Home / Topics / Physics, Space & Chemistry
Fundamental physics: videos Hacker News recommends
Physics: classical mechanics, relativity, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, Feynman lectures, physical law, physics courses, Walter Lewin, Veritasium, physics explainers and demonstrations. Below: every video in this topic that at least three HN users linked with real commentary, in at least three different months (81 explainers, 23 lectures, 15 interviews), best-scored first, with the comments on each video page.
- HN considers it the best experimental rebuttal and clarification of the Veritasium wire debate, with real measurements.
- HN commenters send people to it whenever a thread confuses the speed of light with a light-specific limit, and several say it deepened their understanding of relativity.
- Used as the standard reference in threads about light speed, clock synchronization and untestable assumptions in physics.
- HN people recommend it as a masterclass in explaining physics clearly without condescension, accessible without formal training.
- HN commenters point to it as an equation-free, charming way to hear Feynman explain physics to laypeople, including his famous refusal to explain magnetism with simple analogies.
- Called the best visualization of general relativity by many commenters, who say it cleared up long-held misunderstandings of gravity.
- Called a favorite and a masterpiece by commenters as the clearest accessible explanation that there are only waves in fields, and what physics still doesn't know.
- HN commenters point to it as a lucid, general-audience lecture that shows how wrong common conceptions of time are, often in threads on entropy and the arrow of time.
- HN commenters recommend it as a short, clear explanation of why moving charges create magnetic fields.
- Sean Carroll lecture recommended in 5 different months by 5 HN users, 2021–2025HN commenters recommend the series as engaging, substantial physics with just enough math for non-specialists.
- Often recommended as an eye-opening field-based explanation of electricity, though it was also controversial and criticized as pedantic.
- Praised as the clearest visual explanation of transmission lines, impedance and signal propagation, with several commenters saying it made it all click.
- HN returns to it as a model of intellectual honesty and good explanation, often linking it in discussions of why-questions and science communication.
- Recommended as an engaging critique of string theory hype and its effect on public trust in physics, and often cited alongside Peter Woit's writing.
- HN commenters recommend it as one of Veritasium's best videos and one that has aged well.
- HN considers it among the clearest accessible explanations of what refractive index actually is and how light moves through transparent matter.
- HN links it as a go-to intuitive explanation whenever gravity as spacetime curvature or free fall comes up.
- HN commenters point to it as an approachable explanation of how symmetries give rise to conservation laws, including the story of Emmy Noether.
- firewalker interview recommended in 5 different months by 5 HN users, 2019–2026Cited constantly as the classic answer to 'why' questions, on explanation, frames of reference and the limits of physics.
- sdfhsfh explainer recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2018–2025Recommended as an entertaining, accessible way to get a feel for light and electric fields.
- Recommended in kilogram-redefinition threads as a clear, short explainer of the Avogadro and Planck approaches.
- Recommended as a short, joyful example of Feynman's accessible way of explaining physics, which a transcript cannot capture.
- Belfer Center lecture recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2018–2024HN recommends it as an entertaining, clear explanation of nuclear weapons basics from a policy expert.
- HN links it in threads on bikes, countersteering and control systems as the clearest demonstration of how bikes actually steer and balance.
- HN commenters say it made entropy intuition click and point to it in threads on energy, heat and equilibrium.
- Recommended as the cleanest visual explanation of time and space switching roles past the horizon, and a gateway to the channel's black hole videos.
- It is the go-to accessible explainer whenever HN discusses Helion or alternative fusion designs.
- HN points to it as an accessible long-form introduction to Wolfram's ideas and a window into his passion, though some are critical of his claims.
- Recommended for correctly predicting the features of the real black hole image and clearly explaining the lensing physics behind it.
- FQxI talk recommended in 4 different months by 3 HN users, 2014–2018HN commenters recommend it as an accessible introduction to scaling laws and to why cities keep growing while companies and organisms eventually die.
- Praised as an excellent, accessible account of why the kilogram's definition changed, in redefinition threads.
- HN uses it as the primary source for Weinstein's theory, though some commenters note he never published a full math paper.
- HN recommends it, and the whole channel, as a clear and deeper-than-usual physics explainer.
- The Quagmire lecture recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2018–2023Strongly recommended for its funny, human account of Los Alamos, which one commenter calls almost a stand-up act.
- HN recommends it as an accessible way into Wolfram's physics ideas and his personality.
- MITCBMM talk recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2016–2026HN recommends it as a clear argument for why deep and cheap learning succeeds, often alongside the associated paper.
- HN points to it as a short, approachable starting point on warp drive physics from a channel commenters like.
- HN commenters call it the best explanation of how holograms work, and one says it transformed their understanding.
- HN recommends it as the best non-mathematical explanation of the Higgs field, deep but accessible to lay viewers.
- nebulajr interview recommended in 3 different months by 4 HN users, 2014–2026HN returns to it constantly as a classic on the difficulty of explaining fundamentals and the limits of analogies.
- Michigan Engineering talk recommended in 3 different months by 4 HN users, 2019–2021HN commenters point to it as a credible debunking of the popular but wrong explanations of how wings generate lift.
- HN recommends it as a sobering counterpoint to the Feynman myth for people whose view comes from Surely You're Joking.
- HN recommends it as the clearest intuitive introduction to thinking about a fourth dimension.
- HN commenters point to the PBS Space Time series as a high-quality, bite-sized way to learn modern physics concepts.
- Recommended as high-quality physics communication and as an introduction to Noether and energy non-conservation in cosmology.
- Commenters call it a short, clean, visual explanation of the infalling-particle question and of Penrose diagrams.
- Cited as the best explanation of mirror reversal.
- HN cites it for the field-based picture of power transfer, noting it was controversial at release but the experiment largely backed the creator.
- Recommended as an intense, insightful look at Bussard's IEC fusion work, frequently cited in fusion threads for his claim that it could be developed for about $200M.
- HN commenters link it as a quick, intuitive explanation of angular momentum and why spinning clumps of matter flatten.
- HN uses it as a quick, clear demonstration of the Magnus effect behind spinning-cylinder ships and planes.
- Recommended as the clearest footage of a whip tip going supersonic, and cited in shockwave discussions.
- Fermilab explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2020–2023HN commenters link it to correct the widespread misconception about why light slows in a medium.
- HN recommends it for Feynman's intuitive explanations and his joy in understanding how things work.
- HN points to it for a clear explanation of photon sieves versus Fresnel lenses and for showing what interference patterns actually look like.
- Frequently linked whenever wind-powered vehicles come up, as the clearest visual explanation of how the craft works.
- HN recommends it as an accessible walkthrough of Penrose's ideas on consciousness and cosmology, interesting even if debatable.
- HN recommends Susskind as a very good explainer who uses real math at an accessible level, and links this lecture series for self-learners.
- HN commenters find the hypothesis elegant and the channel consistently thought-provoking, and point to it in threads on light, particles and wave functions.
- HN recommends it as an accessible layperson's introduction to the Reynolds number and fluid dynamics scales.
- Praised for its visualizations and pedagogy in threads about physics and differential geometry.
- Linked as clear demonstrations that make the counterintuitive faster-than-wind result click.
- It comes up as a great explainer on magnetohydrodynamic drives and pumps in threads about silent submarine propulsion.
- Sképseis lecture recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2014–2023HN quotes it as the crispest statement of what science is, usually when a theory clashes with evidence.
- Aaron Scher documentary recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2009–2023Mentioned as a fun and impressive Feynman documentary, though the mentions are brief.
- caltech course recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2018–2024HN rates the series as one of the best physics lecture courses on YouTube, with an engaging format and historical context.
- Uppsala universitet lecture recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2022–2025Cited in discussions of analogy-making in science, and revisited by fans of Hofstadter.
- HN recommends it as a good layperson explanation of how LIGO's detection works and why it is so hard.
- Santa Fe Institute lecture recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2014–2022HN commenters recommend it as a clear explanation of why time runs one way, from a leading physicist.
- HN commenters call it eye-opening and deeper than typical layman explanations, linking it in double-slit and mechanics threads.
- Cited constantly when discussing explaining to non-experts, the limits of explanation and what a 'why' question really asks.
- Simon Benjamin talk recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2020–2023Cited in threads on probability and quantum theory as a strong argument that probabilities can be eliminated from physics.
- HN points to it as a detailed explanation of Wolfram's physics hypothesis, and for Wolfram's evident passion, though some find it long.
- HN commenters recommend it as an easy-to-digest explanation of time dilation and the twin paradox.
- Used as a go-to reference for relativity arguments, such as spacetime intervals being the same for all observers, and as a suggested follow-up for physics fans.
- HN refers to it for Weinstein's views on advanced math and physics and academia's problems, though some find him a bit kooky.
- Recommended as the best introduction to SICM and sicmutils and a showcase of what such symbolic systems can do.
- Commenters recommend it for a compelling, accessible case against treating the speed of light as a hard limit.
- HN cites it in energy debates as an illustration of the long-term thermal limits of exponential energy consumption growth.
- HN recommends it as an even-handed physicist's take for 5G skeptics, noting it is probably safe but under-studied.
- HN commenters point to it as an accessible pop-science introduction to entropy and the physics of life, including Jeremy England's work.
- HN points to it in warp drive discussions as a math-free explanation of why superluminal travel causes causality problems.
- HN users cite it in threads about academia, grant incentives, fraud and women-only programs, often as an eye-opening personal take.
- HN points to it whenever a thread mixes up power and energy, such as battery specs and solar generation.
- Recommended as a good visual walkthrough of the Standard Model equation for people who want to understand its terms.
- HN commenters use it to put radiation exposure and risk into perspective, including everyday sources like flights and smoking.
- HN recommends it as a cool, eye-opening look at the hidden ultraviolet world, especially in sunscreen and vitamin D threads.
- notsyort music video recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2020–2024HN brings it up whenever thermodynamics or entropy comes up, as the classic comic explanation of the laws.
- Nathan Kutz lecture recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2021–2022HN commenters recommend it for its fluid dynamics of detonation waves and its high-speed imaging of rotating pulses.
- Zero lecture recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2012–2021HN uses it to illustrate Feynman's wry view of philosophical questions and perception.
- HN commenters recommend it as a helpful way to conceptualize why light speed is a limit.
- Linked as the clear explainer on rotational gravity and its Coriolis oddities.
- HN people link it as a quick, clear answer to the question of bicycle stability, including in threads on bike mathematics.
- The reference people reach for when debating how math differs from physics.
- Physics Explained lecture recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2022–2025Recommended for a math-heavy but thorough treatment of the ultraviolet catastrophe and the history of the experiments.
- Linked as a quick, clear primer when black hole energy and efficiency come up.
- HN commenters recommend it for the Gell-Mann amnesia framing and as a skeptical take on Michio Kaku.
- HN people cite it as the clearest layperson-friendly explanation of rotational instability whenever spinning bodies, tumbling objects or axis shifts come up.
- Max-Planck-Institut für Physik talk recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2022–2025Praised as a jargon-light talk on advanced physics that HN cites when arguing spacetime is not fundamental.
- HN uses it as a reference in threads on physics theories, models and what real understanding means.
Showing the 100 best-scored of 162. Use search to find the rest.
Questions
What is the most recommended fundamental physics video on Hacker News?
I bought 1000 meters of wire to settle a physics debate by AlphaPhoenix: HN considers it the best experimental rebuttal and clarification of the Veritasium wire debate, with real measurements.
How is this fundamental physics list ranked?
By HackerTube's score: the number of distinct months in which an HN comment recommended the video, plus half a point for every month with a strong recommendation. One viral thread counts less than steady recommendations over years.
Where do the videos come from?
From every Hacker News comment between 2007 and 2026 that linked a YouTube video, labeled by an AI model as a recommendation, a citation, a joke or a criticism. The list is published by HackerTube under ODC-By 1.0; this edition adds indexable pages and the comment context.