00:00A doctor is about to perform a surgery.
00:03He positions the lamp over the patient and… wait, what?
00:07His hand doesn't cast a shadow.
00:09And it shouldn't, because even one little dark spot could ruin a life-saving operation.
00:16This magic happens thanks to a large number of light bulbs.
00:20Each LED shines on the patient from a different angle, creating overlapping patterns.
00:25A sensor detects any obstacles and compensates for shadows by dimming some LEDs and increasing
00:31the output of the others.
00:34Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak is now a reality… well, sort of.
00:39Meet Metamaterial, a futuristic fishnet that can make things invisible by manipulating
00:44electromagnetic waves.
00:46What happens is that when light hits an object, it either gets absorbed or bounces back.
00:52Either way, it makes the object visible.
00:55With Metamaterial, instead of absorbing or reflecting light, it bends it around objects,
01:01making them invisible to the unaided eye.
01:03The bad news is that, for now, it only works with specific wavelengths of light, like radio
01:09waves.
01:10So this Invisibility Cloak doesn't work with visible light, the things we can actually
01:14see just yet.
01:17In Sweden, two women managed to create an invisible bike helmet.
01:22Well, okay, maybe not that invisible since you have to wear this thing around your neck
01:26for it to work.
01:28This neck piece has a sensor with a special algorithm that can distinguish between regular
01:32biking and a crash.
01:34So if a cyclist is wearing this and gets into an accident, the sensor automatically activates
01:40and inflates the neck piece with cold helium gas, instantly deploying the helmet that looks
01:45like a head airbag.
01:47And if you're worried about the helmet tearing after hitting the ground, don't be.
01:51It's made of super strong nylon fabric designed to handle pretty much any strong impact.
01:57Well, it seems we're not quite masters of invisibility yet, but transparency is a different
02:04story.
02:05Back in the 90s, a botanist in Germany managed to create a see-through wood.
02:10This invention was almost forgotten for decades, but recently, a group of researchers upgraded
02:15the material to make it tougher than glass.
02:19Regular wood is like a bundle of tiny straws held together by a natural glue called lignin,
02:25which gives it strength and color.
02:27To make wood transparent, scientists remove or bleach lignin, leaving a white, skeleton-like
02:33structure.
02:34Then, they fill these cells with a clear substance like epoxy resin, making the wood see-through.
02:41But don't worry, you won't be walking into forests full of invisible trees anytime soon.
02:46The idea is to use this technology to create things that need to be tough, like windows
02:51and smartphone screens.
02:54Seeing things that aren't really there like holograms is seriously bizarre.
02:58This technology is basically like watching 3D images of real objects, but without the
03:03need to put on those old-school 3D glasses.
03:07To create a hologram of a flower, for example, you start by pointing a laser at a special
03:12mirror.
03:13This process will split the laser beam into two parts.
03:17One part bounces off another mirror, illuminates the flower, and then hits a photographic plate.
03:23The other part of the beam bounces off a different mirror and goes straight onto the same photographic
03:28plate.
03:29When these two beams come together, they make a 3D picture of the flower.
03:33So basically, a hologram is an optical illusion of epic proportion.
03:41Levitation is probably the greatest magic trick of all time.
03:45While magicians typically use optical illusions to make things appear to rise and hover in
03:49the air, science can actually achieve it in the real world.
03:54A process known as quantum levitation allows materials known as superconductors to float
04:00above magnets.
04:01You see, these materials naturally repel magnetic fields, but some allow a few magnetic lines
04:08to pass through.
04:09This creates tiny vortices where magnetic flux can pass, helping the superconductor
04:15remain suspended, kind of locked in the middle of the magnetic field, defying gravity.
04:23Last year, outfits that changed colors and patterns right before our eyes went viral.
04:29This incredible fashion trick was achieved using photochromic materials.
04:34When this type of fabric is exposed to sunlight, UV radiation causes electrons to transfer
04:39between different states, which alter their optical and electrical properties.
04:44In simple words, they change colors.
04:47Since natural sunlight intensity varies all the time, the colors of the outfits also shift
04:52constantly.
04:53Unfortunately, the effect only lasts for about three minutes.
04:58Sure, you might wear something that changes colors, but would you eat it?
05:03I'm not talking about a banana ripening from green to yellow.
05:06I'm talking about chameleon, an ice cream made in a lab that tastes like Tutti Frutti
05:12and has a superpower.
05:14It changes color in your mouth.
05:16This treat shifts from lavender blue to pink upon touching your tongue.
05:21Although the physicist who invented it is pretty secretive about the recipe, we do know
05:25that the magic comes from how the treat reacts to changes in temperature and acids in your
05:30mouth.
05:31Oh, and the inventor also mentioned you can spray something he calls love elixir onto
05:37the ice cream to speed up the reaction.
05:40Science has advanced to the point where we can actually make it rain and snow.
05:45This technique is called cloud seeding, and although it might seem like an X-Men superpower,
05:50it is pretty easy to understand how it works.
05:53First, the weather needs to be cloudy.
05:56Once a cloud forms, workers at a control center send a plane to the area to stimulate rainfall.
06:02As soon as the brave pilot enters the cloud, the plane releases tiny particles such as
06:07silver iodide into the air.
06:10These particles help water droplets form and grow, which produces rain.
06:14Sounds simple, right?
06:16But playing Storm is pricey.
06:19An average 4-hour operation that seeds 24-hour clouds would cost around $5,000.
06:26If the storm gets too loud, just grab your noise-canceling headphones for some quiet
06:30time.
06:31These magical gadgets work by listening to the noises around you.
06:35Then their built-in microphones create sound waves that are the opposite.
06:39When these opposite sound waves mix with the noise, they cancel each other out, making
06:43everything quieter and clearer.
06:46Concrete often has a problem.
06:48It cracks, which makes it less durable, and that's not good.
06:52So the smart move is to go for self-healing concrete.
06:55This magical material has tiny capsules, or nanotubes, inside that are filled with healing
07:01agents like calcium carbonate.
07:04When a crack forms and hits these capsules, they burst open from pressure or moisture
07:08exposure.
07:10This releases the healing agent into the crack, where it mixes with things in the air like
07:14water or carbon dioxide, to toughen up the concrete again.
07:19If you're planning to build a house, you should consider using a 3D printer.
07:24I know it might sound crazy, but nowadays, it's completely possible to print an entire
07:29500-square-foot house in just 24 hours.
07:33It kind of works the same way as a regular 3D printer.
07:36First, you design the house plans on a computer.
07:39Then you send it to print.
07:41That's when colossal robotic arms come into play, laying down layers and layers of a special
07:47concrete mixture that harden as they go.
07:51Magic sand may look like an innocent toy, but it defies logic.
07:56I mean, it is sand that remains dry even underwater.
08:00But here's how it works.
08:02The sand is coated with a hydrophobic compound, which causes the grains to stick together
08:08and form cylinders when submerged in water.
08:11So if you put the sand in an aquarium, for instance, this compound will create an air
08:15pocket around the sand, keeping it completely dry.
08:20Talking about toys, did you have a boomerang when you were young?
08:24It is pretty fascinating how it always comes back into your hand.
08:28The trick behind it lies in its L-shape.
08:31A boomerang is designed with two or more wings positioned in a special way so that when it
08:37spins, it generates unbalanced aerodynamic forces that curve its path into an ellipse,
08:43allowing it to return to the spot from which it was thrown.
08:47Of course, this only works when it's thrown correctly.
08:50So maybe it's better to avoid using it altogether, especially inside your house.
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