Veritasium

Veritasium
Presentation
Hosted by Derek Muller
Genre Education, Science
Language English
Length 2-12 minutes per video
Production
Video format .Avi
Publication
Debut January, 2011
Provider YouTube
Website https://youtube.com/veritasium

Veritasium is an English-language educational science channel on YouTube created by Derek Muller in 2011. As of 11 April 2015 it had 177 uploads and 2,342,510 subscribers. The videos range in style from interviews with experts such as Physics Nobel Laureate, 2011, Brian Schmidt,[1] to science experiments, dramatisations, songs, and interviews with the public to uncover misconceptions about science, a hallmark of the channel.

Videos

Veritasium videos have received critical acclaim. At Science Online 2012, “Mission Possible: Graphene” won the Cyberscreen Science Film Festival[2] and was therefore featured on Scientific American as the video of the week.[3]

A video debunking the common misconception that the moon is closer than it is was picked up by CBS News.[4]

The most successful Veritasium videos are about the physics of a falling slinky, both videos on this topic having received over a million views. The videos explain the following: when a slinky is held dangling vertically and then released, it can be observed in slow motion that the bottom end does not begin to move until the entire slinky has collapsed, making it look as if the slinky was defeating gravity (i.e. floating). This counterintuitive phenomenon inspired a wealth of media coverage including The Toronto Star,[5] NPR,[6] and spawned a segment on the BBC show QI.[7] Derek also created a segment for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on the topic for the show Catalyst (TV program).[8]

Muller has a second channel, 2veritasium, which he uses for things such as behind-the-scenes footage and for communicating with viewers.[9]

Name

The channel name "Veritasium" is a combination of the Latin word for truth, ‘Veritas’, and the suffix common to many elements ‘-ium’. This creates "Veritasium", an element of truth, a play on the popular phrase and a reference to scientific elements. The atomic number of the element is ‘i’, the Imaginary unit since the element does not exist. Its atomic mass is 42.0, a reference to the ultimate answer of life, the Universe, and everything from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Derek Muller (October 23, 2011). "Physics Nobel Prize 2011 - Brian Schmidt". YouTube. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  2. ↑ Carin Bondar (January 24, 2012). "Winners of the Cyberscreen Science Film Festival at Science Online 2012". Scientific American. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  3. ↑ Bora Zivkovic (January 25, 2012). "Video of the Week #27 January 25th, 2012". Scientific American. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  4. ↑ Will Goodman (February 23, 2011). "Guy asks "How far away is the Moon from Earth?"". CBS News. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  5. ↑ Lesley Ciarula Taylor (September 27, 2011). "The secret truth behind a dropping Slinky". The Toronto Star. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ Robert Krulwich (September 11, 2012). "The Miracle Of The Levitating Slinky". NPR. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Just The Job". QI. Season 10. Episode 18. BBC.
  8. ↑ Adam Collins (April 19, 2012). "Slinky Drop". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  9. ↑ Muller, Derek. "2veritasium – About". YouTube. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

External links