Physics Videos Round-up: 17 August 2012

In the first of a regular series on the IOP blog we take a look at some of the very best physics videos currently circulating the web.

Usain Bolt vs Gravity

If you’ve been missing endless sport on TV, then this video from the ever brilliant Minute Physics is just the thing for you.

As if Yohan Blake didn’t present enough of a challenge, watch the fastest man ever take on gravity!

Seven Minutes of Terror

We all felt something quite profound watching the Curiosity rover land on Mars, but probably nothing as intense as the emotional rollercoaster it was for its creators.

This video gives intimate personal insight into the fear and excitement of the team members at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory upon completing such a monumental project:

And in case you haven’t seen it, here’s Curiosity’s descent onto the alien planet.

Faster…

Sports science is one of the main reasons why records are broken every 4 years at the Olympics, and this selection of videos give an insight into some of the athlete’s secrets.

YouTube user Veritasium quizzes people at the Olympics about sailing and gets to the bottom of the physics behind their speed.

Canadian Olympian, Hunter Lowden, provides the answers:

Higher…

Similarly, an Australian high jumper talks through how a historic change in technique has improved the height they can reach:

And raising the physics bar a little bit more, this video from Science Friday explains the biomechanics of how to jump even higher.

Thanks for watching our video round up. Have you stumbled across any eye catching physics videos recently? Share your favourites with us in the comments below.

And don’t forget, you can watch a wide variety of great videos from the IOP on our YouTube channel.