What Happens to Marshmallows in a Vacuum? @MathAndScience

Updated September 2026, 1 day ago

What Happens to Marshmallows in a Vacuum?

Can Liquid Nitrogen Power a Heat Engine?

$Bananas are Radioactive! So How Many Can You Safely Eat? Bananas are naturally radioactive because they contain potassium, including a small fraction (about 0.012%) of the radioactive isotope potassium-40. This isotope decays very slowly over billions of years, emitting low levels of beta particles and gamma rays. A typical banana provides roughly 450 mg of potassium, resulting in about 15 radioactive decays per second from potassium-40. The radiation dose from eating one banana is extremely small, around 0.1 microsieverts, known as the Banana Equivalent Dose. This amount represents only about 1% of a persons average daily background radiation exposure and is far less than the dose from a single chest X-ray. Consuming an impossibly large number of bananas—millions at once—would be required to reach a dangerous radiation level, so bananas remain perfectly safe and healthy to eat.$

$The Burst You Usually Miss A popping water balloon is over almost instantly in real time, but slow motion turns that split second into something much more fascinating. What seems like a simple burst is actually a quick lesson in forces, motion, pressure, and the way water behaves when its container suddenly disappears. This short video explores the science behind that moment and why slowing it down makes the physics easier to appreciate. A water balloon holds water under tension, with the stretched material keeping everything contained. When that balance is broken, the shape, motion, and energy change rapidly. The result is a brief but striking example of how fluids respond when pressure and structure shift all at once. What makes this so interesting is that water does not simply “fall apart” the instant the balloon pops. It has mass, momentum, surface tension, and inertia, which all affect how it moves. Slow motion helps reveal the hidden physics inside an everyday moment that normally happens too fast to notice. For anyone curious about motion, pressure, fluids, or the surprising beauty of ordinary science, a popping water balloon is a perfect example of how much can happen in a fraction of a second. More Lessons: http://www.MathAndScience.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasonGibsonMath$