This is how zero-g flights actually work
6,187,217 views 7 years ago
The European Space Agency offered me a seat on their zero-g plane: it's an Airbus A310 that flies parabolic maneuvers, pulling up into the sky and then arcing back down, giving its passengers about 20 seconds of weightlessness (or "microgravity") at a time. Here's how it works. Some people would have filmed their script on the ground, and just messed about while floating. I decided to go for something a bit more challenging. ** If you're a masters or PhD student from an ESA member state, and zero-g sounds like your thing, have a look at the Fly Your Thesis program: http://www.esa.int/Education/Fly_Your... -- the 2017-18 submissions are closed, but that just gives you time to start planning for next year... ** FAQs: Why isn't Neil floating around the cabin in zero-g?: Sometimes, his feet are under a safety strap, so he doesn't drift away. Sometimes, he's holding on with one hand, and he's just that good at zero-g maneuvers. Why's my face so red?: During the 1.8g phase, my heart has to work extra hard to pump blood up to my head -- when I switch to 0g, it takes a few seconds for it to slow pumping, so my blood pressure spikes. What stabilised camera did I use?: You're looking at footage from a GoPro Fusion, stabilised in post using Adobe After Effects and the telemetry from the plane's sensors. What did it feel like?: There'll be a behind-the-scenes video on the Matt and Tom channel on Saturday, hopefully! ** Camera: Melanie Cowan Thank you to everyone at ESA and Novespace who helped make this happen! 🟥 MORE FROM TOM: https://www.tomscott.com/ (you can find contact details and social links there too) 📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: https://www.tomscott.com/newsletter/ ❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: https://lateralcast.com/ https://youtube.com/lateralcast/ ➕ TOM SCOTT PLUS: https://youtube.com/tomscottplus 👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: https://youtube.com/techdif
Around the world, there are huge laboratories, impressive test chambers, and bizarre contraptions: all built to help us understand the world. Built for science.
A series of video highlights taken from the podcast 'Lateral with Tom Scott'. You can listen to full episodes at https://www.lateralcast.com or your usual podcast provider. The same link can be used to contact the show for business enquiries, question submissions or guest suggestions.
Videos about linguistics, languages, and love. But mainly linguistics.
Tom talks about the internet, the accelerating pace of change, and occasionally tea cozies.