Veritasium

How We Trapped Light and Built the Internet

2026-10-12T17:11:45+00:00

Why making glass fibers to send signals was almost impossible. Sponsored by Saily - 🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Download Saily app go to https://saily.com/veritasium Use code veritasium at checkout ⛵ If you’re…

We're trying something new...

2026-09-30T19:19:10+00:00

Veritasium's mission has always been to get to the truth - to understand how and why things work the way they do. We love the variety of topics we're able to cover - from the real to the abstract - and the heart of that is always hard science.

But as our world is getting more complex and interesting, the team keep finding incredible stories that don't quite fit on the main channel. Stories that are less about physics and maths and more about how our society and global systems work; how a change on one side of the world can ripple through society affecting how you and I live our lives.

So some of the team have been working on a new channel about just that.

This is @InGeniusOfficial - an element of innovation.

Hosted by Latif Nasser

First video out now - https://youtu.be/eczB0uUx_k8

The Most Important Decryption Machine Ever Built

2026-09-21T17:49:57+00:00

How was the "unbreakable" enigma cracked? Sponsored by Incogni - use code veritasium at https://incogni.com/veritasium to get an exclusive 60% off your annual subscription.

If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV

For the latest science news, and for an exclusive bonus Q&A with the director of this video, sign up to the Veritasium newsletter - https://ve42.co/Newsletter

For early access to work in progress videos join our patreon https://ve42.co/VePatreon

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0:00 Who invented Enigma?
4:16 How did Enigma work?
10:51 The Secret Spy Mansion
13:10 The First Codebreakers Who Broke Enigma
16:45 Trying To Decrypt An Enigma Message
22:35 Who was Alan Turing?
26:30 How Enigma’s Flaws Were Exploited
34:27 Breaking Enigma - The Bombe
41:39 The Naval Enigma
44:35 What did Alan Turing do after Bletchley Park?

A huge thanks out to Sir Dermot Turing, Jonah Weinbaum, Andrew Fryer, John Pickles, Peter Hoath, Robert Dowell and all of the experts at Bletchley Park & The National Museum of Computing that helped make this video possible!

Shout out to Jared Owen for letting us use his 3D model of the Enigma machine! Check out his amazing video: https://youtu.be/ybkkiGtJmkM?si=fNtZF6StWhiIxRtB

Bletchley Park is a museum and heritage attraction open daily to visitors. To plan your visit and book tickets, head to: https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/plan-a-visit/

The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park is an independent charity housing working historic machines. Plan your visit here: https://www.tnmoc.org/plan-your-visit

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Can you decrypt this unbroken Naval Enigma message? Let us know in the comments!

JCRSAJTGSJEYEXYKKZZSHVUOCTRFRCRPFVYPLKPPLGRHVVBBTBRSXSWXGGTYTVKQNGSCHVGF

Universal Enigma simulator by Daniel Palloks: https://ve42.co/EnigmaSim

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References: https://ve42.co/BletchleyRefs

Visual References: https://ve42.co/BletchleyVisRefs

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Special thanks to our Patreon supporters:
Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, André Powell, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Bryan Ackermann, Chris Brewer, Data Don, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, EJ Alexandra, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Hayden Christensen, Hong Thai Le, Ibby Hadeed, Jeromy Johnson, Juan Benet, Kelcey Steele, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Mark Heising, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Krugman, Moebiusol - Cristian, Orlando Bassotto, Parsee Health, Patreon mp22, Paul Peijzel, Robson, Sam Lutfi, Shalva Bukia, Sinan Taifour, Steven, Sweet_Nemo, Tair Aurmont, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures, Vahe Andonians, wolfee

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Writers: James Moore, Gregor Čavlović, Darius Garewal & Emilia Gyles
Producer & Director: James Moore
Additional Directing: Darius Garewal
Presenters: Gregor Čavlović & Derek Muller
Editor: Peter Nelson
Additional Editing: James Stuart & Trenton Oliver
Camera Operators: Rob Newman & Darius Garewal
Animators: Emma Wright, Domonkos Józsa, Alex Drakoulis, Andrew Neet, Rokas Vikšraitis & Aleksandrs Loginovs
Illustrator: Jakub Misiek
Researchers: Darius Garewal & Gabe Strong
Thumbnail Designers: Abdallah Rabah, Daniel Ellacott & Ben Powell
Production Team: Jess Bishop-Laggett, Glen Griffiths, Matthew Cavanagh & Anna Milkovic
Executive Producers: Gregor Čavlović, Emilia Gyles, Henry van Dyck & Derek Muller

Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images and Storyblocks
Music from Epidemic Sound
& Sprach Zarathustra - Conducted by Philip Milman (https://pmmusic.pro/)

We sent a camera to space to film the solar eclipse

2026-08-17T14:30:16+00:00

What does an eclipse look like from the edge of space? We travelled to Spain for the 2026 total solar eclipse to find out. Sponsored by 80,000 Hours - Head to http://80000hours.org/veritasium to start planning a career that can help change the world for the better. By joining their newsletter, you’ll get a free copy of their in-depth career guide sent to your inbox.

If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV

To be in with a chance of getting a NASA sticker that went to the edge of space during the eclipse and for early access to work-in-progress videos, join our Patreon https://ve42.co/VePatreon

Last year, we launched Elements of Truth on Kickstarter and were thrilled by the response. We’re now in the final stages of production, with Kickstarter rewards shipping soon. If you missed the campaign, you can now pre-order the retail edition through our new website here - https://ve42.co/YTDEcl
If you backed us on Kickstarter, don’t worry, your game will ship before any pre-orders are fulfilled.

▀▀▀
00:00 The 2026 Total Solar Eclipse
02:00 Why there are more total solar eclipses in the Northern Hemisphere
03:30 How we get 5 solar eclipses a year
06:20 Why the Sun turns white only during totality
09:27 How the eclipse faked an element
11:10 The weird shadows during the eclipse
14:06 Shadow band effect
17:00 Filming the eclipse from space
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Special thanks to the experts and collaborators who made this video possible:

The Montana State University NASA Ballooning Team, for working with us on this video and for the incredible footage of the eclipse from the edge of space.
Project Leads: Angela Des Jardins and Michael Walach
Students: Ava Arbogast, Isabel Besel, Ryder Cole, Daniel Graves, Mari Greene, Mikael Savage, Gabriel Sova, Addison Zumwalt

The Exploratorium Team, for providing their insights and footage from their livestream
© The Exploratorium
All rights reserved. Used and adapted with authorization.
The Exploratorium® is a registered trademark of The Exploratorium®.
http://www.exploratorium.edu

Michael Kirk for taking the time to chat with us and sharing his expertise.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for speaking with us and for sharing details of their WB-57 aircraft eclipse mission.

The team at @astrumspace for their help and support on this video. Check out their video on how ESA’s Proba-3 mission uses satellites to create artificial eclipses in space and reveal the inner corona for the first time:
https://youtu.be/fv5lJjR6DmQ

Also, very glad we ran into https://www.youtube.com/@UCyC3HkaEzr7PBNuE2oPvQKg during totality! Check out his channel!

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References: https://ve42.co/EclipseReferences

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Special thanks to our Patreon supporters:
Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, André Powell, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Bryan Ackermann, Chris Brewer, Data Don, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, EJ Alexandra, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Hayden Christensen, Hong Thai Le, Hybrid Minds, Ibby Hadeed, Jeromy Johnson, Juan Benet, Kelcey Steele, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Mark Heising, Martin Paull, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Krugman, Orlando Bassotto, Parsee Health, Paul Peijzel, Robson, Sam Lutfi, Shalva Bukia, Sinan Taifour, Sweet_Nemo, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures, wolfee

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Credits
Writers: Emilia Gyles, Gregor Čavlović and Henry van Dyck,
Producer and Director: Emilia Gyles, Gregor Čavlović and Henry van Dyck
Presenter: Emilia Gyles, Gregor Čavlović and Henry van Dyck
Editors: Peter Nelson and Trenton Oliver
Assistant Editor: James Stuart
Animators: Archie Crofton and Emma Wright
Researchers: Sophia Rose, Aakash Singh Bagga, Shourya Shrivastava and Gabe Strong
Camera Operators: Archie Crofton, Emilia Gyles, Gregor Čavlović, Henry van Dyck, James Stuart and Peter Nelson
Thumbnail Designers: Abdallah Rabah, Daniel Ellacott & Ben Powell
Production Team: Jess Bishop-Laggett, Glen Griffiths, Matthew Cavanagh, Anna Milkovic, Justin St Laurent and James Dowse
Executive Producers: Emilia Gyles, Gregor Čavlović & Henry van Dyck

Is spider web really stronger than steel?

2026-08-02T13:21:11+00:00

Can you really swing from spider silk? Sponsored by Henson Shaving - Head to https://hensonshaving.com/veritasium and use code “veritasium” for 100 free blades with any razor purchase. Just add both the razor and blades to your cart.

Last year, we launched the Elements of Truth game on Kickstarter and were thrilled by the response. We’re now in the final stages of production, with Kickstarter rewards shipping soon. Pre-order the retail edition here: https://ve42.co/YTSpiderSilk

If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV

For weekly science news, and an exclusive Q&A where writer/director Vibhor Pandey discusses the making of this video, sign up to the Veritasium newsletter - https://ve42.co/Newsletter

For early access to work-in-progress videos, join our Patreon - https://ve42.co/VePatreon

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00:00 Could Spider Silk Let You Swing Like Spider-Man?
00:44 Is Spider Silk Really Stronger Than Steel?
02:29 Testing Spider Silk's Tensile Strength
03:48 The Strongest Silk on Earth
05:34 Spider Silk vs Kevlar vs Steel
07:37 The Nanostructure Behind Spider Silk's Strength
08:42 Why We Can't Farm Spiders
10:16 Engineering Fake Spider Silk
15:04 From the Silk Road to CRISPR
21:31 Real-World Uses and the Ultimate Swing Test

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Special thanks to the experts and collaborators who made this video possible:

Professor Todd Blackledge and the Blackledge Spider Lab at the University of Akron, for welcoming us into the lab, walking us through how spiders make and use silk, and letting us put the real material to the test.

Jon Rice and the team at Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, for opening their doors, sharing their transgenic silk, patiently explaining how their engineered silkworms work, and helping make the spider-silk swing possible.

Professors Keiji Numata, Chris Holland, Sara Goodacre and Greg Holland, for generously sharing their time and expertise in our research conversations helping us understand the extraordinary diversity of spider silks, how they are spun, and how structure, water and chemistry shape their properties.

Professors Ingi Agnarsson and Thomas Scheibel, for their guidance that helped sharpen our explanation.

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References: https://ve42.co/SpiderSilkRefs

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Special thanks to our Patreon supporters:

Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, André Powell, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Bryan Ackermann, Chris Brewer, Data Don, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, EJ Alexandra, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Hayden Christensen, Hong Thai Le, Ibby Hadeed, Jeromy Johnson, Jesse Brandsoy, Juan Benet, Kelcey Steele, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Mark Heising, Martin Paull, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Krugman, Moebiusol - Cristian, Orlando Bassotto, Parsee Health, Paul Peijzel, Robson, Sam Lutfi, Shalva Bukia, Sinan Taifour, Sweet_Nemo, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures, Vahe Andonians, wolfee

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Writers - Vibhor Pandey & Henry van Dyck
Producer & Director - Vibhor Pandey & Henry van Dyck
Presenters & Narration - Henry van Dyck & Derek Muller
Editors- Trenton Oliver, Axel Oliver, James Stuart & George Reynolds
Animators - Alex Drakoulis, Andrew Neet, Domonkos Józsa, Emma Wright & Fabio Albertelli
Illustrator - Jakub Misiek
Researchers - Aakash Singh Bagga, Gabe Strong & Sophia Rose
Camera Operators: Henry van Dyck, Petr Lebedev, Casper Mebius and Ben Curtis-Dyck
Thumbnail Designers - Abdallah Rabah, Daniel Ellacott & Ben Powell
Production Team - Matthew Cavanagh, Jess Bishop-Laggett, Glen Griffiths, Josh Pitt, Luke Lewis, Anna Milkovic & Justin St-Laurent
Executive Producers - Henry van Dyck, Emilia Gyles, Casper Mebius & Derek Muller

Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Pond5 and Storyblocks
Music from Epidemic Sound

Why does every mammal get 1 billion heartbeats in their life?

2026-07-25T17:29:09+00:00

The hidden math that governs life. Sponsored by Brilliant - Try Brilliant for free, plus get 20% off an annual Premium subscription at https://brilliant.org/veritasium

If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV

For weekly science news, and an exclusive Q&A where writer/director Daniel Leonard discusses the making of this video, sign up to the Veritasium newsletter - https://ve42.co/Newsletter

For early access to work in progress videos join our Patreon - https://ve42.co/VePatreon

▀▀▀
0:00 How much LSD should you give an elephant?
3:09 Metabolic Rate In Animals
5:27 The Surface Law
8:04 What is Kleiber’s Law?
10:49 Why is ¼ everywhere in biology?
13:33 WBE Theory
19:53 Every animal has 1,000,000,000 heartbeats
23:11 Why Humans Live Longer
24:31 Is it better to live in a city or a small town?
30:12 Is there really a universal scaling exponent for life?

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Much of this video was inspired by Geoffrey West’s book: Scale. Check it out here - https://ve42.co/ScaleBook

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Special thanks to the experts who helped make this video possible:
Brian Enquist, whose work helped inspire this video, for sharing the story behind WBE theory and helping us make its key assumptions and derivation more accurate.

Van Savage, for the generous and detailed feedback that sharpened our explanation of WBE theory, self-similarity, and the current state of the field.

Steven Strogatz, for the insightful conversations, on-camera contribution, and careful reviews that helped us keep the mathematics clear and the story scientifically honest.

Peter Sheridan Dodds, for helping us understand the objections to WBE theory and the debate over three-quarter-power scaling.

And the many other experts who discussed this topic with us as we were developing the script, for their invaluable contributions: Luis Bettencourt, Jayanth Banavar, Aaron Clauset, Juan Rubalcaba, and Douglas Glazier.

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References: https://ve42.co/ScaleRefs

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Special thanks to our Patreon supporters:

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Writers - Daniel Leonard, Casper Mebius & Derek Muller
Producer & Director - Daniel Leonard
Presenters & Narration - Derek Muller & Henry van Dyck
Editors - Trenton Oliver, Axel Oliver & Jonny Lennard
Assistant Editor - James Stuart
Animators - Alex Drakoulis, Andrew Neet, Domonkos Józsa, Emma Wright & Fabio Albertelli
Illustrators - Jakub Misiek & Raphael Aubry
Camera Operator - Chris Anstis
Simulations - Callum Cuttle & Aakash Singh Bagga
Researchers - Aakash Singh Bagga, Callum Cuttle & Gabe Strong
Thumbnail Designers - Abdallah Rabah & Daniel Ellacott
Thumbnail Design Direction - Ben Powell
Production Team - Jess Bishop-Laggett, Glen Griffiths, Matthew Cavanagh, Luke Lewis, Anna Milkovic & Justin St-Laurent
Executive Producers - Casper Mebius & Derek Muller

Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Pond5 and Storyblocks
Music from Epidemic Sound

The Scariest Chart in Electrical Engineering

2026-07-14T18:03:28+00:00

Why is the Smith Chart one of the scariest charts in electrical engineering? Sponsored by Incogni - use code veritasium at https://incogni.com/veritasium to get an exclusive 60% off your annual subscription.

If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV

For weekly science news, and an exclusive Q&A where Writer/Director Henry discusses the making of this video, sign up to the Veritasium newsletter - https://ve42.co/Newsletter

For early access to work in progress videos join our Patreon https://ve42.co/VePatreon

▀▀▀
0:00 The Scariest Chart In Engineering
3:24 Standing Waves And Reflections
7:24 Why does a wave bounce back?
10:15 How to stop a wave from bouncing back
17:06 The Smith Chart
25:53 How To Read The Smith Chart
30:42 This Circuit Gets Better When You Break It
35:22 Why were we slow to use it?
37:06 Is it still useful?

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A big shout out to Imperial College London for letting us use their screened RF anechoic chamber. In particular, a massive thanks to Prof. Stepan Lucyszyn and Ian Rossuck for helping us set up the demos seen in this video.

Also special thanks to Zach Star, Dr. Cynthia Furse, Dr James Nagel, and Ralph Gable for their invaluable expertise!

Check out @zachstar 's video on the Smith Chart here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXWbdxOAuDs

Check out @3blue1brown 's video to learn more about transformations and conformal maps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldxFjLJ3rVY

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References: https://ve42.co/SmithChartsRefs

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Special thanks to our Patreon supporters:
Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, André Powell, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Bryan Ackermann, Chris Brewer, Data Don, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, EJ Alexandra, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Hayden Christensen, Hong Thai Le, Ibby Hadeed, Jeromy Johnson, Jesse Brandsoy, Juan Benet, Kelcey Steele, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Mark Heising, Martin Paull, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Krugman, Moebiusol - Cristian, Orlando Bassotto, Parsee Health, Paul Peijzel, Richard Sundvall, Robson, Sam Lutfi, Shalva Bukia, Sinan Taifour, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures, Vahe Andonians, wolfee

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Writer, Producer & Director: Henry van Dyck
Presenter: Henry van Dyck
Editors: Trenton Oliver, Axel Oliver & Peter Nelson
Animators: Emma Wright, Alex Drakoulis, Andrew Neet & Fabio Albertelli
Illustrator: Jakub Misiek
Researchers: Darius Garewal & Gabe Strong
Asst. Editors: James Stuart & Jonny Leonard
Simulations: Darius Garewal & Henry van Dyck
Camera/Drone Operators: Robert Newman & Xavier Bussière
Additional Writing: Darius Garewal
Thumbnail Designers: Abdallah Rabah & Daniel Ellacott
Production Team: Jess Bishop-Laggett, Glen Griffiths, Matthew Cavanagh, Luke Lewis & Anna Milkovic
Executive Producers: Casper Mebius

Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images and Storyblocks
Music from Epidemic Sound