Math and physics can show up when you least expect

Zach Star
15 May 202007:49
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThis video explores the intricacies of animation and physics, highlighting Pixar's innovative approach to animating Merida's hair in 'Brave' using spring systems and core springs for realism. It delves into the challenges faced in animating characters like Hank from 'Finding Nemo' and the complex water effects in 'Moana'. The video also discusses the importance of understanding resonance, exemplified by the South Korean building incident and the Millennium Bridge, and the phenomenon of light concentration, as seen in the Vdara Hotel and London's 'death ray'. Sponsored by CuriosityStream, the video promotes the platform's vast library of documentaries and its current offer of a 40% discount on their annual plan.

Takeaways
  • 🎨 Pixar's animation process for 'Brave' involved using a spring system to model hair movement, which was later enhanced with core springs to achieve a more natural look.
  • πŸ€– The character Hank from Pixar was their most complex character to animate, taking about two years to perfect his movements.
  • 🌊 The water animation in 'Moana' was a significant challenge for Pixar's animators, requiring innovative techniques to achieve realism.
  • πŸš— In 'Cars', Pixar had to develop new rendering techniques to accurately depict the shiny surfaces of the cars.
  • πŸ‘» 'Monsters University' showcased advanced techniques in creating light and shadows, which are integral to the visual storytelling.
  • 🏒 A real-life incident in South Korea in 2011 demonstrated the concept of resonance, where the motion of 17 people doing Tae-Bo on the 12th floor caused a 39-story building to shake.
  • πŸŒ‰ The Millennium Bridge wobbled excessively due to the motion and distribution of people, which was later fixed by installing dampers to reduce vibrations.
  • 🏨 The Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas experienced a 'death ray' effect where the building's curved surface concentrated sunlight, causing extreme heat at the poolside area.
  • πŸ™οΈ The concave design of a building in London in 2013 caused light to concentrate onto the street below, leading to instances of cars melting and paint peeling off.
  • πŸ“š CuriosityStream offers a vast library of over 2,500 documentaries and nonfiction titles, including the 'Dream the Future' series focusing on future technologies and innovations.
  • πŸ’° CuriosityStream is currently offering a 40% discount on their annual plan due to stay-at-home measures, making it an affordable way to access a wide range of educational content.
Q & A

  • What is CuriosityStream and what does it offer?

    -CuriosityStream is a streaming service that offers over 2,500 documentaries and nonfiction titles for curious minds, covering a wide range of topics including physics, space, crime, forensics, history, and more.

  • How did Pixar's animators approach the animation of Merida's hair in the movie 'Brave'?

    -Pixar's animators used a spring system to model each hair as a spring, which would stretch and curl back upon release. To address issues with maintaining curl at high speeds and the unnatural bounce when increasing the spring constant, they added core springs or dampers internally to achieve a more natural look on-screen.

  • What is the significance of the 'spring constant' in the animation of hair in 'Brave'?

    -The spring constant is a measure of a spring's stiffness. In the context of 'Brave', increasing the spring constant helped to hold the hair's structure but resulted in less natural bounce. A balance was needed to achieve a realistic animation of hair movement.

  • Why was Sully from 'Monsters University' considered Pixar's most complex character to animate?

    -Sully was considered Pixar's most complex character to animate due to the challenges in getting him to move properly, which took about two years to complete. The complexity likely arose from the need to accurately depict his fur and movements.

  • What was the issue with the water animation in the movie 'Moana'?

    -The issue with the water animation in 'Moana' was that it proved to be difficult to animate, though the specific challenges are not detailed in the script. It required innovative techniques to achieve a realistic portrayal of water.

  • How did Pixar address the challenge of rendering the shininess of cars in the movie 'Cars'?

    -Pixar had to develop new rendering techniques to accurately depict the shininess of the cars in 'Cars', ensuring that the visual effect matched their creative vision.

  • What is resonance and how did it cause an incident in a South Korean building in 2011?

    -Resonance is a phenomenon where a small disturbance can cause significant effects if it occurs at the natural frequency of a system. In the South Korean incident, the small forces generated by people exercising on the 12th floor of a 39-story building amplified the building's vibrations, causing extreme shaking felt on the top floors.

  • What is the Millennium Bridge wobbling incident and how was it resolved?

    -The Millennium Bridge wobbling incident occurred when the bridge started to wobble excessively due to the motion and distribution of people on it. Engineers resolved the issue by installing dampers along the bridge to reduce vibrations.

  • What caused the 'death ray' effect at the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas?

    -The 'death ray' effect at the Vdara Hotel was caused by the hotel's curved surface, which acted like a parabolic reflector, concentrating sunlight onto the poolside area and raising temperatures significantly.

  • How did the 'Walkie Talkie' building in London cause issues similar to the Vdara Hotel's 'death ray'?

    -Similar to the Vdara Hotel, the concave design of the 'Walkie Talkie' building in London concentrated light onto the street below, causing temperatures to rise and leading to issues such as melting cars and peeling paint.

  • What is the promotional offer provided by CuriosityStream for new subscribers during the stay-at-home measures?

    -CuriosityStream is offering a 40 percent discount on their annual plan during the stay-at-home measures. By signing up with the provided link and using the promo code Zackstar, new subscribers can get a full year's access to CuriosityStream at a rate of $1 per month.

Outlines
00:00
🎨 Pixar Animation Techniques

This paragraph discusses the intricate animation process used by Pixar, focusing on the character Merida from the movie 'Brave'. It details how animators initially used a spring system to model each hair strand, which led to issues with maintaining curls at high speeds. To solve this, they introduced core springs or dampers to the hair model, which allowed for a more natural movement and bounce. The paragraph also touches on the challenges faced in animating complex characters like Hank from 'Finding Dory' and the technical hurdles in rendering water in 'Moana' and the shininess of cars in 'Cars'. It concludes with a teaser for a follow-up video on advanced techniques used in creating light and shadows in animations.

05:02
πŸ—οΈ Engineering Mishaps and Innovations

The second paragraph delves into real-world engineering stories that highlight the importance of understanding physics and structural dynamics. It begins with an incident in South Korea where residents of a 39-story building experienced shaking due to a group exercising on the 12th floor, illustrating the concept of resonance. The paragraph then discusses the Millennium Bridge incident and how dampers were installed to mitigate excessive wobbling caused by pedestrian movement. It also recounts the 'death ray' incident at the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas, where a curved building surface concentrated sunlight, causing unusually high temperatures. The paragraph concludes with a mention of a similar phenomenon in London, emphasizing the need for careful design consideration in architecture to avoid such issues.

Mindmap
Keywords
πŸ’‘CuriosityStream
CuriosityStream is an online video streaming service that offers a vast collection of documentaries and nonfiction titles. It is the sponsor of the video, which is a common practice where a company supports the creation of content in exchange for promotion. In the video, CuriosityStream is highlighted for its educational and entertaining content, particularly its 'Dream the Future' series that explores futuristic realities in various fields.
πŸ’‘Animation
Animation refers to the process of creating the illusion of motion and life in a sequence of images, which are then displayed so that they give the impression of continuous movement. In the context of the video, it discusses the complexities of animating characters, such as Merida from the Pixar movie 'Brave', with a focus on the innovative techniques used to animate her hair using physics-based modeling.
πŸ’‘Physics-based animation
Physics-based animation is a technique used in computer graphics to simulate the behavior of objects in the real world by applying the laws of physics. The video script describes how Pixar used this method to animate Merida's hair, initially with a spring system and later by incorporating core springs to simulate dampers, leading to a more realistic movement on screen.
πŸ’‘Spring system
A spring system in the context of animation is a metaphorical use of springs to represent hair or other flexible objects. The video explains that each hair strand was modeled as a spring, which behaves similarly to real hair by stretching and curling back upon release. This concept is crucial for understanding the simulation of hair movement in the movie 'Brave'.
πŸ’‘Spring constant
The spring constant is a measure of the stiffness of a spring, defined as the force needed to stretch or compress the spring by a certain distance. In the video, it is mentioned that increasing the spring constant helped maintain the hair's structure but affected its natural bounce, illustrating the delicate balance needed in animation to achieve realism.
πŸ’‘Resonance
Resonance is a phenomenon in physics where a system oscillates with greater amplitude at certain frequencies that match its natural frequency. The video script recounts an incident in South Korea where theε…±ζŒ― (resonance) of a building was caused by people exercising on the 12th floor, demonstrating how small forces can lead to significant structural vibrations if they match the natural frequency.
πŸ’‘Dampers
Dampers are devices used to reduce the amplitude of oscillations in mechanical systems. In the context of the video, they were installed on the Millennium Bridge to mitigate excessive wobbling caused by the motion and distribution of people. Dampers are essential in engineering to prevent resonance from causing structural damage.
πŸ’‘Parabolic reflectors
Parabolic reflectors are surfaces shaped like a parabola that reflect incoming parallel rays to a single focal point. The video describes how the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas had a curved surface that acted as a parabolic reflector, concentrating sunlight onto the poolside area and causing unusually high temperatures, illustrating the practical implications of this geometric property.
πŸ’‘Structural engineering
Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering focused on the design and maintenance of structures to ensure they can withstand various loads and forces. The video touches on several examples, such as the Tacoma bridge collapse and the issues with the Millennium Bridge and Vdara Hotel, highlighting the importance of understanding and applying principles of physics in structural engineering.
πŸ’‘Promotional offer
A promotional offer is a special deal or discount provided by a company to encourage new customers or increase sales. In the video, CuriosityStream offers a 40% discount on their annual plan during the stay-at-home measures, allowing viewers to access their content at a reduced rate of $1 per month, which is a strategy to attract and retain subscribers.
Highlights

Pixar's innovative approach to animating hair in the movie 'Brave' using a spring system and core springs to mimic realistic hair movement.

The complexity of animating Hank from 'Finding Nemo', which took about two years to perfect.

The challenges faced in animating water in the movie 'Moana'.

Innovative rendering techniques used in 'Cars' to achieve the desired shininess of the cars.

Advanced techniques in 'Monsters University' for creating realistic light and shadows.

The importance of programming in the laws of physics and advanced math for realistic animation effects.

A real-life incident in South Korea whereε…±ζŒ― caused by people exercising on the 12th floor led to building vibrations.

The concept of resonance and its impact on structures, as demonstrated by the Millennium Bridge wobbling incident.

The use of dampers to mitigate resonance issues in structures, as seen in the fixed Millennium Bridge.

The Tacoma bridge collapse as a cautionary example of resonance leading to structural failure.

The 'Death Ray of the Hotel' incident in Las Vegas where a building's curved surface concentrated sunlight, causing extreme heat.

The application of non-reflective film and overhead protection to resolve the Vdara Hotel's sunlight concentration issue.

The similar 'death ray' phenomenon in London causing cars to partially melt and paint to peel off.

The significance of considering natural and structural frequencies in building and bridge design to prevent resonance.

CuriosityStream's 'Dream the Future' series exploring futuristic realities in cities, transportation, and homes.

CuriosityStream's current offer of a 40% discount on their annual plan during stay-at-home measures.

A promotional offer for a year's subscription to CuriosityStream at $1 per month using the promo code Zackstar.

Transcripts

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Related Tags
Pixar AnimationPhysics LawsEngineeringResonanceTae-Bo IncidentSouth KoreaMillennium BridgeVdara HotelParabolic ReflectionCuriosity StreamEducational Content