The Curious World of Springs | Szydlo's At Home Science

This week, Andrew takes us on a journey exploring a seemingly simple object - the spring.

From pocket-watches, to the suspension of a vintage car, these simple mechanical objects have a huge number of uses still in our modern world, from storing energy to giving you a smooth drive. There is of course a little bit of action from the blow torch (it wouldn't be a video from Andrew Szydlo without some fire) and lots of interesting mechanical explorations along the way too.

Chapters:
00:00 - A spring driven pocketwatch
04:04 - John Harrison and the first chronometer
06:00 - Mainsprings and hairsprings
09:20 - Spring driven toys
15:43 - Investigating a broken mainspring
19:22 - An introduction to metallurgy
23:10 - Experiments with spring steel
30:05 - Leaf spring suspension
34:00 - Helical suspension springs

Andrew Szydlo is a chemist and secondary school teacher at Highgate School, well-loved by pupils and Ri attendees alike. He has given public lectures around the country, been featured on TV shows and has become a popular regular face on our channel.

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