Richard Feynman Fire on HackerTube: recommended by 8 Hacker News commenters across 8 separate months, 2010–2023.
interview · evergreen
A short clip from a Richard Feynman interview in which he explains fire, describing how burning wood releases sunlight stored by the tree, which built itself mostly from air. It showcases his curiosity and plain-spoken explanations.
HN repeatedly cites it as an elegant, eye-opening explanation of fire and photosynthesis and as an example of Feynman's infectious love of knowledge.
“it's impossible to stay in any kind of negative mood if you watch Feynman”
14 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
▶ this video Feynman explains fire. I’m a big fan and believe his crude straight to the point style, coupled with an incredible ability to storytell is what made him special. I think it’s pure, genuine, curiosity and the intellectual capacity to understand the complexities.
in “Richard Feynman cut straight to the heart of complex ideas” · View on HN
Checkout this explanation of fire by Richard Feynman - its a really eye opening perspective ▶ this video He explains the light of a fire is just the light of the Sun, it's just been stored in the wood
in “GravityLight: Generate light with gravity” · View on HN
If anyone wants to know the answer to that question, Richard Feynman explains it wonderfully: (He starts talking about trees at 2:00, but his explanation of fire is equally elegant!) ▶ this video My first instinct was to say that a tree's mass comes from dead stars. Imagining how it got from those stars to the air that eventually becomes the tree would keep you busy for a while :D
in “Kids should be building rockets and robots, not taking standardized tests” · View on HN
I don't want to offend anyone but that article was extremely boring (I did end up reading it). I suppose I'd seen the Richard Feynman video on fire and trees quite recently beforehand and was in an intolerant mood. But it's impossible to stay in any kind of negative mood if you watch Feynman, his love of knowledge is just infectious. ▶ this video
in “The truth about cold water” · View on HN
Compare a bunch of chemical formulas and equations in this blog with Richard Feynman's explanation of fire: ▶ this video
in “What’s a fire and why does it burn? (2016)” · View on HN
> Wax is made of hydrogen and carbon. Too bad he doesn't explain where the energy in the wax came from like Feynman does when explaining fire: ▶ this video Paraffin wax is derived from petroleum, so like the wood in Feynman's explanation, the energy is from the sun via ancient photosynthesis.
in “Where does a candle go when it burns?” · View on HN
I thought this would be a link to a Richard Feynman video where he 'explains' fire. But it isn't, so here you go: ▶ this video
in “What’s a fire, and why does it burn?” · View on HN
I'd really like to hear Richard Feynman's answer. I'm sure if an 11 year old had asked the question, instead of a journalist, it would be the perfect answer. (I'm referring to an interview series with him: ▶ this video ) Makes me sad to think I will never meet this man, nor ever be as awesome.
in “What is a flame -- how would you describe it to an 11 year old?” · View on HN
Trees are renewable. The mass of a tree comes from the carbon it extracts from the air. [1] It's not a zero-sum, though. Why does my cilantro need to come in a plastic bag? At the farmer's market, it doesn't come packaged. [1] And, fire is basically reversing the process - releasing the sunlight that created the plant: ▶ this video
in “Ask HN: Comment here about whatever you're passionate about at the moment” · View on HN
This is an extremely difficult question that I've been grappling with myself. My first strategy is to create writings that can't be summarized. I try to make essays that are dripping with idiosyncrasy. I can't win in an information war, but I can stay competitive for ~10 years in a creative clash: [1] [link] [2] [link] [3] [link] [4] [link] [5] [link] I myself draw lots of my inspiration from my "sages of style", in the same way that AIs will try to replicate my voice. None of these great thinkers can be summarized or replicated in any meaningful way: [6] David Foster Wallace: [link] [7] George Carlin: [link] [8] Derek Sivers: [link] [9] John Green: [link] [10] Roman Mars: [link] [11] Alan Kay: [link] [12] Alan Watts: [link] [13] Richard Feynman: ▶ this video [14] Raymond Smullyan: [link] But style only takes you so far. My second strategy is to socialize IRL. This year, I'm starting a tech conference called "Outland" to foster community in an age where community might be all that matters. [15] [link]
in “Ask HN: How to protect blog from AI search?” · View on HN
I first learned the idea of fire as breaking molecular bonds formed during photosynthesis from a video snippet of Richard Feynman [1]. 1. ▶ this video
in “Why Combustion Is Exothermic” · View on HN
Related Explanation/Discovery : "But if you ask, where the substance comes from... the trees come out of the air?!" -Richard Feynman ▶ this video
in “Ask HN: How did people think plants worked before photosynthesis was discovered?” · View on HN
> I suspect it's not about transportation costs so much as ecology. The amount of biomass available to animals at the top of the food pyramid is inversely proportional to the height of the pyramid. Right on. The thing to remember here, is that, as Feynmann says, plants make themselves out of air ! < ▶ this video > (If you doubt, go back to your basic biology education and remember the formula for photosynthesis.) So a Mars colony's farms are basically chemical solar collectors doing two things: 1) providing chemical energy to the colonists (food) and 2) Converting Martian CO2 and water into biomass. If you introduce too many warm blooded animals into the system, a lot of your energy input gets wasted as livestock body heat. tldr - By going vegetarian at first, the Mars colony accumulates usable biomass faster.
in “Elon Musk: Vegetarians only on Mars colony” · View on HN
tldr - By going vegetarian at first, the Mars colony accumulates usable biomass faster. (Also, the "Up on the Farm" chapter of this book is a good background read for this discussion: [link] ) The thing to remember here, is that, as Feynmann says, plants make themselves out of air! < ▶ this video > Go back to your basic biology education and remember the formula for photosynthesis. < [link] > So a Mars colony's farms are basically chemical solar collectors doing two things: 1) providing chemical energy to the colonists (food) and 2) Converting Martian CO2 and water into biomass. If you introduce too many warm blooded animals into the system, a lot of your energy input gets wasted as livestock body heat. So by going vegetarian at first, the Mars colony accumulates usable biomass faster. The faster you accumulate biomass, the faster you can make more biomass. This is also the principle behind the tactic of mostly making construction vehicles at first in Starcraft, or concentrating early on customer acquisition in a startup.
in “Elon Musk: Vegetarians only on Mars colony” · View on HN