How To Of The Day: How to Survive a Lightning Strike

Minute Earth explains what is best to wear and to do during lightning storms.

Most people have heard the safety tip that the car is a safe place to survive a lightning storm because it rides on rubber tires, but ironically it is the metal body of the car that protects you from the high voltage.

As Minute Earth explains in this new science video, metal is such a good conductor of electricity that the electrons merely glide on the surface of the metal, keeping anyone or anything inside the metal fairly safe.

This concept is actually applied in real life as linemen working on high voltage wires wear literal suits of metal to help protect them in case of an accident.

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Free Falling In Outer Space

Free Falling In Outer Space

Have you ever wanted to float in space like an astronaut? It turns out that it’s less like floating, and more like a free-fall in orbit around the Earth.

Enjoy!

If you were to orbit the Earth, you’d experience the feeling of free fall, not unlike what your stomach feels before a big dive on a roller coaster. With a little help from Sir Isaac Newton, Matt J. Carlson explains the basic forces acting on an astronaut and why you probably shouldn’t try this one at home.

 

James May – Why Do Boomerangs Come Back?

James May answers the question “Why do boomerangs come back?”.

Discover the scientific principles of the Boomerang with James May in the latest Head Squeeze Q & A video.

Not limited just to Aborigines in Australia, Boomerangs have been found all over the world – even in the tombs of Ancient Egypt. Did early hunter gatherers really use these to take our their opponents at long distance, or were they better suited to small prey like birds?

Boomerangs work by harnessing both gyroscopic and aerodynamic forces, much like helicopters and they must be thrown at a very specific angle to function properly.

The world record for a boomerang flight is an incredible six minutes.

 

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