This weird metal is insanely bouncy

It feels like a glitch in the matrix. The sponsor is KiwiCo: Get 50% off ANY crate kiwico.com/stevemould50

Hello Steve! Wow, what a great video! 👏 I'm a researcher, and I'm coincidentally finishing my PhD in this research field. We used to call it Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMGs), or just metallic glasses, as you mentioned. In all these years that I've been studying this field, your way was one of the most interesting to present the public that I've ever watched. I'm so happy to see something I study being presented so well to so many people due to the high visibility of your channel! It made my day! You commented on the possibility of someone sending you spheres also made of metallic glass (and yes, you are correct, it would be the ideal way to maximize the bounce time). In the laboratory where I work, we usually produce several amorphous metal alloys, the biggest difficulty is only in the spherical shape, since to get an amorphous structure, as you said, we need a certain cooling rate, and that's why we suck our samples to a chilled mold. I am already in contact with my advisor, so that we can study the possibility of producing this type of spherical samples and send them to you! Hope this message reaches you! (Help me with a like guys!)

Ah! You should've tested the smaller ball bearings again in the vacuum tube, as they were most affected by air resistance.

I can say from personal experience that a steel screw dropped onto a tile floor has a coefficient of restitution of at least 1, and this coefficient value is proportional to the rarity and cost of the screw.

As an engineer we call the balls ball bearings and the assembly simply a bearing. As a bearing consists usually of an inner and outer bearing run with the bearings working between being ball bearings needle bearings tapered bearings ect.

That was really cool. This has made me want to try and make one of these... If I succeed, I'll send you one!

it took a lot of balls to make this video. well done!

Perhaps someone else has mentioned this but I noticed that no where in the video did you mention the sound itself as an energy leak. When you created the vacuum test, the sound was quite apparent meaning that each bounce sent a compression wave through the metal disk, then the base metal cylinder, then the brick, then the metal plate, then the air gap, then the microphone. That has to be a major loss of energy, possibly more that any from air resistance.

The sound during the vacuum test is a really good illustation of energy lost through the materials when it bounces

I love the bit where the bounces per second matches up with the frame rate and it looks like it’s floating.

Grand illusions is a real one for loaning you that

As a mechanic without an engineering degree, I'm curious if temperature would have an effect? Would heating or cooling either the materials of the bearing and the impact plate or the air within the glass column make a measurable change? Also as a mechanic who deals with bearings in the field and not a lab, would impurities (finger oils or dust) affect results? I've dealt with bearings that a dirty finger print would affect it's performance, although that is probably more a rotational force.

The brick was interesting. I 3D print and have seen people using stone tiles as a base to stand their printers on, then on a table. The stone slab either absorbs the vibrations or simply keeps them in the machine, more or less, which reduces vibrational noise during operation. I guess this video indirectly answered my curiosity how that even works :D

Steve, Little tip of advice from an audio engineer. If you ever find yourself needing to count the peaks of a audio waveform again. Save your time and eyes, Look up Dynamic Splitting. You essentially set a threshold above the noise floor and it will detect any transients (peaks) above your setting and then splits them all. Resulting in each transient being its own audio "file". Highlight all files and see how many you have selected, or a good Slicer will tell you how many transients are detected before actually splitting for you.

Grand Illusions is such a gem, it warms my heart to see you guys team up in any way!

I've never been so sincerely interested in a bouncing ball before

This is insanely fun to watch. Great explanations.

I love grand illusions! Tim's channel is so positive. It's always pleasant when things I follow collide

to count all but the audio rate bounces, you can use audacity’s sound finder feature (i think that’s what it’s called, and it’s in one of the last three menus). it creates labels which are numbered in a separate label track. you can also slow the audio down and then run the sound finder, to give it an easier time finding the bounces.

I feel like I learn more and tire less, watching Steve than anyone I have ever listened to. Supremely fascinating! Kudos to Mehdi as well!