S2011 E1 • 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.

Première diffusion : 7 janvier 2011

S2011 E2 • Thomson's Plum Pudding Model of the Atom

JJ Thomson proposed the first model of the atom with subatomic structure. He had performed a series of experiments and was credited with the discovery of the first sub-atomic particle, the electron. He therefore proposed a new model of the atom called the plum pudding model. In this model, the plums represent negatively charged electrons which can be plucked out of the atom, leaving behind some positively charged pudding. In this film, cherry tart is used as a delicious substitute for plum pudding.

Première diffusion : 27 janvier 2011

S2011 E3 • Cathode Rays Lead to Thomson's Model of the Atom

In the mid 1800's scientists successfully passed an electric current through a vacuum in a glass tube. They saw a glow from the tube that seemed to emanate from the negatively charged plate called the cathode. Since scientists didn't know what the glow was they called it a cathode ray. There was debate over whether the cathode ray was a wave phenomenon like light or a stream of negatively charged particles. JJ Thomson effectively resolved the debate in 1897 by performing a clever experiment that determined the charge to mass ratio of the particles making up the cathode ray. He also showed that this same particle was in all different cathode materials so it must be a constituent common to all atoms. This changed our understanding of the atom from the previous billiard ball model to Thomson's plum pudding model of the atom.

Première diffusion : 1 février 2011

S2011 E4 • Scientific Notation - Explained!

Scientists have to work with some very large and some very small numbers. To represent these numbers more easily, they use scientific notation. Scientific notation relies on powers of 10. This video gives examples of how to represent a large and small number and explains powers of ten.

Première diffusion : 2 février 2011

S2011 E5 • I'm Atoms (Scientific Cover of Jason Mraz's I'm Yours)

Première diffusion : 2 février 2011

S2011 E6 • Scientific Notation - Example

Première diffusion : 3 février 2011

S2011 E7 • The Difference Between Mass and Weight

There is a common perception that weight and mass are basically the same thing. This video aims to tease out the difference between mass and weight by asking people what makes a car difficult to push. The standard answer is that it is difficult to push because it's heavy. But heaviness is a measure of weight, the gravitational pull of the Earth attracting the car to Earth's center. When the car is pushed on a flat road, the force of gravity does not oppose the motion. Instead the resistance felt is an indication of the car's mass which determines its inertia. Inertia is the property of matter that means it tends to resist acceleration - the greater the mass, the less the acceleration for a given amount of force.

Première diffusion : 7 février 2011

S2011 E8 • Egg Experiment to Demonstrate Intertia

If you spin a raw egg and then stop it, it will start spinning again without you having to touch it. A boiled egg, on the other hand, stops and stays stopped. Why is this? Well a raw egg contains a yolk that moves inside the egg independently of the shell. If you stop the shell, the yolk inside continues to move due to its inertia and it therefore gets the egg spinning again.

Première diffusion : 9 février 2011

S2011 E9 • Gravity (Scientific Version of John Mayer's Gravity)

Première diffusion : 12 février 2011

S2011 E10 • How Far Away is the Moon? (The Scale of the Universe)

If the Earth were the size of a basketball and the moon a tennis ball, how far apart would they be? Diagrams that are not to scale make us think that they're closer than they really are.

Première diffusion : 17 février 2011

S2011 E11 • What is a Force?

Force is a central concept in physics. By analysing the forces on an object, its resulting motion can be determined. But what exactly is a force? The word force is used in everyday language in a variety of contexts, only some of which reflect the scientific definition of force. In this video, people at Victoria Park in Sydney are interviewed on their ideas of force and the forces that act on them.

Première diffusion : 17 février 2011

S2011 E12 • What Forces Are Acting On You?

What forces (i.e. pushes or pulls) are acting on you right now? Most people can identify the gravitational force down, but there must be something else otherwise you would accelerate down towards the center of the Earth. The other main force on you is called the normal force. It is a force perpendicular to the surface that supports you, like the ground or the seat of your chair. You compress this surface and it acts like a spring, pushing you up.

Première diffusion : 18 février 2011

S2011 E13 • Why Does the Moon Orbit Earth?

It takes the moon about 27 days to orbit the Earth. What makes it go round? It is the gravitational attraction of the Earth on the moon. Due to the moon's velocity, the Earth keeps pulling the moon towards it without the moon actually getting closer to the Earth. This is similar to how satellites orbit the Earth.

Première diffusion : 21 février 2011

S2011 E14 • What Is Gravity?

People have a lot of different ideas about what gravity is: a downward force that stops you from flying off into space, an attraction smaller objects experience towards larger objects, or a mutual attraction between all masses. It is the last of these ideas that best reflects a scientific conception of gravity.

Première diffusion : 22 février 2011

S2011 E15 • Best Film on Newton's Third Law. Ever.

There is a gravitational force of attraction between the Earth and the moon, but is it mutual? That is, are the forces on the Earth and the moon equal? Most people would say no, the Earth exerts a greater force of attraction because it is larger and has more mass. This is a situation in which Newton's Third Law is relevant. Newton's Third Law says that for every force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force. So the force the Earth exerts on the moon must be exactly equal and opposite the force the moon exerts on the Earth. But how can that be - that the same size force keeps the moon orbiting, but barely affects the Earth? The answer is inertia - the tendency for all objects with mass to maintain their state of motion. Since the Earth has much more mass than the moon, it has greater inertia and therefore experiences much less acceleration for the same amount of force.

Première diffusion : 25 février 2011

S2011 E16 • Calculating Gravitational Attraction

Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation can be summarized as "all mass attracts all other mass." But if this is true, why don't we notice the gravitational force of attraction between everyday objects? The reason is because the gravitational force is quite weak.

Première diffusion : 27 février 2011

S2011 E17 • Which Hits The Ground First?

A basketball and a 5kg medicine ball are dropped simultaneously. Which one hits the ground first? It seems obvious that the heavy one should accelerate at a greater rate and therefore land first because the force pulling it down is greater. But this is forgetting inertia - the tendency of mass to resist changes in motion. Therefore, although the force on the medicine ball is greater, it takes this larger force to accelerate the ball at the same rate as the basketball.

Première diffusion : 1 mars 2011

S2011 E18 • 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.

Première diffusion : 3 mars 2011

S2011 E19 • Is There Gravity In Space?

If you've seen footage from the International Space Station or any of the space shuttle missions, you know that astronauts float around as they orbit the Earth. Why is that? Is it because the gravitational force on them is zero in space? (Or nearly zero?) The truth is that the strength of the gravitational attraction is only slightly less than it is on Earth's surface. So how are they able to float? Well, they aren't floating - they're falling, along with the space station. They don't crash into the Earth because they have a huge orbital velocity. So as they accelerate towards the Earth, the Earth curves away beneath them and they never get any closer. Since the astronauts have the same acceleration as the space station, they feel weightless. It's like being in a free-falling elevator (without the disastrous landing).

Première diffusion : 8 mars 2011

S2011 E20 • Three Incorrect Laws of Motion

Newton's Three Laws of Motion are a landmark achievement in physics. They describe how all objects move. Unfortunately most people do not really understand Newton's Laws because they have pre-existing ideas about the way the world works. This film is about those pre-existing ideas. By recognizing what people are thinking, it becomes easier to describe the correct scientific concepts of Newton's Three Laws and how they differ from this 'intuitive physics'.

Première diffusion : 10 mars 2011

S2011 E21 • Experiments A Cappella

A short a cappella tribute to experimentalists. It is sung while performing three simple experiments with household items: Mentos dropped in diet Coke, a tea bag emptied and burned, and a ping pong ball floating in the air stream of a hair dryer.

Première diffusion : 14 mars 2011

S2011 E22 • Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos

Première diffusion : 17 mars 2011

S2011 E23 • What Are Atoms and Isotopes?

Première diffusion : 22 mars 2011

S2011 E24 • Supercooled Water - Explained!

Première diffusion : 22 mars 2011

S2011 E25 • How Damaging is Radiation?

Première diffusion : 25 mars 2011

S2011 E26 • What Powers Australia?

Première diffusion : 27 mars 2011

S2011 E27 • Galileo the Scientific Parrot

Première diffusion : 30 mars 2011

S2011 E28 • Radiation vs Radioactive Atoms

Première diffusion : 9 avril 2011

S2011 E29 • Sound + Fire = Rubens' Tube

Première diffusion : 12 avril 2011

S2011 E30 • Types of Radiation

Première diffusion : 29 avril 2011

S2011 E31 • What Is Electricity? (Are You Gonna Be My Girl?)

Première diffusion : 1 mai 2011

S2011 E32 • How Old Is The Earth?

Première diffusion : 8 mai 2011

S2011 E33 • Where Did The Earth Come From?

Première diffusion : 12 mai 2011

S2011 E34 • Veritasium Bungee Jumps!

Première diffusion : 18 mai 2011

S2011 E35 • When Is A Bungee Jumper's Acceleration Max?

Première diffusion : 25 mai 2011

S2011 E36 • Option A - Acceleration of a Bungy Jump

Première diffusion : 25 mai 2011

S2011 E37 • Option B - Acceleration of a Bungy Jump

Première diffusion : 25 mai 2011

S2011 E38 • Option C - Acceleration of a Bungy Jump

Première diffusion : 25 mai 2011

S2011 E39 • Option D - Acceleration of a Bungy Jump

Première diffusion : 25 mai 2011

S2011 E40 • Option E - Acceleration of a Bungy Jump

Première diffusion : 25 mai 2011

S2011 E41 • Can You Perceive Acceleration?

Première diffusion : 29 mai 2011

S2011 E42 • Shadow Illusion

Première diffusion : 13 juin 2011

S2011 E43 • Misconceptions About Heat

Première diffusion : 29 juin 2011

S2011 E44 • Fire Syringe

Première diffusion : 10 juillet 2011

S2011 E45 • Persistence Of Vision

Première diffusion : 16 juillet 2011

S2011 E46 • Why Does The Earth Spin?

Première diffusion : 21 juillet 2011

S2011 E47 • How Does The Earth Spin?

Première diffusion : 24 juillet 2011

S2011 E48 • Why Is Ice Slippery?

Première diffusion : 4 août 2011

S2011 E49 • Does Pressure Melt Ice?

Première diffusion : 13 août 2011

S2011 E50 • Australian Science Week 2011

Première diffusion : 14 août 2011