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Entry #2. Unheard of Science




After browsing the internet for seemingly minutes but what turns out to be hours, a person can find themselves in something that is totally unrelated to what was originally searched for. This recently happened to me as I tried to find a documentary that was recommended to me; however, I arrived at Steve Mould's youtube. His channel features many science experiments that he conducts on his show Festival Of The Spoken Nerd. Even if you aren't into science his experiments feature stunning visuals and a thorough description of what is going on that will allow a viewer to recount their amazement to anyone they need to.
Image result for bill nye the science guy
My favorite experiment deals with one of the original videos posted to the channel. The video, titled "Self siphoning beads", showed metal beads initially being pulled out of a glass beaker, but the video does not end there as the beads then proceed to rise variably up and down from the point at which they started spooling out, contracting a fair amount of height. Steve Mould studied at a university but also dabbled in stand up  comedy, and after not really enjoying his tech job he went back to it. After booking a few gigs, he was asked to produce a chemistry gig for a large gathering that featured other people doing the same thing he was trying to do but was better. He needed to do something different and entertaining but he could not deal with the fun chemicals such as nitroglycerin, so he stuck with rubber and plastic based chemicals. In trying to produce an experiment dealing with a self pouring liquid and explain what was going on, he illustrated it with metal beads. Little did he realize, that the beads would not explain it as there was no formal proof for the beads. And so, Mould was able to slap his name on an effect that was later proven by Cambridge University. That is just one of the experiments conducted by Steve Mould.
Image result for science sweeyAnother experiment that can be found on his channel is the Polyethylene Oxide pour. After watching the video and reading the previous paragraph you may have deduced that this is the self pouring liquid. This video features the polymer Polyethylene Oxide and showcases what it means to be a polymer. Other cool videos can be found on his channel like the floating stick man or the hot chocolate effect. Science can be pretty obscure at times, especially the interesting experiments.
Be sure to comment your favorite experiment or seemingly random act of science and enjoy the videos.

Comments

  1. ProfChrisApril 6, 2017 at 6:44 AM

    Dylan--Your blog is starting off well. You have a comfortable voice and some pretty good context (lead in and sign off)--keep at it. Keep working on development (analysis, point and support) to create significance for your reader. Good visual appeal.

    ReplyDelete

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