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. The videos range in style from interviews with experts, such as 2011 Physics Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt,[1] to science experiments, dramatisations, songs, and—a hallmark of the channel—interviews with the public to uncover misconceptions about science. As of 20 December 2015 it had 225 uploads, 3,429,991 subscribers and 238,274,207 total views.

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 the two that demonstrate the physics of a falling Slinky toy, with both videos receiving 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 counter-intuitive phenomenon inspired a wealth of media coverage, including the Toronto Star,[5] NPR,[6] and a segment on the BBC show QI.[7] Muller also created a segment on the topic for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation show Catalyst.[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 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.

Though Veritasium and Derek are often referenced in the work of fellow educational video producer Brady Haran, the spelling and pronunciation of both the name of the channel and the name of Derek remain a challenge for Brady to get right.

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

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, December 20, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.