Thursday, April 23, 2015

This Insane Scientist Puts His Life At Risk To Teach Physics, And We Love It

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It may not be everyone's favorite subject, but when it comes to understanding the world, physics is one of the most important things you can learn.

After all, it's the science of motion and as we go through life, we're always in motion.

Knowing how something is going to move in a given context is not just useful. In the right situation, it can save your life.

I mean, you don't want to re-enact Final Destination in the dumbest way possible, right?

And one Norwegian scientist is taking that lesson to the extreme with his new experiment.

SHARE this on Facebook if you think this is the best way to do science.

This is Andreas Wahl.

He's a physicist and TV host famous for making science fun for kids. He does this with some pretty extreme stunts, so he's like a cross between Bill Nye the Science Guy and Evel Knievel.

And this is definitely not his first rodeo. 

Last month, he dropped from a height of almost 50 feet, but knew the force of a weight wrapping around a pole would keep him from breaking his legs.

And if that's not enough, he fired a rifle at himself underwater.

The gun was only 10 feet away, but water resistance is a different beast than air resistance, so the bullet just kind-of dribbled out.

But this might be his most dangerous stunt yet.

He's about to swing a one ton wrecking ball at himself. And you can see how close he's setting it off.

Now in theory, it shouldn't kill him.

The Law of Conservation of Energy states you can't create or destroy energy, so any energy that exists in something will stay constant. This means that the wrecking ball should end up swinging to the exact point Wahl let it go.

But you'll notice that isn't making him any less nervous.

If he moves his head a little bit or if the beam that ball is swinging from gives out, he's screwed.

But there's only one way to find out if it'll work.

Strap in and check out what happens to the daredevil physicist.

Remember to SHARE this to show everyone how much science rules.

Main image via Nerdist

Collage image via eBaum's World

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Author: verified_user

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