WHIM. Thanks to Kiwico for sponsoring this video! For 20% off go to https://kiwico.com/veritasium or use code VERITASIUM at checkout. Special thanks to Prof. Geraint Lewis https://ve42.co/gfl Nature paper: A census of baryons in […]

This was a pretty extraordinary experience – thanks to NASA for inviting me! The Atlas V 541 rocket took off carrying the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity the Mars helicopter at 7:50 am July 30, 2020. They should arrive in about seven months on February 18, 2021

Everyone loves laminar flow but turbulent flow is the real MVP. A portion of this video was sponsored by Cottonelle. Purchase Cottonelle Flushable Wipes and try them for yourself: https://bit.ly/2WJm9Hq Special thanks to: Prof. Beverley McKeon and team https://www.mckeon.caltech.edu Destin from Smarter Every Day https://www.youtube.com/smartereveryday I got into turbulent flow via chaos. The transition to […]

The most elegant interpretation of quantum mechanics is the universe is constantly splitting A portion of this video was sponsored by Norton. Get up to 60% off the first year (annually billed) here: https://bit.ly/32SM0yd or use promo code VERITASIUM Special thanks to: Prof. Sean Carroll https://www.preposterousuniverse.com His book, a major source for this video is […]

The logistic map connects fluid convection, neuron firing, the Mandelbrot set and so much more. Fasthosts are giving UK viewers the chance to win tickets, flight, and accommodation to SXSW 2020 by answering my Techie Test question: https://www.fasthosts.co.uk/veritasium Animations, coding, interactives in this video by Jonny Hyman 🙌 Try the code yourself: https://github.com/jonnyhyman/Chaos References: James […]

Common pitfalls of New Year’s resolutions and how I plan to avoid them. Thanks Audible! Start listening with a 30-day trial and your first audiobook plus two Audible Originals free when you go to https://audible.com/veritasium or text veritasium to 500500. Thanks to Simone Giertz for sending me and Every Day Calendar! Get notified when they’re […]

Scientists like Prof Sinclair have evidence of speeding up, slowing, and even reversing aging. Thanks to LastPass for sponsoring this video. Click here to start using LastPass: https://ve42.co/VeLP What causes aging? According to Professor David Sinclair, it is a loss of information in our epigenome, the system of proteins like histones and chemical markers like […]

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, […]

Why does shaken soda explode? Does ice melt first in fresh or salt water? Thank you Squarespace for sponsoring this video. Go to https://squarespace.com to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code: VERITASIUM This video features experiments that have been shown to me by science teachers over the years. […]

Want to help plant 20M trees by 2020? Go to https://teamtrees.org #teamtrees Huge thanks to all the YouTubers who organized this. My apologies for the repost. These videos are from 2012 so my interest in trees goes back a long ways. I think these videos discuss two of the most interesting and amazing facts about […]

Origami is inspiring a plethora of new engineering designs. Try yourself: https://ve42.co/Origami Thanks Audible! Start listening with a 30-day trial and your first audiobook, plus two Audible Originals free when you go to https://audible.com/veritasium or text veritasium to 500500 Huge thanks to: Dr. Robert Lang https://langorigami.com Prof. Larry Howell https://www.compliantmechanisms.byu.edu/ On first glance it’s surprising […]

Spinning objects have strange instabilities known as The Dzhanibekov Effect or Tennis Racket Theorem – this video offers an intuitive explanation. Part of this video was sponsored by LastPass, click here to find out more: https://ve42.co/LP References: Prof. Terry Tao’s Math Overflow Explanation: https://ve42.co/Tao The Twisting Tennis Racket Ashbaugh, M.S., Chicone, C.C. & Cushman, R.H. […]

A planet has been predicted to orbit the sun with a period of 10,000 years, a mass 5x that of Earth on a highly elliptical and inclined orbit. What evidence supports the existence of such a strange object at the edge of our solar system? Huge thanks to: Prof. Konstantin Batygin, Caltech Prof. David Jewitt, […]

*Technically ‘not-a-flamethrower’ vs aerogel, we applied a huge 2000°C flame to a large fiberglass blanket infused with silica aerogel – formerly the lightest solid (now that title is held by graphene aerogel). Special thanks to: Aerogel Technologies: https://ve42.co/aerogeltech Aspen Aerogels: https://ve42.co/aspen Ben: @BenScho999999 Dr. Stephen Steiner and the Aerogel Technologies team The footage of aerogel […]

I used a nitrogen membrane and Stirling cryocooler to liquefy nitrogen out of the air. For this video I partnered with Starbucks to celebrate their Nitro Cold Brew. Order one here: https://starbucks.app.link/derekmuller Making liquid nitrogen is hard – in fact up until 150 years ago scientists doubted whether it was even possible to liquefy nitrogen. […]

The Mars Helicopter aims to make the first powered flight on another planet when it takes off on Mars as part of the Mars 2020 mission. I learned a lot getting to visit the drone right before it was mounted on the rover. How do you fly in 1% of Earth’s atmosphere: Have large rotors […]

Electric cars are now ready to take over thanks to advances in battery technology and their inherent benefits: torque, handling, maintenance. This video was sponsored by BMW: https://www.bmwusa.com/ Full disclosure: I drive an #electric #car. I think electric cars are the future, not mainly because they’re better for the environment (which they are if you […]

Apollo astronauts trained in nuclear bomb craters at the Nevada National Security Site. But why?Thanks Audible! Start listening with a 30-day trial and your first audiobook plus two Audible Originals free when you go to http://audible.com/veritasium or text veritasium to 500500 I found this story fascinating because in a way a nuclear bomb crater is […]

The Vikings suffered many hardships living in the north of Europe: long, cold winters and importantly a lack of sunlight. Luckily, they had cod. Check out Vitamania: https://ve42.co/cod When making a video about vitamins I thought the story would mainly be about supplement pills, whether we should or shouldn’t take them and how they’re made. […]

Aerogel has extraordinary properties but it can be tough to work with. This video looks at modifying aerogels to take advantage of their unique characteristics. Subscribe to Veritasium: https://ve42.co/sub Huge thanks to Dr. Stephen Steiner and the crew at Aerogel Technologies. To find out more or buy your own aerogel sample, check out: http://www.aerogeltechnologies.com/ Thanks […]

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. Get a signed shade ball by supporting Veritasium: https://ve42.co/patreon Receiving a shade ball: 1. Support Veritasium on any Patreon tier and enter […]

Aerogels are the world’s lightest (least dense) solids. They are also excellent thermal insulators and have been used in numerous Mars missions and the Stardust comet particle-return mission. The focus of this video is silica aerogels, though graphene aerogels are now technically the lightest. At one point Dr. Steven Jones literally held the Guinness World […]

My hypothesis is that the algorithm, rather than viewer preference, drives views on the site. As the algorithm shifts, various YouTubers experience burnout (as what used to work no longer works) and right now click-through rate is the key metric. So clickable titles and thumbnails are the only way to get a lot of impressions […]

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. Huge thanks to LADWP for arranging this special tour […]