This is the nickname for a theoretical space weapon, in which large rods of tungsten would be dropped onto Earth based targets.
The idea behind this weapon is that the projectiles would build up enough speed, and thus kinetic energy, which would cause bomb-like destruction on the ground below.
The concept was devised during the Cold War but has faced heavy criticism both logistically and scientifically.
However, it has certainly made its mark on science fiction, both appearing in and being referenced across many media, from TV to video games.
I worked at Tesla starting from 2017 thru 2021. I spent most of my time in the distribution and supply chain organizations in leadership positions.
Before Tesla, I was a Director of Business Intelligence and Pricing at the largest Pet Food & Supply distributor in the US, Phillips Pet Food & Supplies. My wife and I also owned a small business in Bethlehem, PA between 2016 and 2019.
I have been a shareholder of Tesla since 2012 and currently own Tesla stock. Nothing I say constitutes as investment or financial advice.
My thoughts are my own and are not representative of everyone who currently works, or has worked at Tesla, Phillips, or any other company or organization I discuss on this channel.
If you like this content I would greatly appreciate your likes and shares!
High-energy rechargeable batteries seemed impossible, until we made them. Sponsored by CodeRabbit. Cut code review time and bugs in half. Try CodeRabbit at https://coderabbit.link/veritasium
If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically – https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
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0:00 What’s inside a battery?
4:11 How does a battery work?
7:15 How did we increase battery power?
11:13 The first rechargeable lithium battery
13:29 The Tiny Needles That Kill Batteries
16:06 Goodenough? We can do better
20:07 The birth of the lithium-ion battery
27:10 Why do batteries explode?
29:31 Blowing up a battery
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A massive thank you to Dr Billy Wu, Dr Sam Cooper, Dr Derek Sui, Professor Magda Titirici, Dr Jingyu Feng, Dr Monica Marinescu, Li Ren Thow, Genlin Liu and Sam Riley; and to Professor Guillermo Rein, Dr Harry Mitchell, Hanna Berry, and Dr Nick Kalogeropoulos at Imperial College London for their invaluable contributions to this video. And a big thank you to Conrad Duncan for all his help in pulling everything together.
We’re incredibly grateful to Kurt Kelty and the team at General Motors for their time and expertise.
Thanks also go to Dr Yuzhang Li and Prof Jay Morton Turner for all their help on the project.
Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, Anton Ragin, armedtoe, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Ibby Hadeed, JT, Jeromy Johnson, Jon Jamison, Juan Benet, Keith England, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Matthias Wrobel, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Bush, Michael Krugman, Orlando Bassotto, Paul Peijzel, Richard Sundvall, Robert Oliveira, Sam Lutfi, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures, Walter Flinn, wolfee
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Writers: Emilia Gyles, Casper Mebius, Gregor Čavlović & Derek Muller
Producer & Director: Emilia Gyles
Editor: Trenton Oliver
Camera Operators: Tas Underwood, Emilia Gyles, Gregor Čavlović & Derek Muller
Animators: Andrew Neet, Emma Wright, Fabio Albertelli, Mike Radjabov & Rokas Viksraitis
Illustrators: Jakub Misiek, Maria Gusakovich, Isaac McRee, Nataly Zhuk & Kaitlyn Chille
Assistant Editor: James Stuart
Researchers: HyoJeong Choi, Aakash Singh Bagga & Gabe Strong
Thumbnail Designers: Ren Hurley, Ben Powell & Abdallah Rabah
Production Team: Rob Beasley Spence & Josh Pitt
Executive Producers: Derek Muller & Casper Mebius
Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Pond5
Music from Epidemic Sound
I worked at Tesla starting from 2017 thru 2021. I spent most of my time in the distribution and supply chain organizations in leadership positions.
Before Tesla, I was a Director of Business Intelligence and Pricing at the largest Pet Food & Supply distributor in the US, Phillips Pet Food & Supplies. My wife and I also owned a small business in Bethlehem, PA between 2016 and 2019.
I have been a shareholder of Tesla since 2012 and currently own Tesla stock. Nothing I say constitutes as investment or financial advice.
My thoughts are my own and are not representative of everyone who currently works, or has worked at Tesla, Phillips, or any other company or organization I discuss on this channel.
If you like this content I would greatly appreciate your likes and shares!
How a feud in Russia led to modern prediction algorithms.
👉 To try everything Brilliant has to offer for free for a full 30 days, visit https://brilliant.org/veritasium. You’ll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically – https://ve42.co/SnatomsV
▀▀▀
A huge thank you to Brian Hayes, David Aldous, Geoff Engelstein, Jeffrey Rosenthal, Jimmy He, Mark Priestley, Michael Choi, Peter Norvig, Sam Power, and Thomas Haigh for their invaluable expertise and contributions to this video.
And a special thank you to Madeline Johnson for her excellent fact-checking.
▀▀▀
0:00 The Law of Large Numbers
4:37 What is a Markov Chain?
9:43 Ulam and Solitaire
12:21 Nuclear Fission
15:46 The Monte Carlo Method
16:32 The first search engines
19:07 Google is born
25:16 How does predictive text work?
27:10 Are Markov chains memoryless?
29:41 How to perfectly shuffle a deck of cards
Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, Anton Ragin, armedtoe, Balkrishna Heroor, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Ibby Hadeed, JT, Jeromy Johnson, Jon Jamison, Juan Benet, Keith England, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Meekay, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Matthias Wrobel, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Bush, Michael Krugman, Orlando Bassotto, Paul Peijzel, Richard Sundvall, Robert Oliveira, Sam Lutfi, TTST, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures, wolfee
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Writers: Kaela Albert, Casper Mebius & Derek Muller
Producer & Director: Kaela Albert
Editors: Peter Nelson & Jack Saxon
Camera Operators: Gabe Strong, Gregor Cavlovic & Derek Muller
Animator: Andrew neet, Emma Wright, Fabio Albertelli & Ivy Trello
Illustrator: Caine Esperanzo, Jakub Misiek & Maria Gustanovich
Assistant Editor: James Stuart
Researchers: Darius Garewal, Gabe Strong & Emilia Gyles
Thumbnail Designers: Ren Hurley & Ben Powell
Production Team: Rob Beasley Spence, Casper Mebius, Sulli Yost and Henry Van Dyck
Executive Producers: Derek Muller & Casper Mebius
Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Pond5 and Storyblocks
Music from Epidemic Sound
The core allegation—that Jeffrey Epstein maintained deep, documented relationships with intelligence figures, potentially including Mossad—carries implications beyond victim justice. It suggests foreign entities could exert undue influence on US foreign policy, with Israel as the most probable actor given Epstein’s associations with Ehud Barak, Les Wexner, and Robert Maxwell’s alleged intelligence legacy. Former Mossad operative Ari Ben-Menashe has stated Epstein operated within Israeli intelligence circles, a claim echoed in reports from Vanity Fair and others, though denied by figures like Naftali Bennett. This creates strategic tension: if true, policy responsiveness to foreign governments risks national sovereignty, amplified by Epstein’s investments in surveillance tech like Carbyne.
I worked at Tesla starting from 2017 thru 2021. I spent most of my time in the distribution and supply chain organizations in leadership positions.
Before Tesla, I was a Director of Business Intelligence and Pricing at the largest Pet Food & Supply distributor in the US, Phillips Pet Food & Supplies. My wife and I also owned a small business in Bethlehem, PA between 2016 and 2019.
I have been a shareholder of Tesla since 2012 and currently own Tesla stock. Nothing I say constitutes as investment or financial advice.
My thoughts are my own and are not representative of everyone who currently works, or has worked at Tesla, Phillips, or any other company or organization I discuss on this channel.
If you like this content I would greatly appreciate your likes and shares!
Intelligence entanglements dictate what scandals surface and which remain buried, as evidenced by the Wall Street Journal’s release of Trump’s peculiar letter to Epstein—complete with a naked woman sketch—from Justice Department files. The timing aligns with Maureen Comey’s departure as a top Epstein and Maxwell prosecutor, fueling theories of tipped documents and Trump’s pivot to blaming her father, James Comey, for orchestrating hoaxes. Yet the Biden administration’s restraint underscores a deeper framework: disrupting ties with Israeli intelligence or the CIA carries outsized risks in an era of fragile geopolitical balances. For leaders like Biden or Trump, the cost-benefit analysis favors secrecy over exposure, even when evidence implicates peers.
I worked at Tesla starting from 2017 thru 2021. I spent most of my time in the distribution and supply chain organizations in leadership positions.
Before Tesla, I was a Director of Business Intelligence and Pricing at the largest Pet Food & Supply distributor in the US, Phillips Pet Food & Supplies. My wife and I also owned a small business in Bethlehem, PA between 2016 and 2019.
I have been a shareholder of Tesla since 2012 and currently own Tesla stock. Nothing I say constitutes as investment or financial advice.
My thoughts are my own and are not representative of everyone who currently works, or has worked at Tesla, Phillips, or any other company or organization I discuss on this channel.
If you like this content I would greatly appreciate your likes and shares!
