(rock music)
(indistinct radio chatter)
(planes whoosing)
- One of our US Battle Ships is stranded,
drifting into enemy territory.
Wood and Payback need assistance against four, make that five,
enemy aircraft.
- Are you gonna respond? They need our help.
(dramatic music)
- We may be outnumbered, but you're the best of the best.
- We need to get out there and help them before they're all dead, Vsauce3.
- Hi, I'm Jake and before I found myself in a...
high-stakes dog fight while questioning my abilities,
I had two loves in my life: science and movies.
So I decided to put myself in one of my favourite films,
to find out if you could survive the physics of flight
and Newton's three laws of motion.
Since I've joined the academy, I've taken my body
to its limits and also, I'm suffering from a severe emotional breakdown
after my Maverick ways cost me the life of someone very close to me.
- Come on, man, get your head out of the clouds.
- I'll try to pull it together...
while figuring out if you could survive...
the extreme limits of G-force,
defying the laws of gravity and breaking the sound barrier
with just your body.
(beeping)
(explosion)
- Who's been hit?
- Could you survive...
Top Gun?
(rock music)
(indistinct chatter)
- I could out-fly anyone of you clowns.
- Keep it in your cockpit, Woody.
(chuckling)
- Nice. Yo, Jay, catch.
- Uh, Jay Ellis.
What are you doing here? - I really enjoyed
learning how to fly while I was making the movie,
I really wanna know more. You know what they say,
knowledge is power. - Cool, cool.
You can learn all you want,
but you're not gonna beat me, Jay
- The call sign is Payback.
Vsauce... what is that, a three?
Like third?
- Oh, come on, fellas, let's make nice.
We're the best science pilot in the whole country.
Here to fly planes, sing in bars, make bets--
- Ahem.
- You are the top 1 % EduTubers aviators.
The best of the best.
But we're gonna make you better.
You will compete against one another
in science combat missions.
And whoever comes out on top,
will get their picture up on that wall.
Actually it's the wall past that one, just down the corner.
You get down some stairs, through the bathrooms,
that-- Okay, look, anyway,
we will teach you to fly right to the edge.
But first, you've got to get it in the air.
But that's simple.
Or is it?
- Or is it?
I'm gonna get my photo on that wall.
- You think you can do this on your own?
Be my guest.
- So, the basics of flight.
Everything that it takes to get an enormous hunk of metal
into the air and keep it there,
while gravity tries to bring it back to the ground,
can be described by Newton's three Laws of Motion.
But I think there's a more appropriate place to demonstrate this.
(rhythmic music)
The first law states that an object in motion
stays in motion until acted upon.
Gravity and drag are two forces constantly acting on the plane.
So to stay in motion, the plane requires thrust
to counteract them.
In a jet, if thrust and drag are equal,
the aircraft has a constant speed.
But if thrust is increased,
that is acceleration.
Bringing us to Newton's second law,
which states that the acceleration of an object
is connected to two things: force and mass.
A forceful arm is enough to accelerate the ball,
but what pushes a plane forward?
Aircraft turbines taking air at the front,
compress it and inject fuel into it.
Then ignite it to heat up the air.
That hot air then gets released out of the back,
and produces enough force to accelerate the mass of the plane forward
and into the air. Which brings us to Newton's third law.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
In this case, the hand hitting the volleyball
causes it to move away from the point of impact.
Soaring through the air, like a flying plane.
Speaking of which, there's an even cooler example
of this that is crucial for getting that plane in the sky.
And keeping it there.
On a plane, wings are actually angled to deflect air down.
Since the wings push down on the air,
the air pushes up on the wings.
This causes lift.
Keeping an airplane in the air,
even an enormously heavy jet.
- Vsauce3?
Game time.
- You know, Payback, I like to solve my problems in the air.
- Vsauce3 and Payback are tied.
And these final training missions will determine
the best science aviator.
- Today's the day I get my picture on that wall, Ducky.
- Hey, hey, don't get too cocky, Vsauce3.
At the end of the day, we're all on the same team.
(plane whooshing)
(indistinct shouting)
- Banking!
- We're turning way too fast,
we're generating too many Gs, we're gonna pass out!
- You know, that's actually pretty interesting.
Why do we feel such immense G-force when we're turning?
Let's find out. Banking!
(indistinct)
G-Force or gravitational force is a representation
of the weight that your body feels from thrust, turning
or gravity.
And you're actually experiencing Gs right now. One G
is what you experience right here on Earth,
when you're standing, that is 9.81 m/second square.
Now, how do you experience more? Well, there's rollercoaster,
there's fast cars,
but I want to experience even more than that.
Which is why I have this jet.
Engaging in extreme maneuvres,
the Blue Angels flight demonstration team is routinely
subjected to upwards of 7 Gs.
So flying along with them is the ideal way
to illustrate what happens to a human
when subjected to extreme Gs.
- Side note, I'm chewing gum because the pilots told me
it would help with nausea and equalizing my ears.
It didn't.
(rock music)
-
focusing on not passing out.
So I'm going to rely on an expert to explain what's happening.
The Blue Angels flight surgeon.
- In your body, Gs are all about your circulatory system.
So if you have an increase in G forces,
the blood all throughout your body, especially in your head,
where your brain and your eyes are, it's gonna start
to pull it down to your feet.
- When that pulling starts, that's about one to three Gs.
So the blood's gonna start draining out of your head.
- From about three to four Gs,
you're gonna actually start losing your vision.
- After five to six,
all the blood in your brain will pull down to your lower body.
And you pass out.
- Passing out is what we call: G-LOC.
So, Gravitational Loss Of Consciousness.
So in order to keep that pressure
and the blood pushed up into your brain,
you'll have to squeeze your body very tight,
starting from your lower body, working your way up.
- You're also gonna wanna do something called
the Hick maneuver.
With your voice, you're gonna say the word, "hick".
Which is gonna close your glottis
and the back of your throat,
to keep that blood pressure in your head.
(rock music)
- Almost...
Lock up, baby.
(beeping)
Lock up, baby!
Whoo!
- Payback's down,
you're one step closer to winning Top Gun.
- Yes!
We've got to preserve this moment for posterity.
Ah!
(chuckling)
Heads-up, fellas.
Oh, good to see you.
- Watch the birdie.
Jeez, I quack myself up.
- I win! Better luck next time.
Ah, I love taking that guy down.
- Yeah. Hey, hey! Put your mask on. Hypoxia could kill us!
- Nah, I mean, I know all about lack of oxygen, also,
we've got a little bit of time before hypoxia makes nme pass.
- Vsauce3? Vsauce3, your mask!
Your mask! No, no, no, no!
(beeping)
Engine one is out.
Engine two is out!
Mayday! Mayday! We're going down.
(dramatic music)
Oh, God. Oh, God.
Altitude is 7k, dropping fast.
We're in a spin. (beeping)
Vsauce3 is passed out.
Eject! Eject! Eject!
Ah!
(gentle music)
(groaning)
- Ducky, come on!
(panting)
Ducky...
(gentle music)
Tower, this is Ghostrider, requesting a fly-by.
- Negative, Ghostrider, the patter is full.
- I don't know, Vsauce3, this isn't a good idea.
- Sorry, Ducky, but it's time.
(whooshing)
(chuckling)
I feel the need...
(together): The need for speed!
- Whoo!
- Ahem.
- What's your problem? - You.
You're everyone's problem.
You may think that rules are guidelines,
but when you break the rules of science aviation,
someone gets hurt.
You're dangerous.
- Yeah, Payback.
I am dangerous.
- And cut!
(bell ringing)
- Jake, that was great.
Uh, I'm really getting that you feel terrible
about killing your best friend and you've lost your way.
But could you guys be a little more...
sweaty?
Alright, good. Let's go again.
- But when you break the rules of science aviation,
somebody gets hurt.
You're dangerous. - Yeah, Payback.
I am dangerous.
(indistinct)
(dramatic music)
- I don't care if you've lost your passion for science, Vsauce3,
as your commander, I order you to keep flying
the training mission.
This is your final training mission.
Payback has pulled into the lead.
But top honours are still...
- You alright, Vsauce3?
- I feel the need...
(Ducky's voice echoes):
- But should I?
- Vsauce3!
- To go supersonic, you need-- actually,
let me just show you what you need.
(rock music)
Supersonic literally means going faster than sound.
It's also known as breaking the sound barrier.
Which is really just pressure waves in the air
that pile up in front of a plane the faster it goes.
- That sonic boom you just heard occurs when an object,
in this case the plane,
travels faster than the sound waves it is generating.
The sound waves created by the plane
continue to pile up on top of one another.
Creating a path of super energetic sound waves.
Breaking through those sound waves creates
the sonic boom.
An interesting thing happens when you break the sound barrier.
People watching you will hear it,
but for you traveling it will be absolutely silent.
Because you're literally flying faster than the speed of sound.
I experienced first-hand that breaking the sound barrier in a jet
doesn't really affect your body.
But it got me thinking,
what happens to your body without that protection?
During safety tests in the 1960s,
airforce colonel John Stapp reached land speeds
in excess of a 1030 km/hour on a rocket sled.
That's the closest any human has reached on the ground
and without protection.
But because of what he did,
we can get a pretty good idea of what happens to your body
without protection.
Even when getting close to the sound barrier.
Colonel Stapp experienced multiple broken ribs,
fractured his wrist twice,
had the fillings ripped from his teeth,
and suffered bleeding in his retinas that caused
temporary blindness.
So it's best to do it in a jet.
- Vsauce3, this is no longer a training exercise.
We have five bogeys.
This is the real life.
You need to work together.
Do you copy, Vsauce3?
- Vsauce3?
- Copy.
(dramatic music)
Vsauce3 engaging.
I've got your six, Payback.
- Not a minute too soon, Vsauce3.
- Come on...
Lock up, baby.
(beeping) I've got you.
(explosion) - Yeah! Got 'em!
- That's what I'm talking about, baby!
- Here to make things dangerous, Payback.
- Vsauce3, bogey on your tail!
- I see him.
- What are you doing? We're slowing down!
- I'm gonna hit the brakes, he'll fly right by.
- You're gonna what?
- And there he goes.
Now, I've got you. Locking in.
(beeping)
(explosion) Splash two!
- Let's go!
- I've got one on my tail, Payback.
Get him off me.
(beeping)
(explosion)
- Splash one!
- The remaining bogeys are retreating.
(cheering)
- Yes! Yeah!
- Whoo!
- We're coming home.
- Whoo!
(dramatic music)
(cheering)
Come on, baby.
You!
You are still dangerous.
But you can be my science wingman anytime.
- No, Payback, you can be mine.
- Vsauce3.
Payback may have won the Top Gun trophy,
but with a demonstration like that, Jake,
you can have your choice of any duty.
What are you gonna do next?
- Well, sir, I was thinking about teaching others
the joys of science. - At Top Gun?
God help us.
- Yes, sir.
(gentle music)
And, as always,
thanks for watching.
This season on CYSTM...
(roaring)
(rhythmic music)
- Oh no.
Come get some!
Let's make my hypothermic.
Tear this body apart.
Oh!
(together): The need for speed!
(dramatic music)
- I don't think you're gonna survive this one.
Subtitling: difuze