Dot Physics

Dot Physics is the channel of Rhett Allain, an undergraduate physics lecturer who also writes about physics for WIRED. He was previously the science advisor for the TV shows MythBusters and MacGyver.

Most videos are adapted from class lectures or work through a physics problem from start to finish. Topics include circular motion, energy, momentum, gravity and electromagnetism. Many videos also show how to model physics with simple Python code in Web VPython, a free tool that runs in a browser.

Some highlights include:

An electrodynamics lecture explaining why atoms cannot simply be tiny solar systems.

A Python simulation of circular motion as a step towards modelling the three-body problem.

A worked problem on swinging a bucket in a vertical circle, a classic mechanics question.

The channel has around 60,900 subscribers.

Solving problems and building numerical models are core skills in every branch of engineering. These videos show both, at a level close to A level and first year university physics. They suit students thinking about physics, mechanical or aerospace engineering who want to practise thinking like an engineer. The Python videos are particularly valuable, because computer modelling is how engineers test ideas before anything is built. Web VPython runs in a browser, so students can try the same models at home or at school. Working through the problems alongside the videos is good practice for exams and for the kind of thinking used on an engineering degree.