How Do Touchscreens Work?

We use touchscreen displays for hours every day, but do you know about all the intricate layers and components that make them work? This episode goes into the structure and basic function of a touchscreen display. What goes into making toughened glass strong, how do capacitive touchscreens work, and how do OLEDs work? The merging of these technologies is what arguably makes the smartphone what it is! Take a look and learn more.
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Table of Contents:
00:53 The Layers
01:35 Section 1: Toughened Glass
03:18 Section 2: Capacitive Touchscreen
05:07 Section 3: OLED Display
07:18 Section 4: Summary
07:48 Section 8: Outro
Key Branches from this video are: Multitouch, Electric Fields, Capacitors, OLEDs, LCDs, Material Transparency, Interface Aesthetics
Made by Teddy Tablante
Addendum & Erratum
LG Prada Predated the Iphone. LG Prada was released announced December 12th 2006 and sales started in May 2007.
5:43 Most smartphones use a pentile subpixel layout which is 2x Green for 1x Red and 1x Blue.
7:25 1Pixel = 1G+1B or 1G + 1R. Thus the latest phones are closer to 6.67Million itty bitty lights.
See sub-pixel details here:
www.oled-info.com/diamond-pix...
---
Animation built using Blender 2.79b www.blender.org/
Post with Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects
Sound editing with Reaper
Work Cited:
Wikipedia contributors. "Touchscreen." , "OLED." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, August 30th, 2018
3M Touch Technology Brief. (2013). “Projected Capacitive Technology”
Varshneya, A.K., Bihuniak, P.P. (2017). Cover Screens For Personal Electronic Devices: Strengthened Glaass or Sapphire. American Ceramic Society Bulletin Vol. 96, No. 5
Blankenbach Karlheinz. (2014). "Organic Light Emitting diodes (OLED)." Pforzheim University, Germany.
Images of Cellphones acquired from Wikimedia Commons. "HP150" , "Motorola DynaTAC 800x" ,"Appled Newton", "IBM Simon", "Nokia 1610", "Nokia 3310" , "Ipod [1]" , "Blackberry 5810", "Motorola Razr", "IPhone [1]" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, August 30th, 2018
Freudenrich, Craig PH.D. (2014)." How OLEDs Work" electronics.howstuffworks.com...
Music Attribution in Order:
Morning Dew from KZbin Audio Library
Plaidness from KZbin Audio Library
Water Lillies from KZbin Audio Library
Marxist Arrow by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBlLC...
Sunburst, Tobu & Itro is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License
www.7obu.com
• Video
Car and character models acquired from Blender Market
#Touchscreen #Smartphone #HowDo

[@BranchEducation]

I'm wondering whether you all think the content is too in-depth or there are too many details. What are your thoughts?

[@senior_9984]

don't know about others, but I like the videos just fine, alot of info simplified in the best way possible and great clarifying animation, I couldn't have asked for anything better. never been too quick to subscribe to a channel before, keep up the good work.

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I don't think there is such an issue... They are just....... Mesmerizing..

[@WhoXs]

I don't know what others think, for me this is awesome full of information I appreciate man keep going on. 😍😍😍😍😍

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I love technical details! So dive as deep as you'd like!

[@noorbedo]

I think it's very nice for people who thrust for knowledge, and we need more in depth in many another installment about the same subject

[@JerryRigEverything]

Fascinating video! Nice work!

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I'm wondering of your contribution to make smartphone stronger

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Just saw your tweet

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Your tweet brought me here!

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Wow Jerry.. love you man...

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Rig my toaster plz !

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So I am holding a masterpiece

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Oh a malayalee!..

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Oh randu malayalees

[@episodicteen1024]

Exactly

[@abhijithramesh1420]

Pinnem malayali..

technically YES

[@jakkuwolfinsomnia8058]

The level of ingenuity required for this small device is truly worthy of one of the greatest technological advancements the world has ever known

[@sxbmissive]

“Ugh why do these phones cost so much? What a scam, phones shouldn’t have to cost so much..” 5:46 - and that’s just one aspect of COUNTLESS mind blowing things about smartphones. You’re literally holding a miracle in your hand. That’s why.

[@no-lifenoah7861]

those miracles don't cost as much as Apple sells them for though

[@Patrikv303]

@@no-lifenoah7861 Or any android in that matter

[@no-lifenoah7861]

@@Patrikv303 android is only very slightly better at not scamming people

[@tosolini]

I can only imagine the amount of work it takes for you to research, storyboard, model, animate, post-produce these videos. I’m very impressed by the quality of the content and presentation. Thanks for your effort!

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3 years later and exactly what i've been looking for. Took a couple vids but the consistency in quality is staggering and i'm subscribed and ringing the bell! Bravo!

[@wuxn3d]

Absolutely brilliant video! This was extremely educational & animated perfectly. I'm over here scratching my head as to why schools aren't like this. We could have so many young minds much more fascinated with learning. Keep up the great work Branch Education this is amazing.

[@ajeetpatel7753]

I've always wondered how the touchscreen works. you filled my curious mind with knowledge.

[@BranchEducation]

No problem!

[@Laithstuff]

ajeet patel I have a project and one of the topics is touchscreen

[@kingsly1031]

@Ethan Wood lesser than you..

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@@kingsly1031 ikr😅

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@@Laithstuffc in

[@zaynaly3682]

Damn, We have taken technology for granted! Why those brilliant minds behind such tech not highlighted, instead we get to see faces of some good businessmen?

[@BranchEducation]

That's a great question. I think (opinion) it's because engineers pursue the design, problem solving, tinkering, and invention aspects of life, and less care about being in the spotlight.

[@trusttheprocess4775]

The “good businessmen” are also engineers now. Elon musk, Mark zuckerberg, Jeff bezos, Dell, Page etc etc. Edit : To everyone saying Elon Musk is not an engineer, fine, i get that but he has engineered more relevant and important things than over 99% of engineers ever. Plus he has a science degree.

[@trusttheprocess4775]

Orbite flow That’s called Re-inventing. Nobody can invent stuff, make a business out of it, and become a top man in the world. U need to have help from somewhere. Copying sometimes makes money. And put some respect on their name. There is a reason why u r so bitter and just a key board warrior while they are at the top of their own positions. There is a reason why they earn more than you and are more better than you. Taking someone else’s idea and making it better is exactly what an engineer does (I’m an engineer myself). If u want to invent something, go ask a scientist. There’s a reason why scientists, who invent stuff, are not as rich as these businessmen, who in ur opinion, steal ideas and make them better.

[@ravisingh-eb9ne]

@Orbite flow if you have no knowledge.Then shut your mouth

[@lifeionask8031]

@Orbite flow come on, now you are insulting their country.... not cool man

[@jdoob]

It’s crazy how easy you made this to understand, I’ve never seen a video that could explain something as clearly as this one

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This is such a high quality content, I'm surprised that here's less than a million subscribers

[@bhaskarsingha2387]

Hmm

[@leonardt9038]

Same

[@harsh.sharma]

No one appreciates the quality content he provided.... efforts put to create this video... That too is a piece of art!

[@BranchEducation]

Well, I appreciate this comment!

[@abz2000123]

Lol no one?

[@sunrise_reverie]

Maybe that year ago the video didn't have a casual 2 million views ;) But I'm glad it has now, very cool one. Thanks for making it!

[@DogCat_ThatIsThat]

This video was so incredible. Easy to follow. Interesting. Well explained. Great graphics! Wow

[@rohitjangir212]

True, I appreciate the effort. And a great content 💯💯

[@thomasreilly7594]

"Now you too are a touchscreen expert" [X[ Doubt

[@KenTheChad]

X

[@pissgremlin6118]

X

[@mart2942]

When you realize you typed the [X] icon wrong

[@cinemamovies1916]

Dante [X] Doubt

[@j.lastimado8743]

X

[@bananayes9475]

Such a complex thing and yet you managed to explain it so simply! Great work :)

[@vera2332]

Thanks for the new knowledge! I remember my first phone way back middle school and I was in awe like how amazing it is that I can still talk and chat with my friends after school.

[@RicoGalassi]

Touching my screen while watching this video lol hands on learning It also blows my mind how humans have been able to create so many pixels in such a small display. It's truly incredible

[@HarmonicWave]

Not just that, but how just 13 year ago the first iPhone had a display of just 320 x 480 pixels and now the phone in my hands has a display of 1440 x 2960 pixels.

[@windestruct]

@@HarmonicWave I thought the first phone had 600x800 pixels

[@kacpermielachowicz3486]

Or how they made such tiny LEDs for the pixels

[@Nawmps]

Very very small humans!!

[@troy5568]

Humans built machines to do them. The presence of powerful microscopes also played a big part to the creation of this novelty.

[@ZachHixsonTutorials]

Whoa, you nailed this one! Animations and transitions were smooth, and information was organized very well. I always wondered how capacitive touch worked and you explained it perfectly, well done :)

[@BranchEducation]

Thanks!! Your earlier feedback, especially regarding the lighting has helped a lot!

[@mufumbaluis]

Zach Hixson #

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These are so great!!! I can't belive how accurate the textures and models are... They even have dotted numbers and dates imprinted on them... Ultimate work

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I love how incredibly detailed and simple it is 😍

[@ELECTRONOOBS]

Content is perfect! I'm here from Learn Engineering. But you have a very high quality channel. Thank you for your work!

[@Saleem_Bhai]

GTFO u noob

[@mellyhong9434]

After watching this video, I feel like I don't have the right to rant about the prices of smartphones nowadays.

[@pedrosinger6369]

except iphone

[@pipsquek1669]

Even the glass itself is complex enough how much more the components enside haha

[@sorax2871]

Your typical 1000$ mobile cost 300$ so

[@bencekiss4693]

@@pedrosinger6369 iPhone is THE BEST smartphone ever made! It’s a masterpiece so you’re not supposed to be wondering about its price…

[@bubblerose292]

@@bencekiss4693 I don't understand why people like them better than android, they work the same

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This channel is too underrated.. the amount of time put into the animation and research is just too well done!

[@roncaruso931]

Thank you. Ive been searching for a good explanation of smartphone technology. Your channel has done that. Fantastic work!

[@davisdiercks]

I've scoured the internet looking for an in-depth explanation of how touch screens work, and this has by far surpassed them all. INSANE visuals, I am absolutely in love with it. Well done.

[@willwalker24601]

Watching a video about touchscreens *ON A TOUCHSCREEN*

[@JT_8283]

Life is amazing ain't it

[@episodicteen1024]

@@jstncubing1594 I'm seeing a comment that answers another comment that... Ok I just got lost

[@tommasoschioppo8709]

@@jstncubing1594 while i'm touching the screen

[@blackmonalisa9732]

Yah

[@ryxn190]

Ah yes, floor made out of floor

[@marcrachmat7467]

You really make my day, man. A very knowledgeable video. My salute to all the research you put in and present us with a very effective plain and simple explanation.

[@beegend]

The quality of this animation was top tier, and thanks to you all of my questions about touchscreen were answered (except LCD, but ill look that up). I am fascinated how much engineering goes to this. like wow. i was shocked how you need such small scientific stuff just to make a touch screen work!

[@hehe6527]

Owning a touchscreen phone was a luxury back in my childhood

[@JewishPeacock]

owning a touchscreen phone didnt exist in my childhood

[@umeryazdani9677]

AdamBro Oooof

[@MegaSeraphimon]

Owning a phone that didn't use a phone line was a luxury in my childhood

[@CallmeAkis]

Owning a black round dial telephone which the whole neighborhood would come and use daily was a luxury in mine. My parents had to wait 12 years after the application and bribe 5 officials before they could get one.

[@GOTTHEDAWGINME]

Especially an Iphone... in now days we hate Apple products...

[@harshitkumar4760]

Just even less than a millimeter of your phone contains the hardwork of millions of smart brains over the years. Its amazing.😊

[@bikeman9899]

As someone who worked in LCD displays and thin film coating, this is a super explanation.

[@arrenroughe517]

So much detail in such simple language this channel is amazing and the guy who makes these videos is a awesome teacher " the part I appreciate the most is the branch and tree diagram (representation) you gave it helps us understand what to learn next and how deep are we in the game

[@jeecodetv]

this is beautiful, although hard to understand. yet i still love exploring this world full of complexities.

[@emmanuel435]

why does this channel has only 40K subscribers? it deserves MILLIONS.

[@BranchEducation]

It takes time to get traction with KZbin algorithms.

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@hello Mark rober

[@oruntofredrick9672]

@hello Nevermind

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I agree totally, and it really disgusts me how the Kardashians channels might have more subscribers.

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@@BranchEducation you're at millions now! Thanks for the fantastic videos

[@vidhiagrawal3]

This is the most fascinating explanation of something that I've come across in a while. It can make one more curious and insightful and instil the spirit of learning more and more! Thanks!

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this is expertly animated. Love it so much!

[@fuzzy_pixels]

I stumbled upon your page only today, and I must say... Great work! I'm a Materials Engineer and I found this extremely well put together. Even people from non-engineering backgrounds would find it reasonably easy to follow. Good job! I look forward to seeing more videos from you :) a more detailed video on OLED technology would be a good follow up! Thank you for these videos!

[@BranchEducation]

Thanks!! Glad you liked it. We'll eventually dive much deeper into OLEDs, and LCDs, and especially their construction because it is fascinating.

[@retinadogames6121]

Thank you so much for this video. Im a 11 year old boy that is a fan of tech and this video helped me to understand how can my smartphone recognize my touches. Have a Great week!

[@raylok3328]

This is very informative and I appreciate the visual aspects of the video. Enough info but not too much either! Thank you for this!

[@sahand944]

Sure, here is a positive comment for the video "How Do Touchscreens Work?": I really enjoyed this video! It was very informative and easy to understand. I had always wondered how touchscreens worked, but I never really took the time to learn about it. This video explained the science behind touchscreens in a clear and concise way. I also appreciated the way the video was presented. The visuals were clear and helpful, and the narration was engaging. I learned a lot about touchscreens from this video, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about this technology. Thanks for making such a great video!

[@mahan5]

After watching interview in Learn Engineering I come to this channel... Great work.. Best wishes from North East India

[@shivamnegi7149]

why do you have only 2k subscribers? this is such a great and informative content!

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Coz people like to waste their time on comedy channels instead of subscribing to an informative channel

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Well now have 4k. I think it will double every week

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Yeah play at 1.25 speed

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8.4K. It's growing exponentially

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looks like the algorithim is working in his favor and people are liking it

[@the_lite_bulb9730]

You explain a lot better than most of the schools today. Really proud of you man.

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Your videos are what i have searched for. So Informative!

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This is an amazing video! Thanks for taking the time to make this. It was super clear, and an amazingly well summarized. There were no crazy side stories, just straight to the point!

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Omg I can’t imagine how much work a machine does in makind those such detailed OLED panels. And you, you nailed it bro

[@BranchEducation]

Thanks a ton!

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I always click the LIKE button first as soon as page loads and then click the play button. That's the quality of the video and i pay my respect!

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49 years old, my Gramma, grampa, and mother all died in quick succession,, I'm a wreck, this song is my current anthem, 2 months after they died I became a grandfather.. Went from grandson/ son to grandfather seemingly overnight... That's quite the pendulum swing.. This song allows me to sit outside and cry as I listen to it on repeat..

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such a beautiful and easy visualisation having ability to make even abstract concepts easy to understand by common mass. Best wishes for your work. Keep going

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Awesome brother such an awesome explanation with great visuals ... the visuals and audio are in correct proportion so that anybody can understand ... good work, appreciate your effort in teaching the complex concepts ... am stunned by your explanation thank you so much now i can learn more complex things and explain it to others 👍

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Nicely explained. The animation and narration were all professional. Thank you.

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I can't believe, I m learning this free. Thank you so much , for sharing knowledge so beautifully....

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6:25 10Million of those units on a screen. Simply amazing..

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"millions of little lights on a display" The power of the light in the palm of my hand

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I'm holding a brilliant masterpiece of engineering

[@MohamedSamy-to2rb]

A moment of gratitude to those great scientists who created every piece of technology that we live around these days ❤️👍🏻 Also great video dude nice work ❤️👍🏻

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Omg this is the best video I have ever seen and I really liked the explanation it’s very clear 📲❤️

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Incredible video. I’ve always wondered but never bothered to look it up. The devices we use everyday really are pieces of art that I think we take for granted

[@ligth3977]

Latest smartphones today were supposed to cost over a million dollars if it weren't overrated. Now there are more smartphones than humans in the world making the smartphones very affordable.

[@KrishnaKumar-kb2bw]

Hey. Thankyou for making this free video. Appreciate your passion.

[@arsalanpk]

Nobody can figure it out that how we are using these micro technologies in our lives but after watching ur videos i can only say that there is so much very hard imaginary peoples are working in our world who thinks beyond our minds today i am really thankfull to them . And now i can proudly tell everyone that only your channel is doing best of all times in youtube worth watching thnx and keep going on

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amazing. how beautifully described and presented! This vdo is amazing

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excellent, this channel is exactly what i'm looking for.

[@johngalt7629]

I really like how you showed the internal layers of the phone.

[@WXUZT]

Thank You for the beautiful Explanation !

[@subhavchauhan6087]

This channel deserves more subscribers

[@murodu]

This video should be shown to every customer before selling the phone , so they really appreciate the incredible and wonderful engineering work done.

[@YFtouchscreen]

Great! I’m so impressed by the quality of the content and explanation. Thanks for your sharing!Looking forward to more video.

[@akshinbarathi8914]

branch education, whatever screen you touch with your hand ,its touch screen. (JOKING) I REALLY LIKE DTHAT EXPLANATION, NAILED IT THATS ALL, CAUSE I HAVE LOST WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW GOOD THE EXPLANATION IS

[@TheRealMake-Make]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. I’m glad you went into great detail and did so in an entertaining way. I also dig the synth soundtrack and graphics.

[@BranchEducation]

Glad ya like it!!

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Very well explained in short period of time

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Hi from Puerto Rico! i Will use this video to teach! Thank you very much!

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Thanks for putting in such efforts and giving us knowledge!

[@magnusemenuga6128]

nice video branch education, i must say that this is highly expository to many of us....keep on to ur your blender use, am happy to learn out of its use by you...

[@Medieval3d3d]

Thank you Mr. Branch Education, I always wanted to know about this :)

[@scarseven5473]

i love the way u explained it and giving examples made it much easier to understand

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So much informative. That is good that you went in detail.

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Dude this channel is very educative just subscribed. Though it was hard for me to catch up with some of the terminologies

[@abelp40]

The individual is sovereign. Let’s go self-education! Thank you. Excellent presentation.

[@hustler212]

OP logic in building transparent projected capacitive touchscreen...and also OLED was awesome...

[@pchabanowich]

For such an engineering complexity, I feel treated to an informative eye-opener with generous detail but with such a great strategy and kindness as to surpass many, and give me the thrill of learning in a so ‘out-of-my-zone’ enterprise, and in my antiquity, it seems. Your care shows in the graphics - so clean, clear and paced so that we get to enjoy a riff. Love the Tree.🙏

[@greganikin7003]

Thanks for this video. It drives me crazy how great an engendering mind can be. Just thinking about it all makes me go “wooooow” i think engineers built this world into such a magnificent place and education! The greatest thing ever - education!

[@BranchEducation]

Glad you liked the video!

[@dankahmei5049]

We need to appreciate engineers even more for this masterpiece technology

[@tarunreddypondugula9123]

This is great knowledge, Thank you for following you passion and taking time to create these awesome videos.

[@bilooo31]

wow, the way you explain it has successfully made me watched this till the end

[@CarlosQ24]

Videos like these sometimes restore my faith in humanity sometimes. We may be fucked up at times and we have our negative qualities, but the mere fact that we can come up with, let alone design and manufacture things like this this really goes to show what we're capable of. Heck, the crazy thing is, we're more capable of so much more. Seriously, if we would just get our shit together and stop fighting so much, and simply bring more love to this world and come together, just imagine what we could do. We really are truly intelligent and our own amazing brains are capable of so much yet it's wasted and honestly, it's heartbreaking. It still boggles my mind that we can come up with things like this. CPU's, hard drives, space shuttles, molecular fuckin' colliders, massive cities, the internet, and yet most people (except those watching these videos) don't take the time to even try to understand the incredible amount of engineering that goes into these things. Rather than use this intelligence to further ourselves as a species we use it to destroy ourselves and this world that we should be so grateful to have. Nuclear weapons, atomic bombs, etc. We have come so far as a species over the centuries, we're just a bit misguided. The world needs to unite and think love. I know it's far fetched and incredibly hard but it's my hope that we do if we want to get further.

[@BranchEducation]

I'm really glad I could help restore some of that hope and faith in humanity! My dream is that by 2060, 1/5th of humanity will either be scientists, engineers, and technicians; as a scientists job is to discover solutions, an engineer is to design them, and a techician's is to implement them.

[@tdhanasekaran3536]

@@BranchEducation Not to mention that useless junkies should also be gotten rid of somehow and keep the population 1/5th or slightly more by that time.

[@tdhanasekaran3536]

@@BranchEducation The complete credit goes to the engineers alone innovating this hard to believe devices that brings the world in every one's pocket (irrespective of the person's understanding of science or technology knowledge) .

[@dany_237]

I'm French but I'm going to learn english more and more just to understand as well as possible what you explain in jour video. Its really interresting.

[@BranchEducation]

Awesome! Eventually we will get the videos into other languages.

[@dany_237]

@@BranchEducation Thanks a lot

[@sikundandapat2911]

Thanks for sharing such a complex thing is easy way👍

[@varunkalkur6425]

Extraordinary video !! Thank you so much👍

[@louiemedrano7563]

Nice work. Keep uploading informative videos like this. 😊

[@aidshavediabetes5131]

2:21 wow even glass gets stronger eating bananas then. Imma start eating bananas now

[@BranchEducation]

Glad to have helped your diet!

[@evhshands8326]

Union Lord Oh shut up, 5 year old.

[@nene_san]

@Union Lord are you new on internet or smth lol?

[@nene_san]

@Union Lord ok.

[@birdboii262]

@GUDAVALLI AKHIL Ig caus it has a lot of impure water which is a conductor.

[@anurath__dagde]

Thank you for all the effort you've put in this video

[@mr_siddiqui-g]

Sir too much details and all are important. I am amazed and like to watch this .Thank's for the video

[@KiemPlant]

Also the fact that such a system can do this for years at a time is beyond my understanding.

[@Black-vp5pk]

Since im a 9 year old child it was a little much but other than that it was brilliant I’m ready to surprise my teacher :)

[@rafikulrafik9581]

Thank you for this amazing video. Your display was also fab.

[@TechBitocracy]

it's the most quality content I have ever seen on youtube .It's awesome

[@wp0]

I've always thought tochscreens were heat sensors haha. thank you for clearing things up!

[@ramprasath219]

Very useful!!!!! Thanks for this awesome video!!

[@KorsPaap]

Perfect video and explanation! Thank you so much for this.

[@wonder2454]

The invention of these stuffs are mind-blowing.