Steve Mould (@stevemould)

This zipper is very weird!

Why are some rocks Dumbbell shaped?

Did you know about these natural zoetropes? This optical illusion is in fact due to the fascinating connection between biology and mathematics.

By giving objects a coat of grey ‘paint’, the GelSight microscope allows us to view objects in more detail, seeing textures ands patterns that we couldn’t with a normal microscope. Who knew poppy seeds were so intricate?

Why is this stone bendy?

Optic Fibres Are Weird…

A vortex tube splits a stream of air into hot and cold. Let’s take a look at how it works and why it doesn't violate the second law of thermodynamics.

I had to have this Victorian contraption specially made. The Liquid Hammer can create a sound just from the movement, but how? Let’s shake things up and find out!

I challenged myself to find absolute zero experimentally by taking a fixed amount of gas and measuring it's volume at different temperatures while keeping the pressure fixed.

When someone got in touch asking why helium balloons dampened sounds in a way that air-filled ones don’t, of course I had to investigate. Was my theory that the balloon acted as a kind of lens correct? Let’s find out.

Seeing familiar objects in a new way is always fascinating. The GelSight strips away all colour information and glare, and allows you to get up close and personal with the tiniest structure detail (and even create a 3D printed version!)

How can we make a diode? With a little help from n-type and p-type semiconductors, this is how it’s done.

To really test the credibility of the Mould Effect, there was only one option - send a fountain chain into space with NASA.

LEDs are created by pushing electricity through a diode. We can choose the colour by using an mix of gallium arsenide and gallium phosphide to vary the energy levels of the photons.

Like LEDs, solar panels are made of diodes, but work in reverse. Here’s how they generate voltage.

An EpiPen does three things in quick succession when you press it against your thigh. Let’s break it down and see exactly how it works.

Supercritical CO2 is used to extract caffeine from coffee, but this strange phase of carbon dioxide is really weird.

This surgical burr is designed to minimise contact with soft tissue - a bit like a cast saw. This high speed, slow motion footage shows in detail how it works.

The hydrostatic paradox can be really counterintuitive.

Think of this next time you kiss under the mistletoe…

OpenDrop is typically used as a medical device, but the one I bought online is getting used for something much more important - playing Pacman with water!

Everyone says the maximum height for a drinking straw is 10.33m, but it's not. I found out by making the tallest possible siphon.

Ever heard an announcement that your train’s been delayed because of leaves on the line? Sounds harmless enough, right. How bad can leaves be? But did you know November is actually the most dangerous month for trains? I decided to find out what actually happens…

The best way to get your head around moles is to look at the problem that it solves. Along the way you'll find out about Atomic Mass Units, isotopes and some dodgy chemical equations!

Light and sound travel as waves, and lenses work by taking advantage of when the wave propagation changes direction (also known as refraction) - so, it should be possible to build a lens for sound using different gasses.

You can find absolute zero experimentally by taking a fixed amount of gas and measuring it's volume at different temperatures while keeping the pressure fixed, by using the ideal gas law (pv=nRT) or Charles's Law. I tried it with vodka.

Photo 51 looks like a fuzzy x-ray image, but it cracked the structure of DNA. Rosalind Franklin captured it, Watson and Crick analysed it, and it revealed the helical shape through x-ray diffraction. You can even mimic the pattern by shining a laser through a light bulb filament.

Nuclear bomb test or earthquake? I use a slinky to show how we we're able to tell the difference.

Diodes are designed to allow electricity to flow in one direction only but the way we make them (out of semiconductors) means that can absorb and emit light - which is how you end up with LEDs.

This flame is floating… and it might’ve saved your great-great-grandpa’s life. Let’s talk 1800s mining safety and weird physics. #Physics #Mining #Science #Experiment #Fire #stevemould