Does Ball Lightning Actually Exist - Safety Third 86

[@theminecraft4202]

oh shit they read my static electricity comment there might also be some quantum explanation to why the electrons move (some sort of "quantum pump" for electrons), as well as a thermodynamic reason. but yeah it's kind of wild that such a common phenomena still isn't fully explained to this day... but who knows maybe solving the bridge between quantum mechanics and newtonian physics will finally give us the answer to how static electricity works.

[@quarduino6218]

Telepresent Nigel would be amazing; you could build him an uncanny body!

[@zell9058]

Knowing these guys it would be a blowup doll with an iPad taped to the face.

[@RexGanymede]

the blowup doll they got from japan, at that this would be in character for them and, totally fine by me

[@TaylorMade4Zero]

OMG you got a sponsor. People are finally recognizing the genius that is Safety Third.

[@pallasproserpina4118]

not just any sponsor, NHRL

[@NHRL]

This was our first podcast sponsorship too. I’m glad we got to hold hands together and experience our first together.

[@unknown3090]

​@@NHRLThis is both the most fitting and the most brave pick possible, lots of love from Washington.

[@Ryzawa]

@@NHRL Holy shit they're here, massive respect for showing up in the comment section!

[@asfdasdful]

WHATTTTT I DIDNT REALIZE IT WAS YOU!!!!!!!

[@MyNameIsNyx]

ugh another week another ep... what is this a professional podcast?

[@thefireseler4446]

Spoke too soom😢

[@NHRL]

Looking forward to having you boys and Soggy Mustang Dec 5-7 on our KZbin for the most fun you can (legally) have with a robot

[@m_lies]

I was already wondering when they woud anounce it, as it was already anouced a long time ago in the nhrl Livestream

[@thelastcube.]

honestly i think they did the sponsorship just to get on the event for free

[@tenns]

they litterally went from "NO MORE TAX TALK!!!" to "BILLS AND EMPLOYMENT" so fast

[@TheSpookiestSkeleton]

Allen finding out he has an astigmatism was so relatable I remember when I found out that the starbursts on lights weren't normal.

[@strangeriley99]

I love how you guys made Michael Reeves a permanent guest, he’s got so many good stories

[@duskpede5146]

so true

[@AJratcliffe]

Etymologist here - Allen's floating bug was probably a spider or silkwork type creature kiteing/ballooning (using electric fields and air currents to fly using a thread of silk) en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballooning_(spider)

[@cyn0_]

Cool, spiders can fly now apparently. Did NOT need or want to know that, thanks for the nightmares :)

[@storminmormin14]

What does that have to do with the origin of words?

[@glingle_kloon]

tf sspider is fly?

[@MegaSchoolman]

It's probably a woolly aphid en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriosomatinae?wprov=sfla1

[@aspidoscelis]

I'm voting for "actually a dandelion".

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

"The weak genes your stepdad gave you". I don't even want to know how that happens !

[@Yewtewba]

Maybe he tried real hard but bought low quality denim.

[@BuddyBleckley]

I just directed a Dominos commercial and the budget was 200k for all of production and post production.

[@MrGatlin98]

I said it on the last video, and I'm going to say it again on this one. You guys NEED to get AlphaPhoenix on as a guest. He can answer all the sciency-electric questions you are asking in a way that makes sense. It's better than the typical canned explanations you normally see.

[@venkaramon]

This is safety third man. When they get him as a guest they're gonna ask him something obscure of something he will know about but it's something related to some problem they're currently experiencing in their house lol

[@EPMTUNES]

i would pay for that episode

[@Ewr42]

Nigel needed to be on this one to direct the proletariat talk @ 17:56

[@TBFjourney]

On eye surgery, if you get a corneal replacement what they swap it with is perfectly clear. This means you dont have a yellow tint filtering out some of the UV spectrum, allowing you to partially see UV

[@gljames24]

Well, only really if you were a tetrachromat where the fourth cone picks up at that spectra. Most people would just see a little more violet and that's it. The S cone doesn't really pick up UV even if you were to remove the cornea as it drops at about 395nm.

[@sandwich2473]

​@@gljames24when my dad did a ton of acid in the 70s he said that one time he saw an extra shade of blue that's indescribable Makes me think if his brain just showed it to him

[@ogKEGGY]

Dude, I'm in my 30s and I just found out within the last couple years that I've always had a lazy eye, and I was so pissed that nobody told me lol. It's only when I'm not focused on something specific, so I'd never notice it in a picture. So I feel your pain, Alan I just always thought that blurring your vision when you're not actually looking at something was normal.

[@ChewShew22]

wait WHAT?

[@cameronm6295]

wait like its fine when you focus on something but blurry when just glossing over stuff? I have a lazy eye and it doesn't wander so no one knows but I cannot focus on anything with that eye really.

[@ogKEGGY]

@@cameronm6295 kinda. It's sort of blurry double vision when I'm not specifically focused on something, but I'm kind of just not using my right eye. I figured it out because I closed my left eye while I was doing it once and realized I wasn't looking at what I thought I was looking at. Then I recorded my eyes while I did it and it freaked me out watching my right eye just completely leaving the chat 😂

[@cameronm6295]

@@ogKEGGY lol yeah sounds about right

[@StaYUTI420]

2 episodes in a row with no credit roll for the patreon members, I really liked those bits.

[@DanteEhome]

The sponser thing really hits me, that when I was starting my 3D printing business I always calculate based on material, not their affordability. Now It's the other way around and the business is way better.

[@NikkoHawkes]

43:58 I do a little bit of work with triboelectric nanogenerators via my friend's startup and yea the triboelectric effect is exactly as poorly understood as you suggest. Nobody knows why rubbing is necessary for the effect. Scientists have tried to make a "triboelectric series" to figure out which materials want to donate electrons and which will accept them only to find out that lots of materials will form loops with each other in the series. Nobody really knows why increasing humidity decreases the effect. You can get the effect to occur with two identical materials and the direction of the charge transfer will randomly change over time. It's amazing how little we understand about something so commonplace. It pisses me off to no end.

[@Ryzawa]

Actually the best sponsorship you could have on this channel lmao, love how scuffed the ad read is as well. Also as somebody who's been watching KZbin forever, I completely agree with WIll's philosophy around using adblock around 29:00 into the video, somebody had to say it. I also use adblock for every video but I've considered getting KZbin premium, I just haven't had the job to support any subscriptions long-term.

[@TakeitEasy...]

My department head was probably going to fire me for being useless, but after making him listen to 20 minutes of two and a half actual engineers fail to do simple math I'm getting a raise. Instead of contributing to patreon, I figure it'll be better for everyone involved if I just burn the money instead.

[@FriendlyChemist907]

Forgive me im more of a chemistry guy but, How do you have half an engineer without serious blood loss?

[@TakeitEasy...]

@@FriendlyChemist907 Heat, glue, and/or lack of will to get the PE.

[@ElConquistedor]

We had one of those antistatic guns growing up! Dad used it with the record player for something or other but it was super fun to freak out the tv screen before getting yelled at lol. You could also put it on the metal door handle and shock your brother on the other side with it so that was fun lol

[@quillclock]

there are many reports of ball lightning at sea. very creatable ones that were reproducible on aircraft carriers. they said when landing jets during thunderstorms they would see balls of plasma fall out of the engines and electrical equipment and dribble on the deck while the jet powers down. also in submarines when they would shut off certain generators at certain depths they would also leak plasma

[@mrduck12345678]

Steve mould has a video on the piezoelectric effect that explains it well imo. Has to do with the hexagonal symmetry of the crystal. One side of the crystal gets negatively charged and the other positive. Highly recommend watching his piezoelectric video.

[@PhattyMo]

1:07:42 - Yes,the piezoelectric effect works both ways! Piezo tweeters/beepers are one example. Quartz crystals are another. Deforming it creates charge,and feeding it charge deforms it.

[@PhattyMo]

Also,I'm wondering Alan's "bug" might have been a bug infected with parasitic Cordyceps fungus (the so-called 'zombie fungus'),which often fruits from the victims bodies,after taking control of their bodies. It's kinda freaky. 1:15:50 - is that a Foamy (Pillz-E) reference? Stigmata! In your eye.

[@f3rny_66]

I love this podcast, I can use my own analog compressor to level the voices, truly the DIY experience

[@alexballiet9938]

ALLEN PAN: Your fuzzy floating bug is the Woolly Aphid (they do have tiny transparent wings lol I also thought they possibly floated when I saw them as a kid) NHRL sounds nope. Props to you guys for putting fun robots first (and safety third)

[@NHRL]

We are dope. Not nope. Ideally.

[@alexballiet9938]

@@NHRLmy bad y’all, I definitely meant to say it sounds dope!

[@daemenoth]

The start of this episode is fire! Best ad pitch ever.

[@wtfpwnz0red]

Toilet seat covers: the hanging middle bit goes in front because most toilets flush by sending a jet of water down the front. You just stand up and flush, and the jet of water yanks the seat cover down into the bowl so it can flush.

[@ft6637]

I love Kevin talking about Kevin 😂 The intro is genius 😂

[@aspidoscelis]

Kevin: "I've been living, like, thinking that I'm normal for 30 years."

[@scragar]

RE: Just didn't feel like doing a specific task at work. I find the best way to deal with that is to ask if it can wait and if there's something else you can do. If you just say you don't want to do that task it comes across as not wanting to work, but if you're just after a change of task because that particular task isn't working right now then it's taken a lot better. A few years back I was working on a project for a couple of weeks, and one day it and me just refused to mesh, I couldn't remember the right details, I kept getting frustrated with it, and effectively I just needed to put the task down because continuing in that state would cause more harm than good. Luckily it wasn't that urgent and my boss was totally OK with delaying it a day while I did something else to just clear my head and work on something less failure prone.

[@TBFjourney]

My first job was an undergrad research position where it was a flat 50 per week. So around 5$ an hour. The local safeway had shifts starting at 16 an hour.

[@sandwich2473]

Acollierastro has done a few videos on how much bs the pay in academia is

[@LoganLovell]

I've got a degree in engineering and I do engineering for work, but I don't label myself as an "engineer" most times. I label myself as a maker. The perfect example is: in one of the engineering clubs I was in, I was the only one who actually knew how to use a socket wrench and assemble stuff and use tools in general. I was surrounded by people who knew how to do math well and work pretty decent at doing CAD drawings. But when you handed them a tool they had no idea how to actually use it and didn't have any muscle memory. Personally, I consider myself pretty handy, but I'm also able to do all the things that an engineer is taught to do in school. That's why I relate so well to people like Will and Kevin and Allen, they have backgrounds in engineering but they aren't actually doing what an engineer would do for a career. They're actually using their engineering degree to make stuff. THATS where the fun is

[@tldawson]

51:32 As a Floridaman, I have to comment that this was probably a will-o-wisp. Basically just swamp gas.

[@mateostenberg]

Kevin is straight up wrong about the astigmatism, all of the things will and Allen were talking about sounds like distortions from their eyelashes and wet eyes. I don't know how they haven't thought of this in the meantime throughout life. 3 dude podcasts man. A 4th anyone is absolutely needed lmao

[@anvithj8776]

Ball lighning was prolly just kevin staring at the sun for too long before looking down again

[@loki3144]

youtube premium + youtube music really feels like shovelware

[@tom79623]

guys you make me feal better about my knolege from colege which i find really funny and find hope for my future, honestly thank you and i love you all. Ive been waching you for years.

[@Wolf-tk6dk]

“45 divided by 5 is 8” William Osman

[@MiddlePath007]

Alan saying "wait what" and "why are you dividing by 12" was funny, but all 3 of them not just dividing 4500 by ten and getting 450 was mind blowing. And not figuring out to double it to 900 for a five dollar subscription was insanity.

[@ondradanek45]

The antistatic gun is really just a piezo crystal connected to a spike of metal. When you pull the lever it starts clicking, like 4-5 clicks during the lever movement down, where each click is one deformation/relaxation of the piezo crystal. The electric field pulses from the metal spike then discharge the static charge on the thing you aim the spike on (not a physicist so I can't explan with absolute certainty how this step works either :D) but we use thees guns on vials and flasks... To get rid of static charge before weighing them on high presision balance in chemistry to be sure we get the correct mass of small amounts of compounds for example

[@nrok113]

I know people use these to de-static vinyl records too

[@Desoda_is_my_name_or_something]

True Facts: Zefrank Leafhoppers and Friends look that up that is the bug 1:13:06

[@MisterFribble]

So I'm Mormon and just for the record at 28:00 it's just 10%. I mean there's always the option to give more but there's no benefit to you other than feeling good.

[@IAmUrza]

43:00 Electrons move very slowly (drift velocity.) The waves are fast though. Think of how fast air moves vs the speed of sound.

[@LanikinMalachite]

Introduced my engineer friend to NHRL last night and now he's all into the idea, and now you guys are sponsored by them. it's a sign. IT'S AN OMEN.

[@NHRL]

Your engineering friend should tune into All-Stars on Dec 5-6-7. Great NHRL builders and Safety Third guys with Soggy Mustang

[@LanikinMalachite]

@@NHRL I'm trying to talk him into attending live! >:D

[@ogKEGGY]

Did anyone else get crazy deja vu when Kevin was talking about the military/explosive stuff? I'm 90% sure that exact conversation has happened multiple times 😂

[@Xyzair]

1:04:15 "it's free"

[@wtfpwnz0red]

In your piezoelectric starter, the spark IS that charge return William is asking about. It creates a large voltage. If your electrodes are close enough together, the voltage causes dielectric breakdown in the air, the electrons(?) jump across, and the charge is restored. I think if you have too much gap for the electricity to jump across, that wave of charge just rolls back to its original balance. It's like if you have a tub of water sloshing around. If the water doesn't slosh over the side, it will roll back and eventually settle. I will fight anybody who complains about water analogies for electricity. It's nearly always a spot on analogue.

[@carlsnapper6098]

I've used the piezoelectric guns before for removing static charges when weighting small amounts of powder. Pulling the trigger is just like a BBQ lighter, but it fires like 5 or 6 times in one pull, then again when releasing. It is an open circuit tied to a needle instead of sparking. It changes polarity between the squeeze and release. definitely makes an ionic wind and hurts if you get to close to the end of it.

[@sergibonell5400]

Great episode guys, really enjoyed all of it!

[@HalftimeRanga]

Who else had safety third up the top of their Spotify wrapped yesterday? Doing the Lord's work boys xx Love from New Zealand

[@Zaqory]

Here's the thing about the 10% tithing. Mormons are businessmen. 10% starts to add up. A common scenario is to be called as a ward clerk (the guy who counts the tithes) and open up a check that's more than your entire paycheck. Then another. Then another. And maybe a few more. Then there are the wards on the hills of Draper and Provo, it's half the ward. Additionally there's the 100 billion plus in stocks just sitting there growing.

[@wtfpwnz0red]

Flying with static is real. That's how baby spiders fly. I wouldn't be surprised if there were bugs who flew using the same principles.

[@LittleGreenFire]

I'm loving how many episodes we are getting:D

[@TheOpticalFreak]

@1:05:00 No! ☢️🚫 That Red and the Blue gun, is an anti static gun!! To get rid of dust on vinyl records!! 😉 Yes it makes a noise like a corona discharge! Like crackling sounds! So basically it's a negative ion gun with a piezoelectric crystal inside it! It is pretty similar to a gas stove igniter but the opposite way! 🤷🏻‍♂️ You slowly increase the pressure and quickly release it!! 🤓 And No it is not radioactive!!😝

[@jonas1015119]

them trying to divide by 12 might have actually managed to permanently damage my brain

[@aquaajb]

When you think you have developed a static charge, touch a metal object (such as a key) to something instead of your skin. The charge will pass painlessly through the metal.

[@maggifrischundlecker5349]

Im screaming at my screen because of the whole math part

[@XanTheDragon]

Piezoelectric crystals generate a potential by deforming. The crystal structure is made of ions and so when you physically push them apart, those charges don't balance out properly and so you get a potential. Think of it more like an energy translator (kinetic to (and from!) voltage potential).

[@wyattbiggs802]

This is the best sponsor advertisement I've ever seen.

[@darnikrshowtime]

I have never felt more seen as an engineer until 34:00

[@HntrSvrsn]

When you hit the piazzo electric device the energy from the hit is transferred to a voltage and if its isolated the internal resistance will turn the voltage into heat. I think

[@Desoda_is_my_name_or_something]

It is called a treehopper 1:14:13

[@ame7165]

the toilet seat cover is for automatically being flushed. you let the back flap hang into the toilet water and when you flush, it pulls it in so you don't have to touch it

[@tokiWren]

The bug that Allen saw was probably a kind of aphid, likely a beech blight aphid! I really like them, me and my friends call them fairies.

[@finndriver1063]

They're not what Allan saw, but Thrips are tiny insects, some with feathery wings that they can use to float on air currents or use in a rowing kind of motion to move. They exhibit the passive flight, but are

[@TheCeilingSniper]

I asked for a raise with my promotion and I got laughed at.

[@ramenparty2193]

@Safety Third HAHAHAHA, the youtube ads as a trade off for a bus after 75 years is almost litterly the equivlant to the quote, "Would you rather have unlimited bacon but no more video games or games, unlimited games, but no more games?" XD

[@MiddlePath007]

1:13:05 That's a feather 1:15:04 normal people have that, just not normal lights,but high contrast light, like stars, have that look 1:19:45 20/20 means you see something 20 feet away and it looks as clear as something 20 feet away should. 20/25 means the object looks as clear as something wold 25 feet away, 20/50 makes it as clear as an object 50 feet away,. So no 20/25 isn't good, 20/20 is normal, and 20/15 is good

[@taylorcrawford8723]

That moment when no one is really sure how the triboelectric effect works

[@jimbob1103]

That Bigfoot spotting was in an area where the locals love to prank the trains as Bigfoot. On the other hand, I think ball lightning is a real thing.

[@RND_ADV_X]

Does anyone here know if there is a way to fire an energy beam weapon that mainly agitates magnesium (like in the heart of chlorophyll)? If so, would that beam be in the visible range or would it be invisible?

[@carazy123_]

39:44 Hummus reference??

[@RomanNardone]

The weirdest use of piezoelectric crystals are ultrasound machines. How does applying a current somehow allow for sending of waves so accurately that thos same crystals can then interpolate that reflection information into an image

[@shrub9677]

because they vibrate very consistently when you apply electricity to them right then if anther crystal feels that you can measure the electricity

[@DullPoints]

Wait, what? Christ my head hurts.... Maybe that's unrelated, but dang.

[@RomanNardone]

@@shrub9677 yeah but the weird part is that the crystal interprets the change in the returning Hz information as an image as well as velocity information. Literally we measure the Doppler effect in the sound wave to determine the velocity of red blood cells. Wild

[@angrymario8259]

59:00 Spotify Wrapped but for life 😂

[@userofthissite3168]

I think you literally need to invite John Wilson from How to with John Wilson

[@EnigmaMaster]

The backdoor scientist said , "Allen, Kevin, and I", where's this second Kevin or does BDS speak in the third person now lol

[@CrafterProductions]

I actually fell asleep when you were explaining electricity math and physics that’s hilarious

[@nordicmind82]

Ball lightning is ~rare, a bit like people being hit by lightning is rare. Meaning it is not extremely rare but is rarely filmed. For instance in some parts of Germany, Norway and Sweden they aren’t super uncommon. Me and my sister (Swedish) saw one just a few years ago, and my dad saw one in the 80s. There are a few different kinds though, and ones persisting for more than a second (bouncing around so so on) are more rare than the ultra localized violent ball flashes. The coolest /scariest thing about them is that they can build up and discharge inside houses under extreme lightning storms. The one I was near was up in the air in the middle of a large open staircase in a big stone building in the town of Halmstad. This while we were running around disconnecting electronics because lightning was striking the neighborhood and thunder was shaking stuff.

[@GroundByte]

on the tithe thing, from what I recall when I use to go to non-denomination. Max was 10% as an idea that it wasn't a lot, and donating more to the church was detrimental to oneself in the long term of pursuing one's life goals and such

[@hypepotatoe]

Ex-mormon here: Tithing is 10%, but they definitely pressure you to donate more.

[@tylerwight7228]

I grew up mormon (left long time ago, dislike religion a lot) and you're right it's a sham but the mormon church really only asks for 10% and specifically asks to not give more than your means. They will also use part of this to help members nearby who need help paying for rent or groceries

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Fairy flies have shredded fuzzy wing that look sorta like fluff in some species. Not sure about them drifting though. Cotton fluff stuff on the thorax isn't unusual either.

[@BigJ_FPV]

Bro I was reading my meteorology textbook and we’re in the part about thunderstorms and it mentioned BALL LIGHTNING!!!

[@ashleysmith38]

Is the American education system really that easy to pass lol

[@Leadvest]

I really want to hear William's alternative to the standard model.

[@joshuawargo6446]

that was SUCH a PRIMAL scream xD omg

[@zacharyzaucha7359]

HEY!! weekly uploads nerds! Told you id make sure you do regular uploads!

[@Sky-._]

I love that science still can't decide if ball lightning is real or if it's just strong electromagnetic fields scrambling your brain and making people hallucinate

[@mellertid]

A phenomenon similar (in being elusive) to ball lightnings are wills-o'-the-Wisp. Very annoyingly clearly not properly understood nor actual BS.

[@poshhippie6446]

The Plasma Toroid vs. Science KZbinrs video from BackMacSci made me feel a whole lot smarter than some science KZbinrs watching how confused they were by induction 😂

[@MiddlePath007]

With the piezoelectric, triboelectric, and flexoelectric effects, the electrons travels from negative to positive. It's entirely possible the crystal or other material is positive and whatever the arc connects to has a normal charge that is a big enough difference to arc

[@MiddlePath007]

Quartz is piezoelectric, BTW

[@scrub8781]

I think i have seen ball lightning too. I was in Singapore and i remembered vividly that i saw thunderclouds producing bots striking mid-air to form a ball, which stayed stationary in the sky for 1 second or so before flying off with a high pitch sound. As it traveled and became smaller, the sound became softer and softer. It was continued to form for the next 10 minutes or so. Sadly i was too young to own a electronic device or a camera, i wish i recorded it too! Because nobody believes me also.

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

Sasquatch is real. I use to go to swap meets with him, back in 80s and 90s. I'll give you his phone number, but it may not be good anymore, as he was going thru a divorce back then.

[@SirMcMuffintosh]

So for the toilet thing, notice the shape of the cutout on the paper. Match that with the shape of the toilet seat. That's proof that the attached flap is supposed to be in front, not the back.

[@invinciblebunghole7355]

Woolly aphid, I believe is the insect Alan was describing.

[@epicthief]

Starburst stigmas unite, only we can see ball lighting

[@napalmholocaust9093]

I came home one night and on top of the power pole was a gremlin looking creature with green light coming out out it and it was the freakiest thing your brain can make to try and make sense of wtf yr seeing. It was a red tailed hawk arcing. It had been there burning and crackling for hours before and two more after I got home, one wing was on the ground and it was half carbon. The top of the pole was on fire. It was my poles so I called it in. They couldn't find it, so I drove down and stopped at it, waiting and watching it fry. Eventually the hawk was done was just a glowing ember with few sparks but the creosote pole was definitely gonna keep burning. It was police and they just called someone else once they saw it. With a bucket truck they knocked it down and extinguished the pole. The path was up one leg and down the other and down the wing. Thing was hollow. Nuts.

[@BeanerMan13]

Them talking about looking back and realizing how much money they lost out on is how I feel when I replay FromSoftware games and think about how many souls I'd lost FeelsBadMan

[@r0b0charlie34]

At this point we've seen more sightings of Bigfoot than Nigel

[@Skadidd]

A couple years ago i saw a spark midair. I was in the woods and im convinced it was an exploding seed but it looked like a those little snap poppers you throw on the ground.