Do Lego Wheels Spin FASTER in Vacuum?

I tested a few different Lego wheels in 70% vacuum. Enjoy!
The answer to the title question:
Yes in general, but it depends on the wheel size and balance. The best speed improvement was from 5100 RPM to 7000 RPM which is a 40% increase. Some wheels didn't gain much as they started to vibrate in high speeds. The smallest Lego wheel didn't spin any faster in vacuum.

[@AwesomeDomi1]

Definitely makes sense due to less air resistance, I was just waiting what you would use the vacuum from your last video for :)

[@msrobotricx1511]

Yes sir

[@StrikeEagIe]

Yeah

[@TheSAWR]

General term is 'Drag Force'

[@thatguyalex2835]

@@TheSAWR Air resistance/friction is another proper term. :) How did BEC align the laser tachometer light through the glass? If he was a mm off, the light would refract due to the glass refractive index and angled surface. He must have had the laser strike near perfectly perpendicular to the cylindrical container.

[@gigatombstone7773]

Exactly my thought

[@shottysteve]

so cool you used the lego vacuum pump too haha. its like you can make a whole set of tools out of lego to do more tests

[@staytoasty7373]

how can I choose a keyboard for CSGO?

[@VentusTheSox]

Uwu

[@CreeperPookie]

it's*

[@Omabatfartsbruh]

it seems you're too confused to be dead or not please decide already

[@josha618]

yo

[@biomerl]

Things I never wanted to know but now really want to know.

[@msrobotricx1511]

What 🤔

[@I_killed_that_beard_guy]

What 🤔

[@tddt1615]

What 🤔

[@aintblaze]

What 🤔

[@internal.rage.]

What 🤔

[@KIMG69]

I definitely expected the paddle-esque wheel to see a big improvement, and it did!

[@Sqlut]

You understand drag.

[@KIMG69]

@@Sqlut 😎 200 IQ physics legend

[@Sqlut]

@@KIMG69 🥇

[@quackin12152]

@@KIMG69 it easy to understand Drag basically air resistance ye Less air, less resistant, more speed

[@techmouse.]

It seems like an unstable axle could be the biggest RPM killer. So what if the axle had a stabilizer on the other end?

[@L4BRADOR]

Ohhhh idk

[@DecisionsRQuestionable]

@@L4BRADOR Huh

[@make883]

Maybe it would explode idk im not good at physics

[@Gandhi_Physique]

@@make883 you know you dont have to answer if you dont know, right?

[@DecisionsRQuestionable]

@@Gandhi_Physique ye

[@inexistentspecofdust9951]

The craziest thing is that this is made almost entirely out of lego

[@msrobotricx1511]

Hmm

[@TheAcidicMolotov]

Not the jar

[@TheSuperSushiMaster]

@@TheAcidicMolotov damn, i didn't know.

[@Casix03]

@@TheAcidicMolotov Keyword "almost"

[@darwisyaiman1865]

I wonder if lego made that vacuum chamber too

[@Silencer1337]

Those differences were larger than I expected.

[@vertujoe2886]

nice experiment! Good demonstration of air drag on different wheels. Could you please make an new episode about how Lego propeller spin in vacuum chamber. That must be very interesting.

[@quackin12152]

Lego propeller basically the same, just useless bc no air

[@Flynn217something]

1:15 the way that wheel expanded from centrifugal force ( 0-0) thought that thing was gonna come apart.

[@msrobotricx1511]

Really

[@thatguyalex2835]

1:15 kinda reminds me of those high performance RC car wheels we (tech nerds) all saw on 2013 YT that balloon at high speeds. :)

[@gregaaron89]

Dragster tires do the same thing

[@tek1645]

Centripetal*

[@jambunboii4537]

I thought that was just it wobbling around really fast to the point where the wobbling blurred

[@Reth_Hard]

Huh... Are you planning on building a satellite entirely built with Legos? It strangely looks like a reaction wheel they use in satellites. (It wouldn't be too surprising from him... lol)

[@JasonBaldwin301]

What if this channel partnered with bps space....

[@LanceThumping]

It'd make a cool video and I think you can buy space for a cubesat for "relatively" cheap.

[@Yobleck]

LEGO Cubesat lets goooooo!

[@puzzLEGO]

the paddle one makes the most sense, it literally has to push so much air each revolution. Also I kinda liked this shorter video, you could do some actual youtube shorts

[@lucaandre723]

Heck nl please no yt shorts

[@TalatJamal]

please no.

[@JustIn-sr1xe]

They all make sense, really. Particularly the ones with more surface area, as that adds more friction with basically everything.

[@jacobstephens7153]

Please not the shorts trend again

[@JakstarYT]

youtube tiktok huh NO

[@MultiKombo]

How about doing the opposite and fill it with more air?

[@xjmg007]

This effect is seen in drag racing, you get more power at sea level, but also have to push through denser air. It would be interesting to see a tesla or any pure electric car test sea level tracks and high altitude tracks. The electric car should be faster at high altitudes.

[@wilms2328]

@@xjmg007 I assume this has to do with their internal combustion engines having access to more air?

[@xjmg007]

@@wilms2328 yes denser air makes for a denser charge and allows for more fuel to burn, increasing cylinder pressure. Perfect scenario is low altitude and cool temps. Turbos and super chargers can overcome this mostly, but still are effected by altitude

[@minuisprobably8120]

@@xjmg007 also the reason why most pikes peak vehicles are super or turbo charged. natural aspirated engines have less oxigen intake to burn at those high altitudes

[@Wilma5532]

@@minuisprobably8120 yep, that's also why old airplanes had turbocharges, I believe it's called turbo normalisation

[@aureluck4127]

Is it just me or does this Channel make you want to buy some Lego?

[@DoubsGaming]

@Jojo Bugar Indonesia uncalled for man.

[@yogainstructor4437]

I love how his vaccuum creator is made of lego

[@BenjBuilds]

When you brought over the contraption from the last video to make a vacuum chamber I was like… “this guy is a genius!”

[@TheRainbowKiss]

He’s testing the wheels in a vacuum to build a moon rover

[@sage5296]

it makes sense, altho i wasn’t expecting that large of a difference! the wheels aren’t really displacing any air as they rotate so it really surprised me that you gained nearly 40% on that first test!

[@ScoobGruber]

Same, I was expecting a smaller improvement

[@dane1382]

although the amount of air and average density in the chamber stays the same, the wheels still experience resistance due to turbulent flow, like stirring up some water.

[@CheekiScrubb]

the air in the boundary layer has viscosity just like any liquid so the resistance comes viscous drag and turbulent flows from the rims

[@jimspeed1388]

It wasn't a question that had ever really crossed my mind but i'm glad I know now and proven with Lego.

[@MrC9000]

Another video you could do is "How would an internal vacuum affect buoyancy?" I assume it would make it float since it is less dense but that would still be cool to see.

[@quackin12152]

It floats

[@giga8279]

Found this channel 4 months ago at 3 am and still watching

[@user-rw8ll3nk1w]

Do you get a difference between inside and outside of the glas at 0% vacuum? I could think that there are different kinds of turbulences.

[@thatguyalex2835]

Potentially. :) However the differences in turbulences could be minimal. You'd think the air in the glass would start forming a cylindrical vortex in the glass in the same direction as the wheel spinning. We need a 3d aerodynamic simulation to determine the effects of spinning in a large room vs a small jar at STP (20°C, 1 atmosphere)

[@quackin12152]

@@thatguyalex2835 smart, and i want the simulation to also understand

[@viperfan7]

Except that would be changing an additional variable in the test, you want to test under the same conditions, other than the specific thing you are testing

[@Living_Murphys_Law]

@@thatguyalex2835 Maybe an outdoors test, too.

[@thatguyalex2835]

@@quackin12152 But that means modelling the exact shape in computer aided design (CAD) software and then the use of computational flow dynamics (virtual wind tunnel) software. :) Lol... But hey, if someone has time, maybe they could do it.

[@NickBricks123]

Cool videos as always! I always find them very intriguing!

[@JoelCreates]

I posted a vacuum chamber related video within five minutes of you posting this, crazy!

[@esvinjoshua884]

I was waiting for him to do 100% vacuum. . . . still, great video !!

[@fangthewarrior]

Wow! I also like how you used last video's pump :D

[@viniciusgoncalves2642]

that was really freaking cool! keep up the great content.

[@CoilB2]

Quick, informative and no extra fluff, great video!

[@CoilB2]

@Myles Fletcher No you

[@CoilB2]

@Myles Fletcher I dont think so

[@CoilB2]

@Myles Fletcher absolutely cutie

[@rayirth.upside-down]

Good job on frequent uploads 👍

[@surajgamingyt1944]

I'm always watching for your videos 😘😘

[@markofarc1758]

I love this, theres no life story to it - just what I wanted to see, respect!

[@callmeshaggy5166]

14k must be the maximum operating RPM of the motor (edit: at that voltage). The resistance offered by the small wheel was just not enough to impede rotation at all, so any reduction in resistance would do nothing. I'd be curious to see what the motor's RPM is with no attachment. I'm betting 14k

[@SM-oo4gk]

Like the way he still uses lego even to pump the air out 👍

[@wademyers6598]

Yes. Idk why we had to test this, but nice video. Im more impressed by the vacuum pump. GJ

[@FrietjeOorlog]

You should attach a temperature probe to the motor and test the difference under vacuum.

[@mazharulislam8441]

It's mind blowing to see how that little amount of air can create such a large amount of resistance....

[@kal9001]

"Little" amount of air. We don't think air is heavy because we are born in it, live in, and will probably die in it. Similarly a fish likely wouldn't consider water any kind of barrier or obstacle, yet water is even more dense than air. At sea level a cubic meter of air weighs between 1.1 and 1.4 Kg per cubic meter (depends on temperature and humidity) So even in the relatively small swept volume of the paddle/wheels, it could be tens of grams, maybe hundreds at high RPM. That's just pushing air out of the way, in aerodynamics there's another issue with the low pressure area created behind the structure moving through the air. This low pressure pulls the parts back, and is often at least as significant, if not sometimes more, than the high pressure building on the leading surface. So you can comfortably double the 'effective' mass of the air to account for that.

[@mazharulislam8441]

@@kal9001 We don't feel wind heavy when we don't have speed or the wind doesn't have speed... But when the wind is blowing on a high speed or we're running or traveling at a high speed, that's when the resistance is felt... Just like a fish will consider water as a barrier when swimming against the current.... But you have a point too... There are other things to consider such as pressure, aerodynamics, heat and many more....

[@NickEter]

The most fascinating part of the video was when he just casually whipped out a frickin' LEGO vacuum pump

[@schnozistanczar9433]

This is exciting to see because the ingenuity helicopter on mars is currently having trouble flying due to reduced pressure and the tried spinning the blades at higher rpm, however they met an issue where the higher rpm increased a certain type of drag significantly, allowing it to fly but it was extremely hard to maneuver

[@DIYwithBatteries]

That was really a nice experiment 👍

[@VikramCSX]

Its mainly based on how much friction the wheel creates and the weight/size of the wheel so the small wheel had no speed change because it didn't encounter alot of air resistance

[@tashashankle3943]

Now I want to see the part 2 where you put a tube on the jar to suck up dust and dirt

[@soupappreciator8977]

We casted this video at my grandma's funeral yesterday. RIP Gertrudes.

[@nosk7139]

I love this channel. None of it's anything like "HEY GUYS! I SPENT *insert money amount here* ON *insert purchasable thing here* AND DID THIS THING WITH IT!!!!!" It's just cool Lego experiments. And I love it.

[@Dadmadeit]

Very interesting video! Thanks!

[@36chethan]

I dont have Legos but i still watch your video cause you are so passionate on this and provide good content

[@legendaryarchie6512]

If you notice in races that cars draft other cars and move faster, picture this the same way as there is no air resistance

[@waltercomunello121]

that lego vacuum pump is so adorable

[@chirayuop1048]

I love your videos ❤️

[@msrobotricx1511]

Me to

[@morkovija]

Oh god, not dragging it out for 8 minutes? Doing god's work there, thank you

[@pg41226]

This guy must make crazy money with videos like this. 43k views in just two hours… and adverts shown in this video. And it’s definitely worth to watch the videos, interesting!! Kiitos

[@LEGOLandOfficial]

so cool, bro

[@Nikita_Turbo]

Running tests for the spacecraft design. Nice.

[@rdmcfoxinator2131]

love the little vacuum pump it is effectively what it is

[@northwardchaser2823]

Surprised the giant tire wheel didnt have a larger benefit from thd vaccuum. With all that surface area I figured the skin drag from the air would be pretty sizable. Wheel size certainly seemed to be a driving factor for the other wheels.

[@doxielain2231]

I would think that once the air pressure is removed the limiting factors are the motor power and friction of the moving parts.

[@RailsofForney]

For context as to the scale of these speeds: 0:09 That’s beyond the redline of some old CP V8s. 0:32 That’s beyond the redline of a Subaru EJ25. 0:50 That’s beyond the redline of newer CP V8s. 1:07 That’s beyond the redline of generic production V10s.

[@spacewalk3046]

the fact that you made the vacuum pump from lego too just shows the dedication

[@benrowbottom4682]

a more stable axis and the test may become more distinct especially with the larger tires

[@volbla]

I really didn't expect such a significant difference for the first wheel. I guess it has pretty big spokes.

[@MackAttack101]

i definitely thought there would be a relation but I didn't think it would be that much! dang!

[@AdamDilloo]

Ah yes. *CONTENT*

[@nathanyamaha465]

Great demonstration of air resistance.

[@iurifaquin]

If you decrease the drag force (Which in this case is the container's right-handed air) within a space (Which is the Container), you will increase the terminal velocity, but if what is being accelerated is very small and without mace this terminal velocity it will be the same with the no vacuum. I believe that's it if I'm wrong please correct me...

[@krzysztofkozowicz9830]

It's a factor but here the issue lies in gearing. 14000 RPM is "the redline" for this engine+gearbox. To test the small wheel a different gearbox would have to be used.

[@dakozhidayat9530]

It's really amazing, Can you tell me where you buy lego like that, and I hope it's not expensive

[@darkthshadow9253]

I love your channel bro

[@skeeteryeeter3234]

I was not expecting the outcomes. I mean, yes there is some air resistance I suppose, but really the built up rotational force is a simple fuction of gravity and power supplied to the motor.

[@Johnwalter1044]

I just realised you have nearly 2M subscribers. Holy moly.

[@LEL7567-ABCDEF]

makes a much bigger difference than i thought it would of course fifferent wheels have different air resistences

[@pisoechodepiso3052]

Thanks for the video

[@noob-ishnoob749]

the Lego vacuum pump is so nice and cute looking

[@devyn10111]

I feel like air is causing more wobble with some of the wheels but then the tonka truck one was even worse in vaccuum

[@pizzaloverboi0559]

I love how you even used legos to take the air out of the vacuum

[@FC70YT]

Satisfaction has got the best of me.

[@disgracetologic]

That was awesome !

[@ronhonhola]

Wasn't expecting that much difference! We should be traveling in vacuum, in those "hoverboard" trains.

[@erikslatterv]

I f*cking love this channel

[@flybobbie1449]

Always wanted to pass fluid (water) over a airfoil section or back of spoon in a vacuum to see what happens.

[@DoggosAndJiuJitsu]

Yes. No air resistance. This has been a long-established fact of motion.

[@AndrewGuns]

The sound sounds awesome

[@tlange5091]

I expected a vacuum video after the last one, I didn`t expect another wheel test. I didn't know I wanted another wheel test.

[@pyrodaprotogen]

Hey i will respond your comment in the first minute you posted it!

[@CaptianGhosty]

When you remove the air in a container, there is less drag for the wheel to spin over so it can go faster

[@armstrong.r]

This was fascinating

[@LucarioredLR]

Now I get why so many physics question start with "In a vacuum"

[@trohinic]

please more videos with pressure changes

[@GraveUypo]

wasn't expecting THIS MUCH of a difference on that first wheel

[@Langwyrm]

I think the thing with the small wheel was that it had little to no air resistance so there was hardly anything to make it slower or faster

[@AlexanderTBratrich]

I love the sound of the big rubber ones

[@academicianprokhorzakharov4009]

Very nice! Thank you.

[@PiotrBarcz]

The spinning paddle had a very large gain because it wasn't acting like a propeller and pushing air around... there was no air so there's no friction.

[@baer_boii8889]

i love the hum the unstable wheel makes

[@kingofherdaz7860]

With taller gearing the difference would probably be bigger. With the small wheel it seemed like that was simply the maximum rpm for the motor with that gear ratio.

[@iskenuz]

I love the fact that the vacuum was pulled using the lego pumps.

[@Skrubb_Lord]

Might have been a bit more accurate if you ran at 0% vacuum with lid on. Sometimes the little variables can & will make a difference, but entertaining none the less.

[@larrymantic2635]

Interesting. Without the vacuum, the wheel would have to deal with outside forces.

[@waldolemmer]

Do you mean air friction? No other outside forces are being removed here.

[@msrobotricx1511]

Yeah

[@AVERAGEsouls]

Lego vacuum pump lol I love it!

[@gachaskits9238]

yooo finaly nice vid

[@zam8135]

Never stop making these

[@DanielOliveiraViolao]

Great, dude!

[@msrobotricx1511]

Super experiment brother

[@goldenprocz]

I love your vids

[@qvindicator]

I was not expecting the vacuum pump to be built with Lego as well