What Can Frogs See That We Can't?
Skills:
CV Basics50%
Check out the original double slit experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iuv6hY6zsd0 - oh, and for the sun to be seen as single photons, you would have to be ~1000 light years away, so well past Pluto. For clarification on this video, please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW7tfrTh66c
What would you see if you were drifting through space, looking back at the sun? Well its light intensity would decrease as the inverse square of distance from the sun. And you would imagine the intensity would decrease smoothly, asymptotically approaching zero.
But this is not what happens.
If you had sensitive enough eyes, like frogs' eyes, you would find that at some point the sun would start to flicker. You would see flashes of light separated by complete darkness. And as you drift further from the sun, what's strange is that these flashes do not decrease in brightness, but they do become less frequent. That's because light comes in lumps, called quanta or photons, which are indivisible. So if you try to spread light out very thinly, you reach a point where there are only single bits of light reaching an observer's eye at any given time.
I should acknowledge the book "The Fabric of Reality" by David Deutsch, which contains a similar story about a frog and a torch. It inspired me to make this film. Thanks also to MinutePhysics for reviewing earlier drafts and suggesting I make it more ridiculous.
Watch on YouTube ↗
(saves to browser)
Sign in to unlock AI tutor explanation · ⚡30
Playlist
Uploads from Veritasium · Veritasium · 38 of 60
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
▶
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
Scientific Notation - Explained!
Veritasium
I'm Atoms (Scientific Cover of Jason Mraz's I'm Yours)
Veritasium
Scientific Notation - Example
Veritasium
What is a Force?
Veritasium
Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos
Veritasium
Supercooled Water - Explained!
Veritasium
Galileo the Scientific Parrot
Veritasium
Radiation vs Radioactive Atoms
Veritasium
What Is Electricity? (Are You Gonna Be My Girl?)
Veritasium
Why Is Ice Slippery?
Veritasium
Impress Her With Nanodiamonds
Veritasium
Chain Drop Experiment
Veritasium
What Colour Is Most Attractive?
Veritasium
States of Matter
Veritasium
Slinky Drop Answer
Veritasium
Slinky Drop
Veritasium
Atomic Rant
Veritasium
What Is The Magnus Force?
Veritasium
A Human Being Is A Part Of The Whole
Veritasium
Spinning Tube Trick Explained
Veritasium
Where Do Trees Get Their Mass?
Veritasium
Why Do You Make People Look Stupid?
Veritasium
Gyroscopic Precession
Veritasium
How Does A Slinky Fall?
Veritasium
Spinning Disk Trick Solution
Veritasium
Does a Falling Slinky Defy Gravity?
Veritasium
Northern Lights From 100,000 ft!
Veritasium
The First Meeting of EDUtubers! ft. CGPGrey, Vsauce, Smarter Every Day, Numberphile +more
Veritasium
Free Higgs!
Veritasium
How Can Trees Be Taller Than 10m?
Veritasium
What Now For The Higgs Boson?
Veritasium
How Trees Bend the Laws of Physics
Veritasium
Paralysed Rats Made To Walk Again
Veritasium
What Could Survive An Atomic Bomb?
Veritasium
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle Explained
Veritasium
Why Do Venomous Animals Live In Warm Climates?
Veritasium
Veritasium Trailer
Veritasium
What Can Frogs See That We Can't?
Veritasium
World's Roundest Object!
Veritasium
Epic Slow-Mo Drum Implosions!
Veritasium
Empty Space is NOT Empty
Veritasium
Your Mass is NOT From the Higgs Boson
Veritasium
How Does a Transistor Work?
Veritasium
Bullet Block Explained!
Veritasium
How We’re Fooled By Statistics
Veritasium
Facebook Fraud
Veritasium
The Most Common Cognitive Bias
Veritasium
Anti-Gravity Wheel?
Veritasium
Anti-Gravity Wheel Explained
Veritasium
Why Trees Are Taller Than They Need To Be
Veritasium
Misconceptions About the Universe
Veritasium
Why Women Are Stripey
Veritasium
What is NOT Random?
Veritasium
Explained: 5 Fun Physics Phenomena
Veritasium
Climate Change is Boring
Veritasium
13 Misconceptions About Global Warming
Veritasium
CapitolTV's DISTRICT VOICES - District 5: Electric Sparks From Falling Water
Veritasium
Sparks from Falling Water: Kelvin's Thunderstorm
Veritasium
The Most Persistent Myth
Veritasium
The Most Radioactive Places on Earth
Veritasium
More on: CV Basics
View skill →Related AI Lessons
⚡
⚡
⚡
⚡
Magnific vs Topaz vs Krea: Which AI Upscaler Actually Works
Dev.to AI
Forget productivity: Here are 5 strategic shifts that drive real AI value
ZDNet
This AI Tool Feels Illegal to Use (But It’s Not):
Medium · AI
Learning a New Skill Is Hard - Even When It’s Something You Were Born to Do
Medium · Startup
🎓
Tutor Explanation
DeepCamp AI