Nuclear and Particle Physics: The Best Science Videos on Antimatter, the Higgs, and the Atom
Our guide to Nuclear Physics covers the forces and particles behind these films, with Quantum Mechanics as the underlying rulebook.
Antimatter, the Universe's Rarest Stuff
For every particle there is an opposite that annihilates it on contact. Antimatter is real, it is made in labs, and it even rains down from space.
What Happens If You Drop 0.125 Grams of Antimatter?
Veritasium visits the facility that produces the most volatile substance on Earth and asks what would happen if you could ever gather a fraction of a gram of it. A rare look inside real antimatter research, with the physics handled carefully rather than sensationally.
Read next: Nuclear Physics Explained.
We Finally Found Out What Is Bombarding the Earth with Antimatter
For years an unexplained stream of antimatter was striking our planet from space, and scientists have finally tracked down the source. A satisfying bridge between particle physics and astrophysics, showing how the two fields solve a mystery together.
Read next: Astronomy Explained.
The Particles That Build Everything
The Standard Model is the most precisely tested theory we have, and these two cover two of its headline characters: the Higgs that gives particles mass, and the neutron that should not last but somehow does.
The Surprising Truth About the Higgs Boson "Discovery" at CERN
The Higgs made headlines as "the particle that gives everything mass," but the real story is more subtle than the press releases suggested. Arvin Ash explains what was actually found at CERN, what the Higgs field really does, and why it mattered so much.
Read next: Nuclear Physics Explained.
Neutrons Are Unstable, But They're Everywhere! Why?
A free neutron falls apart in about fifteen minutes, yet neutrons locked inside atoms last essentially forever. Arvin Ash explains that paradox clearly, and in doing so reveals a lot about the forces that hold all matter together.
Read next: Nuclear Physics Explained.
Nuclear Power and Black Hole Radiation
Nuclear physics runs from the very practical to the genuinely exotic. These two close the page on that range, from reactors we could build to radiation leaking out of black holes.
Why Big Nuclear Doesn't Want Molten Salt Reactors
A clear-eyed look at a nuclear technology that keeps almost happening, the molten salt reactor, and the mix of physics, economics, and inertia that has kept it on the shelf for decades. Good for understanding how energy technology really gets chosen.
Read next: Renewable Energy Explained.
Hawking's Explanation of Hawking Radiation Is Wrong on Purpose
The popular picture of Hawking radiation, particle pairs popping into being at the event horizon, is a simplification Hawking himself knew was not quite right. Arvin Ash gives the more accurate version, a fascinating bridge between particle physics and black holes.
Read next: Nuclear Physics Explained.