The Big Bang Theory - internal combustion engine

That's about where I am with cars.

One of the great things about teaching material science, though, is that I find myself far more willing to admit that ignorance than I am in the chemistry classroom where I pretty much always know more than my students do.

In the material science classroom, I'm far more likely to know less than somebody in the audience does.

LG's 1mm OLED Wallpaper TV

A friend of mine, another high school teacher told a story that when he was buying a television - maybe about ten years ago now - he met a convincing salesman. The salesman was a former student of his who remembered that the teacher had young children. When he was speaking to my friend, the salesman took his fairly heavy, full keychain and chucked it directly at the screen from about five feet away. The keychain bounced and did no damage at all. The screen - among the first flat screen, narrow depth televisions that we find so ubiquitous now - was covered with a polymer layer that made it fairly impervious to damage.

But even that wasn't a television that you could roll up and hang on the wall like it was a poster.

That's a different beast all together.

How to Change a Water Heater Anode Rod

I love me some Rich Trethewey.

Here Rich gives us a quick lesson in the anatomy of a hot water heater and - more importantly for materials science - the anode. He does a wonderful job explaining what an anode is (the sacrificial part of the heater) and describes it as being made of the 'least noble metal that we can put in [the heater]".

He also does a great job actually showing us how to replace an anode rod. He doesn't, however, address the question asked of where to buy a new anode.

Time Warp - Cornstarch

The Time Warp guys love running just about anything through slow motion and in front of high speed cameras. Oobleck is made for these guys.

Oh, first an actual definition (from the video, slowed down so you can read it) of what a Newtonian fluid is:

The resistance which arises from the lack of slipperiness originating in a fluid, other things, being equal is proportional to the viscosity by which the parts of the fluid are being separated from each other.

Yeah, whatever. Cornstarch and water make for some really fun stuff.

Like...sticking in your hands, running the hands across the surface, then showing it in really super slow motion.

Like...nailing a nail into a floating board (which is really cool to see, honestly).

Like...dumping it on a modified speaker (basically a drum head stretched over a cardboard tube, I think (and playfully mocking your own wedding).

Like...running across a pool of the stuff - and doing a hoedown on the oobleck.

Oh, at 4:20, how does the cornstarch mix flow? Shouldn't it be solidifying as it pours?

Oh, I'm about finished with the Spanish-language video. This one's way better quality and goes more in depth.

Plus it's in English.