Cafe Physics

At high enough speeds, solids aren't actually that solid. The force of an impact can create waves in hard objects that are as big as the objects themselves... thus making a golf ball look like jelly.

This is a classic chemical reaction. It's called the iodine clock reaction. There are several variations of how this chemical reaction can be performed using different chemicals than the ones I used in the video. You can order clock reaction kits from several science related websites. You can also use simple store bought chemicals like vitamin C, iodine, hydrogen peroxide and starch. A quick internet search will turn up multiple ways of performing the experiment.

The world's roundest object helps solve the longest running problem in measurement -- how to define the kilogram.

Have you ever wondered what color is? In this first installment of a series on light, Colm Kelleher describes the physics behind colors-- why the colors we see are related to the period of motion and the frequency of waves.

So this experiment is the Chladni plate experiment. I used a tone generator, a wave driver (speaker) and a metal plate attached to the speaker. First add sand to the plate then begin playing a tone. Certain frequencies vibrate the metal plate in such a way that it creates areas where there is no vibration. The sand "falls" into those areas, creating beautiful geometric patterns. As the frequency increases in pitch the patterns become more complex.

We check in with the team at Liquipel, a company that impressed us last year with its water-resistent nano-coating for smartphones. Dunking an iPhone into a tub of water and watching it still work perfectly is still amazing and something our brains struggle to comprehend.

Being able to calculate the failure front velocity of a Prince Rupert's drop is a pretty big deal. For years this was a scientific mystery. High speed camera technology is only recently fast enough to provide data like this. Thanks to Vision Research for letting me use the V1610 to try to unravel this mystery for the public in general.

How wet do you get running in the rain appose to walking in the rain.

Tel-Aviv University demos quantum superconductors locked in a magnetic field.

Watch as these talented performers use electricity to entertain the crowds at Belfast Festival