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Materials science: videos Hacker News recommends
Materials: metals, alloys, ceramics, composites, transparent wood, semiconductors materials, superconductors, nanotechnology, crystals, fabrication of new materials, strength of materials. Below: every video in this topic that at least three HN users linked with real commentary, in at least three different months (22 demos, 8 explainers, 5 tutorials), best-scored first, with the comments on each video page.
- 12 HN recommenders 10 months 2010–2024T The Qualcomm Institute · talkRecommended for years as the best technical introduction to memristors from the person who found the physical device.
- 10 HN recommenders 7 months 2024–2026HN recommends it as a gripping story of single-minded persistence against the herd, and as the back story behind modern LED lighting.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2023–2026HN points to it as an impressive, hands-on DIY demonstration of passive radiative cooling that works in practice.
- 4 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2023Strongly recommended as a mind-bending, approachable explanation of aperiodic patterns, even enjoyable with kids.
- 5 HN recommenders 4 months 2023–2026It comes up whenever radiative cooling coatings are in the news, as a hands-on DIY guide that shows the approach working with household materials.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2022–2025HN points to it as a practical, well-researched DIY demonstration of passive radiative cooling.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2015–2024C Christopher Roy · documentaryRecommended as an amazing documentary of traditional ironmaking, often used as a baseline for the labor required.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2013–2024Recommended across Prince Rupert's drop and glass threads for its striking high-speed footage.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2011–2025A Alexander Budde · demoHN brings it up as a nostalgic, exciting concept in threads on foldable phones and design, and sometimes as an example of concept videos that never shipped.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2019–2021S School of Convergence Science · talkHN brings it up in energy storage threads as a promising scalable grid storage technology, and calls it worth the hour.
- 4 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2024HN recommends it as a highly informative look at micro-etching glass and the smallest Tesla valves.
- 4 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2024HN recommends it as a clear, balanced answer to claims that Roman concrete was better than ours.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2025–2026Commenters send it to people asking how engines survive such temperatures, and call it fascinating and worth watching.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2018–2023Commenters link it as an approachable explanation of concrete basics in threads about Roman concrete, construction and sand supply.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2017–2022Recommended as a hands-on introduction to glass melting and chemistry and to Krasnow's channel.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2012–2019C Corning Incorporated · videoReferenced as an inspiring example of a vision-of-the-future video with believable everyday uses.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2023Commenters recommend it for the striking glass-shattering visuals and the artist's attitude of treating failure as a space for discovery.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2017–2023P purgatoryironworks · demoHN commenters use it as a quick, hands-on demonstration that steel loses strength well below its melting point.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2020–2024HN recommends it as a hands-on introduction to XRF and a fascinating teardown showing the x-ray tube and beryllium windows.
- 3 HN recommenders 2 months 2019–2024Commenters point to it whenever 3D-printed metal parts come up, as a clear explanation of why they have poor fatigue life and material defects.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2020–2024HN recommends it as an informative and entertaining look at how uranium glass is actually made.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2015–2025Used as an example of Applied Science pushing the limits of garage engineering, in DIY microscope threads.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2022–2023Recommended as a fantastic, scientist-led explanation of snowflake formation.
- 2 HN recommenders 1 months 2020–2022HN commenters cite it as proof that cutting-edge biotech is becoming accessible to home labs, much like computing in the 1980s.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2015–2026HN points to it when discussing nanobots and microscale physics, including how things behave at tiny scales.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2017–2023Cited in Prince Rupert's drop threads as the best high-speed footage of a bullet hitting one.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2014–2023R Roscket Tasartir · demoCited as a striking, counterintuitive example of extreme thermal insulation and hard materials science.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2023–2025HN commenters link it for electron micrographs of fresh versus worn bristles when toothbrush wear comes up.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2023–2024HN mentions it as a fascinating example of chemistry persistence and as something people learned from, such as discovering purple gold exists.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2020–2024HN points to it whenever gallium or liquid metal comes up, as a vivid demonstration of gallium destroying aluminum.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2013–2025I IBM · demoCited as a striking example of atom-level manipulation and STM imaging, including the ripples viewers ask about.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2021–2023HN points to it in superconductor and LK-99 threads as evidence that YBCO can be made in a modest home lab.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2020–2021Linked as the go-to hands-on demonstration of how transparent wood is made and why scaling it to large pieces is hard.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2017–2024G Geopolymer Institute · demoHN brings it up as an alternative, fringe theory about pyramid construction, with one commenter saying it was proved by demonstration and analysis.
- cited 3× 0 months 2019–2023C Corning Incorporated · demoPointed to for nice demonstrations of bendable glass, though commenters note it feels like an infomercial.
- cited 3× 0 months 2017–2025HN cites it as the go-to high-speed footage whenever Prince Rupert's drops come up.
- cited 5× 0 months 2020–2024S Santa Cruz Bicycles · demoUsed as evidence that carbon wheels and rims are far tougher than their fragile reputation suggests.
- cited 7× 0 months 2012–2023A Association of Science and Technology Centers · demoLinked in superconductivity and levitation threads as the canonical quantum locking demo.
- cited 4× 0 months 2023–2024Cited as a reference for magnet safety, eddy currents and superconductor levitation in physics threads.
- cited 9× 0 months 2017–2024N NOVA PBS Official · demoCited repeatedly as a quick visual demonstration that solid-state or polymer batteries can survive abuse without igniting.
- cited 3× 0 months 2014–2025I IBM · documentaryHN commenters link it as the making-of companion to IBM's atom stop-motion film.
- cited 3× 0 months 2015–2023S Sidewinder77 · demoShared as a visualization of Ralph Merkle's theoretical work on molecular manufacturing.
Questions
What is the most recommended materials science video on Hacker News?
Finding the Missing Memristor - R. Stanley Williams by The Qualcomm Institute: Recommended for years as the best technical introduction to memristors from the person who found the physical device.
How is this materials science list ranked?
By HackerTube's score: the number of distinct months in which an HN comment recommended the video, plus half a point for every month with a strong recommendation. One viral thread counts less than steady recommendations over years.
Where do the videos come from?
From every Hacker News comment between 2007 and 2026 that linked a YouTube video, labeled by an AI model as a recommendation, a citation, a joke or a criticism. The list is published by HackerTube under ODC-By 1.0; this edition adds indexable pages and the comment context.
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.