The Science Asylum

You can do math all day, but if you're not interpreting your results, then you're not doing science. In this video, you'll find the three most widely accepted interpretations of quantum physics: Ensemble, Many-Worlds, and Copenhagen. It could turn out that none of them are correct, but it's the best we've got so far.

Why is there a vacuum in space? I answer this seemly simple question with complex subtleties you never could have imagined.

What if I told you that all optical phenomena were actually the same thing? In this video, I justify that bold statement with some diagrams and maybe just a smidgen of math... maybe.

Sci-fi often shows people just walking around in a spaceship even though they should be floating. The stories that happen now or in the NEAR future doesn't have the luxury of using some mystical "artificial gravity" device, so they need a more realistic explanation. The common method is by rotating the spaceship, but that can cause problems if you're not careful. What kind of problems?! That's what this video is all about!

Have you ever been making s'mores and wondered how you could do science while enjoying something so delicious? Well, have I got some good news for you! If you make them in the microwave, you can measure the speed of light and it's pretty exciting.

There's an old paradox about fitting a 6 ft pole in a 5 ft barn, but a 5 ft barn isn't much of a "barn," so we'll call it a "shed." It's called the pole-barn paradox or the ladder paradox and it involves going REALLY fast. However, like all paradoxes, it's just a matter of letting go of assumptions.

You may have heard temperature is just the kinetic energy of molecules, but that's a subtle lie. In this video, Nick Lucid explains those subtlies in the only way he knows how: CRAZY!

Lots of people know about absolute zero, the lowest possible temperature... but is there a hottest possible temperature? Well, maybe.

If you haven't already figured it out from the title, the Science Asylum is now on Patreon. If you're into financially supporting your favorite creators and we fit that description, now you can! If not, that's cool too. No pressure.

If you fill a bucket with water and swing it over your head, why does the water stay inside the bucket? In this video, we answer that very question! Watch for a thorough but crazy analysis.

It's pretty well known that matter annihilates when it comes into contact with antimatter. Unfortunately, not enough people know why this happens, what its consequences are, and what it means in the grand scheme of the universe. That’s what this video is all about!

It's very common language to say "I need to charge my battery," but that's a total misnomer. Your battery ALWAYS has the same amount of charge in it. This video should set the record straight!

In Star Wars: A New Hope, Han Solo brags that his ship made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. In this video, I examine that statement in detail using both real-world and FICTIONAL physics!

Here are some basic facts about black holes... but in the form of answering questions... so they're FAQs, not facts :-)

It's kinda weird that glass is transparent for ALL visible wavelengths of light. This video explains how that's possible without being inconsistent with other concepts. There is a lot of B.S. about this out there on the internet, so beware!

SCIENCE ASYLUM STUFF

Chemists will tell you that bonds contain energy. In an episode of SciShow Talk Show (link below), Derek from Veritasium says atoms are bonded because they LOSE energy. Derek is definitely closer to the truth, but we take it a step further in this video.

A lot of people think you fly straight away from the center if you fall off a spinning merry-go-round, but that couldn't be further from the truth! In this video, I not only explain, but also DEMONSTRATE what actually happens.

All of us are familiar with what light does for us and what devices create it. Not many of us know how light is actually made or what it even is. That's what this video is for!

YouTube is giving me trouble with comments, so I thought I'd answer some through video. Maybe I'll have better luck reaching people this way.

Ever wonder how many alien races there might be in the our galaxy? Well, there's a simple way to estimate it and it's the topic of this video.

In basic chemistry, they tell you there are only a few types of bonds between atoms. Not only is this false, but putting bonds into categories can be dangerous... for your understanding.

This year's 3-video series is on Relativity. By the end, we'll get all the way up to Einstein's theory of gravity, but first we need to do a little background. This video starts in 1632 with Galileo.

This year's 3-video series is on Relativity. By the end, we'll get all the way up to Einstein's theory of gravity, but first we need to do a little background. This video mainly focuses on a problem created in the 1800s that Einstein had to fix.

This year's 3-video series is on Relativity. Einstein (and his friends) came to some pretty crazy conclusions about gravity. By the end of this video, you'll have no choice but to come to the same conclusions.