Brainiac75

Unboxing new laser colors!

My next video is honestly a long-held dream of mine. Finally, after decades of collecting, I have bought some lasers in the yellow range between green and red.

In this video, I unbox them and check if they light up.

In my upcoming main video, I will test their wavelength and power. And go into details about their color. Are they even yellowish?

There will be surprises - both good and bad - but I can say that I am very, very, very happy about these new additions to my collect...

Messing up the fluorescence of tonic water - in several ways...

The more I look into quinine and the factors needed for its luminescence, the more I appreciate the fluorescence of tonic water. It really is a happy coincidence that tonic water provides the right conditions for it to work at all!

In this video, I look into some of the factors that will affect the fluorescence of quinine. And you will find out what I poured into the tonic water in the previous video to shut off the fluorescence. Did you guess right?

Classic space laser sound from spring

One of my favorite sounds is the unearthly chirps that lake ice makes when a rock skips over it.

However, it is not easy to freeze a lake to demonstrate it... but there is a surprisingly easy way to make a similar sound. In this video, I show how little effort it takes to achieve 'acoustic dispersion'.

Share if you know of other ways. Could be fun to make a full video with examples and an explanation of the physics behind acoustic dispersion.

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Glow-in-the-dark: Can you change the color?

Fluorescence and phosphorescence are just as fascinating to me today as they were when I was a kid. I have made several videos about them but I want to dig even deeper into their mechanism.

In this video, I test the effect of changing the color and spectral bandwidth of the light used to charge them. And a temperature change of 20°C. What happens?

The most dangerous chemical I use everyday

We all use a lot of chemicals every day. Most of them are harmless or even healthy for us - thankfully. But some needs to be treated with a lot of respect.
In this video, I reveal the most dangerous chemical I use on a daily basis, what I use it for, and why I am fine with using it every day.

At the end, there are some teasers from my upcoming July video. A video I am learning a lot from by making it. Looking forward to sharing it with you.

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Desert Sun Lamps! | My least healthy lights yet?

It is summer time on the Northern Hemisphere where ~90% of humans live. An appropriate time for project Desert Sun Lamp!

I will assemble and light up the special lamp I showed here on Patreon in my February video. A light designed to mimic sunlight in the desert.
Rather unusually, they put an illustration of the lamp's light spectrum on the packaging. Will my spectrometer agree with it?

Unboxing and testing ZWB1, ZWB2, ZWB3 optical filters

I often find the visible light coming from blacklights and other ultraviolet sources annoying. For UV fluorescence experiments, I feel like they would pop more without the visible violet light such as the 405 nm spectral line from mercury.

I have been looking at optical filters that will block visible light but let ultraviolet pass. They are quite expensive in large formats though...

For a start, I have bought some small filters in the "inexpensive" ZWB-series often found on eBay,...

Are cheap UV detection cards any good?

Time to test the UV-cards I unboxed in my February video here on Patreon. UV-cards are a cheap way of detecting ultraviolet light but are they too cheap?

In this video, I test three of them with six different light sources to see what they do. I also demonstrate how they can be used to test UV protection glasses.

Finally, I look for a quick way of resetting them again using lasers...

Thermochromic Dinosaur Mug

I only rarely drink hot drinks - yet I have bought a mug for myself. A special one though. With dinosaurs and thermochromic paint!

Thermochromism is a strange property that makes you question what color is. In this video, I test the mug out including a trick that is a bit tricky to pull off. Can you guess how I did it?

At the end, there is a sneak peek of the upcoming May video. It will include another of the chromisms.

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FYI on exclusive uploads and timing of charging

For your information, I will upload a patron-exclusive video this coming weekend.

As something new, I will try to upload it directly to Patreon making it a truly patron-exclusive video. I have not tried it before so let me know if it works well or not.
I can always upload the video as unlisted on YouTube as usual if it completely fails :)

I will also change from charging for the public video at the end of the month to charging for the exclusive post at the middle of every month...

Monster magnet meets aluminum can...

So many videos I watch on eddy current experiments only explain how they create a repelling magnetic field. However, they can create an attracting field too... Time to tell about both possibilities.

In my new video, I dig deeper into the eddy current effect by exploring the magnetism of aluminium. Even a mundane drink can will demonstrate the two different magnetic reactions of aluminium.

I also test how cylinders made of different elements roll off a magnet. Can you guess which e...

Having fun with kitchen vacuum

Kitchen equipment have evolved quite a bit since I was a child. My current stick blender can turn into a vacuum pump...

Not sure how strong a "vacuum" it can form but in this video I have some fun testing it :)

Is it just me or does this video feature a lot of pleasant sounds? Except, of course, that 1000W pump I had to turn down in post...

Smartphones measure magnetism in 3D?!?

As mentioned in my previous post, I have been working on testing another of the sensors in my smartphone: The 3-axis magnetometer.

Measuring magnetism in three dimensions is really a luxury, so I want to know if the smartphone will work as a gaussmeter for measuring magnets. At least for hobby use like it can be used as a lux meter and sound level meter.

I share my experiences so far in this new video.

Spectrum of Cellphone Screen

In an earlier video, I tested my phone as a lux meter and sound level meter. With the spectrometer out for measuring the infrared sensor under the screen, I thought I might as well test the spectrum from the AMOLEDs in the screen. Here are the recordings.

In my next public video coming end of March I will continue testing my phone. This time focusing on the 3-axis magnetometer. Can the phone be used as a 3-axis gaussmeter?

New LASER power record on my LPM?

I believe this new video has been the most editing-intensive video I have ever made. Seems like bad planning to make such a time-gobbling video in the shortest month of the year, but...

It is a celebration of my channel hitting a whopping 750,000 subscribers!
I can't really plan when that happens :) Thank you so much for subscribing!

In the video, I attempt to beat my all-time laser power record. With a great present for the occasion from Wicked Lasers: the latest and largest i...

Future Project: Desert Sun Lamp

In my latest public video, I promised you an update on a better UVB source. Well, here it is.

I will show the lights I've had for a while but never have had turned on - and unbox the stuff needed to light them up. A project I have named 'Desert Sun Lamp'.

By the way, my next public video is planned for release on Sunday, February 26. I will attempt to break my current laser power record of 5.7 watts >:o)

Hidden Hazards of Halogen Lamps

I have some old halogen flood lights that I used as studio lights in some of my early videos. I remember the manual mentioned that they must not be used if the glass cover is damaged in any way. But the manual did not mention why?

Warnings without telling about the serious consequences are not very useful in my opinion. And since I still use halogen lamps in my house, I guess other do to.

So I have made a video about the hazards of running halogen bulbs without a glass cover. Ther...

My favorite parts of 2022 videos

I would like to say goodbye to 2022 by telling you about my favorite parts of the 12 public videos released in 2022. So I made this patron exclusive video about it. Most likely different from what you liked the most!

Going through the videos, I realized how much I learned from making the videos. I am going more knowledgable and skillful into 2023 than 2022. Hope you also learned something from watching the videos.

In case you missed one of the public videos  - or want to rewa...

Smartphone vs. Real Meters for Sound and Light Measurement?

Final video of the year. And it was a big one to make. I probably should have made this a two-part video...

Anyway, I would like to find an inexpensive alternative to dedicated lux and decibel meters. I have a multimeter that should work as both - but is it good enough?

Or what about the smartphone I already have? Will it work well enough with some free apps for light and sound measurement? Time to find out...

Happy New Year!

The thumbnail is NOT just a picture

Here is a little behind-the-scenes exclusively for you. I show the process of how most of my thumbnails are made. They are not photographs with a text overlay... 

Sorry about the subpar sound quality in this video. At times, my laptop's fans made it sound like I was inside a helicopter... The laptop is struggling when it has to run both OBS screen/sound capture and the video editor software at the same time :o)
Turn on subtitles if you can't hear me clearly.

In my upcoming...

Monster magnet meets subwoofer...

It has been two years since I released a video in the series 'Monster magnet meets...'  A video series with some of my best and most popular videos. Time for a new one!

This time I will test how a subwoofer reacts if I place my largest neodymium magnet near it. Including testing the effect of switching the pole of the magnet facing the speaker. 

Speakers play music by magnetism, so the stronger the magnet, the louder/better/tighter/dynamic it will usually play. Can I get...

Amber Uncut

November is my least favorite month. I have very few positive things to say about it. And this particular November is a stressful, busy, high-paced one. Probably a good thing, since it will make November pass by faster ;)

In this exclusive video linked above I will however try to turn the pace down to a more serene, slow, relaxing speed.

In my previous video about ultraviolet amber lights, link: https://youtu.be/gNJA...

How [NOT] to max test a power supply!

I have never tested the max output from a power supply. So how is it done?
In this new video I try different approaches. Most of them do not work well but making mistakes is often more learnful and memorable than just trying the right - expensive - solution.

Will my 300W lab power supply deliver the watts it is supposed to?

Max wattage from my lab power supply?

My cheap lab power supply is rated at max 300 watts (30V, 10A), so I was surprised to measure 32V from it. However, it was with no load on it. Maybe the voltage will drop once the power supply has to deliver current to a device.

In my upcoming video, I will attempt to test its max output. Can you guess how many (or few) watts it will deliver? Vote below.

Video links:
The power supply u...

Unboxing New Test Instrument

Sharing an unboxing of a test instrument you helped me get. Thank you!

This test instrument is exactly what I needed for the upcoming October video. I will not spoil too much of the unboxing and upcoming video here, but there is a clue in my video from July 17th 2022 here on Patreon ;)

This new instrument is quite a multitool that will be nice to have in the collection for future videos. Really happy about it!

On a side note: This is my very first purchase from AliExpress. N...

Bananas can detect invisible light?

In my previous video, I used a banana in an attempt to detect UVC. I did see a result but only with a strong light resting right on the banana.

Was it UVC or heat that discolored the banana? In this video, I try to separate the heat and UVC. Can something as common as a banana really be used to test for UVC radiation?

If nothing else, I do share a recipe for a yummy and simple banana dessert for barbeque nights :o)

Phosphorescent Food?

I have made several videos featuring fluorescent foods, but would really like to make one with the even more impressive phosphorescence.

I just only know of one phosphorescent food and it is hard to film. This video features some test shots using a Sony FDR-AX700 (my main camera). My dream camera, Sony FX6, would do so much better, but a dream camera often has a nightmare price :-|

Do you know of other foods or everyday items that are surprisingly phosphorescent? Would love to mak...

Handheld DNA eraser?!?

The recent pandemic spawned a flood of "UVC" disinfection lights. Many of which only emit UVA like a blacklight, which has no sterilizing effect.

In this video, I test a handheld device claiming to emit UVC. I also look into how much UVC would be reflected back at you when using a handheld UVC sterilizer...
Is a mirror the best reflector for UVC?

Find out in my latest video, where I also measure the spectrum of sunlight!

Bad colors? Part 4: The Softboxes

Now for part 4 of my series on bad colors. After buying some new studio lights on sale in part 3, I have been looking for some affordable softboxes for them.

In this video, I unbox and set up some big softboxes and do a little comparison with my old softboxes. What an upgrade!

Invisible light will make 'Gold of the North' visible?

As you may have noticed, I am fascinated by fluorescence. However, it can be hard to find any practical uses for it outside a lab (or as blacklight in a retro disco...)

In this video, I will test if fluorescence can be used to find the only gemstone that can be found in Denmark: Amber.

I will also test if some inexpensive UV safety glasses provide any protection against ultraviolet light.

Will it all work out?