minutephysics

Plato Got Vision Totally Wrong

260K views · 1d ago · 14:38

We used to think our eyes could see things using something called "visual fire". This short film explains how we managed to move away from this theory and come to understand how our sight really works. Made in collaboration with MinuteEarth and Derek of Veritasium, and originally released in 2018.

Topics: Balor's Poisonous Eye · Paradigms · Plato: The Eye Emits "Visual Fire" · Problems & Progress · Ibn al-Haytham: The Eye Sees Light! · Kepler: The Eye's Lens

What if We Can't Detect Dark Matter?

724K views · 15d ago · 12:45

50x50: Science Across America is a national series uncovering exceptional science in all 50 states. It is a production of the Independent Media Initiative in collaboration with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Winn Family Foundation. See all the states at

Topics: Galaxy Rotations · Gravitational Lensing · Cosmic Background Radiation · Universe Structure · The Nightmare Scenario · WIMPs

📄 Mentioned papers: Axion cosmology · Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies · Collisionless Dynamics and the Cosmic Web · The dark matter of gravitational lensing

The Wavy Window Paradox

420K views · 2mo ago · 3:25

Get your very own Garlic Plushie now, while you still can We look through windows every single day, yet the fact we can see a clear image through them is actually kind of amazing - this video explains why. More garlic Snell's Law

▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com

Strings Don't Vibrate The Way You Think

1.4M views · 3mo ago · 4:44

This video takes a close look at the true motion of string instruments, such as the guitar, which has really bizarre movement compared to how you might imagine! Many thanks to Destin from Smarter Every Day for lending me his high speed camera!

▶️ Mentioned videos: Rolling Shutter Explained

This Orbit is the WORST

534K views · 4mo ago · 7:31

Start with the free Future of AI course—2 hours, no technical background needed, completely free. You can begin understanding AI and how it relates to you today This video continues our tour of counter-intuitive space navigation weirdness, this time looking at the surprising capabilities of the bi-elliptic transfer - and how the further you travel, the more fuel you save!

Topics: The Worst Orbit · Bi-elliptic is Better · Travel Further With Less Fuel

▶️ Mentioned videos: Two Paradoxes of Space Navigation · Hitting the Sun is HARD

Two Paradoxes of Space Navigation

393K views · 5mo ago · 3:18

This video looks at the counter-intuitive weirdness of navigating two "simple" space manoeuvres, and was inspired by this blog post by Avi Brachistochrone over at Vsauce Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute!

▶️ Mentioned videos: Brachistochrone over Vsauce

The Magic of Thorium Nuclear Reactors

255K views · 6mo ago · 4:48

See Copenhagen Atomic's progress towards real commercial Thorium energy here This video looks at how thorium reactors generate more fissile material than they consume! REFERENCES Thermal breeder reactors Thorium reactor World Nuclear Association

📄 Mentioned papers: Thermal breeder reactors

Is Perfect Prediction Possible?

382K views · 7mo ago · 13:48

See Derek's original video over on the Veritasium channel REFERENCES Newcomb's Paradox Quantum solution Quantum causality Veritasium video references Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute!

Topics: Newcomb's Paradox · One Box vs. Two Boxes · Causal Calculus · Intervention · Perfect Prediction · Quantum Mechanics

▶️ Mentioned videos: See Derek's original video over on the Veritasium channel

📄 Mentioned papers: Newcomb's Paradox · Quantum solution · Quantum causality

Do *you* understand ISO?

1.1M views · 8mo ago · 11:36

This video explains how ISO is very different to what most people imagine, and how you can use this knowledge to take less noisy photos! REFERENCES Sensor Analysis Primer Image sensors explained Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute!

Topics: Misunderstanding ISO · ISO Explained · Why Even Have ISO? · What Actually Creates Noise · ISO Step-by-Step Guide! · ISO Caveats

Is Quantum Mechanics Stopping Aliens From Contacting Us?

259K views · 9mo ago · 5:18

This video explains how the Fermi Paradox - the fact that aliens should mathematically be abundant in the universe and yet we haven't heard from any - actually makes sense when you take into account quantum technology.

Topics: The Fermi Paradox · Interstellar Quantum Communication · Quantum Communication Requirements · Why We Don't Hear Anything · Fermi Paradox Solution? · Caveats!

📄 Mentioned papers: On Interstellar Quantum Communication and the Fermi Paradox · Quantum coherence to interstellar distances · doi:10.48550/arXiv.quant-ph/0607174 · doi:10.48550/arXiv.quant-ph/0703215

The REAL Reason Asteroids Aren't Planets

214K views · 9mo ago · 4:23

This video is about the interesting and often-misunderstood story of the asteroids, and how they lost their planet-hood status; more recently than you may think! REFERENCES Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute!

Topics: Asteroid Planet Discovery · Asteroid Planet Reaction · Why Asteroids are Not Planets · Demotion of the Asteroids

📄 Mentioned papers: Paper on sciencedirect.com · Paper on pnas.org

An Argument The Moon is a PLANET!

627K views · 10mo ago · 5:22

This video is about how the International Astronomical Union's definition for a planet is flawed, even if you take it at face value! The moon almost counts as a planet according to their definition, even though they don't want it to...

Topics: The IAU's definition of "Planet" · Criteria a) "Orbits the sun" · Criteria b) "is round" · Criteria c) "clears its orbit" · Criteria X) "not a moon" · Criteria "Footnote" - "must be on the list"

▶️ Mentioned videos: MinutePhysics video about the moon's orbit

📄 Mentioned papers: Paper arguing moon satisfies IAU criteria · doi:10.3847/PSJ/ad4edd · BEST paper about planet definition history · doi:10.1017/S1539299600013289

The TROJAN Test

562K views · 11mo ago · 6:39

How do we truly know if something is orbiting something else? You may be familiar with the barycenter test, but you may not have heard of the better "Trojan test"! Further reading MinutePhysics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics - all in a minute!

Topics: Barycenter Test Problems · Trojan Points · Trojan Stability · The Trojan Test · Trojan vs. Barycenter · Trojan Test Usefulness

📄 Mentioned papers: Paper on sciencedirect.com

Why Some Rainbows Turn White

188K views · 1y ago · 4:17

If you wander outside on a misty morning you may come across a white rainbow - called a fogbow! White rainbows need three things to form: mist, the sun, and you. White rainbows are the same as regular rainbows, except they only form when the water drops in the air are super small. To find a white rainbow, go out when the Sun is low in the sky, like in the morning or evening.

Topics: Fogbow Introduction · Rainbow Recap · Raindrop Reflected Waves · Large Droplet Rainbow · Small Droplet Supernumerary Bows · Tiny Droplet Fogbow

▶️ Mentioned videos: Veritasium video about rainbows

📄 Mentioned papers: Physically-based simulation of rainbows

Common Moon Mistakes

1.1M views · 1y ago · 5:08

The moon is a familiar sight - yet it is rarely illustrated correctly. This video will show you how to get it right! Further reading MinutePhysics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics - all in a minute!

Topics: Wrong Shape · Wrong Transparency · Wrong Lighting · Wrong Time Of Day / Night · Wrong Orientation · Lion King Example

▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com · Video on youtube.com · Video on youtube.com · Video on youtube.com

Why Do Wind Turbines Have Three Blades?

1.7M views · 1y ago · 4:04

Join us to celebrate our sun (and wind!) powered planet on Sept. 21 - more info at Wind turbines are a successful and popular method to create clean energy. But why do almost all of them have 3 blades? Here are 3 reasons.

▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com · Video on youtube.com

Draining The Oceans Is HARD

457K views · 1y ago · 6:56

MinutePhysics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics - all in a minute! Created by Henry Reich

Topics: The 2D Problem · The 3D Problem · Considerations · The 3D Solution! · XKCD's What If

▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com · Video on youtube.com

The Physics of Supercooling

257K views · 1y ago · 3:55

MinutePhysics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics - all in a minute! Created by Henry Reich

▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com · Video on youtube.com

📄 Mentioned papers: doi:10.1007/s10068-020-00750-6

White Balance is Broken

706K views · 1y ago · 8:02

SWBNet: A Stable White Balance Network for sRGB Images by Chunxiao Li et al, 2023 Considering Chromatic Adaptation in Camera White Balance by Minchen Wei et al, 2022 MinutePhysics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics - all in a minute!

Topics: What is White Balance? · How is White Balance Broken? · Why is White Balance Broken? · Comparison with Exposure · How to Fix White Balance · Takeaways

▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com

The Physics Of Dissonance

1.4M views · 1y ago · 27:58

References used for this video Tuning, Timbre, Spectrum, Scale by W. Sethares, 2nd Ed. 2004 Tonal Consonance and Critical Bandwidth by R. Plomp & W. Levelt, 1965 Auditory Patterns by H. Fletcher, 1940 On The Sensations Of Tone by H. Helmholtz, 1875

Topics: Contents · 1) Dissonance of Pure Sine Waves · 2) Dissonance of Notes with Overtones · 3) Dissonance and Scales · 3.5) Is any of this true?? · 4) Dissonance in Chords

▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com · Video on youtube.com

📰 Mentioned news: Article on en.wikipedia.org

The Magnetic Shadow Effect

2M views · 1y ago · 5:55

Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute! Created by Henry Reich Video Producer: Josh Chawner

Antimatter in Sci-Fi Rundown

185K views · 1y ago · 10:01

Get a 14-day free trail of MyHeritage at Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute! Created by Henry Reich

The Teleprompter Paradox

445K views · 1y ago · 5:14

Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute! Created by Henry Reich

The Chart Missing From ALL Spreadsheet Software

283K views · 1y ago · 3:33

I was supposed to thank these patrons on-screen Pierre Lanson David Adams Xierumeng Joseph Welford Jason Anaya Amnon Levi That Asymptote James Kyouhei Scott Crawford Andreas Chris Wilhelmer Patreotic Pleb Jean-Luc Cooke Emanuel Kahler rotem Andy Hsu Joe McCann Ceolifer Michael Millar Jesse Simmons Matt Darcy Tabelel Manish Kumar Myles Kornfeld John J White Long Quan Fergus Simpson Diane Lehmann Miranda P. Lee Denison barelylingual