Snatoms! The Magnetic Molecular Modeling Kit

Seriously... this is how chemistry (or physics) should be taught. Keep up the good work and I do hope that many teachers are considering to adopt your methods. Much easier and more interesting way to learn stuff!

[@veritasium]

+Bence Illés Thank you!

[@vaibhavgupta20]

+Veritasium your CH4 representation was wrong. other then that good work.

[@jbelang]

+Veritasium Snatoms is a GREAT idea!

[@dekos2140]

+Bence Illés i really should be taught that way I WILL BE A SCIENTIST (CHEMIST) ONE DAY

[@H0A0B123]

+Vaibhav Gupta what is wrong?

[@FrostedSapling]

I think the largest concern (and a warranted one) is that these cannot show double or triple bonds, but I think this is fine because, as he said in his video, he wants to create a hands on approach that can be used at young ages and this works perfectly for that. This type of product is great for spark an interest in science at a young age so I'm all for it!

[@ghostangel828]

yeah, I man, you probably won't need that kid if you are at the point of learning double and triple bond, right?

[@seigeengine]

+Ivan Navarro He mentions on the Kickstarter page that he may add them to a later kit.

[@veritasium]

+Ivan Navarro I'm making these a stretch goal. I think we can make them work with springs and magnets.

[@assdan27]

+Ivan Navarro This is very true. I don't know how you could represent double and triple bonds with this model though. I don't really think that you could.

[@deankorstjens266]

+Veritasium Good luck!

[@ThalesII]

I'd be cool if each atom had different grades of magnets to represent their respective electronegativity

[@alexbuckley4378]

+ThalesII +1

[@syluar]

+ThalesII but in organic chemistry depending what substituents you have along the chain changes electrons density making some bonds easier or harder to break even if they're between same atoms but in different mollecules. So... sorry but it wouldn't realy be possible to do with magnets.

[@ruolbu]

+syluar Maybe in a hightech version with electro magnets. Each atom communicates with the neighboring atoms to set the bond strength according to the bigger picture.

[@GarioTheRock]

600 lbs/force Neodymium magnets for uranium bonds :D

[@djbrasier]

+ThalesII This is also my answer to his discussion with Hank Green. The reason H2O and CO2 are lower energy than glucose and O2 is that many of the bonds in glucose and all the bonds in O2 are equal electronegativity, but CO and OH bonds are unequal and that is a big part of why they're lower energy (although NOT "stronger")

[@T3DNR3D]

> $94,000 of $42,000 funded with 41 days to go. Goddamn I love this community.

[@xcandle_]

its 101k now, amazing

[@Foc4ccin4]

+Its Shadox 7k$ more in 2 hours.

[@veritasium]

+BrightSkyFire 42 likes on this comment, so I won't like it ;)

[@bergeronscores605]

+Veritasium Sorry, other people did instead. God, some people just ruin EVERYTHING, right? :) Nah, I'm kidding, of course.

[@Mrcfski]

+BrightSkyFire 69 likes on this comment, won't like

[@Czarmzy]

I'm surprised that none has came up with that idea before.

[@joaovitorjoaovitor]

It's putting the ideas into practice that makes the difference

[@lajoswinkler]

+Dawid Cz Actually, these things existed way before but they aren't very good because you can't make anything a bit mode complex without it breaking apart under its own weight.

[@itsthesola10]

+Lajos Winkler that was a matter of the past, because neodymium is strong enough for this business.

[@Anyhandleidontcare]

+Veritasium This is a great idea, however I would like to make a suggestion. Don't cut the kit short of elements from the start, instead have a starter snatoms kit, which would be what you showed in this video, then an intermediate one (with nitrogen, chlorine, lithium, magnesium etc...) with more snatoms of more elements, then have an advanced one which includes hybridised orbitals and borane structures. You could even move it to organometallics and transition metal complex ions. As a final year undergraduate chemist I wish I had this sort of thing going through my GCSEs and A levels, but only the most advanced of 'kits' would apply to my studies now. Also with the 'Easy, medium, hard' type system students would get a real sense of achievement in learning enough to 'level up' to the next kit and keep pupils motivated. What I'm really trying to get across here is this is a great idea, and the kit you showed would very great for kids just starting secondary school, it just needs to be beefed up a lot more to become a viable visualisation tool to actual chemists, you could hit a totally new target audience thats ripe for the picking. I wish you the best with this venture and I hope you succeed.

[@veritasium]

Thanks for your suggestion! I'd be happy to make the kit bigger if this one is supported

[@spyndina]

+John Smith agree with everything exctept you forgot to inclue the need to scale down the size of atoms in intermediate and even advanced kits since any molecule larger than sucrose would very very impractical.

[@marsamet128]

Great idea! It would be so many more structures!

[@Anyhandleidontcare]

Aljas Skrjanc Veritasium Very good point, but need only be about 70-80% of the original size by volume. Too small is just as impractical. Just making sure Veritasium would see this idea too :)

[@bi1iruben]

+John Smith Not sure would need have specifically magnesium. It might be better to have a generic Group 1 , 2 and 7 (so allows consideration of sodium, potassium, chlorine). That covers simple inorganic chemistry (allowing NaCl). Nitrogen and sulphur would then complete a moderate complex kit level taken one a long way into organic chemistry.

[@honeyjars]

There's no link in the description so I'll put it here instead! www.kickstarter.com/projects/veritasium/snatoms-the-magnetic-molecular-modeling-kit

[@veritasium]

+honeyjars Thanks for having my back!

[@honeyjars]

No prob! :)

[@kabilang4921]

+Veritasium, effective explanation man. This is the best way to explain some complicated things like quantum mechanics the fusion process. I love your videos. Especially snatoms. Meanwhile, what is quantum Gravity ? is there any video for explanation ?

[@alexandermcclure6185]

@@veritasium please pin the comment for everyone to see :)

[@joshdoeseverything4575]

gonna ask my teacher about this. School systems around the world need these!

[@Nehmo]

+JoshDoesEverything I don't have an MBA, and maybe I don't understand business, but doesn't a successful product succeed by orders - rather than kickstart campaigns? Indeed, orders from customers, or sales, are all you need. Something like this doesn't require an investment in a complicated fabrication facility. It should fly on its own merits.

[@Ryan-sn7fq]

Yes! I'm buying one for my science teacher!

[@seigeengine]

+Nehmo Sergheyev Businesses need money to get off the ground. It's mostly a matter of quality and scale. It's trivial to prototype a product, but to have everything made (such as injection molds) for the final product, and then to be able to produce a large enough batch to make it make sense financially requires a pretty big chunk of capital. I mean, you can't just produce one of these kits at a time to satisfy orders. That would be way too expensive. You need to produce a huge run of them that can then be sold. The proceeds from that can then go into additional runs, and you have a business up and running. That initial capital is vital though. Think of it like a chemical reaction. Often you have to put in activation energy to start a chemical reaction that produces enough energy to keep itself going. Like a fire burning. You need to add a spark to start the fire. Without that activation energy the fire never burns, and without capital, a business never gets up and running. That's what Kickstarter is for. Raising capital to get the business going and sustaining itself.

[@Nehmo]

+seigeengine These are not microprocessors. They are simple pieces of plastic with magnets inside. If you believe injection moulding should be the manufacturing technique, then for something like this (with an unproven market) contracting out the process to an injection moulding company is the only reasonable route. Sure, there is always a way money could be spent, but successful products persist because of the demand for them. And that's all that's needed. If Deric can demonstrate he can sell this product, that's really all he needs to get it going.

[@oliver_siegel]

+Nehmo Sergheyev and he just demonstrated that he can sell it by getting over $130,000 in pre-orders within 24 hours. Kickstarter simply helped process the credit cards. Not sure why you think this was not a good choice to launch this campaign. Not much risk for Derek, and turned out a huge success.

[@Jynkins]

As a science student, I can say that chemistry is by far the hardest subject I've taken in college. Having something like this--something hands-on--really seems like it would help the learning process. :D I'll be sharing this info with others.

[@tvpedroso]

Derek congratulations. I'm an engineer and I love your videos, they are so helpful and fun to watch. I think the world should have more people that are passionate about science like you and me. Good luck on this project, I hope you can reach millions including schools, universities and enthusiasts around the globe, because chemistry, physics and mathematics are universal languages. Keep up the good work!

[@jackofallspades98]

CONGRATULATIONS ON 3 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS, DEREK!!

[@TheGreatLordApples]

Over 3 Million*

[@TARS..]

The video was recorded few months ago i think

[@ElNeroDiablo]

+Mikhail Armanuel Well, it was recorded a while back, those that have Vessel saw this video upto about a week ago (since folks who upload to YT & Vessel usually give it a week's headstart before the video goes live on YT).

[@seigeengine]

+ElNeroDiablo I.... really don't see why he would have done that. This isn't content. It's an attempt at funding something. It wouldn't make sense to upload this early on Vessel. Also, the campaign seems to have been put up today on Kickstarter.

[@ElNeroDiablo]

seigeengine He put the video up on Vessel not as "content" but as a "sneak-peak for loyal viewers" over there.

[@seigeengine]

ElNeroDiablo Which would be completely pointless and, in fact, counter-productive. If he actually did that, and you aren't just blowing smoke, that was hella dumb.

[@JustThingKing]

What about double or triple bonds?

[@Ariminua]

He has extra pieces for those too in the kits.

[@Fummy007]

One major disadvantage this has over ball/stick model is cost. Having a magnet in each piece limits the amount you can get for a reasonable price. You can't make much with only 12 hydrogens for example, so you will need loads of them. Driving up the price of a set further.

[@YoureInSilico]

This would be incredibly good for learning basic chemistry. Understanding the mechanism of bonding through these is what makes this kit the most valuable.

[@ASilentS]

How does your system show the change in bond angle for double bonds?

[@Uhor]

+SilentS or the change in bond length

[@ilostmypie]

+SilentS I know right. its only showing Sp3 hybridised Carbon. The problem with all these kits is that there is just so much more wibble wobble going on than can be represented by balls of plastic. HOWEVER that being said, anyone who understands hybridisation, sigma and pi bonding etc will not be using this kit. More likely computational molecular models. This kit is very good for the level of chemistry that early teens are learning.

[@YRGHY2010]

+Nelson Mandela I agree 100%. I was commenting on another post discussing bonds. Someone said making different balls for different bonds. I replied by saying that it would be extremely inconvenient because he'd have to make several carbon types (single, double, tripple, quadruple, and all the different hybridized bonds).

[@ASilentS]

+Yousef Elraghy Just a regular ball and stick kit with spring bonds provides more insight than these magical magnet balls

[@Zargak21]

+SilentS That is true but I think he's aiming for a younger audience to get them interested. I mean Giving kids sticks is fun but the outcome isn't always the best (and that's coming from the kid who always found the worst outcome to go by).

[@bodiesscienceofi6053]

3 million subs!! you guys totally deserve it! hit like for veritasium!

[@kexcz8276]

This is what I thought of few times! Why there were always the stick models, when in some animations, the molecules were bondless! Great idea, I hope I will buy them someday! :)

[@evanscott146]

I had this very same idea, but I didn't have the resources to make it happen, so I am unbelievably glad that someone else, with the know-how and the public following, had the same idea. Thank you! Many future pharmacologists will be grateful to you for giving them a product to visualize the functional groups necessary for the next revolutionary antibiotic!

[@chillsahoy2640]

I hope this gets funded properly and fully! It's a fantastic idea and it deserves all the money people can afford to give it.

[@yousorooo]

Angles between atoms in molecules might change. There can also be double bonds and triple bonds. This model doesn't show any of those.

[@seigeengine]

+Derek Leung This model isn't intended to, but he mentions in the Kickstarter page that he specifically chose to exclude double and triple bonds from the basic kit despite having an idea of how to do them for simplicity, implying he may add them to a more advanced kit later.

[@giampaolomannucci8281]

+seigeengine Yes that's one of the rewards for the future, which could very well become immediate present as the campaign in really succesful

[@socialistrecyclebin]

Some snatom molecules can rotate.

[@milanghedia7557]

Extremely well done Derek!! You've solved the misconception about bonds, really great!! Hope you get a good support

[@luxtenax9175]

Oh man, I feel so insignificant everytime I watch these type of videos. First, I am not good at physics or chemistry or maths in general, so it takes me time to understand half of what you say, secondly, I don't have money to buy or donate or support anything. Finally, I don't use neither twitter nor facebook nor anything like that because I don't have friends or followers to share these sort of stuff with. I just hope my one like helps, somehow.

[@Bolensgoldrush]

This is an awesome idea. I think you have the right idea marketing it to younger students, and they have a nice blend of professionalism and fun in them!

[@s.m.4067]

This is such an amazing product. I am currently taking organic chemistry classes for my biochemistry major and I was just searching yesterday on amazon for a model kit. The magnet idea is more realistic than sticks.

[@StanleyKingChan]

I can't believe something like this didn't already exist...

[@crazymarkmc]

maybe make magnetic or just metal circles that have 2 or 3 lines and put the in between the atoms to represent the double and triple bonds

[@Eriochrom]

+CrazyMarkSRB you'll still have problems with the geometry of the involved C-atoms (linear, trifold, tetrahedron...), but the idea is not bad =)

[@crazymarkmc]

i have no idea what thoes are cause eng is not my main language and we probably still didnt cover that in chemistry anyway

[@Eriochrom]

well, short story: if you use up three of the four bonding possibilities in a triple bond, you'll end up with one left, pointing in the opposite direction => linear shape of the molecule, difficult to build with the standard C-atom-ball having four different directions. Long story: complicated stuff with electron orbitals, hybridization and energy levels =)

[@x87-64]

A great idea

[@Omaricon]

Awesome, but please add a link to the the kickstarter :)

[@Omaricon]

+Omricon nvm, found it! www.kickstarter.com/projects/veritasium/snatoms-the-magnetic-molecular-modeling-kit

[@adammm321]

+Omricon It was in the description...

[@syamfarhan3334]

+God He posted this comment before he added it in description

[@FWtravels]

www.kickstarter.com/projects/veritasium/snatoms-the-magnetic-molecular-modeling-kit

[@jkennedy299]

It's been almost a year, and I am so happy that I've finally received my snatoms kit, I am so happy to have helped make your dream a reality, I will be donating my kit to my former high school

[@caigeeverhart8085]

This would have helped me not fail chemistry last year because seeing and messing with what im learning would have given me a more in depth way of understanding this i would totally support it and im going to tell my old chemistry teacher about this so she can decide whether or not she wanta to use it. Keep up the good work and i hope this becomes a reality

[@InForTheLonghaul]

Can you add ununoctium (118) :3 In all seriousness though, I love the concept. :) We've been studdying carbon in science recently. I think that these would alot more appealing to us younger science enthusiasts. The satisfying clat and the big bright acrillic balls make it seem so much friendlier to the eye that the stick models my school currently uses. If I had a steady spurce of money, I would back this all the way. :D

[@InForTheLonghaul]

Source bot surce lol.

[@InForTheLonghaul]

Damn it, I hate writing on a phone lol.

[@yakine259]

+AIM_SideWinder THERE'S SOMETHING CALLED EDIT

[@InForTheLonghaul]

+Yakine BikeRace Not on mobil. :(

[@yakine259]

AIM_SideWinder well on my mobile I can edit without any problems :)

[@mina86]

Wait, stupid question, how do you make the magnets all attract each other and never repel?

[@MrRoboticWarfare]

+mina86 I imagine each is a dipole allowed to rotate to accommodate its neighbor.

[@seigeengine]

+MrRoboticWarfare Mentions on the kickstarter that the magnets are spheres that freely rotate.

[@PhingChov]

that's not a stupid question at all. I wondered the same thing.

[@jefkinbacca]

+mina86 It could also be mini horse-shoe magnets so each one contains a N and S end pointing outward, that can spin freely on an axis that runs from the bond surface through the center of the module atom.

[@Astronut128]

Look up 'Halbach Array', that's probably the answer.

[@GrayShark09]

Wait a minute! If forming a bond gives energy, and breaking a bond needs energy; where does the energy from burning methane comes from, for example: 2 O2 + 1 CH4 = 1 CO2 + 2 H2O, so, you have 6 bonds is the first form: one in each oxigen molecule, and four in the methane molecule, and you end up with 6 bonds: two in the Carbon dioxide molecule and two in each water molecule. This means 6=6 ,it breaks even!

[@djbrasier]

+Akira Mishtokaru CO and OH bonds are unequal electronegativity, making them lower energy bonds than CC or CH bonds.

[@djbrasier]

+masonery123 I don't like the term "stronger". It misleads A LOT. A C-C or C-H bond is non-polar and (comparatively) high energy. The electrons are not held tightly by the nuclei. However, in a C-O or (even more so) an O-H bond, the electrons (and the bond) are lower energy because the oxygen holds them more tightly (more electronegative). What is misleading here is people often conclude that an OH bond is "stronger" than a CH bond. In fact, the H-O-H (aka water) rapidly and easily breaks apart all the time into OH- and H+. Whereas if you have methane (four hydrogens bonded to a central carbon) those bonds NEVER spontaneously dissociate. So from the perspective of bonding two atoms together (the definition of a bond), the low energy bonds are WEAKER than the high energy bonds. They happen to hold electrons more tightly, which is why they're lower energy, but the bond itself is weak.

[@seigeengine]

+Akira Mishtokaru IT comes from the fact that the products of combustion contain even less energy than the reactants in combustion. Bonds are not all the same.

[@The_savvy_Lynx]

+Akira Mishtokaru The bonds of CO2 and H2O are releasing more energy when forming these bonds than it takes energy to break the bonds of O2 and CH4 apart. But you still need to first add enough energy to break them apart. That's why O2 and CH4 are stable at room temperature but react (burn) if held into a flame.

[@descittonks5835]

+DJ Brasier The problem with this argument is that you're talking about bond strength, which refers to bond dissociation energy, which is a homolytic process (breaking O-H to O radical and H radical) O-H bond strength is significantly stronger than C-C bond strength for bond dissociation energy (110 kcal/mol vs ~83 kcal/mol).... When you bring up water going to H+ (which you really should say hydronium) and hydroxide... that is heterolytic bond cleavage, which is reflected upon by pKa. So....please be more careful when you make claims about relative bond strengths. When someone compares bond strength, they are inherently talking about homolytic bond cleavage. When someone talks about things such as deprotonation, they are referencing more to acidity.

[@normskilight]

Thats some of the best stretch goals I've ever heard. Actual added value. perfect.

[@Naratis]

There is actually a great app being designed right now, that my school had the chance of trying in early development. It teaches students how atoms are made, how the protons relate to the neutrons and to the electrons, the amount you need per shell, uses a quantum based model to show electrons in shells and so much more, such as covalent bonding and how atoms bond by charge. This app was amazingly fun and hands on and helped the class learn about and understand the atoms further.

[@ModernDayWarrior]

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY This is such a simple and elegant idea that it's hard to believe it hasn't been done before. BUT I WANT IT.

[@lean84]

it's great! Just one suggestion, I think that, in addition to the sp3 carbons, the kit should also include sp2 and sp1 carbons in order to make more complex organic molecules

[@JayBates]

Very cool. Good luck :)

[@guidofreire9530]

This idea is nuts! Every school in the world should teach with this as it has a great hands-on approach than modelling clay and bamboo sticks cannot give you. I would defenitely buy this. Cant wait to see them in the shopping!

[@beakz]

Backed on Kickstarter. This will be great for my two boys when they're a little older. Am glad to be in at the start. A great idea for teaching the basics.

[@RDSk0]

Um..Where's the link?

[@veritasium]

+KinRedysko I like to make these things a challene, haha, but it's there now. And here: bit.ly/Snatoms

[@RDSk0]

Veritasium Thanks! You're awesome, btw.

[@adamkatz6532]

+Veritasium I would not donate money, but I might invest

[@adamkatz6532]

+Adam Katz I have a big suggestion.. which involves some of the superiorities of stick models over your design (as it stands).

[@adityarao3589]

This is soo much better to understand chemistry than staring at the black board at school...

[@pinkdispatcher]

Looks like a nice idea for first-year students, but can be just as misleading as the sticks model for anything more advanced. Can you make double- and triple-bonds? Because these do store energy, e. g. in ethyne.

[@ragnkja]

+pinkdispatcher Bonds do not store energy! Breaking of bonds require energy, while the formation of new bonds releases energy. If the energy required to break the initial bonds is more than what is released when the new ones are formed, it's an endothermic reaction, while if the energy required to begin the reaction is _less_ than what is released, it's an exothermic reaction. The former tends to slow down as it gets too cold to break the bonds, while the latter tends to speed up as it gets increasingly hot.

[@pinkdispatcher]

Nillie Yes, you are technically correct (the best kind of correct). Normally I'm also a stickler for using correct terminology. But often breaking the triple bonds in many cases requires less energy than typical newly-formed bonds would release in total. Which is why you get more out of burning alkynes than from alkenes (or alkanes).

[@ragnkja]

pinkdispatcher _"But often breaking the triple bonds in many cases requires less energy than typical newly-formed bonds would release in total."_ That's just an exothermic reaction.

[@pinkdispatcher]

Nillie Um, yes. I understand that. So just disregard my earlier nonsense. It's late and I should go to bed.

[@seigeengine]

+pinkdispatcher From the Kickstarter "What about double and triple bonds?! They can easily be made with springs and magnets. The reason they are not included in the basic kit is because they would technically be 'small parts' and I wanted to make Snatoms safe and accessible for all who want to use them."

[@user-mq1qk5gm8h]

This is actually a _really_ great idea. Earlier this trimester in my AP Bio class, we were using the balls and sticks, and they always broke, got stuck together, and just weren't very convenient or consistent. These look so much better, and I can already tell science departments all around would be ecstatic to use these! Nice work!

[@daphnea5447]

I love this! This seems fun to have and show/give to my teachers. By the way, so the people screamin' about double/triple bonds, he's only been working on the product for a short time! It's not even being sold yet!! It's still in development!!! Calm yourselves, and enjoy this wonderful idea. I love it.

[@InDmand]

What about double/triple bonds? The only area of chemistry where models really helped me in understanding was chirality, so I don't know how useful these will be, it may help with single covalent bonds, but ion-pairs or host-guest complexes say, would need their own model kits if you assume this is the best way to learn (hands on models).

[@seigeengine]

+InDmand Yeah, that complexity quite obviously isn't the intended market. He answers the double triple bond question on the kickstarter page.

[@InDmand]

Yeah, fair enough. I guess it just depends on the cost of the kits then, if it can be sold for equal to or cheaper than the ball+stick models ill be on board. I've always found them to be pretty overpriced for what they are.

[@seigeengine]

InDmand They're specialty products for a limited audience. They're going to be more expensive than something mass-produced for the general audience.

[@InDmand]

seigeengine ill stick to 3D computer models i guess then. poor student is poor

[@vedant6633]

Thank god!! I thought i am the only one to thinks that

[@elfran01]

I´m from México. Where's the link to buy a kit?

[@SprollusTube]

I'm not quite sure I'm getting this. So when I invest in this Kickstarter, will I be receiving equity in your company or will you just provide your investors with bonds?

[@heh2393]

"Bonds" xD

[@tobylister8221]

My Snatoms kit came yesterday, it has been nonstop fun since the second I opened the box. I really hope an app is developed.

[@sw00natra]

TAKE MY MONEY! One day and already more than double the initial goal. This community is awesome! Every science class should have Snatoms!

[@austinfahrenheit3191]

Love how the kid's just making dogs at 3:02

[@aapjeaaron]

yes, dog. totally not alcohol.

[@MilanMilan0000]

"maybe if i make enugh alcohol molecules, i'll get some beer!"

[@adfasfuiuiui1056]

Propane.

[@saltyman7888]

yes. definitely dogs. hair of the dog.

[@zephyrsimon]

This is good for organic chemistry, but what about inorganics?

[@azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn]

do actual atoms attract each other through something like magnetism?

[@falconbanshee]

+azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn Pretty much, actually.

[@luizp07]

+azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn i belive it has more to do with the nature of the atom to always try to stabilize(by having 8 electrons on the last layer), however, some molecules form through magnectic attraction.

[@HanMasho]

+azsxdcfvgbhnjmh It is electromagnetism that causes molecules to bond together to form different compounds so using magnets is a great way to help students visualize and get a feel for what's going on at the molecular scale.

[@R0DGES]

+azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn A basic model of a covalent bond is the two positive nuclei with two negative electrons in between, they are attracted by the electrostatic force. This goes further but that would be the whole of chemistry :)

[@ilostmypie]

+azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn Not magnetism, but electronic attractive (and repulsive) forces. More like static and a balloon. But more complicated.

[@astoria0]

Even if you don't care about learning please help this project. This is the best thing I ever kickstarted. Thank you so much for all you do for science. Specifically chemistry. Btw. Make more videos solely about chemistry. It's my fav.

[@Allendoesntlift]

This is a cool and smart invention. These are much better than the old ones because you can take them apart and put it back together. They also seem very fun. These represent way better than the old types. Good Job!

[@DavidWeijzen]

42 dollars is a lot for me. it's pritty overpriced for a indevidual like me but for schools it's awesome.

[@jeranichols2002]

Try and find, or get 1 dollar a day for 42 days!

[@TARS..]

+Jera Nichols thats a good way to think

[@andrewtripoli5161]

Yes, but the o ther types of models can cost upwards of $150

[@forder4751]

Dude just get molymods. They’re very good for the small price man

[@MilanMilan0000]

I would totally LOVE to have the expansion pack, but its to expensive!! D,:

[@joemonster55]

In under 12 hours you have more than doubled your goal. Way to go Derek!

[@foxfff123123]

This is amazing. This could make chemistry so much more appealing to kids from a younger age

[@mcarrascoo]

I'm a teacher in special education of visual impaired students. Some years ago I started loving accesible science, this looks like a good material to use with blind kids to help them understand how molecules work, especially the click sound and the atraction of the atoms you mention. I'm actually using sticks and playdough now, not the best materials... but the year is getting to an end, the students and the chemistry teacher I support need to learn and teach with something. This gave me some ideas to improve what I'll use next time. Keep going, this is nice! : ) Saludos desde Chile

[@ozskeeter]

My own KS kit arrived today ... simply amazing ! Thank you for designing and making available to us.

[@mdburghs]

Did you received your snatoms kit? We have yet to receive ours... :(

[@ozskeeter]

+Mark Brandenburgh yep, my full order of Kickstarter Snatoms arrived in Australia

[@mdburghs]

Thanks. Maybe it's a "this side of the world" thing. Are they cool?

[@ozskeeter]

+Mark Brandenburgh my opinion ... they are fantastic. I wish they were around when I was learning chemistry. My 4 yo grandson loves them ... makes animals and spaceships with them!

[@LaOliveJayne]

This would be amazing to model Bowen's reaction series and how the complexity of the silica molecule changes as it progresses through the series. The entire idea is amazing!

[@georginabw6571]

I think this is a brilliant idea especially for schools and tutor groups !!! 100% supportive

[@proamateur64]

A wonderful idea for introductory chemistry. I hope you'll come up with a way to show double and triple bonds.

[@ahmadhussein2975]

This will be one of the best science kits ever

[@potatoman7895]

just last week we watched one of your videos I science class. I think it was "Misconceptions About Temperature." So many people in my class understood it. I think if we had a few sets of Snatoms, the learning experience. would have been far greater.

[@BigRalphSmith]

This is an idea that has tremendous potential. There is no doubt you should run with this. I'm not even a product designer and all kinds of ideas for improvement and expansion of this idea come to mind. One of the secrets to successful products is appeal to as wide a diversity of people and applications as possible. Something like this has the possibility of ending up as a standard teaching tool in every chemistry or physics teaching environment. I can see this end up as an entire educational system for every level of student from young children to post-doc chemical engineers and even physicists. *Great Job!*

[@josephshaffer8218]

Brilliant idea! This will end up being a million, if not multimillion dollar product. I can definitely see these being the new "norm" in the chemistry classroom across the country, if not the entire globe. I wish I would have thought of it! I can't get over how clever the magnetic coupling being a representation of the atomic bond it's genius!

[@josephshaffer8218]

To clarify, by the new "norm" I do not mean replace the standard model. I mean it will be normal to see these in every classroom worldwide along with the current model which allows for single/double/triple bonds being able to be visibly demonstrated.

[@ixnine]

Payday is tomorrow and my funds are going to this Kickstarter! This idea is brilliant! Thanks, Derek!

[@shawnnoyes2776]

Love it! Right before Christmas may not have been the ideal time to launch this, but I shared this with my Chemistry-centric friends, and pledged $42 for the original kit. I am looking forward to playing with these with my kids in the years to come (they are 2.5 years, and 3.5 months old now, so I'll have to wait a little while)! -Shawn

[@mathewbayne9163]

I think every school should have these !!! Keep up the good work. Love your videos!!!

[@kakanklangen]

we actually have those in my school here in sweden, and they are really good at making you understand the basics of chemistry :)

[@donronny16]

A very plausible idea for building the foundation of organic chemistry to kids! Double bonds/Triple bonds/Free electrons/Conjugate bonds etc. are not yet explained using snatoms but still this has a great potential in future. Veritasium (Derek) phenomenal job! :)

[@BrechtGoesCrazy]

I told my chemestry teacher about this, and he really liked it!

[@maherf768]

I live in a place where we don't have any online payment method ... Syria and I want to contribute so bad, this channel is one of my favorites and all I can offer is a lousy Thank you and good luck :/

[@Sancarn]

Make me DNA. Then I'll be impressed. :P

[@Sancarn]

Arthur Dent I honestly don't think it's actually possible... A protein would be a good start but I don't even think we've mapped out those fully...

[@youmakeitwhatitis]

+Sancarn We have modelled out many full proteins, and half a century ago Watson and Crick modelled out DNA. I, myself, have made models of proteins and of DNA before. We don't have the exact structure known of every protein ever, and we haven't fully mapped the genome of every organism ever. Folding at home is a nice distributed computing program for actually figuring out how certain complex proteins "fold," which, IIRC, involves the tertiary structuring of the protein.

[@jamilhneini1002]

+Sancarn he got a physics PHD not biology

[@Gabber9602]

what are you doing here? go back to your channel and show us something neat! You are not allowed to wander the internet!

[@jamilhneini1002]

Gabber9602 i relate

[@ts552]

we love you & your ideas man seriously you are doing one of the best contribution to education of science... I personally feed sorry for not having a wage & not being able to financially support this... I guess at this point the best I can do is to spread your channel among everyone I meet...

[@李愚-f7j]

wow that is really a GREAT IEDA, i am a fresh undergraduate who struggling with organic chem , looking forward ,you always bring surprise!!

[@kasperholck5928]

Holy damn this is great, why didn't anyone think of this before? Thumbs Up for the good work, couldn't live without this channel!

[@OlafBorg]

Not only is your channel inspiring for young and older ones alike, but I think this product is just great. Wish I had had a chemistry teacher like you at school and I wish you all the success with this one... looking forward to the size of Fe and Pb ;-)

[@bobbycone2]

Fantastic idea! I will absolutely support it! Hope to see these in every science/chemistry classroom one day! I can imagine the various kits with all different types. When this gets big don't sell it to a big company when they come knocking on your door. Keep it! Build it! And be Proud of it! Great job man!

[@Jibily1]

I am not a science professional or science anything, really. But I have a passion for science, and a passion for education. Seeing this made me so happy. I go to school full time, but I have some extra money every now and then, so I put in $10. If I had more, I would pledge more. I hope you reach all of your stretch goals. This is an amazing idea. And if it catches on I am sure you'll make it even more amazing. Snatoms 2.0 will probably be a killer product. Multi-bonds and more atoms. Imagine the possibilities!

[@dash0173]

this is gonna help so many schools around the world... chemistry and FPC will actually be understandable, god damn. thank you so much

[@MrInterpriser]

I agree with comments, it doesn't show bonds, but still it's a very good project!

[@michaelstiemke1346]

Keep working on this idea it's grate and innovative.I'm sure teachers and kids around the world will love it too

[@leninheads]

Coooool. I love this idea. I think it will help many people learn how amazing chemistry is. I think that the idea of magnetism is great because it is more realistic. I'm all for this!

[@cidshroom]

Just checked out your kickstarter and was happy to see this "$144,171 pledged of $42,000 goal" Very excited to see an entire snatom universe!

[@eloujtimereaver4504]

Looks awesome, congrats, would prefer if they were a magnetic core with a slightly soft outer shell so that the flat spaces could be formed naturally and it would allow more connections. I want some of these some day.

[@jo94127]

This should be something for my chemistry class ,because we have like paper pieces in colors that represents the atoms. So this should be a awesome project. Great Thinking Keep up the good work!!!

[@llarejayll]

As an Allied Health Major and student of the sciences, this would be perfect for me in my chem class right now. After learning the foundations of dimensional analysis and conversion factors and equations, we will start the next section which will be the concepts of atoms and molecules in the few weeks to come. I am soo tempted to buy a personal set yet with a student budget but maybe in the near future. But I can gaurantee to bring more awareness to this campaign as this will benefit many scholars!

[@RicoGalassi]

this is actually the best idea ever....I wish these existed when I was in high school

[@jasonball3496]

Derek, you are a good man. Plain and simple.

[@dipperpines5144]

I like this guy, so i will show this to the science department at my school. Hopefully they will want some.

[@smkogut]

Schools everywhere need these!! Just chipped in some $$ to help you fund this awesome project, and I hope it gains the attention it deserves. You came up with something really cool and creative, and that's pretty awesome :D

[@PlasmaHH]

+Veritasium About 20 years ago at school we had from some company an evaluation kit for something similar, kind of a mix of classical stick bonds and yours: We had metal spheres and indented magnetic discs. Not using neodynium magnets had its own problems, but it already felt more accurate in terms of overlapping electron shells. But why our teacher sent the kit back and still used the sticks, his reason was as follows: With the sticks as bonds, you can quite easily imagine that they are just the nuclei, and the electron shell distributes like thick honey around all of your molecule, but it is somewhat hard to imagine carbon double bonds when you have no indication of whether there is one or not. Two sticks is a bit more obvious here". Not meant to discourage you, but if you could come up with a solution to that one, you would be able to convince my old teacher too. If he stilled lived.

[@OnlyinMiamiFlorida]

No app yet! These are amazing! Keep it going!

[@JakeMcGuiremusic]

Almost $205,000 of the $42,000 goal, with 38 days to go.... Mind blowing.... What an incredible group of people.

[@rams6702]

as a chem geek this is the best thing ever, just near actual chemistry

[@Sunspxts]

I'm right now in chemistry and I see this so much better than the atom models we have.

[@Parmesana]

love this. If it came with a booklet with explanation of the molecules(in drawing form where you can see why something would bond there) great idea!!