The world’s most astonishing science experiment, simply explained.
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On the border between France and Switzerland is the biggest science experiment humanity has ever built. Over a 100 meters underground, there’s a tunnel 27 kilometers long in a big loop under nearby homes, businesses, and farms. Inside that tunnel, scientists built a blue tube big enough to crawl through, and inside that tube, they put two pipes that they keep colder and emptier than outer space. Down those pipes, they fire particles smaller than atoms in opposite directions…. and push them faster and faster… until when they’re almost at the speed of light… they SMASH TOGETHER.

This underground particle-smasher is also known as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. It took thousands of scientists from over nearly 100 different countries $5 billion dollars and 30 years to plan and build. 

My question is: Why? Why did they do that??? Why spend so much money and time to smash particles underground?  And now… why do so many scientists say what we really need to do is build… a BIGGER one?

To answer those questions, we’re going on a journey all the way to Switzerland, to the particle smasher itself! And you’re never going to see yourself or the world around you the same way… 

Chapters: 
0:00 What’s happening at CERN?
1:31 What is the Large Hadron Collider?
2:32 How did they build the Large Hadron Collider?
3:43 How small is a proton?
4:51 How do they get protons to hit each other??
6:43 Why build this?
7:43 What happens when particles smash together?
8:47 What are elementary particles?
9:37 What is the Higgs Boson?
10:46 What did they find??
11:33 Why does this matter?
12:52 Why build a bigger collider?
13:48 What is the Future Circular Collider?
14:56 What else could we build?
15:56 Who do we want to be?

You can find me on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram 
On TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram 
Or on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/cleoabram 

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. 

Additional reading and watching:
- “Inside the World's Largest Science Experiment,” by Dianna Cowern, Physics Girl: https://youtu.be/nrXhK3Gh5EE?si=q_RO3o6kxRgZ5-rv 
- “The Higgs Boson, Part I,” by Minute Physics: https://youtu.be/9Uh5mTxRQcg?si=JmwGWKhQhRkTmOyN 
- “The Higgs boson at 10 years,” by Dr Clara Nellist (one of our wonderful experts in this video!): https://youtu.be/71aIQCeCW6c?si=MkxAAFQq_TdQlIpg 
- “The Large Hadron Collider beam pipe: everything you didn't know you wanted to know,” by Dr Clara Nellist: https://youtu.be/KoTdC3xfDwo?si=vxOWdSsnEsm_Ijfc 
- “The Higgs Discovery Explained - Ep. 1” by CERN: https://youtu.be/so2nCu2Jkbc?si=PQWjk699GzgtoLTM 
- “The Higgs Discovery Explained - Ep. 2” by CERN: https://youtu.be/pW4LTunlXS4?si=famTTom1oEls32aR 
- “The Higgs Discovery Explained - Ep. 3” by CERN: https://youtu.be/8-WFBGCvv-w?si=lpOOFj6bIcH4UYxg 
- “Seeing the Smallest Thing in the Universe,” by Dianna Cowern, Physics Girl: https://youtu.be/6IeeshkVATY?si=pWeDDCXBQyyE51i2 

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/ 

Gear I use: 
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro

Music: Musicbed, Tom Fox

Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1

—
Welcome to the joke down low:

Why did the Higgs Field get invited to church?
They wanted to have mass.

Find a way to use “mass” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who made it to the end of the description :)

What's Really Happening At CERN

When can you and I fly faster than sound?
The first 100 people to use code CLEOABRAM with the link below will get 60% off of Incogni: http://incogni.com/cleoabram

Twenty years ago, you could fly in a plane going FASTER THAN SOUND. The famous Concorde supersonic plane could get from New York to London in 3 and a half hours! It flew at an altitude so high you could see the curve of the earth, all while popping champagne. But then… these planes stopped flying, and we never made any more like them. Now, New York to London takes 7 hours.

But why? What happened to supersonic planes? And more importantly… can we bring them BACK? If you ask NASA, the answer is yes. We got to go see the brand new experimental X-59 plane they’re building. Here’s what’s really huge if true: If NASA succeeds, it could bring back commercial supersonic flight, and allow you and I to fly faster than sound.

If you want to know more about the rise and fall of the Concorde, I highly recommend Concorde Captain Mike Bannister’s book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/447541/concorde-by-bannister-mike/9781405951920 

Chapters: 
00:00 What happened to supersonic planes?
01:45 How fast is supersonic?
02:21 What is NASA’s X-59 plane?
03:23 How does a supersonic plane work?
05:30 What is a sonic boom?
06:50 How loud is a sonic boom?
07:20 What happened to the Concorde?
08:58 How does the X-59 work?
10:04 How do we bring back supersonic planes?
11:12 When can I fly supersonic?
13:44 Why is supersonic flight huge if true?
15:00 Something extra :)

Additional reading and watching:
- “Concorde” by Captain Mike Bannister: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/447541/concorde-by-bannister-mike/9781405951920 
- NASA’s X-59 Quesst Mission: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/quesst/ 
- Going Supersonic with Smarter Every Day: https://youtu.be/p1PgNbgWSyY?si=q1zJoAfKPN6xpp_r 
- This plane could cross the Atlantic in 3.5 hours. Why did it fail? By Phil Edwards at Vox: https://youtu.be/a_wuykzfFzE?si=oOijNpJB7yLKC_O4 
- The sonic boom problem, TED-Ed: https://youtu.be/JO4_VHM69oI?si=0cP3rgGroiclWkn0 
- Supersonic Planes Are Coming Back, by Wendover Productions: https://youtu.be/4p0fRlCHYyg?si=f3Q5kO3790C60VaU 
- The Insane Engineering of the Concorde, by Real Engineering: https://youtu.be/hnrpXxbVhME?si=WI06mjMU2CEMvbS5
- Exclusive look at NASA's low-boom supersonic plane, by CNET: https://youtu.be/hcHW1LZrzI0?si=nHYirVJQidoWL301 

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. 

You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram 
You can find me on Instagram here for more personal stories: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram 
You can find me on Twitter here for thoughts, threads and curated news: https://twitter.com/cleoabram 

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/ 

Gear I use: 
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM and 35mm prime
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX
Music: Tom Fox and Musicbed

Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1

—
Welcome to the joke down low:

What happens to a bad airplane joke?
It doesn’t land.

Use the word “land” in a comment to tell me you’re a real one who read to the end… :)

NASA Is Bringing Supersonic Planes BACK

A group of scientists just resurrected extinct molecules from Neanderthals using AI. Yeah. It's called "molecular de-extinction" and it's all very Jurassic Park. My question was: Why?? Here's the answer... 

If you'd like to learn more, check out the scientific article by searching this number: doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2023.07.001
"Molecular de-extinction of ancient antimicrobial peptides enabled by machine learning"

And if you like optimistic science and tech stories, subscribe for more!

#shorts #sciencefacts #science #tech #discovery #stem

Scientists Just Resurrected These Extinct Molecules

Can computers….smell? Apparently, yes, and almost as well as humans can!
A company spun out from Google Research used machine learning to train a computer on 5,000 molecules whose smell has been well-documented. It learned connections between molecular structure and odor, then created a map to show the connection between the two. Here's what happened when they put it to the test... 

If you enjoyed this video, you might love this longer episode on AI versus human referees: https://youtu.be/IMbBxMrIFjQ?si=MiVBU-b_EvnrPWin

If you want to support optimistic technology stories, subscribe for more!

#shorts #stem #tech #AI #machinelearning #science

Can Computers Smell? (YES)

Are AI referees ruining sports? Or making them better?
Check out Storyblocks and sign up here for great footage: https://storyblocks.com/cleoabram 

Subscribe to support optimistic tech content: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1

If you’re watching the 2023 US Open, you’re seeing automated referee calls. After years of controversy about human accuracy, tennis has used a system called Hawkeye to not only check human calls… but now to replace human referees. And this robot ref revolution isn’t just happening in tennis. It’s taking over the sports world. Soccer, basketball, baseball, they are all using machines to improve the calls being made on the field. The World Cup in particular has invested in these tools, from VAR (video assistant referee) to semi-automated offside and goal-line technology.

The stakes are high. The difference between a right or wrong call can be a championship, or millions of dollars in prizes, endorsements, ticket sales. For the most part, fans like tech that makes calls more objective. HOWEVER… there is a big chunk of sports fans who would strongly disagree, who think that robot refs are ruining the game. 

Thing is, this tech isn’t going back in the bottle! Stadiums are now being decked out with dozens of cameras that can track balls, people, and even use AI to make calls so accurate that one day human refs might be a thing of the past…

Chapters: 
00:00 How tennis started a robot ref takeover
00:50 Soccer, basketball, and baseball automating refs
01:53 High tech World Cup balls
02:17 Semi-automated offsides technology
02:58 Video assistant referee (VAR)
04:25 Why some fans HATE robot referees
05:17 Do these tools remove human nuance?
06:27 Why some fans LOVE robot referees
07:02 How Hawkeye works in tennis
07:40 NBA and MLB announcements
08:14 Why these tools are huge if true

I talked about this episode with @mkbhd on the @Waveform podcast here: https://youtu.be/fmIvzU115y0?si=4FbSeNZFU4sAOBER

You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram 
You can find me on Instagram here for more personal stories: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram 
You can find me on Twitter here for thoughts, threads and curated news: https://twitter.com/cleoabram 

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. 

Additional reading and watching:
- Semi-automated offside technology, FIFA: https://www.fifa.com/technical/football-technology/football-technologies-and-innovations-at-the-fifa-world-cup-2022/semi-automated-offside-technology 
- Video assistant referee, FIFA: https://www.fifa.com/technical/football-technology/football-technologies-and-innovations-at-the-fifa-world-cup-2022/video-assistant-referee-var 
- The TRUTH behind Hawk Eye Accuracy, by Cult Tennis: https://youtu.be/ot3GGJ3tWbw?si=0XJTbjkEFODD-aZV
- How the World Cup’s AI instant replay works, by Vox: https://youtu.be/C164kYMGV1A?si=ataWZyJ2jsWYf4Ql
- Breaking down Goal-Line Technology, by FIFA: https://youtu.be/m17ERc-kQhQ?si=R80YH_7U81n8I_SX
- Automated Line Calls Will Replace Human Judges at U.S. Open, New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/sports/tennis/us-open-hawkeye-line-judges.html
- At the U.S. Open, line judges are out. Automated calls are in., NPR: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/10/1121801484/us-open-tennis-human-line-judges-replaced 
- Hawk-Eye Innovations and MLB Introduce Next-Gen Baseball Tracking and Analytics Platform: https://pro.sony/ue_US/press/hawk-eye-mlb-tracking 
- NBA to use Hawk-Eye tracking system to follow players and ball, ESPN: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35818363/nba-use-hawk-eye-tracking-system-follow-players-ball 
- The World Cup’s new high tech balls: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kTNoXCP77Fo 
- Worst line calls and umpire decisions in Tennis: https://youtu.be/IsyXG8Xhcsg?si=CRSXqFf_m9JseWCB 

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/ 

Gear I use: 
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM and 35mm prime
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX

Music: Musicbed

Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1

—
Welcome to the joke down low:

What do you serve but never eat?

… Tennis balls.

Use the word “serve” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who read to the end :)

Why Human Referees are Getting Replaced

... And it might change YouTube, too. So @mkbhd and I tested it out.
Check out Storyblocks and sign up here for great footage: https://storyblocks.com/cleoabram 

Watch MKBHD's video: https://youtu.be/RM7SobH8ZO0
Subscribe to MKBHD: https://www.youtube.com/mkbhd 

Subscribe to Huge If True to support optimistic tech content: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1

I’ve been obsessed with sci-fi movies since I was a kid. I love being transported to another world. But lately, I’ve been wondering: How do those worlds look so… REAL? The tech behind movies has exploded in complexity and realism, changing how stories come to life on screen.

Luckily, at the same time, those tools are becoming more and more available to more people telling stories. It’s not just blockbusters like Avatar 2 or Avengers or Dune. It’s also smaller budget films like Everything Everywhere All at Once or even… YouTube creators?

In this video, Marques Brownlee and I test out 3 movie-making tools that are changing how movies, shows, and maybe even YouTube videos (??) get made. We’re at ZeroSpace Studios in New York to show you how each of these crazy technologies work - and how you might be able to use them. Along the way, we hit big questions like: What is the future of video? Can actors stop aging? Can WE? Do you care if an actor has a digital double? Should the audience choose where the camera goes? Most of all, what we discover is a new world of video creation, hopefully open to more and more people’s creativity.

Chapters: 
00:00 How do movies look so real?
1:18 The future of green screen?
3:31 The problem with green screen
4:33 How was The Mandalorian filmed?
6:11 How to shoot two scenes AT ONCE
8:39 How motion capture works
10:06 Why was Avatar 2 filmed underwater?
11:05 What happens if you can be... anyone?
13:51 What is volumetric video?
15:33 What's the future of video?

Thank you to the entire team who helped make this video possible! They are:
From ZeroSpace:
- Creative Director: Kevin Peter He
- Head of Research: Evan Clark
- Technical Director: Eric Chang
- Producer: Elena Piech
- Mocap Operator: Sammy Sords
- Mocap Asst./ PA: Kimani Reid
- Disguise Asst. / PA: Omar Jones
- 3D Modeler: Maya Lila
- CEO: Jon Kreutzer
- CTO: James Tunick
From 4Wall Entertainment (a joint partnership on the XR/ICVFX Stage):
- VP of Special Projects: Ben Danielowski
- VP of Special Projects: Mathew Leland
- L1: Zach Sager
From Scatter Depthkit (a joint partnership on the volumetric video):
- CEO & Co-Founder of Scatter, creators of Depthkit: James George
- Lead Technical Producer: Cory Allen
From Cause + Christi Immersive XR Design:
- Co-Founder: Austin Caine
- Co-Founder: Christi Fenison
From Scheimpflug:
- Photogrammetry Lead: Joachim Pfefferkorn

You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram 
You can find me on Instagram here for more personal stories: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram 
You can find me on Twitter here for thoughts, threads and curated news: https://twitter.com/cleoabram 

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. 

Additional reading and watching:
- ZeroSpace Studios: https://www.zerospace.co/ 
- Scatter Depthkit Volumetric Video: https://www.depthkit.tv/
- Cause + Christi: Immersive XR Design: https://causechristi.com
- Quantum Computers, explained with MKBHD (our previous collab!): https://youtu.be/e3fz3dqhN44  
- Avatar Scenes Without CG, The Things: https://youtu.be/Cimy6T1nczw 
- Why 'The Mandalorian' Uses Virtual Sets Over Green Screen, Insider: https://youtu.be/Ufp8weYYDE8 
- VFX Artists React to Avatar 2 CGi (ft. Weta FX), Corridor Crew: https://youtu.be/c4Gd0bR2kb4 
- Did We Just Change Animation Forever? Corridor Crew (I love Corridor Crew): https://youtu.be/_9LX9HSQkWo 
- Why volumetric video matters, by James George: https://medium.com/@obviousjim/expressing-our-true-likeness-in-the-metaverse-with-volumetric-video-8ed3bea7c6d0 

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/ 

Gear I use: 
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM and 35mm prime
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX

Music: Musicbed

—
Welcome to the joke down low:

What do you call security guards at Samsung stores?
Guardians of the Galaxy.

Use the word “galaxy” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one :)

This Tech Will Change Movies Forever

Quantum computers aren’t what you've been told.
Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/CLEO - Enter promo code CLEO for 83% off and 3 extra months free!

Subscribe to support optimistic tech content (and see the next episode with MKBHD!): https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram

Subscribe to Marques here: https://www.youtube.com/mkbhd 

You’ve heard about quantum computers. Maybe you’ve seen the “race for quantum supremacy” between governments and companies, or read that quantum computers will break all encryption, or heard terms like “qubits” or “superposition” or “quantum mechanics” in a confusing tv segment. But you might be wondering… what does a quantum computer actually DO? And how could it actually affect my life?

@mkbhd and I had the same questions. Marques and I both realized quantum computing was this big important technology… that we didn’t really understand. So we decided to go on an adventure to learn the truth about quantum computers. And we're taking you with us, to show you what we learn as we learn it. But more importantly, to show you how these crazy computers might actually impact YOUR life... sooner than you think.

Chapters: 
00:00 What is a quantum computer?
02:00 Why is quantum computing important?
04:00 The Quantum Video Game analogy
06:33 Thank you Surfshark!
07:40 What does a quantum computer look like?
09:38 How does a quantum computer work?
12:00 What is a quantum computer good for?
13:21 Will quantum computers break all encryption?
15:22 What's the future of quantum computing?
16:27 Updating the Quantum Video Game analogy

You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram 
You can find me on Instagram here for more personal stories: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram 
You can find me on Twitter here for thoughts, threads and curated news: https://twitter.com/cleoabram 

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. 

Additional reading and watching:
- For more from the IBM team, I love the Qiskit YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@qiskit
- Quantum Physics: What Everyone Needs to Know by Michael G. Raymer https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/35498912
- Totally Random, Why Nobody Understands Quantum Mechanics by Tanya Bub and Jeffrey Bub (a comic about quantum mechanics!) https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/36642373
- How Quantum Computers Break The Internet... Starting Now by Veritasium https://youtu.be/-UrdExQW0cs 
- Quantum Computers Explained – Limits of Human Technology by Kurzgesagt https://youtu.be/JhHMJCUmq28 
- Quantum Computers, Explained With Quantum Physics by Quanta Magazine https://youtu.be/jHoEjvuPoB8
- The Map of Quantum Computing by Domain of Science https://youtu.be/-UlxHPIEVqA 

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/ 

Gear I use: 
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM and 35mm prime
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX

Music: Musicbed

Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1

—
Welcome to the joke down low:

There are 3 types of people in this world:
Those who understand quantum computing
Those who do not understand quantum computing
And those who both simultaneously do and do not understand quantum computing ;)

Use the word “type” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who read to the end!