Don't Get Neil Tyson Started on Water Towers

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  • čas přidán 3. 05. 2024
  • Neil deGrasse Tyson reveals his love of the engineering marvels that are NYC water towers.
    Hosts
    Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice
    Director
    Dave Wiskus
    Writers
    PJ Scott-Blankenship, Blake Farrow
    Animation Director
    Bård Edlund
    Animators
    David Powell
    Editor: Eric Schneider
    Sound Designer: Jay Pellizzi
    Producers
    Amanda McLoughlin, Ben Ratner
    Brilliant.org Producers
    Blake Farrow, Danielle Scarano, Josh Silverman
    StarTalk Radio
    Executive Producers
    Neil deGrasse Tyson, Helen Matsos
    Producers
    Laura Berland, Jeffrey Lee Simons, Lindsey Walker
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    About StarTalk:
    Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!
    #WaterTowers #Gravity #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson
    0:00 - Introduction
    1:03 - What Do Water Towers Do?
    2:16 - The Rings Of A Water Tower
    4:06 - Why Smaller Buildings Don't Need Water Towers
    5:36 - Sponsored By Brilliant
    6:46 - Closing Notes
  • Věda a technologie

Komentáře • 10K

  • @xNickJones
    @xNickJones Před 4 lety +21325

    Neil reminds me of those teachers in school you’d just keep asking about the subject so he’d fill up the entire period and forget the assignment

    • @jaimealvarado4421
      @jaimealvarado4421 Před 3 lety +429

      That was fun

    • @Thegoat-4L
      @Thegoat-4L Před 3 lety +190

      Mr catlin, all you had to do was bring up the Washington trip 😂

    • @kavalogue
      @kavalogue Před 3 lety +240

      Had one named Mr O Riordan. French teacher. If you bounced off the right subject he might even keep you for the next class completely against the wishes of the teacher just to continue telling you about his experience with “insert here”

    • @mr.wilson9341
      @mr.wilson9341 Před 3 lety +146

      Neil interrupts himself

    • @webstar118
      @webstar118 Před 3 lety +26

      The real M.V.Ps

  • @spethmanjones2997
    @spethmanjones2997 Před 5 lety +3640

    2:58 “plus the 500 at the bottom!”
    +500 appears for bottom level
    Neil: “I DIDN’T GET THERE YET!”
    _+500 disappears in fear_

    • @weldingbrotha10
      @weldingbrotha10 Před 5 lety +24

      Spethman Jones.... LMAO

    • @peterconnaghan2872
      @peterconnaghan2872 Před 5 lety +39

      You dont disrespect Neil deGrasse Tyson ... like the video did by omitting the deGrasse

    • @spethmanjones2997
      @spethmanjones2997 Před 5 lety +6

      Peter Connaghan I had to make sure it all fit concisely my friend, I’m sure Neil deGrasse Tyson would understand ; )

    • @peterconnaghan2872
      @peterconnaghan2872 Před 5 lety +1

      Spethman Jones not u, the op

    • @johancakep
      @johancakep Před 5 lety +1

      LIKE IT SHOULD BE.

  • @mattgrostick1499
    @mattgrostick1499 Před rokem +1037

    Listening to two grown men discuss the finer points of water storage/management is unironically entertaining. Not a sentence I anticipated writing when I got up today.

    • @mikemondano3624
      @mikemondano3624 Před rokem +2

      Because children normally deal with water towers?

    • @mattgrostick1499
      @mattgrostick1499 Před rokem +22

      @@mikemondano3624 Yeah, my 8-year-old neighbor Timmy has his sewage engineering degree. You should hear him go on about irrigation.

    • @inconnu4961
      @inconnu4961 Před 10 měsíci +5

      @@mattgrostick1499 Would you have his number by chance? I may have some questions! Incidentally, i'm a middle aged man that often acts like an 8 year old, so we would get along well! LOL

    • @john.premose
      @john.premose Před 9 měsíci +5

      So do you normally anticipate every sentence you're going to write/ say, the moment you wake up?

    • @Johnboy33545
      @Johnboy33545 Před 8 měsíci

      @@mikemondano3624: Not so much. I've never seen children building them.

  • @StevenHe
    @StevenHe Před 9 měsíci +253

    “Have you noticed those”
    “Yeah”
    “Have you thought about it”
    “Ahhhhh not really”

    • @krishnachoubey8648
      @krishnachoubey8648 Před 8 měsíci +9

      ah-oh-wai-WHAT? CEO OF BEIJING CORN?
      Learning about Irrigation, I see

    • @boysteven4421
      @boysteven4421 Před 8 měsíci +2

      Steven

    • @ravinraven6913
      @ravinraven6913 Před 8 měsíci +5

      the dude sounds fake, oh yea I love water towers, yet he never asked questions or looked into things. That type of love isn't real and is fake he don't like water towers at all

    • @lordship1543
      @lordship1543 Před 8 měsíci +7

      ​@@ravinraven6913Sometimes you just have too much on your plate to explore all your interests.

    • @inturnetlover
      @inturnetlover Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@ravinraven6913 have YOU ever thought about those rings?

  • @MidnightHabit
    @MidnightHabit Před 5 lety +12586

    There should be an entire series called "Don't Get Neil Tyson Started on..."

    • @arsazmaj71
      @arsazmaj71 Před 5 lety +24

      I started to search in the same moment when i sow this video! :D

    • @sellingacoerwa8318
      @sellingacoerwa8318 Před 5 lety +57

      I like how Neils eating a apple during this with a IDGAF swagger

    • @MrLoisix
      @MrLoisix Před 5 lety

      cha si ah ese man si habla

    • @Sinnbad21
      @Sinnbad21 Před 5 lety +27

      Or.... Neil Tyson, “Things I lose sleep over...”

    • @joshuab4229
      @joshuab4229 Před 5 lety

      yes because no one wants to hear his fake ass elite occoult bs!

  • @itsallgood21
    @itsallgood21 Před 3 lety +3281

    Chuck “AND the other fivehu-
    Neil: “I DIDN’T GET THERE YET!”
    Infographic designer removed pre-emptive +500LBS graphic

    • @milanimorales2645
      @milanimorales2645 Před 3 lety +28

      😄

    • @gustavoleon8158
      @gustavoleon8158 Před 3 lety +2

      Huuu?

    • @Jsnipes98
      @Jsnipes98 Před 3 lety +19

      @@gustavoleon8158 2:58

    • @lockerbuddy2039
      @lockerbuddy2039 Před 2 lety +38

      I just imagine Chuck getting ready to pull out a graph, Neil yelling at him and then Chuck silently sliding it under his chair.

    • @LXW-Arts
      @LXW-Arts Před 2 lety +6

      I thought Neil was going to erase him from existence

  • @Sirrehpotsirch
    @Sirrehpotsirch Před rokem +126

    The water towers used to have a windmill that turned all day and night in the wind, which in turn pumped the water into the tower. No electricity needed!

  • @clsanchez77
    @clsanchez77 Před rokem +127

    This was a great episode. Fun fact though: in most large cities (New Orleans in my example) the volume of water in the full storage tanks is only enough to provide water for 15-20 minutes in a power outage. The purpose of the water towers it to dampen peak demand and water hammer form pumps, valves and fixtures being operated throughout the day…this helps stabilize water pressure throughout the day.

    • @altosack
      @altosack Před 10 měsíci +2

      That’s a pretty good reason not to live in (most) large cities.

    • @don2deliver
      @don2deliver Před 10 měsíci +7

      If the power goes out to the levy pumps in New Orleans, a shortage of water will be the least of the problems.

    • @smartasasackofhammer
      @smartasasackofhammer Před 8 měsíci +3

      Yeah it's a buffer, otherwise the system would have to be built to satisfy peak demand rather than average demand.

    • @ravinraven6913
      @ravinraven6913 Před 8 měsíci +4

      the south is gross, the areas in texas I was in didn't have them. They had well water, which was...pumped using electricity lol so the power goes off, and so does the water, everywhere. Worst state of the USA that I been to hands down. Its like they don't know how to treat their people other than BAD

    • @selfdo
      @selfdo Před 8 měsíci +1

      Correct. A water district or city COULD build enough water towers to provide effective storage, but imagine not only the huge costs, but the unsightliness of that many towers. It's a cost-benefit thing.

  • @headSHOT1333
    @headSHOT1333 Před 3 lety +4319

    Real estate agent: "Yeah so this is a really nice property, if you would follow me to..."
    Buyer: "Your water tower hoops are far too spaced out; let's go honey, get the kids."
    😂😂😂

    • @thottydagod457
      @thottydagod457 Před 2 lety +125

      Knowledge is power

    • @cryojak807
      @cryojak807 Před 2 lety +6

      @L7 what

    • @jimcanterak7349
      @jimcanterak7349 Před 2 lety +9

      You just, but you really don't want the water tower on your building to collapse.
      Trust me on that.

    • @cryojak807
      @cryojak807 Před 2 lety +2

      @Warrior Of Mankind two months later i can know understand what you're saying

    • @lopanreturns7085
      @lopanreturns7085 Před rokem +3

      @@cryojak807 It’s a quote from or quoted in the game Deus Ex (2000) during an interrogation sequence.

  • @FearlessLeader
    @FearlessLeader Před rokem +3638

    “If your structure outlasts your civilization 2000 years you probably overbuilt” great line, but you know what? It’d be nice for a change if some of our infrastructure was overbuilt.

    • @AnasQtiesh
      @AnasQtiesh Před rokem +1

      Joke's on them, our infrastructure is built to end our civilization + life on earth. Check mate ♟️.

    • @letoplaz8139
      @letoplaz8139 Před rokem +6

      @@aolanaknilram7745 no

    • @tlf4354
      @tlf4354 Před rokem +76

      That sounds like a nice thing to have until you consider that you would have to pay way more taxes in order for stuff to be overbuild....

    • @nills2gills811
      @nills2gills811 Před rokem +104

      “Yeah just make it good enough to hold together for 5 minutes, then we them sell glue” I like the Roman guy better than that dude who forgets his name

    • @bradhaines3142
      @bradhaines3142 Před rokem

      @@tlf4354 if the politicians didnt steal so much off the top im sure the billions we already put into it would be plenty

  • @TheLadSteven
    @TheLadSteven Před rokem +333

    I could listen to Neil talk about random subjects all day. He's so knowledgeable yet funny at the same time so it isn't painful or dull to listen to.

    • @at7915
      @at7915 Před rokem +43

      Then he would enjoy a conversation with you because he could speak the entire time

    • @yeetteet3739
      @yeetteet3739 Před rokem +18

      Good thing you don't mind listening to him talk, because you'd never get a word out without him interrupting you

    • @mikemondano3624
      @mikemondano3624 Před rokem +24

      On the rare occasion, he is even right, mostly by mistake.

    • @6Angel67
      @6Angel67 Před 10 měsíci

      @Mike Mondano Do you have brain damage? You've commented at least 4 separate times on this video, bashing Tyson for no apparent reason.

    • @seth7745
      @seth7745 Před 10 měsíci +13

      Unless you are an engineer listening to an astrologist talk about and get things wrong on topics outside of his field. He has above average intelligence, but his ego is disproportionately larger.

  • @russs7574
    @russs7574 Před 10 měsíci +18

    I had a science teacher in jr. high like this. After the first 6 weeks or so, students quit trying to get him off subject because it wasn't much of a challenge.

    • @EdKolis
      @EdKolis Před 8 měsíci

      I remember Mr Barney, my high school physics teacher. Me and this German exchange student whose name I don't remember would always sidetrack him! He promised to do his "famous molecule dance" at some school event but he was sick that day so we never got to see it...

    • @brianarbenz1329
      @brianarbenz1329 Před 8 měsíci +1

      In my high school senior year of 1975-76, our very own Indiana Hoosiers were working their way through the last undefeated NCAA men's basketball title. This gave us a great way to distract our Civics teacher, Mr. Goffinet (RIP), who, like everyone in Indiana, was a basketball lover. Finally, IU won the title and we got down to civics.

  • @aurorapaisley7453
    @aurorapaisley7453 Před 4 lety +1542

    Anyone: "Water towe-"
    Neil Tyson: *"Are you threatening me, master Jedi?"*

  • @FioDavid767
    @FioDavid767 Před 3 lety +1888

    As an engineers major, now having the course fluid dynamics, this makes me so happy. Just finished the chapter of head pressure (water at a height, gives a pressure.)

    • @davidevans3223
      @davidevans3223 Před 2 lety +2

      Water's very sticky tho that must make a difference

    • @LBdave
      @LBdave Před 2 lety +3

      2.31, .433

    • @Trevin_Taylor
      @Trevin_Taylor Před 2 lety +73

      I also had a chapter in head pressure… from your wife! Oh!

    • @Observ45er
      @Observ45er Před 2 lety +7

      So, therefore, you know that Neil is wrong in his explanation, right?

    • @browngundam2170
      @browngundam2170 Před 2 lety

      @@davidevans3223 water is not sticky its slimy and thin

  • @blackbird5634
    @blackbird5634 Před rokem +27

    I drove overnight out of Phoenix on I-60, pulling over to sleep on the side of the road near Socorro New Mexico. When I woke up I was surrounded by the VLA (Very Large Array) which are four-story tall satellite dishes spread out over a moonscape valley. It was as if THEY had landed on the planet while I was asleep! It was surreal.

  • @buzzmooney2801
    @buzzmooney2801 Před 7 měsíci +5

    I've never given much thought to water tower, but watching these two geek out on them was awesome. I love watching people geek out on their favorite obscure subjects!

    • @CircumcisionIsChildAbuse
      @CircumcisionIsChildAbuse Před 4 měsíci

      seeing two smart men contemplate the concept of emergency resevoirs of water made me want to pull my hair out- it was absolutely mind numbing to see people get to confused over such a simple object- it goes to show you how often people are without modern luxuries like running water and electricity- the resevoirs that are for emergencies seem to perplex them.

  • @slow.blobeye8345
    @slow.blobeye8345 Před 5 lety +1203

    5:20 anyone notice he pulled an apple out of the crevice of the chair? LOLLLL

    • @bottomtop5
      @bottomtop5 Před 5 lety +48

      lol lol lol!!! I said to myself, did he just pull an apple from the chair?!

    • @Kaniba
      @Kaniba Před 5 lety +4

      yeahhhh

    • @prod.lilsip5904
      @prod.lilsip5904 Před 5 lety +24

      Holy shit im rolling on the floor 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

    • @tekneiq
      @tekneiq Před 5 lety +29

      It was in his left hand at the beginning of the video.

    • @alexkenny7554
      @alexkenny7554 Před 5 lety +6

      Did you notice the fake bites, fake chews, and he never swallow...what a bad actor

  • @MMMaddison
    @MMMaddison Před 4 lety +3084

    "I never wash my hands"
    This quote has not aged well, and right now it's likely you won't either.

    • @zachpenny8116
      @zachpenny8116 Před 4 lety +132

      Toxic Schiz I was scrolling the comments to see if anyone has made that joke yet 😂😂

    • @zachpenny8116
      @zachpenny8116 Před 4 lety +27

      drsnoggle um yes it is. Gotta have a sense of humor about things

    • @zachpenny8116
      @zachpenny8116 Před 4 lety +9

      drsnoggle hey dude I have covid. I understand it

    • @zachpenny8116
      @zachpenny8116 Před 4 lety +6

      I meant tested. Miss spoke. But trust me I understand this

    • @zachpenny8116
      @zachpenny8116 Před 4 lety +45

      drsnoggle understand what this virus is. Look dude if you can’t have a little sense of humor about this than you’re living in fear. Life is crazy and crazy scary. You gotta try to laugh your way through it. Don’t try to tell me something isn’t funny if I think it is. There’s no point in all that. It honestly makes you look weak and you want to control the narrative. Man that ain’t how this works. I get this virus is very dangerous. Trust me I understand how dangerous this is. You don’t know my life and my history so you can’t judge me on that but homie I’m just tryin to laugh through. Just take it at face value

  • @pugowner1347
    @pugowner1347 Před rokem +45

    Neil is one of my favorite people. I've never seen anyone that could break down a complicated concept so easily, into something that can be understood by common folks.

  • @davidmartin1015
    @davidmartin1015 Před 9 měsíci +18

    Rome was using a Roman era aqueduct system in it’s water supply up until 1945 I believe. There were a lot of over-head tanks used for gravity water in rural Australia ; often filled by windmills. I heard one story about a farmer who was filling his over-head tanks without a pump ; he had a tank that could be sealed airtight, (over-head) , he then hooked up a vacuum cleaner and created a modest vacuum , that’s all it took to suck the water up into the tank. Cheers from Oz , I watch a lot of your clips , you sound like a very good teacher. 😮

    • @geraldhenrickson7472
      @geraldhenrickson7472 Před 8 měsíci +2

      You can accomplish anything given enough time and money however...I believe as described, without any changes, you have heard a simple urban myth.

    • @sjg3890
      @sjg3890 Před 8 měsíci +1

      Must have been a very low tank or a very strong vacuum cleaner.

    • @wizrom3046
      @wizrom3046 Před 8 měsíci

      I have m3asured a vacuum cleaner, they produce about -2 PSI, and that will only lift water about 1.5 metres (5 feet) high.

  • @DannyBlack
    @DannyBlack Před 6 lety +2738

    not gonna lie... I thought he was going to say there was some kind of weird conspiracy with water towers when I clicked on it... but this video was super interesting and I loved it!!

    • @akizeta
      @akizeta Před 6 lety +37

      Didn't you hear? They were part of the Martian Invasion in 1938 that got covered up by Orson Welles. _And they're still there._

    • @TinmanHikingShaun
      @TinmanHikingShaun Před 6 lety +3

      where is danny black ,lol, I thought the same thing 😂

    • @BradTrapp
      @BradTrapp Před 6 lety +6

      This is the only reason I clicked it.

    • @nicholasleclerc1583
      @nicholasleclerc1583 Před 6 lety +7

      NelC
      Perfectly disguised as water towers: at night, their foundations disappear and they hover in place.

    • @Grimeaper
      @Grimeaper Před 6 lety +1

      Me too. I was like what is wrong with them now... lol.

  • @lobsterworldwide
    @lobsterworldwide Před 4 lety +1063

    Tyson is a born educator. He could make paint drying interesting

    • @matthewdominguez4350
      @matthewdominguez4350 Před 4 lety +65

      LobsterProductions paint drying is interesting you just have to inhale

    • @MarkAtherton
      @MarkAtherton Před 4 lety +4

      He actually could! 🤣

    • @INameIsGood
      @INameIsGood Před 4 lety +9

      I can already imagine him talking what happens to the paint, and how universe is involved in the process :D

    • @linkunliu2118
      @linkunliu2118 Před 4 lety +9

      And don’t get him started on why looking dry doesn’t mean it’s actually dry

    • @John-X
      @John-X Před 3 lety +8

      @@linkunliu2118 don't get him started on things that seem dry but are not actually dry. Like concrete. Did you know that concrete is never fully dry? There is still water inside the concrete on all buildings, which is why when our sun turns into a red giant, and everything starts heating up to unimaginable levels here on earth, every concrete building will literally turn into powder and collapse!

  • @muskyoxes
    @muskyoxes Před rokem +9

    i'm always amazed when the sink works when the power's out

  • @saitamaonepunchman8176
    @saitamaonepunchman8176 Před 8 měsíci +42

    I'm only now getting back into neil's awesome work and damn I forgot how PEAK of a teacher he is, explains things amazingly even for people who have 0 knowledge in the subject, funny, down to earth (pun in tended) guy. damn. why can we have more niels in schools?

    • @brianpeters5555
      @brianpeters5555 Před 8 měsíci

      What PEAK ?

    • @saitamaonepunchman8176
      @saitamaonepunchman8176 Před 8 měsíci

      @@brianpeters5555 I mean he's like the best at being a teacher, peak = extremely high level

    • @eklipse4956
      @eklipse4956 Před 7 měsíci

      He’s a hack. Decently smart but very egotistical…

    • @CircumcisionIsChildAbuse
      @CircumcisionIsChildAbuse Před 4 měsíci

      teaching and what Neil does are very different things. Teaching involves communicating to each individual the manner in which they learn the best- the best teachers know how to communicate to a wide range of people- Neil...doesn't have that quality- he has one mode: speak over everyone and go on random tangents. He's a story telling pokemon.

    • @mlcred1111
      @mlcred1111 Před 3 měsíci

      why? because both the pay AND the situations in schools are $h!t that's why.

  • @scottsteele427
    @scottsteele427 Před 2 lety +469

    It's amazing how many towns are named after their water tower

  • @davidwhite1956
    @davidwhite1956 Před 2 lety +1311

    Listening to Neil get so hype about water towers makes my year.

    • @MD-bf2ce
      @MD-bf2ce Před 2 lety +11

      It's like finally getting to share that kind of excitement with someone who actually gets it. Like I get super stoked over this stuff, and hardly find others irl that are the same.

    • @user-ys9ke5cj1n
      @user-ys9ke5cj1n Před rokem

      @@MD-bf2ce ll lol p pop

    • @HazeAero
      @HazeAero Před rokem +2

      Thats a low bar

    • @davidwhite1956
      @davidwhite1956 Před rokem +3

      @@HazeAero wasn’t the best year, ngl

    • @___Zack___
      @___Zack___ Před rokem

      *Hyped

  • @ajlilianmenashe559
    @ajlilianmenashe559 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Very interesting. Thank you!! This adds to all I already knew about Water towers specifically - the opening of the show Petticoat Junction.

    • @markfryer9880
      @markfryer9880 Před 8 měsíci

      Yes, because in those days railroads needed regular supplies of good quality water for the steam locomotives. Moving to Diesel Electric locomotives meant that railroads could get rid of a lot of the infrastructure and expenses associated with the Water Supply Department, water towers, pumps, chemicals to balance the water and operators to tend to the water supply and keep the water flowing and balanced correctly and in particular in North America, to keep the water in the tank from freezing.

  • @Hobo_Mojo
    @Hobo_Mojo Před rokem +14

    I like how Neil just reaches down, pulls an apple out of his seat cushion, and proceeds to go to work on it. Dude definitely is not a germaphobe.

    • @altosack
      @altosack Před 10 měsíci

      Maybe he keeps his chair _really_ clean.

    • @bigmona2741
      @bigmona2741 Před 9 měsíci +5

      Most scientists and doctors are not germaphobes

    • @kosmique
      @kosmique Před 8 měsíci

      and then we got hit by covid.

    • @CorePathway
      @CorePathway Před 8 měsíci +1

      I rode the subway in Manhattan for 7 years. My immune system is a mini-boss.

  • @ethanwild3301
    @ethanwild3301 Před 6 lety +350

    *I DIDN’T GET THERE YET* 2:58 😂😂

  • @CMDR_John_Crichton
    @CMDR_John_Crichton Před 2 lety +777

    5:34 "I NEVER WASH MY HANDS!"
    That did not age well at all.

    • @ohaboha
      @ohaboha Před 2 lety +23

      Same thought! Time made that offensive 😂

    • @gmale2624
      @gmale2624 Před 2 lety +77

      That did not age well from the moment he spoke those words. Ewwwwww.

    • @Sykell
      @Sykell Před 2 lety +1

      At all! 😅🤣

    • @quattroqafe5642
      @quattroqafe5642 Před 2 lety

      Bahahaha

    • @wellhellothere5144
      @wellhellothere5144 Před 2 lety +2

      darnit you beat m to it by 2 whole months

  • @davidivey4004
    @davidivey4004 Před rokem +5

    Neil is a fun person, I would have not thought that he can relax so much. He, to my experience has always been more stiff. Thank you for showing this side.

  • @joannlangford4719
    @joannlangford4719 Před 11 měsíci

    OMG, I am 61 years and just found you. Science has always held me but is very different for me to visualize. Your explain so very clearly. Your never getting away.

  • @earnestbrown6524
    @earnestbrown6524 Před 6 lety +838

    Rome may have over engineered, but the glory that is Rome will be remembered as they intended.

    • @aussiebloke609
      @aussiebloke609 Před 6 lety +114

      Of course, Rome didn't expect to end...from their perspective, they fully intended to rule forever, so from that viewpoint (however misguided it may be) it was engineered just about perfectly.

    • @fondren001
      @fondren001 Před 6 lety +34

      Andrew doesn't know the definition of glory \o/

    • @darknightx33x81
      @darknightx33x81 Před 6 lety +23

      aussiebloke609 no govt thinks they will end until they approach the end

    • @K1lostream
      @K1lostream Před 6 lety +7

      What did the Romans ever do for us?

    • @xenialafleur
      @xenialafleur Před 6 lety +24

      Rome didn't over engineer. They made their concrete with volcanic ash, which caused it to be much stronger than our concrete.

  • @MichaelOrtega
    @MichaelOrtega Před 6 lety +2133

    Neil loves him some water towers 👌🏼

    • @catsgonom
      @catsgonom Před 6 lety +2

      Michael Ortega 💦💦💦

    • @garrettandrewlang12
      @garrettandrewlang12 Před 6 lety +2

      *warter*

    • @BIOSHOCKFOXX
      @BIOSHOCKFOXX Před 6 lety +1

      him? or them?

    • @Rattus-Norvegicus
      @Rattus-Norvegicus Před 6 lety +2

      Michael Ortega He's sorta wrong though, just because the bands are evenly spaced doesn't mean it's engineered poorly, the top portion could be over engineered. Still an engineering mistake though.

    • @reubendinny9520
      @reubendinny9520 Před 6 lety

      Garrett Lang how?

  • @kevinmoore8780
    @kevinmoore8780 Před 9 měsíci

    This just came up in my feed for some reason so I decided I'd watch the first few seconds to see what it was about and watched the whole thing. It was funny, entertaining and I learned things that I didn't know. Thank you .

  • @kenhutson3744
    @kenhutson3744 Před rokem +11

    My favourite bit was when he fished an apple core out of the couch and started eating it like that was a completely normal thing to do.

  • @movingparts6270
    @movingparts6270 Před 6 lety +4438

    Tyson talks like I do when I am drunk, except he's smart.

    • @akizeta
      @akizeta Před 6 lety +95

      Tyson's so smart, he talks better than I do when he's drunk and I'm sober.

    • @stephencoles7162
      @stephencoles7162 Před 6 lety +16

      he's not

    • @mirmalchik
      @mirmalchik Před 6 lety +1

      convex earth lol holy shit yall outdone yourselves this time fuck

    • @AaBb-zj2ld
      @AaBb-zj2ld Před 6 lety +3

      you touch people too much too

    • @AnarchyEnsues
      @AnarchyEnsues Před 6 lety +1

      is he smart?

  • @ArkaidDeims
    @ArkaidDeims Před 6 lety +660

    1:29 "As long you have gravity"
    I think if you lose gravity, you have bigger problems than not getting water...

    • @alexanderx33
      @alexanderx33 Před 6 lety +13

      Arkaid D Well, he's an astrophysicist so alot of the time you don't have gravity.

    • @niydfass1060
      @niydfass1060 Před 6 lety +11

      To be fair, there is always gravity, even in space.

    • @alexanderx33
      @alexanderx33 Před 6 lety +14

      The Brutal Bros *as long as the tower is resisting gravity*

    • @RealAsItGetz92
      @RealAsItGetz92 Před 6 lety +3

      There is no gravity, only density and buoyancy.

    • @alexanderx33
      @alexanderx33 Před 6 lety +1

      Dreams x92 What do you mean?

  • @markcantemail8018
    @markcantemail8018 Před rokem +1

    Neil , Rochester , NY has an ancient Water System going back almost 150 years . Feeds water by Gravity From Hemlock and Canadice Lakes . When you grow up with that in your backyard it is easy to forget how hard People work to move Water in other Places . Thank you for the Video .

  • @CarlosRivera-in3gm
    @CarlosRivera-in3gm Před rokem +1

    Nice I enjoy that information thank you here from NYC

  • @247tubefan
    @247tubefan Před 6 lety +830

    This man could talk about his lettuce & tomato sandwich & it would be interesting.

    • @reacting_to_stuff_
      @reacting_to_stuff_ Před 5 lety +4

      247tubefan for you bc you’re a dumbass

    • @BigTexasRed
      @BigTexasRed Před 5 lety +24

      No need for that man. ^

    • @kenlogsdon7095
      @kenlogsdon7095 Před 5 lety +5

      It would be more interesting with bacon.

    • @Awecyan32
      @Awecyan32 Před 5 lety +2

      I agree wholeheartedly

    • @gorgosanma
      @gorgosanma Před 5 lety

      I know. Every time I see Neil talking about whatever I kind of want to go see something else but I just can´t.

  • @lnetz77
    @lnetz77 Před 6 lety +255

    @2:59 "...I didn't get there yet, I didn't get there yet!" "Sorry." The animation at this moment 😂😂😂

    • @Mikeedawson
      @Mikeedawson Před 6 lety +1

      lnetz77 exactly 😁😁

    • @joecope9935
      @joecope9935 Před 6 lety +1

      lnetz77 My wife just asked why I laughed. 😄

    • @lnetz77
      @lnetz77 Před 6 lety +1

      Joe Cope aww 😊 swear most people leave the animation alone if there's bloopers 😁 the attention to detail they have.

    • @Pantii
      @Pantii Před 6 lety +2

      Lol this had me giggling!

  • @slothsnook175
    @slothsnook175 Před 8 měsíci +5

    These guys are so inspiring. I want to bring science into as many avenues as I can handle. Thanks mans

    • @bryn1890
      @bryn1890 Před 8 měsíci

      What do you mean?

  • @user-xu3gy7ib5j
    @user-xu3gy7ib5j Před 8 měsíci +2

    Great video that I plan on using for my Water Supply class in Fire Tech I. I'm so thankful for people like Dr. Tyson who are so good at explaining science. In some cases roof top water towers may be used to assist water pressure and supply in fire sprinkler systems.

    • @zl14l41
      @zl14l41 Před 8 měsíci +1

      It's not very scaleable because it depends on industrial usage but my city has just shy of 29k people and roughly 6k water service connections (including businesses, factories and multi family apartments that count as one connection). I work at the water treatment facility, we make, on average 5.5 million gallons of water in a 24hr period. If our main storage reservoir is at the same level/height as the night before that means the city used that whole 5.5mil. When your students open 5 or 8 hydrants, depending on their areas storage capacity and time of day you can run into pressure issues real quick, we use MGD (million gallons per day) because it takes us the whole day, where as you guys think in gpm or total gallons used. We monitor momentary usage as well and for several fires that I've seen they've used as much if not more than the city was at the time!

  • @St4Jimmy
    @St4Jimmy Před 4 lety +562

    5:25 did he just pick out an APPLE from behind the cushion and ate it??

    • @AdriePerez18
      @AdriePerez18 Před 4 lety +39

      indieair thank you I was looking if anyone was going to mentioned that 🍎

    • @wachititos
      @wachititos Před 3 lety +29

      I was in shock after he did it hahahaha

    • @JoshuaSavio7
      @JoshuaSavio7 Před 3 lety +7

      Hahaha that's cool

    • @joltster109
      @joltster109 Před 3 lety +19

      ...yes. He's just that cool. 😎

    • @sultanzod6720
      @sultanzod6720 Před 3 lety +25

      "Ooh, an apple!"

  • @hayato4574
    @hayato4574 Před 6 lety +495

    Every toilet has a little water tower

    • @df5687
      @df5687 Před 6 lety +14

      dude.... my balls.

    • @mspenrice
      @mspenrice Před 6 lety +12

      And they exist for exactly the same reason - to give a greater water pressure, and therefore mass flow, to wash the bowl clean each time.

    • @Macatho
      @Macatho Před 6 lety +9

      holy SHIT you're right. And there's even a floatation device to regulate the valve.

    • @TheKrouton
      @TheKrouton Před 6 lety +32

      Your bladder is a water tower.

    • @katcankan7129
      @katcankan7129 Před 6 lety

      MEGATON- 😂😂😂.....😂😂

  • @inuyashacoolieo
    @inuyashacoolieo Před 8 měsíci +1

    The other point that they kinda addressed was that water towers act as batteries. They can be pumped full (charged) on off-peak hours when electricity is less under less demand (cheaper). They also smooth out the usage by providing a surplus in high demand times and a reservoir in low demand times kinda like a capacitor.

  • @joeesposito5101
    @joeesposito5101 Před 8 měsíci

    "As long as you have gravity". Love it!

  • @bigboy19851ify
    @bigboy19851ify Před 4 lety +69

    When u have a person with a love for knowledge it makes u wanna learn. I can listen to this guy drop knowledge on me for days.

    • @VG-rj8pn
      @VG-rj8pn Před 3 lety

      Too bad your fooled by his blathering your iq must be low

    • @SR009s
      @SR009s Před 3 lety +7

      @@VG-rj8pn ironic that you should mention iq, yet you dont even know the difference between your and you're. Also, *your* sentence is lacking even the most basic of punctuation. *Your* iq must be low.

  • @jeffghant4760
    @jeffghant4760 Před 4 lety +175

    Universe: Whatchu doing?
    Me: Nothing, just sitting here learning about water towers for absolutely no reason at all.

    • @kaezon
      @kaezon Před 4 lety +3

      Relatable.

    • @geoculus5606
      @geoculus5606 Před 3 lety +1

      But if it exists, it has a reason. ;)

  • @behzadmirmozaffari2563
    @behzadmirmozaffari2563 Před 8 měsíci

    I've learnt many things today and that's make happy. Thank you👏👏👏

  • @louther1213
    @louther1213 Před rokem +56

    Just remember that things like the old Roman structures have had a lot of work put into them to preserve them for historical purposes. In addition you need to consider the scale of usage/ stress put on the structures in question. Not to mention the fact that Italy has very good conditions for not degrading structures as quick.

    • @user-bt8xr5si9y
      @user-bt8xr5si9y Před rokem +4

      This is important.
      Another important thing is that back then most structures were a lot simpler then they are today.
      I think just the adition of stuff like Electricity in almost every building already adds a lot of complexity because you somehow have to wire it through the entire building, while still hiding it in the walls and making sure nothing like water can accidentally get in.
      So it's much more complicated to build something nowadays then it used to be but it is easier.

    • @louther1213
      @louther1213 Před rokem +3

      @@user-bt8xr5si9y To a degree maybe, but the biggest factors is how Italy tends to stay warm enough to prevent freezing. Water gets in the cracks and as it freezes it expands damaging the structure. In the case of something like roads you would have to consider the amount of wear and tear a modern day road gets from vehicles driving on it. Not to mention the not even comparable difference in just how many people use the infrastructure today

    • @allosaurusfragilis7782
      @allosaurusfragilis7782 Před 8 měsíci +6

      Like to point out that Italy gets regular earthquakes, though. Roman engineering was spectacular.

    • @Rowgue51
      @Rowgue51 Před 8 měsíci +2

      Yes people like to cite old structures and marvel at how they're still there after thousands of years etc. But in reality what's still there are just ruins, and even those wouldn't be there without the constant preservation efforts throughout those thousands of years.

    • @UwishUknew
      @UwishUknew Před 8 měsíci +2

      ​@@allosaurusfragilis7782and their concrete, which we can't replicate is stronger than anything we can manufacture, even with all the technology of today. Crazy

  • @electromagneticdave7552
    @electromagneticdave7552 Před 5 lety +462

    5:25 Chair apple... nice

    • @heavyrain5949
      @heavyrain5949 Před 5 lety +8

      Lol

    • @sbiegs3885
      @sbiegs3885 Před 5 lety +12

      David P Ha! Ya! Good eye. It was half eaten with all that lint or whatever else was on that couch!

    • @LCPFrederick
      @LCPFrederick Před 5 lety +12

      It's iChair

    • @HenryPerez_royal_hp
      @HenryPerez_royal_hp Před 5 lety +7

      The chair that he is sitting on appears to be made of alcantara, otherwise known as synthetic suede. This material not only repels water, but due to it's somewhat elastic nature, it does not give off lint. Thus you could technically put a food item on it and you wouldn't have to worry about getting gunk or anything else on it.
      i could see the couch collect a little bit of dirt if it isn't -or hasn't been- cleaned, but you could rid the couch of this simply with a stroke of the back of your fingers a few times. Still, i digress.

    • @RetroDawn
      @RetroDawn Před 5 lety +3

      The moment where NdT performs a magic trick and makes the apple disappear: 2:27 (hint: he hid it under his leg).

  • @ericm5315
    @ericm5315 Před 3 lety +1242

    I like how Neil is both smart but also knows how to talk like he's having a normal freaking conversation. Most people on this side of intelligent tend to lack social skills or talk like a freaking robot; case and point; Richard Dawkins.

    • @harryscarry6064
      @harryscarry6064 Před 3 lety +64

      You should watch some videos of a much younger Richard Dawkins teaching kids about biology etc. he is really lovely. I think he’s a bit cranky now he’s older. Neil will be too. Ha!

    • @ericm5315
      @ericm5315 Před 3 lety +8

      @@harryscarry6064 I don't think I can take Dawkins seriously after The Selfish Gene, lol.

    • @neonblood4658
      @neonblood4658 Před 3 lety +3

      @@ericm5315 Why?

    • @elliotttilton9858
      @elliotttilton9858 Před 3 lety +106

      He cuts off the other guy multiple times. People love to hear him talk so they don't realize how ego centric he is. If the other guy starts talking he talks louder and continuous his sentences.

    • @wassimboukhelkhal308
      @wassimboukhelkhal308 Před 3 lety +7

      It's simply because you aren't educated enough, in order to understand something well you need to understand the whole complexity of it, I'm not attacking you ofc, i just say hen you want to learn some go deep into it like use books, and not just go on Google or CZcams because they give a superficial explanations all the time

  • @icns01
    @icns01 Před rokem

    Brilliant! I had no idea..this was very interesting. Thank you!👍

  • @OnionInfinite17
    @OnionInfinite17 Před 9 měsíci +1

    Water towers aren't just to supply water during a blackout. By allowing for occasional pumping to fill the tower, they avoid the need for the pump to be constantly running, or cutting in and out based on demand, which would be both inefficient and bad for the pump. A Bladder tank (Hydrophore) is an alternative which achieves the same effect using air pressure instead of gravity.

  • @jmack56
    @jmack56 Před 6 lety +692

    Neil just pulled a random Apple core from the couch. SCIENCE!

  • @ShaneCarrigan
    @ShaneCarrigan Před 6 lety +544

    If Neil was your dad and you lived with him, every question would get a fantastical 45 minute answer. "Dad, did I leave my backpack in the car?" "Actually, the backpack is everywhere and nowhere... (3 minutes) ... schrodingers law says noone can know.. (5 minutes later).. the stars that formed billions of years ago to make the stuff that made zippers.... (2 minutes later)... the way our minds compartmentalize whats worth remembering.... (9 minutes later)... satellite signals that can travel as far as Saturn..... (19 minutes later).. yeah the keys are on the counter.

    • @mikester1290
      @mikester1290 Před 6 lety +27

      When I clicked Read more, I was expecting a wall of text.

    • @Tim-is-short
      @Tim-is-short Před 6 lety +5

      LOL!

    • @natepeace1737
      @natepeace1737 Před 6 lety +5

      Hilarious man! Still I bet he’s a great dad! Don’t know how I know that he just seems like!

    • @bobzombie2710
      @bobzombie2710 Před 6 lety +5

      Shane Carrigan I'm missing 7 Minutes of reply.. and why the hell did it go from a backpack to keys? I MUST KNOWWWW

    • @MAHONEYDRO
      @MAHONEYDRO Před 6 lety +1

      Shane Carrigan 😂😂😂😂😂

  • @audreywitko1445
    @audreywitko1445 Před rokem +3

    You are two of my favorite geeky guys. Love you!!! ❤️🥰❤️

  • @timfurnier7061
    @timfurnier7061 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Wow! Now I'm a GENIUS after listening to this!

  • @mattdad8429
    @mattdad8429 Před rokem +472

    Chuck thought he did something there for a second. "as long as you have gravity." Thank you, Chuck. Hopefully gravity will just keep doing its thing so we can have water, yes.

    • @obamacare4262
      @obamacare4262 Před rokem +5

      of course niel had to correct him lmao.

    • @sam8404
      @sam8404 Před rokem +8

      @@obamacare4262 Neil*

    • @saintadolf5639
      @saintadolf5639 Před rokem +4

      "as long as water is heavier than air*"

    • @carpballet
      @carpballet Před rokem

      If “chuck” is the dude on the right he’s an idiot.

  • @LadyEowyn
    @LadyEowyn Před 3 lety +73

    That "I never wash my hands" hits different in 2021.

  • @CARLGULA
    @CARLGULA Před 6 měsíci +2

    If I could hangout with Neil for a day I'd learn more in that 24 hours than I've learned in the past 24 years lol absolutely brilliant ✌️

  • @xblaze45
    @xblaze45 Před rokem +1

    Who know such a subject could be so profoundly interesting?! 🤔🤯🤤

  • @anderson52ma
    @anderson52ma Před 5 lety +270

    "If your buildings out live your civilization by 2000 years you might have over built by just a bit" lol

    • @hotrodray6802
      @hotrodray6802 Před 4 lety +5

      The British have houses that are 2-300 yrs old still in use.

    • @ryanodonnell6748
      @ryanodonnell6748 Před 4 lety +1

      @@hotrodray6802 YEP.. My grans house was built in 1895..Lanarkshire Scotland

    • @lawofliberty3517
      @lawofliberty3517 Před 4 lety +3

      @@hotrodray6802 my aunt's house in Wisconsin was built in 1845. Rock foundation with brick overlay. Very sound house that has been maintained.

    • @greencupofdeath
      @greencupofdeath Před 4 lety +4

      @@hotrodray6802 2000 years and a couple hundred years is a rather large difference lol.

    • @jorgea.coronado4389
      @jorgea.coronado4389 Před 4 lety

      HotRod Ray isn’t that only because of a law?

  • @JJack1775
    @JJack1775 Před 6 lety +1408

    We got stuff here falling down built 10 years ago.

    • @CoolcatsSk8
      @CoolcatsSk8 Před 6 lety +29

      the Allies won ww2 what else did you expect

    • @cosmotect
      @cosmotect Před 6 lety +1

      I thought that was only us in Russia. But I guess weather is a big part of it

    • @DaybreakPT
      @DaybreakPT Před 6 lety +27

      Gucci Damn if only Germans won we’d have their brilliant German engineering standard lmao

    • @jamesstrickland4501
      @jamesstrickland4501 Před 6 lety +21

      Its called job security

    • @putheflamesou
      @putheflamesou Před 6 lety +5

      monetary evil and greed..

  • @islandmonusvi
    @islandmonusvi Před 10 měsíci

    Charlotte NC, Elizabeth…gorgeous engineering and construction water tower …central to the neighborhood development.

  • @cronistamundano8189
    @cronistamundano8189 Před rokem +1

    Here in my town (Rio de Janeiro) we just call them Water Tanks, not Towers. Since the water comes from a river (sea level) and the plumbing goes on the streets, most buildings have two water tanks. One below ground level, and one on the roof.

  • @davidwaynemain
    @davidwaynemain Před 4 lety +283

    Tyson is like one of those friends that can't quit touching you when they're saying something

    • @Qwerty19367
      @Qwerty19367 Před 4 lety +33

      Human Resources oh you’re one of those dudes

    • @JourneyWoodworks
      @JourneyWoodworks Před 4 lety +12

      @Human Resources bi curious?

    • @carterwilliams4058
      @carterwilliams4058 Před 4 lety +7

      Human Resources you seem like a bad friend

    • @birddaddydetta
      @birddaddydetta Před 3 lety +2

      @@carterwilliams4058 Not wanting others to touch you is being a bad friend?

    • @cyfangz9238
      @cyfangz9238 Před 3 lety +7

      @@birddaddydetta no ill intent interaction being responded with a rude and insulting response is not just bad friend, it's bad person

  • @joshuas4695
    @joshuas4695 Před 3 lety +303

    Never stop learning something new everyday! Woof, I'm a Plumber and just learned something new. The band structure on water towers and the reservoir to the 6 floor differential just bugged me out a little! Love it!

  • @teemoney116
    @teemoney116 Před 9 měsíci

    I love his teaching style.

  • @linlyons1962
    @linlyons1962 Před 8 měsíci

    If you're in a small town, out in the middle of flat Kansas, you have a water tower. And the water might come from one or more of the town's wells.
    But all that water does not need to be pumped up into the water tower. It can go directly into the town's water system.
    That water system is attached to the tower, so that if the pumps are pumping more water than is being used, some of it can go up to the tower.
    But when more is being used, then some of the water in the tower goes into the water supply system.
    What the tower does is:
    a) Insure that the water pressure stays constant, regardless of how much water is being used, and,
    b) Be a back-up to the water supply system to even out water usage.
    But I maintain that the most important use is maintaining a constant pressure.
    Now you do want to pump some water into the tower, so it doesn't get 'stale', but not all the water that the town uses.
    Just enough to keep the water in the tower fresh and clean.

  • @dillmon1
    @dillmon1 Před 6 lety +513

    Neil should do more engineering videos like this

    • @LS-Moto
      @LS-Moto Před 6 lety +7

      dillmon1 But he is an astronomer, not an engineer.

    • @StarTalk
      @StarTalk  Před 6 lety +24

      K. -Ben, StarTalk Video Producer

    • @LS-Moto
      @LS-Moto Před 6 lety +1

      @StarTalk I don't get it. What about him?

    • @DivideByZeroGetCake
      @DivideByZeroGetCake Před 6 lety +6

      Agreed! Engineering is all based in physics, and everyone encounters engineering on a daily basis, so it’s the perfect opportunity for some serious learning!

    • @user71285
      @user71285 Před 6 lety +11

      He's a physicist. Engineering is physics applied.

  • @oreos3174
    @oreos3174 Před 4 lety +331

    Is it just me or was the Tyson explaining common sense with the other guy getting his mind blown

    • @robinbleu5464
      @robinbleu5464 Před 4 lety +14

      bogen broom are you hurt or something I keep seeing you in comments

    • @heticaband
      @heticaband Před 4 lety +16

      Lol yea I thought he was going to start criticizing water tower design but they instead described something my dad took 35 seconds to tell me about when I was 6

    • @oreos3174
      @oreos3174 Před 4 lety +3

      @Christoph Peters I mean, its great if hes fun to listen to, but its also nice to learn.

    • @graphi1477
      @graphi1477 Před 4 lety +9

      Common sense is really just when everyone can understand simple things ease. I dont think the science between water towers is common sense lol but it is simple to learn

    • @carnage2332
      @carnage2332 Před 3 lety +2

      Hype man gotta hype

  • @rainbowcloudss_
    @rainbowcloudss_ Před rokem +9

    I never thought I'd actually learn something about water towers

  • @FishingWithCotton
    @FishingWithCotton Před 9 měsíci

    Good stuff to teach, I did know all this but fun to watch

  • @TimWhite
    @TimWhite Před 6 lety +661

    "YOU OVERBUILT"

    • @mspenrice
      @mspenrice Před 6 lety +12

      Better than the alternative, Neil. Guess you're not an engineer :D

    • @dormantrabbits
      @dormantrabbits Před 6 lety +14

      mspenrice overbuilding is under-engineering. It takes skill to engineer down to a reasonable cost.

    • @mspenrice
      @mspenrice Před 6 lety +14

      No, it's just the answer chosen by skilled engineers, whose masters obviously much have thought the cost was worth it otherwise they wouldn't have put up the money to build those works in the first place (in an age where credit and shareholding was much less of a thing), in order to compensate for the limitations of the primitive technologies they had available. And as those works still stand, some of them in operable condition, I think they did a perfectly fine job.
      We can look at those things now and think "wow, they really just brute forced this and threw huge amounts of material at the job instead of finessing it", but when you're building in an age without pre-stressed steel-reinforced concrete available to you, or any kind of computer design, steel wire suspension, power-assisted pile driving machinery, etc, you quickly reach a limit where the stuff you're using just isn't strong enough without overbuilding. And they must frequently have worked near the bleeding edge of what was and wasn't sufficient amounts of stonework to last "for all time", given how many things have actually fallen down and become ruins in-between. We just see the most heavily overspec survivors.

    • @fredman1085
      @fredman1085 Před 6 lety +9

      Tim White1 month ago"YOU OVERBUILT" Silly Romans probably weren't calculating that their civilization would only last a couple of hundred more years. I bet they were planning on remaining around a lot longer. They all do, same with us now but who really knows?

    • @klaxoncow
      @klaxoncow Před 5 lety +1

      +dormantrabbits Well, I mean, it kind of depends on how cheap the construction costs were to begin with.
      If, in your current economic climate, the material and labour costs are so silly cheap, then it really doesn't matter, so you might as well overbuild.
      ...and then we remember - oh, wait - that the Romans had slavery.
      (Mostly of the nearby Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe, which is actually where we get the word "slave" from. The Slavs were the Roman's slaves.)
      So, another way to look at it, in the historical context, is that all that overbuilding is actually a sign of just how little regard they had for their slaves, quarrying up the stone and building the aqueducts.
      All that slavery made it so cheap and its construction difficulties "not your problem", no-one gave any shits about "reducing costs" or efficiency - and they happily overbuilt, as it was the slaves who were really paying all the costs here.
      (Plus, yes, everything mspenrice said about how their construction technology was also vastly more crude, so they couldn't be that precise to begin with anyway and "overbuilding" is the simple way to make sure things definitely stay up, no matter what. That must definitely factor into it all too.)

  • @donmthg
    @donmthg Před 3 lety +172

    He was talking about re-enforcing hoops. A cool thing about the forces they control is that the stresses are called Hoope stress. Named not because of the hoop, but after the scientist that defines the stresses and came up with the equation to calculate them.

    • @tylersamuels4438
      @tylersamuels4438 Před rokem +4

      Lol that's a funny coincidence. It's like it was his calling.

    • @GrapplingwithPhysics
      @GrapplingwithPhysics Před rokem +3

      I don’t think this is actually true. I’ve always seen it written “hoop stress”, and I’ve never heard of Mr Hoope. Google apparently hasn’t either.

    • @mud4309
      @mud4309 Před rokem

      Land Speeder headass

    • @soulchorea
      @soulchorea Před 8 měsíci

      this is fascinating and sounds completely MADE UP 🤣 this is the kind of comment I always try to troll people with, well done sir

    • @mikenewman8181
      @mikenewman8181 Před 8 měsíci

      Hoop stress is exactly the correct term. There ws no Mr Hoope.
      I used to design reservoirs and water towers, among other things
      Hoop stress is the pheripheral tensile stress which exists within a circular watertank or reservoir wall.

  • @darthtrabia
    @darthtrabia Před rokem +7

    Two of my absolute favorite minds. Love you guys

  • @jsamc
    @jsamc Před 8 měsíci

    Nice to hear intelligent conversation coming from my peeps.

  • @seth2308
    @seth2308 Před 4 lety +31

    "If your buildings outlive your civilizations...you overbuilt" 5:18 😂😂

    • @TK-zf7sx
      @TK-zf7sx Před 3 lety +1

      Better to overbuild than have your buildings and infrastructure fail and end your civilization.

  • @markberard804
    @markberard804 Před 2 lety +44

    Another point is pumps run much better at the same speed, and on for long times (not switching on and off), so you can run the pump filling the water tower at a continuous low speed, leading to better efficiency and less maintenance

  • @LumaSloth
    @LumaSloth Před 8 měsíci +1

    Damn. Neil is so relaxed

  • @alexpascal5403
    @alexpascal5403 Před 8 měsíci

    Man I love Neal so much !!!!!

  • @nickh5081
    @nickh5081 Před rokem +219

    As a civil engineer I came here thinking I was going to hear Neil complaining about water towers and I wanted to see what his problem was, let alone his solution! Instead I got him telling me all the basic things I already know (I'd better, in this line of work!) but he's just so easy to listen to I watched the whole video anyway!

    • @chad1755
      @chad1755 Před rokem +6

      Haha yeah same here

    • @gabiferreira6864
      @gabiferreira6864 Před rokem +7

      same I thought he hated them or something lol

    • @150Gianluca
      @150Gianluca Před rokem +10

      My only issue is that he's talking about the "weight" of water, which is a downward force relative to the diameter and height of the tower. What's actually important is the pressure which is only related to the height of the water and is wat causes the hoop stress in the vessel. The weight is acting downwards, the pressure is acting outwards, which I think is an important distinction he missed.

    • @joeylopez1692
      @joeylopez1692 Před rokem +6

      Engineers unite lol

    • @wellsvalleypresbyterian7955
      @wellsvalleypresbyterian7955 Před rokem +3

      Farm born and raised, I knew why the concrete stave and the wooden silos had the hoops closer together at the bottom before I was 10. I was here at the end as well.

  • @realapproved
    @realapproved Před rokem +77

    "If your structure outlasts your civilization more than two thousand years you probably overbuilt" - amazing

    • @unbanned6175
      @unbanned6175 Před rokem +8

      And wrong. It implies civilisations expect their downfall when building things. Any civilisation builds to last, in the modern world, its simply cheaper to build temporary and the rate of advancement 2000 years later is much faster. And in the Roman's case, we are fortunate they did, otherwise we wouldn't have many great buildings that exist today, some even still lived in, like the Roman's planned.

    • @Wis_Dom
      @Wis_Dom Před rokem +1

      Hilarious! 😅 They for sure, overbuilt!

    • @glen1555
      @glen1555 Před 8 měsíci

      Thought that line was great, but Rome expected to last forever

    • @Robert08010
      @Robert08010 Před 8 měsíci

      Tell the Egyptians!

    • @soulchorea
      @soulchorea Před 8 měsíci

      @@unbanned6175 to be fair it was kinda a joke

  • @maragreentrees1405
    @maragreentrees1405 Před rokem +2

    Very interesting. I like Neil. I always learn something new. I’m going to look at our water tower, now, with new interest.

  • @nlitenme
    @nlitenme Před 9 měsíci

    I have always wondered about water towers. Thanks.

  • @sonicpsycho13
    @sonicpsycho13 Před 6 lety +24

    In certain applications, water towers are used to alleviate rapid changes in pressure, like a capacitor in an electrical circuit or a damper in a spring-mass-damper system. For example, when a valve is closed, it creates a back pressure, and rather than travel through that incompressible fluid until it breaks something, water towers send the pressure wave to dissipate against gravity.

  • @not_a_theist
    @not_a_theist Před 6 lety +159

    ❤️ his joy is contagious

    • @TBDguitar
      @TBDguitar Před 6 lety +1

      Not A Theist what is joy?

    • @not_a_theist
      @not_a_theist Před 6 lety +1

      Cool Dude I just remembered I have video speed set to 1.5... try it- there is joy😊

    • @lookingatliars
      @lookingatliars Před 6 lety

      Not A Theist he is a really good actor!!!

    • @lookingatliars
      @lookingatliars Před 6 lety

      Not A Theist czcams.com/video/cAdppv5daIU/video.html

    • @not_a_theist
      @not_a_theist Před 6 lety

      lookingatliers eyes wide shut I think his acting skills are average at best. czcams.com/video/F3DlNZRAlms/video.html

  • @LongWatchman
    @LongWatchman Před 8 měsíci

    This is awesome

  • @loYolVibes
    @loYolVibes Před 7 měsíci +1

    As a licensed water operator who works with these daily I found it pretty amusing to listen to 😂

  • @timothymclean
    @timothymclean Před 5 lety +76

    "If your infrastructure outlives the fall of your civilization by 2,000 years, you overbuilt."
    The first reasonable perspective on "We don't build things like the Romans anymore" that I've heard in a long time.

    • @olliefoxx7165
      @olliefoxx7165 Před 4 lety +17

      I disagree on the overbuilt part. They had the, "If you're gonna do something do it right." attitude.

    • @davidm5707
      @davidm5707 Před 4 lety +8

      It's hard not to overbuild if all you have is stone and cement. They did have good cement, better than anything we have now.

    • @andyjacobs7010
      @andyjacobs7010 Před 4 lety +6

      @Bruno Pereira
      Imagine Roman architecture and engineering trying to deal with the vehicles and loads of people of present day...
      Yeah, Roman engineers would be like any other. If anything, blame the politicians that set their budget with what to work with.

    • @andyjacobs7010
      @andyjacobs7010 Před 4 lety

      @Bruno Pereira and what exactly is an "Ancient Solution" do you think.
      What would make them any different from modern engineers?

    • @perhapsso1909
      @perhapsso1909 Před 4 lety +1

      @Bruno Pereira engineering is not about feeling. Its very logical and math based. The basics of engineering dont magically change or worsen over time. In fact the engineering knowledge and tools we have today are far far more advanced than then.
      What i mean to say is no, ancient engineers weren't magically talented and had super secret techniques that we dont know. They were and are just as smart as our modern engineers.

  • @Hairysteed
    @Hairysteed Před rokem +87

    In Finland we have these huge concrete cone-shaped water towers that look like giant mushrooms usually on top of the highest points in town. The cone shape helps keep the water level variation to a minimum as well as distributes the weight of the water more evenly.

    • @briantrumpower8108
      @briantrumpower8108 Před rokem +5

      water towers in Finland are like works of art.

    • @Dreyno
      @Dreyno Před 9 měsíci +5

      We have the same type in Ireland. I can see one on the horizon from our house.

    • @LemonySnicket-EUC
      @LemonySnicket-EUC Před 8 měsíci +1

      Creates more water pressure.

    • @MrPancakelizard
      @MrPancakelizard Před 8 měsíci +1

      shaped like a concrete martini glass, nearly all the volume is at the top

    • @nanorider426
      @nanorider426 Před 8 měsíci

      Yep. We also have those in Denmark.

  • @becomingabetterhuman.2994
    @becomingabetterhuman.2994 Před 10 měsíci

    Just enjoy learning something new everyday.

  • @rogerjohnson1995
    @rogerjohnson1995 Před 10 měsíci

    Why does neil look baked?
    Chuck is so absorbent and open to new theories and opinions.
    Why do they have the BEST podcast on YT?

  • @jeffboenig395
    @jeffboenig395 Před 2 lety +402

    Always a pleasure listening to Neil explain science and technology. He makes it fun and interesting, no matter how seemingly mundane the topic. Nice job!

    • @Chorizo9586
      @Chorizo9586 Před rokem +15

      Nope, he's annoying af

    • @jjlocker3575
      @jjlocker3575 Před rokem +1

      @@Chorizo9586I'll listen to Neal talk about anything

    • @AliHamza-sv4ni
      @AliHamza-sv4ni Před rokem +1

      @@Chorizo9586 let me guess. Jre fan?

    • @Chorizo9586
      @Chorizo9586 Před rokem +2

      @@AliHamza-sv4ni JRE isn't bad and Neil was annoying before his appearance on JRE, but he 100% was annoying af on JRE.

    • @AliHamza-sv4ni
      @AliHamza-sv4ni Před rokem +1

      @@Chorizo9586 ah, so my guess was right 😂

  • @AlphaMachina
    @AlphaMachina Před rokem +167

    The water tower acts like a buffer system, or a cache system, where instead of direct supply, the buffer or cache can be filled slowly over time (you don't need high water pressure) and then accessed as necessary, rather than the slow trickle of direct supply. That's how many systems in PC's work.

    • @randoprior4130
      @randoprior4130 Před rokem +4

      wouldn't there be cleaning issues? surely keeping standing water in a big tub outdoors would present many challenges.

    • @magrat3247
      @magrat3247 Před rokem +13

      @@randoprior4130 sure but people are still constantly taking water out of it so new water is constantly being replaced so i doubt any significant amount of anything will grow also it is covered so sunlight doesn't touch the water so algae won't grow as easy

    • @roccotaco87
      @roccotaco87 Před rokem +11

      @@randoprior4130 also they are sealed and disinfected by whatever they use for example chlorine

    • @AlphaMachina
      @AlphaMachina Před rokem +3

      Interesting fact─you can tell how important a town or city was in Roman times based on whether or not it had an aqua-duct. Even some far out of the way towns in Roman England had aqua-ducts because they had businesses, political centers and/or people of great import there.

    • @l0k048
      @l0k048 Před rokem +2

      that's also kinda how capacitors work

  • @itscky2007
    @itscky2007 Před rokem

    Teaching with lots of humor, amazing.

  • @heretic124
    @heretic124 Před 6 lety +1214

    4:15 Neil's face lol

    • @jasonsmith-lv5my
      @jasonsmith-lv5my Před 6 lety +43

      heretic124 reminds me of one of them Garry's mod TF 2 faces.

    • @jannikmichel7646
      @jannikmichel7646 Před 6 lety +62

      it looks like neil farted and the other guy just smells it

    • @FernandoSV
      @FernandoSV Před 6 lety +58

      meme worthy

    • @teddybruscie
      @teddybruscie Před 6 lety +4

      When he realized he was trying to touch him the whole video and he admits he doesn't wash his hands. Lol

    • @JRockySchmidt
      @JRockySchmidt Před 6 lety +7

      That face screams: " I farted in your coffee and you didn't notice."