We’ve all heard about Benjamin Franklin’s two certainties in life. But perhaps we should add a third—physics. It’s the thing that’s supposed to explain how, well, pretty much everything works. Most of us, myself included, couldn’t begin to fathom the actual science, but we know there are laws, and that things like gravity are non-negotiable.
But then there are images like these that make a mockery of the whole thing, with objects seemingly defying the rules in ways that shouldn’t be possible. From mind-bending artworks and oddities that look like glitches in the Matrix to clever party tricks and, of course, cats—who answer to no laws, physical or otherwise—it’s quite the lineup. Together, they might have you wondering if physics was even in the room.
#1 Hmm
Image source: lurkch
#2 Totally Stumped
Image source: pinterest
#3 The Way The Snow Curls Off This Roof
Image source: IHaeTypos
The whole idea of physics is pretty intimidating to someone like me—I get overwhelmed just thinking about space and galaxies, and I pretty much skipped science class altogether. Basically, physics is the study of the laws and forces that govern how the universe works, from the tiniest subatomic particles to the most enormous cosmic phenomena. That includes matter, energy, motion, and how they all interact. So, basically, everything. Say what?
#4 How Is This Possible?
Image source: eyefalafel
#5 No, Thank You Physics
Image source: ledzeppelinlover_88
#6 An Entire Box Of Jenga Stacked Asymmetrically On One Jenga Block
Image source: khallok-YT
Physics also underpins a wide range of scientific and professional fields, from astronomy and chemistry to engineering and medicine—all areas that involve the kind of work done by people I’d consider actual geniuses. But it’s not just something that matters to scientists and engineers. It’s at work in all kinds of everyday things, too, from your morning cup of coffee to the smartphone you’re probably reading this on. Whether we realize it or not, physics is everywhere.
#7 Physics Is Phun!
Image source: Dionnism
#8 Pop Secret
Image source: imgur.
#9 As If Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal’s Gravity-Defying Stunt Wasn’t Enough, Here Comes A Statue From Emil Alzamora Pulling Off A Reverse Smooth Criminal
But sometimes, we come across something so strange and mind-boggling that it makes us wonder if physics has left the chat. To be sure, it hasn’t—some of these are simply neat tricks, artistic or engineering marvels, or moments caught at exactly the right time to make us question reality. Although our eyes might tell us otherwise, the laws of physics were still very much in effect. But this does raise an interesting question: how non-negotiable are these laws, really, and have they ever been broken?
#10 Ice Sheet Holding Onto Trees After Flood Subsides
Image source: yitzilitt
#11 A Japanese ¥1 Coin Is So Light It Won’t Even Break Surface Tension On Water
Image source: chriskokura
#12 Physics At Work At Walmart
Image source: Squeak_Squeakum
To someone like me, the laws of physics seem pretty solid (excuse the pun)—reliable and predictable in a universe full of things so vast and complex that they’re almost impossible for most of us to comprehend. But when it comes to physics, as theoretical cosmologist Paul M. Sutter explains, the word “law” is actually used pretty loosely, even by physicists themselves. He writes: “Sometimes the term applies to properties of the natural world that we have consistently observed to be true for a very long time. Sometimes the word is attached to fundamental ideas that form the bedrock of large, sprawling, complex theories of the cosmos. And sometimes it’s just a throwback term that doesn’t even apply anymore.”
#13 We’re On The Fence On This One
Image source: pinterest
#14 Frick The Laws Of Physics
Image source: HerperDerpingham
#15 The Times They Are A-Changin’
Image source: pinterest
Whatever the case may be, Sutter says, what’s important to remember is that “all knowledge in science, up to and including the most important laws, is provisional.” Scientific knowledge stands for as long as there is evidence to support it. If the evidence changes, he explains, “then we update our knowledge of physics, tearing down laws if we have to, and move on.” That’s how we become more knowledgeable and sophisticated in our understanding of the universe—but it’s also what Sutter calls the part of physics that’s the most fun.
#16 I Swear, You Leave Kids These Days Alone For Five Minutes And They Go And Break Physics. [oc]
Image source: [deleted]
#17 Jesus Dog
Image source: pinterest
#18 A Moment Of Claws
Image source: pinterest
Of course, that doesn’t mean all the laws of physics are equally up for debate. Some are so well-tested and fundamental that, as Sutter explains, overturning them would take a lot of work. He cites the law of conservation of momentum, which “finds utility in almost every corner of physics,” as an example. He says, “In principle, we could be wrong about that law, and we as scientists must always stand ready to toss it aside, if need be, but in centuries of studying momentum conservation we’ve never, ever observed a violation of it, so it doesn’t exactly keep us up at night.”
#19 Too Pool For School
Image source: pinterest
#20 Statue In Cairo Airport Looks Like It Defies The Laws Of Physics
Image source: [deleted]
#21 The Tilt Of The Cruise Ship Makes It Look Like The Water Isn’t Obeying The Law Of Gravity
Image source: DustyMudflap
But there are laws that haven’t stood the test of time. Some, like Bode’s law, Sutter explains, “were overturned almost as soon as they were stated.” Others he calls “in-between” laws—not quite wrong, but not complete on their own. As he puts it, “These are the laws that hold true, but as we discover more about the universe, we find that they are just a subset of a larger understanding of the cosmos.” Newton’s law of universal gravitation, for instance, “still works in most of the universe, but in more intense scenarios, like around a black hole, or when more precision is needed, like when calculating GPS coordinates, you need to ‘break’ Newton’s law and upgrade to relativity.”
#22 How Quickly Will You Go Grab Dominoes And Try This Out?
Image source: unknown
#23 Who Needs Thumbs, When You’ve Got Things Handled
Image source: iikagenniotonashikukirareyagare
#24 Crow Hopped As I Took His Photo
Image source: Jedi_JJ
Some laws of physics are still being challenged today. As Sutter puts it, “Some are actively being broken right now, which is a good thing, because that means there’s more to learn about the universe.” One recent example comes from Anthony Raykh, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who unexpectedly disrupted a process governed by the laws of thermodynamics—yes, the ones Homer Simpson famously insisted his household obey.
#25 Don’t Try This The Next Time You Go Bowling
Image source: WellThatIsNeat
#26 This Perfectly Balanced Piece Of Driftwood On The Edge Of The Dam I Photographed Last Week
Image source: Liskarialeman
#27 This Tree, Trimmed To Look Like Its Floating Above The Street
Image source: amccune
More specifically, Raykh was experimenting with emulsification—the process of combining liquids that don’t naturally mix, like oil and water. If you think of your favorite salad dressing, you see this in action: when you shake it, the ingredients mix together. But as Darren Orf writes for Popular Mechanics, “That very same process got strange” when Raykh “mixed a batch of immiscible liquids along with magnetized nickel particles.” Instead of mixing as expected, the mixture formed what the researchers described as a “Grecian urn” shape. No matter how much he shook it, it eventually returned to the same shape.
#28 My Dog’s Bone Stands Upright Because Of The Way She Chewed It
Image source: iBafoon
#29 IKEA’s New Furniture, Made With Witchcraft
#30 When Life Knocks You Down, Rotate And Act Fine
Further investigation showed that the strong magnetism was bending the boundary between the liquids and interfering with the usual emulsification process. It may not have any immediate practical applications, but as Orf writes, “it is a never-before-seen state that could expand the field of soft-matter physics.” For us, at least, it’s a reminder that when it comes to describing the mysterious ways in which our world works, the centuries-old field of physics still has a few surprises up its sleeve. Which brings us back to these wonderfully baffling images…
#31 Sand Sculpture
Image source: Matt
#32 Floating Elephant
#33 My Girlfriend’s Very-Fat-Cat Defying Gravity (And Playing It Cool)
Image source: maxandcats
#34 The Logical Explanation Is Good Timing But Still, I Have Doubts
Image source: WizardLvl27
#35 Ships That Seem To Float In The Air
Image source: bart59
#36 This Dog Is Living In A Different Dimension
#37 When The Whole Squad Enters The Matrix
#38 The Floor Is Gaslighting All Of Us
#39 So How Does It Look On The Inside?
#40 Hmm
#41 Suspended
Image source: Raganella
#42 Ou Will Never Tire Of This
Image source: imgur.
#43 Shadow And Slope Makes It Look Like He’s Floating
Image source: tommytwooo
#44 Physics Took A Coffee Break
#45 Physics? Never Head Of Them
#46 Yes, Rent’s Cheaper When Gravity Doesn’t Make Sense
#47 They Said We’d Have Flying Cars In The Future, Just Not Like This
#48 Parallel Parked In Another Dimension
#49 Just Hanging Out Midair
#50 Mom Said Don’t Play Near The Edge
#51 Does The Cube Even Exist?
#52 When You Tell Gravity To Hang Tight
#53 Grounding Herself, Somehow
#54 Hmm
#55 Hmm
#56 Hmm
#57 Hmm
#58 Hmm
#59 Hmm
#60 Tour By Catellan
Image source: Cattelan Italia
#61 A Car And Its Parking Space
Image source: Alex Chinneck
#62 Talk About Tunnel Vision
#63 Spider-Man Is Calling This Guy If He Retires
#64 Totally Normal, Not A Wizard Or Anything
#65 100% Confused
#66 Hmm
#67 Big Sculpture Balancing Act
Image source: Jerzy Kedziora
#68 Floating Ball Of Steel
#69 This Dude Who’s Holding Down The Great Wall Of China Like A Boss
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