Watching a match head ignite at 4,000 FPS is mesmerizing

Shawn Knight

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It’s amazing just how different everyday tasks look when filmed in super slow motion and what secrets they may hide. For example, did you know an outstretched slinky hanging vertically seems to defy gravity when released and only “falls” once the top section has collided with the bottom portion? Or that cats have an extremely elaborate way of drinking that puzzled scientists until just a few years ago?

The latest ultra slow motion video making the rounds on the web shows exactly what happens during another common task – lighting a match head. What’s essentially over in a couple of seconds and looks pretty basic in real-time is actually amazingly complex and mesmerizing when viewed at 4,000 frames per second.

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Thanks a lot. I went and googled images of trypophobia and now I think I have it as well.
 
Could be good therapy for recovering arsonists and pyromaniacs.
Indeed! Pump them full of LSD and make them watch it hour after hour, a la "Alex", in, "A Clockwork Orange".

Should it turn out that it excites them too much, you can always resort to the old, "jumper cables on the genitals"....

(I think we can all breath a sigh of relief, knowing that I'm not in charge).
 
Indeed! Pump them full of LSD and make them watch it hour after hour, a la "Alex", in, "A Clockwork Orange".

Should it turn out that it excites them too much, you can always resort to the old, "jumper cables on the genitals"....

(I think we can all breath a sigh of relief, knowing that I'm not in charge).
You could put your theory across to the powers that be, that way, if they agree with your **ahem** therapy, they'll make you the boss.
 
Should it not be "shot at 4000 fps and viewed at 24 fps" ?
Technically, I suppose it could be. But, YouTube supports many formats. Not having directly visited the page in question, I couldn't say what formats were available. So, it could also be Shot @4000fps, and viewed as, 24 fps, 29.97 fps, or 60 fps, in a variety of resolutions.

Just thought I'd let you know I can play this game too...;)

In the current, real world, though, I believe everybody who is even a little bit video savvy, realizes that slo-mo is done by speeding up the recording camera, and playing back at normal speed, at least in the commercial entertainment setting. What people do in labs when analyzing slow motion captures, could actually be on a frame by frame basis.

And, 4000fps, isn't particularly fast. A quick web search shows the availability of cameras that can hit 250,000 fps!

Here's a "Kickstarter" project, allegedly shipping this year: http://petapixel.com/2013/09/24/edgertronic-small-affordable-super-slow-motion-camera/ It's a "bargain" too, coming in at slightly under five grand....:eek:
 
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