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Best Fundamental physics videos, as recommended on Hacker News

135 videos about fundamental physics that Hacker News commenters keep recommending, mentioned between 2009 and 2026. Mostly explainer, lecture, interview. Channels that come up most: Veritasium, PBS Space Time, Christopher Sykes, Lex Fridman. Sorted by how consistently HN recommended them over the years.

The most recommended is I bought 1000 meters of wire to settle a physics debate: HN considers it the best experimental rebuttal and clarification of the Veritasium wire debate, with real measurements.

• demoI bought 1000 meters of wire to settle a physics debateAlphaPhoenix · 8 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• explainerThe Speed of Light is NOT About LightPBS Space Time · 8 HN recommenders · 2017–2023
• explainerWhy No One Has Measured The Speed Of LightVeritasium · 6 HN recommenders · 2020–2024
• lectureRichard Feynman - The.Character of Physical Law - Part 1 The Law of Gravitation (full version)Tinkerin' Thinkers · 6 HN recommenders · 2013–2022
• interviewHD Feynman: FUN TO IMAGINE complete (with optional Chinese subtitles)Christopher Sykes · 4 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• explainerA new way to visualize General RelativityScienceClic English · 8 HN recommenders · 2020–2026
• lectureQuantum Fields: The Real Building Blocks of the Universe - with David TongThe Royal Institution · 5 HN recommenders · 2019–2025
• lectureThe Physics and Philosophy of Time - with Carlo RovelliThe Royal Institution · 5 HN recommenders · 2018–2022
• explainerHow Special Relativity Makes Magnets WorkVeritasium · 7 HN recommenders · 2014–2024
• lectureThe Biggest Ideas in the Universe: IntroductionSean Carroll · 5 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• explainerThe Biggest Misconception About ElectricityVeritasium · 7 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• explainerWatch electricity hit a fork in the road at half a billion frames per secondAlphaPhoenix · 5 HN recommenders · 2024–2026
• interviewFeynman: Magnets (and Why?) FUN TO IMAGINE 4/ higher quality version!Christopher Sykes · 5 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• commentarystring theory lied to us and now science communication is hardAngela Collier · 8 HN recommenders · 2023–2026
• explainerHow Trees Bend the Laws of PhysicsVeritasium · 4 HN recommenders · 2013–2026
• explainerBut why would light "slow down"? | Visualizing Feynman's lecture on the refractive index3Blue1Brown · 5 HN recommenders · 2023–2026
• explainerWhat Everyone Gets Wrong About GravityVeritasium · 7 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• explainerNoether's Theorem and The Symmetries of RealityPBS Space Time · 5 HN recommenders · 2018–2026
• interviewRichard Feynman. Why.firewalker · 5 HN recommenders · 2019–2026
• explainerRichard Feynman talks about lightsdfhsfh · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2025
• explainerWorld's Roundest Object!Veritasium · 6 HN recommenders · 2013–2018
• explainerFeynman: What things really are like FUN TO IMAGINE 1Christopher Sykes · 4 HN recommenders · 2011–2013
• lectureNuclear 101: How Nuclear Bombs Work Part 1/2Belfer Center · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2024
• explainerMost People Don't Know How Bikes WorkVeritasium · 7 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• explainerThe Most Misunderstood Concept in PhysicsVeritasium · 5 HN recommenders · 2023–2024
• explainerHow Time Becomes Space Inside a Black Hole | Space TimePBS Space Time · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2025
• explainerA New Way to Achieve Nuclear Fusion: HelionReal Engineering · 5 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• podcastStephen Wolfram: Cellular Automata, Computation, and Physics | Lex Fridman Podcast #89Lex Fridman · 4 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• explainerHow to Understand What Black Holes Look LikeVeritasium · 8 HN recommenders · 2019–2021
• talkGeoffrey West on COMPLEXITYFQxI · 3 HN recommenders · 2014–2018
• explainerHow We're Redefining the kgVeritasium · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2024
• lectureA Portal Special Presentation- Geometric Unity: A First LookEric Weinstein · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• explainerThe True Nature of Matter and Mass | Space Time | PBS Digital StudiosPBS Space Time · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2022
• lectureRichard Feynman Lecture -- "Los Alamos From Below"The Quagmire · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• interviewStephen Wolfram: Complexity and the Fabric of Reality | Lex Fridman Podcast #234Lex Fridman · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• talkConnections between physics and deep learningMITCBMM · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2026
• explainerIs The Alcubierre Warp Drive Possible? | Space Time | PBS Digital StudiosPBS Space Time · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• explainerHow are holograms possible?3Blue1Brown · 3 HN recommenders · 2024–2025
• explainerHow the Higgs Mechanism Give Things MassPBS Space Time · 4 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• interviewRichard Feynman Magnetsnebulajr · 4 HN recommenders · 2014–2026
• talkDoug McLean | Common Misconceptions in AerodynamicsMichigan Engineering · 4 HN recommenders · 2019–2021
• commentarythe sham legacy of Richard FeynmanAngela Collier · 5 HN recommenders · 2024–2025
• lectureCosmos - Carl Sagan - 4th Dimensioncarlsagandotcom · 3 HN recommenders · 2014–2025
• explainerAre Space and Time An Illusion?PBS Space Time · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2020
• explainerThe Biggest Misconception in PhysicsVeritasium · 3 HN recommenders · 2025–2025
• explainerWhat Happens at the Event Horizon? | Space Time | PBS Digital StudiosPBS Space Time · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2025
• explainerFeynman: Mirrors FUN TO IMAGINE 6Christopher Sykes · 3 HN recommenders · 2012–2024
• explainerHow Electricity Actually WorksVeritasium · 4 HN recommenders · 2023–2026
• talkShould Google Go Nuclear? Clean, cheap, nuclear power (no, really)GoogleTalksArchive · 2 HN recommenders · 2012–2019
• explainerWhy is the Solar System Flat?minutephysics · 3 HN recommenders · 2014–2025
• demoBackspin Basketball Flies Off DamVeritasium · 3 HN recommenders · 2015–2021
• explainerHow does a whip break the sound barrier? (Slow Motion Shockwave formation) - Smarter Every Day 207SmarterEveryDay · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2023
• explainerWhy does light slow down in water?Fermilab · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• interviewThe complete FUN TO IMAGINE with Richard FeynmanChristopher Sykes · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• explainerLight Waves Visualized using Photon Sieves.Huygens Optics · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• explainerRisking My Life To Settle A Physics DebateVeritasium · 5 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• podcastRoger Penrose: Physics of Consciousness and the Infinite Universe | Lex Fridman Podcast #85Lex Fridman · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• lectureLecture 1 | Modern Physics: Classical Mechanics (Stanford)Stanford · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2025
• explainerTurning Waves Into ParticlesHuygens Optics · 2 HN recommenders · 2025–2025
• explainerReynolds Number - NumberphileNumberphile · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2021
• courseThe Maths of General Relativity (1/8) - Spacetime and WorldlinesScienceClic English · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• explainerA Physics Professor Bet Me $10,000 I'm WrongVeritasium · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• explainerMagnetohydrodynamics - Propelling Liquid Metal with Magnets!Tech Ingredients · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• lectureThe Scientific Method-Richard FeynmanSképseis · 2 HN recommenders · 2014–2023
• documentaryFeynman: Take the world from another point of view (1/4)Aaron Scher · 2 HN recommenders · 2009–2023
• courseEpisode 1: Introduction - The Mechanical Universecaltech · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2024
• lectureLecture by Douglas Hofstadter: Albert Einstein on Light; Light on Albert EinsteinUppsala universitet · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• explainerThe Absurdity of Detecting Gravitational WavesVeritasium · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2019
• lectureWhy is Time a One-Way Street?Santa Fe Institute · 2 HN recommenders · 2014–2022
• explainerThe Strangest Implication of Quantum MechanicsVeritasium · 3 HN recommenders · 2025–2025
• interviewFeynman: Magnets FUN TO IMAGINE 4 But see NEW UPDATED file at https://tinyurl.com/ycphc432Christopher Sykes · 3 HN recommenders · 2010–2017
• talkDavid Deutsch on Physics Without ProbabilitySimon Benjamin · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• podcastStephen Wolfram: Fundamental Theory of Physics, Life, and the Universe | Lex Fridman Podcast #124Lex Fridman · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• explainerComplete Solution To The Twins Paradoxminutephysics · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2021
• explainerThe Geometry of CausalityPBS Space Time · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2022
• podcastEric Weinstein: Revolutionary Ideas in Science, Math, and Society | Lex Fridman Podcast #16Lex Fridman · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2019
• talkPhysics in Clojure - Colin SmithClojureTV · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2023
• explainerI Think Faster Than Light Travel is Possible. Here's Why.Sabine Hossenfelder · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2023
• explainerI recently learned that waste heat will boil the oceans in about 400 years.Sabine Hossenfelder · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2024
• explainerAll you need to know to understand 5GSabine Hossenfelder · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2022
• explainerThe Physics of Life (ft. It's Okay to be Smart & PBS Eons!)PBS Space Time · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• explainerSuperluminal Time Travel + Time Warp Challenge AnswerPBS Space Time · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2022
• commentaryMy dream died, and now I'm hereSabine Hossenfelder · 2 HN recommenders · 2024–2024
• explainerPower is not energy: why the difference mattersTechnology Connections · 2 HN recommenders · 2025–2026
• explainerThe Equation That Explains (Nearly) Everything!PBS Space Time · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• explainerThe Most Radioactive Places on EarthVeritasium · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2021
• explainerWhat if you could only see the world in UV?Veritasium · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2021
• musicFlanders & Swann - 'First And Second Law'notsyort · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2024
• lectureRotating Detonation Engine (RDE) -- Dynamics and BifurcationsNathan Kutz · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2022
• lectureRichard Feynman on hungry philosophers (or do we see objects or only their light)Zero · 2 HN recommenders · 2012–2021
• explainerWe all move at the Speed of LightScienceClic English · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2024
• explainerCan The Human Body Handle Rotating Artificial Gravity?Scott Manley · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• explainerHow Do Bikes Stay Up?minutephysics · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2024
• interviewFeynman: Mathematicians versus PhysicistsTehPhysicalist · 2 HN recommenders · 2014–2022
• lectureWhat is the Ultraviolet Catastrophe?Physics Explained · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• explainerThe Unreasonable Efficiency of Black Holesminutephysics · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• commentaryGell-Mann Amnesia and Michio KakuAngela Collier · 2 HN recommenders · 2024–2026
• explainerThe Bizarre Behavior of Rotating BodiesVeritasium · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2025
• talkNima Arkani-Hamed: The End of Space-TimeMax-Planck-Institut für Physik · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2025
• lectureFeynman: Knowing versus UnderstandingTehPhysicalist · 1 HN recommender · 2015–2025
• explainerDoes Time Cause Gravity?PBS Space Time · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2023
• explainerThe Snowflake MythVeritasium · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2023
• interviewFeynman_i_dont_like_honors_ [longer_version]batxg3 · 1 HN recommender · 2009–2024
• explainerHow Wrong Is VERITASIUM? A Lamp and Power Line StoryElectroBOOM · 4 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• lectureRichard Feynman - The.Character.of.Physical.Law - Part 2 (full version)Tinkerin' Thinkers · 1 HN recommender · 2013–2018
• lectureRichard Feynman Messenger Lectures at Cornell The Character of Physical Law Part 1 The Law of GravitationTalkReelTV · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2025
• interviewGrace Hopper on LettermanTheLazlo101 · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2018
• explainerMy Video Got 2 Companies Shut Down! (And even worse negative ion products)The Thought Emporium · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2025
• explainerHow to Detect Extra DimensionsPBS Space Time · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2020
• lectureRichard Feynman "Tiny Machines" Nanotechnology Lecture - aka "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom"Muon Ray · 1 HN recommender · 2015–2026
• demolevitating frogGraham McLeod · 1 HN recommender · 2012–2014
• explainerThe Universe is Hostile to ComputersVeritasium · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2024
• explainerWhy is light slower in glass? - Sixty SymbolsSixty Symbols · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2021
• explainerDoes the Past Still Exist?Sabine Hossenfelder · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2023
• commentaryPutin's new Russian MHD weapons explained (1st part)Jean-Pierre PETIT · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2023
• explainerHow anti-theft tags work - magnetostrictionApplied Science · 1 HN recommender · 2017–2020
• explainerHitting the Sun is HARDminutephysics · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2023
• demoLaser diode self-mixing: Range-finding and sub-micron vibration measurementApplied Science · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2025
• explainerWhat keeps a train on the track?BoreMeScience · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2022
• talkImaging at a trillion frames per second | Ramesh RaskarTED · 1 HN recommender · 2012–2019
• lectureFeynman: 'Greek' versus 'Babylonian' mathematicsTehPhysicalist · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2023
• demoTMS Bicycle, stable without gyros or trail (TMS=two-mass-skate)Arend Schwab · 2 HN recommenders · 2013–2019
• commentarySelf-filling water bottle: BUSTED!Thunderf00t · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2022
• explainerThe artificial gravity labTom Scott · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2025
• explainerCan A Metal Bowling Ball Survive Inside a Nuclear Explosion?Scott Manley · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2026
• interviewFreeman Dyson - Fermi's rejection of our work (94/157)Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2 HN recommenders · 2024–2025
• lectureThe Extreme World of Ultra Intense Lasers - with Kate LancasterThe Royal Institution · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2020
• explainerCalculating a Car Crash - NumberphileNumberphile · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2026
• lectureRichard Feynman: Can Machines Think?Lex Clips · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2025
• explainerCould The Universe Be Inside A Black Hole?PBS Space Time · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2023
• explainerThe Surprising Secret of SynchronizationVeritasium · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2021
• demoDropping Things Into The Sun is Hard....Scott Manley · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2019
• talkIs the Universe a Simulation? | 2016 Isaac Asimov Memorial DebateAmerican Museum of Natural History · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2020
• explainerFeynman: How the train stays on the track FUN TO IMAGINE 7Christopher Sykes · 1 HN recommender · 2013–2022
• explainerWhy Railroads Don't Need Expansion JointsPractical Engineering · 1 HN recommender · 2024–2026