Minute Physics: Student Explains Tough Science Using ‘Time-Lapsed Drawing’
- Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:01am by
Liz Klimas
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Finally, physics — and other scientific topics — explained without the pain of hours of lecture and endless homework.
Henry Reich, 24, with the help of his black Crayola marker sheds light concepts of physics and other cool science in one minute videos.
Henry Reich, creator of the Minute Physics series, uses quick drawings and short segments to make complex scientific topics accessible and interesting. (Photo: Henry Reich)
Reich describes as “time-lapsed drawing,” not quite animation. Reich just makes a doodle and speeds up the drawings on film.
Reich, who was scientifically trained in physics and is now working on a masters in fine arts for film, said in an email to The Blaze that although he created the first video for fun, he continued the series because he is “concerned about the poor state of science education.” Minute Physics series was born.
“I think a part of fixing that is getting people excited about science and curious about the world,” Reich said. “I’ve been inspired by xkcd, Khan academy and RSA Animate, and wanted to create a sort of fusion of their styles — animated, educational shorts with an artistic aesthetic.”
So, got a minute or two?
Did you know that the most accurate way to prove we live in 3D isn’t just using coordinates x,y,z? Watch Reich explain:
Quantum tunneling sound scary? Reich makes it accessible:
Classic. The uncertainty principal. Learn it:
Why are parts of fire blue? Why does it move in such a way? Physics (and Reich) can tell you:
Minute Physics started in June and since then attention has grown exponentially. The YouTube Channel has more than 23,400 views and several videos have been featured on New Scientist. Reich said he was especially excited when he learned that a Fields medalist — which he describes as like a Nobel Prize winner for math — had been watching and sharing some of his videos online.
[H/T New Scientist]
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Comments (81)
mauijonny
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:04pmVery cool. Good job, young man.
Report Post »FantaGirl
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 6:29pmI’m a freshman in high school doing physics. I might use this guy’s videos now. Thanks, the Blaze.
DRINK FANTA (Fanta out)
Report Post »ThoughtfulConservative
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 6:10pmgosh I’d love a Fanta
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 2:41amSo, what do you call an imaginary large body of tasty orange soda?
A “Fanta sea” (of course!)
Report Post »john
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 6:03pmTerrific job! Keep it up!
John
Report Post »Physics, Case Institute of Technology, 1966
thebabyguy
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 4:15pmCute, in a scientific way, of course.
Report Post »docvet
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 3:06pmThis guy is dangerous. If people start understanding science, we might start to question government scientists when we are told something. Oh no! Confiscate his markers and send him to an uninhabited islend where he can’t contaminate people with knowledge. The govt has done it‘s best to dumb down our schools and we can’t have this guy ruin everything.
Report Post »foobear
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 1:37pmTo the contrary, it would be wonderful if people on the Blaze would finally start understanding science.
People on here post so much about global warming being a fraud, you‘d think that global temperatures weren’t actually going up.
Report Post »docvet
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 4:07pm@FOOBEAR
Report Post »I knew I should have made a footnote indicating this was sarcastic. Sorry, my bad.
madarain
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 7:12pmfoobear…No one is saying that “global warming is a fraud”! They are saying that it’s proponents (like people you listen to) tend to “commit fraud”. There is a big difference. Fraud=Noun…Fraud=Verb.
Here are the facts…The observational data indicate a global surface warming of 0.74 °C (+/- 0.18 °C) since the late 19th century.” Yup, almost 1/5th of a degree in 150 years. This has generally been good for the world, plants, farming and humans.
In contrast, the existence of people like you, (and Al Gore) has generally been bad for the world. Now do you see the difference? Since you cannot think for your self, isn’t it better when someone just explains it to you?
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 2:50am@ Madarain
Report Post »I don’t think you need to convince Foobear that he should have things explained to him — I bet he soaks up Al Gore’s “wisdom” like a sponge. Accordingly, he “knows” so many things that we do not. For example, that the interior of the Earth can reach MILLIONS of degrees (Farhenheit? Centigrade? Rankine? Kelvin? — doesn’t really matter much when you get up into the millions, does it?)
fizzycist
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 1:05pmIt’s appalling to me how little Physics people understand….how often I hear “Oh, I know nothing about Physics”……this statement is absolute nonsense,of course…..the fact you can see is Physics..the fact you can hear is Physics….the fact your Heart beats and that your Brain works (in most cases) is Physics…the fact you can walk from one place to another is Physics….etc..etc…etc….Most People dont realize they are involved in Physics all the Time….my definition of Physics….”Physics is Everything….Almost”……Think on that for a while…
Report Post »Micmac
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 5:15pmThe same goes for Chaos Theory, which I find extremely relevant to everyday observations. If our govt. economists understood about the strange attractor I am sure it would simplify their understanding of where the real problems exist. Long live the pendulum.
The Co2 NoBama exhales even comes out crooked.
NoBama 2012
Report Post »nonwinger
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 9:00amWhat’s even more appalling is how little people know about human nature and what motivates us. Ignorance of this is what gets us into trouble and prevents people from living in a peaceful enough environment to wonder about the world and how it works.
Report Post »HumbleMan
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 7:12amPhysics is not everything, physics does not explain why a frog jumps off a rock. It is more accurate to say physics is everywhere. I am a physicist and I use what I know about physics every day. But I also believe in God. I am also a tea party guy..
When I hear liberals saying we don’t accept science, I laugh. This is pure projection. It’s just as insane as claims we are racist. Frankly it seems to me to be a liberal, you must be irrational.
Report Post »Cesium
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 5:01pm@humble man… physics does explain why the frog jumps off the rock! energy —>physics—>evolution—-> survival = frog jumps off rock.. Without saying it directly, I can deduce you are likely an evolution denier.
Report Post »HumbleMan
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 6:41pm@CESIUM, and that is physics, how? Do you mean to invoke the notion of “will”?
You, CESIUM are a science denier.
Read Darwin’s book. Evolution does not explain are establish an origin of the Species. Darwin himself recognized this. Perhaps you are the best example of how Darwinism doesn’t work, since clearly survival of the fittest would have removed you from the gene-pool long ago.
Report Post »Cesium
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 3:13am@humble.. actually in reality I have been surviving.. anyway So, if you’re a physicist, then despite our lack of knowledge on the origin of life, you would suggest the defiance of physical law(miracle) as we know it as most plausible? Why should thermodynamics have a role in the origin of life when defying physics with physics law breaking(miracle) just ends the story so easily? I’ll have my PhD soon enough. Would be tough thing to achieve for a science denier.. You were easy to peg on this one and you struck back as expected with the typical creationist defense artillery. Same duds used over and over again. I’ve heard it 1000 times. You suggest the science shows evidence that god exists? It shows none! Science only shows evidence of life following the laws of thermodynamics. If you have your own delusion about a sky wizard please keep it out of scientific inquiry. We may be dead and gone before science allows us to understand origin of life(if at all) but you will be the one in history who had denied it, just like the dead flat earthers and heliocentrists… that is how sciences works, you are the denier.
Report Post »Cesium
Posted on September 18, 2011 at 3:23am@humble.. Oh and about invoking the notion of will? Why does a frog jump of a rock? well, why do people have restless leg syndrome? Why does an amoeba move from one spot to the other? Many life forms require motion. Any paraplegic can attest to that when their nurses have to move their legs for them every morning to prevent loss of circulation… That is reason enough to jump off a rock if not for food!
Report Post »levistephenjohnson
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 12:03pmI am a freshman Physics major. This is my first ever comment on the Blaze, and I am so happy it’s on the thread! This guy is really cool, my professor told us about him a couple weeks ago. he had met him before apparently…
I’m so excited to be a member of THE BLAZE now!!
Report Post »TumbleBumble
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 3:52pmHi Levi! Glad you’ve joined. :)
I find this ‘stuff’ so very interesting, yet it went so quickly. I need more time to process what was said. I understood the fire video, though. Love learning something new!
Report Post »Cat
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 2:43pm@LEVISTEPHENJOHNSON
Welcome aboard …
Report Post »klevalt
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:34amI personally loved this and I learned something….
Report Post »JimmyP
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:14amOwwwwww, my head hurts!
Gimme a good old fashioned book, anyday!
Report Post »Alvin691
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:04amWaiting for the required global warming video.. ugh
Report Post »HumbleMan
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 2:25pmYou won’t have one, for at least two reasons: 1) It would take much more than a minute to de-bunk anthropomorphic warming, even with the talent this young man displays, 2) the arguments for global warming would not pass the test of “scientific integrity” for even the average physicist.
I will tell you (humbly) that a real scientist maintains a humble position with regard to his understanding of the phenomena he tries to understand and explain. Physics, as a field-of-study does not have all the answers; in fact we have very few of the answers.
This fellow who resigned from the American Physical Society, did so because he objected to the certainty of the statements made by the society. In science there is no “certainty”. Certainty is death … a dead-end. When you have decided you “know” something with certainty, you have ceased to be scientific. That, my brothers, is the irony in the position Gore and his followers have taken.
As I write this I see OBABMA>JESUS’ post, and I can only repeat that the “left” has no clue about science. (I’ll bet my Ph.D. he knows nothing of science).
Report Post »danenut6
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:48amwell here is some one that knows how to teach to children :)
Report Post »eleemosynary
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 3:17pmYeah, 40 year-old children.
Report Post »NuffSaid
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:40amExcellent a mind working on 2 dimensional space increases at an exponential rate ell beyond the boundaries of the page.
Too bad Obama couldn’t hire this kid to research the next factory he will visit. Maybe he can find one that invest solely in the US! BTW, please Compute the current Obama brain power equation below:
Barrack + Democrats + Socialist+ the Black Caucus + Debbie Wassermelonen-Schlutz=
a. – 1
Report Post »b. someone
c. anyone
d. It doesn’t add up.
Micmac
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 5:17pmyou forgot:
5. nil
NoBama 2012
Report Post »Brad Wesselmann
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 10:09amThat group needs to have an immediate meeting with Schroedinger and his cat! hahaha!
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 2:52am@ Brad — Is the cat alive or dead or half alive & half dead?
Report Post »BobtheMoron
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:30amAttackWatch.com. Load that Liberal wagon with really good stuff about Democrats. Harry Reid has ses with pigeons in his Senate office, for example.
Report Post »hi
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:27amThat’s cool! I emailed it to my son who wants to major in physics.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:16amI think this is a much better way to reach children than dry, boring textbooks.
Even better would be interactive software, but, quality software is expensive to create and maintain, and nobody seems willing to do it unless there is a major paycheck involved.
I’d LOVE to create and publish educational content !
I also think we could design educational material based on learning objectives, rather than on teaching objectives. Kind of like Glenn was pointing out on GBTV, what good is teaching a bunch of DATES to kids, calling it “history” – what we need to do is define the learning objectives and back into the content – “how does the civil war relate to us today?” would be an objective, instead of “teach the kids who fought in the civil war, when it was, and the names of the 7 major battles” or some such thing.
Congrats to this guy for being creative and helping teach others !
Report Post »lakecrazy
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 12:31pmThis is cool and education will move more and more in this direction. A web site that you might be interested in is http://www.khanacademy.org/ .
Report Post »team1blazer
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:01amScience + art + imagination = cool + a future for this young man.
Report Post »db321
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:49amYea, this guy made more since in 4 Minutes – than Al Gore has in the past 4 Years. Maybe he can draw up how Al Gores theories are full of s$%t – or do we already know that?
Report Post »Sarah Louise Palin - Part Time Politician, Full Time Parasite
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 4:25pm@ DB321 — Your ignorance shines like the brightest star in the night sky. Now, personally, I am not a fan of Al Gore much either, however, I can appreciate the message while not liking the messenger. Why don’t you actually read some of the latest reports from the various universities and/or organizations, or institutes that actually let the scientists “speak” on the pages of their reports instead of just hating the politician trying to spread the info….. If you need any help understanding certain aspects of these reports I would be glad to explain it to you. And I don‘t mean that in a ’bad’ way, I just know that not all people understand scientific and mathematical principles. Now, you might be able to explain things from these reports to me better than the other way around, however, based on the phrasing of your comment, I think not……
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 2:58am@ DB321 Nice when someone posting on The Blaze isn’t flying a “false flag”, isn’t it? Anyway, consider the source (sort of like considering the fraud and unscientific tripe that was exposed at the University of East Anglia, eh?)
Report Post »itsmyfirstday
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:21amPretty cool stuff!
Report Post »Secessionista
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:19amHe’s pursuing an art degree… so he can work at Burger King?
Report Post »Docroxall
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:00amAngelcat…you are the people the global warming cultists prey on…learn some science.
Report Post »angelcat
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:55amI have a shock for some of you. There are some people who just aren’t interested in science. I’m one of them. I just don’t really care what makes things work as long as they work. I have never wondered why the sky is blue or why it rains or what atoms are made of. It was a struggle to make myself study science through college, though I got good grades. Grammar, on the other hand, I find fascinating. It is really a waste of time to push anything more than basic science on those like me when the time and effort could be used to teach them something that matters to them and that they will use.
Report Post »alina.bolero
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:52am… and hence, why innovation in the U.S. is nearly DEAD and so many people are incapable of doing much of anything for themselves!
Those that have no concept of how things work, and thus are incapable of self sufficiency, make EXCELLENT fodder for indentured servitude!
Freedom requires using your capacity for reason and taking personal responsibility!
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:08amAlina…
while I DO care about the science,
I have to take SERIOUS EXCEPTION with your premature declaration of the death of innovation in the U.S.
We are the WORLD’S innovators. The problem is, we EXPORT it all to be manufactured elsewhere, then we buy it back from them.
Report Post »Brents Torts
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:01amI‘m guessing your the type of person who doesn’t know how to change a car tire.
Report Post »angelcat
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 4:02pmFreedom doesn not need every person to be an innovator or to be scientifically minded. I do love and appreciate math, literature, etc. All is needed is that we have SOME people who love, appreciate, and are good at each discipline. You cannot force an interest or talent on a person. The problem today is that too many people don’t want to work to develop their interests and talents – no matter whast they are in. The amount of science I have needed to know in my life is very little – just basics like gravity, basic biology, etc., yet Ihave been a productive, intelligent person. I let my husband take care of whatever requires science and I handle other stuff. Works just fine!
Report Post »Islesfordian
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:54amHe lost me on a curved line being one dimensional. How do you know it curves unless you measure it in a two dimensional grid?
Report Post »noblevegas
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:22amI may be out on a limb a bit here, but I think the theory behind a curved line being one-dimension is this:
Lines actually have no height or depth, just length, there for they move in 1 dimension. Even if a line curves it is still taking up only one dimension in space since it has no width or depth to it. You also probably need the theory of light (namely how to bend light) to help. The line could also theoretically be straight but is being warped or mis-shapen in our eyes because of a secondary factor.
I’m no physics major (in fact, I only got a B in HS Physics – and that was a decade ago), so I could be on completely the wrong track here, but that’s what I come up with. No Depth or Height; just length allows it to be 1-dimensional.
Report Post »atechgeek
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:36amIntuitively, a continuous curve in 2 or 3 (or higher) dimensions can be thought of as the path of a continuously moving point. To eliminate the inherent vagueness of this notion Jordan in 1887 introduced the following rigorous definition, which has since been adopted as the precise description of the notion of a continuous curve:
A curve (with endpoints) is a continuous function whose domain is the unit interval [0, 1].
In the most general form, the range of such a function may lie in an arbitrary topological space, but in the most common cases, the range will lie in a Euclidean space such as the 2-dimensional plane (a planar curve) or the 3-dimensional space (space curve).
Sometimes, the curve is identified with the range or image of the function (the set of all possible values of the function), instead of the function itself. It is also possible to define curves without endpoints to be a continuous function on the real line (or on the open unit interval (0, 1)).
-Wikipedia
Basically the Math-magicians came up with a proof to show that a line can be represented by a single coordinate. Getting into the depths of that proof would be a rainy day chore .. and then .. maybe :-)
Report Post »KPEdwards
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 4:21pmThink of a ball of yarn. Let the strand of yarn act as a 1-dimensional line (neglect its cross sectional area, and any empty within the ball). Now imagine that the yarn is wound into a ball in a known way. Then any point within the volume of the ball could be described in reference to the ball’s 3-dimensional perception, or the point could be described as a distance from one end of the strand. From the yarns perspective it wouldn’t matter or notice that it was all wound up.
In addition to the Jordanian curve mentioned above, it also relies on a bit of knowledge about fractals. In the sense that there exists 2-dimensional/3-dimensional curves with infinite length bounded within a finite area/volume.
Report Post »GabeTheGreat
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:48amgood videos, much better than that other one blaze posted of the kiddos singing “nano is chiquito, smaller than a mosquito” song the posted last time. these animated vid’s actually teach you the basic concepts. GJ
Report Post »70S_KIDS_FIGHTING_SOCIALISM
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:40amI like this in that students can see the big principle of things (macro) then will understand the micro outside the formulas (f=ma) in physics class. Very well done sir.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:21amInteresting concept, but a bit dry……it‘ll never beat the 70’s series that brought us topics like “Conjunction Junction”.
Report Post »Keven_M_Thomas
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:54amwhat’s your function
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:06amGood one!
LOL
Thanks for the laugh this a.m.!
♫ “I’m just a bill… And I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill” ♫
Report Post ».
.
GERATMO
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:17amI wonder if he can figure out why Obama sucks.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:22amLOL..we don’t need quantum physics to show us why Obama is a traitor.
Report Post »mwhaley
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:49amThe question is why can Obama suck and blow? Alright smart guy show us this one.
Report Post »GENEPAGLIARI
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:09amObama SUCKS all the wealth out of the economy and BLOWS every opportunity to do this country some good.
Report Post »atechgeek
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:49amIf you study the cells in the Democrat’s brain, you will notice that there are about 45 million cells that require assistance from the other 250 million cells. These cells, in physiology (not physics), are called the “piggy back cells”. They are not incapable of surviving and reproducing on their own, but in an odd fashion “prefer” to use other cell resources to their own. The Progressive’s cell structure is a bit different. It uses the “Democrat like” cells to do the work for them. So when a progressive’s dominant cells need something, they convince 1000 or so democrat like cells nearby to attack the other 250,000 cells and take their resources giving most to the progressive cell and keeping some for themselves. Strangely enough, the democratic like cell does twice as much work and the progressive cell does next to nothing to acquire what it wants to survive.
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:58am@GENEPAGLIARI, OMG, that was funny!! Thanks for making me spew Diet Coke all over my desk. :)
Report Post »Stehekin912
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:59pm@ATECHGEEK – you mean like a parasite or a virus?
Report Post »Obama>Jesus
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:09pmThe most unintelligent posts on this article, and it’s no surprise that it comes from a right winger who I doubt knows a thing about science, but probably has an imaginary friend in the sky. Obama is a great president and is doing great things for this country. It‘s a shame he’s NOT a socialist.
Report Post »