Unfortunately I know 4 people who had their ankles sprained during last yea... All cases results of hard belaying... I hope this video will help to reduce such incidents. More practical examples are coming in my future videos. At this moment I earn almost nothing making these videos, so if you get value from them and want to say thank you consider supporting me here: kzfaq.infojoin

TLDR: Falling doesn’t kill you, sudden stops do.

As a Physics PhD student, I can say that this guy is better at explaining physics applications than about 94% of college professors

Just climb at night when the earth is upside down or go to Australia, easy.

as an engineer, I did find this very funny.

Very good demonstration and summary! Something else to consider: When falling at the lower bolts, the risk of hitting the ground increases when trying to belay more gently. Not always easy to decide.

I approve of your use of quickdraws as a scientific unit!

I wish the kids I teach climbing to were fluent in english, so I could make them watch your videos!! You explain things so well. Thanks so much for all the genius ideas and hard work you put into your videos.

as a MSc student in engineering area I'd like to say, that this guy is brilliantly explaining physical concepts

The Tirol mountain rescue did some tests on slings and those recordings really drive home how little of a fall is necessary to break them. I think it is this information that really needs to be shared to bring the number of fatalities down. Your video does a good job in that regard.

I’m pretty new to climbing, and all the information can feel a little daunting at times. Your videos provide great info in an interesting way. Thank you so much, you’re awesome.

MATLAB👍👍👍 I thought, I was the only guy doing matlab simulations for climbing stuff😎🤓🤓. Great work!

Great explanation of Dead Isaacs or “Kill-a-Newton’s”! 😂

I like that Newton was wearing his famous toga.

Why is Isaac Newton wearing a toga?

A discussion of impulse and momentum would make this more complete, but probably less digestible. I have my physics students work out a problem like this except with a full treatment of kinematics and impulse momentum principles, it's quite fun :)

From FOF to some good physics, one of the bests channels out there! Just sent my first 6a+ after your videos gave me a confidence boost haha thanks a lot and keep it up

Rope resting is super interesting: slingshots have similar properties and there's a temperature element to it as well.

I stopped watching climbing videos since chronic illness made it so I can't climb anymore, but this snuck into my recommended and I watched it fully. Great video, great and clear explanations and examples, important subject made very digestable, love your sense of humor, and the skillful and funny editing. Well done!

OMG this is going to create SOOOO many arguments at the crag...I love it!

"today is a bad gravity day" 😆

Me sitting here with an injured knee from a hard fall watching these videos to accelerate healing time

I was not expecting such an in depth explanation of force from a random climbing video. was very well done!

My friend is practicing falls tomorrow and I sent her this video!! So cool to learn about the physics behind climbing! This video is spectacularly well done!

that classic Vsauce "what is life" moment...

You put so much effort into this video and it turned out so well! Nice explanations + you‘re a cool guy !

These videos are sooo well done! I recently finished watching the belay masterclass videos and now I’m working my way through the other vids. Can’t wait to get climbing!

Just watched "falling physics Every Climber Needs to Know" and "Perfect Figure 8 knot every time". You are a master at explaining things. Thank you.

Really nice done, thanks for that! I always run to my laptop when the hard is easy bell is ringing. Really looking forward to all of your upcoming videos. One thing i wish to see in the future: You while climbing! I have only seen you climbing one time during fear of falling part one testing the belay skills of the german climbing machine. Keep crushing!

These fall videos have been fantastic! I'd say I had a fair understanding of falling but it's definitely up a level now. Incredibly useful knowledge for me in particular since I had a pretty nasty free solo accident a year an half ago and for a while I didn't think I could get back to climbing if I couldn't fall off. But watching your videos recently has made me realize that yeah, I could take lead falls even I just have to chose my routes more carefully, which generally means steeper overhanging climbs or at least off vertical walls. Soon I'll be trying out some fall practice from your previous video and then hopefully I can jump back on the send train! Thank you 🙏 and keep it up🙌👍

I haven't been climbing in 40 years, but I found this fascinating. Excellent job. Thank you.

3 years of university (molecular biology) and that was the best executed physics lecture I got in that time!

Ben, I'm pausing halfway through just to comment. Damn, dude... Your videos are always top notch! Great content + Great filming + Super editing. Keep up the excellent work!

As an engineer, the code looks interesting. Explanation in scientific perspective is also impressive. Subscribe immediately!!

I love it!! I'm just a begginer in climbing issues but i love all this Physics stuff that are the minnimum factor of all "human" physical activity (jumping, falling, punching, running, etc...)

Thanks for the great videos (and fantastic editing)! You have another subscriber:) A few months ago I watched Ryan’s video about the falling forces when I was taking a rock climbing class, and just now I realized that he’s the one you’ve mentioned in your videos. It’s a small world!

as someone who allready knows that stuff: Great job! The physics check out, they were nicely visualized and easy to understand (even for beginners)! Wish my physics teacher would have explained it like that. Aaaalso I had a lot of fun watching it.

Loved the video, i've learned much ! This kind of content is great

It is kind of like a motorsports accident, the dramatic ones with lots of spins and rolls aren't the ones where people get hurt, the ones where the vehicle comes to a very sudden stop are the dangerous ones.

Love your channel! Great work on explaining the physics of force, mass and newtons! You are making climbing a safer place through your channel. I subscribed!

Great explanation bro. People really should understand that high acceleration is what causes injury/broken gear (acceleration includes speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction). Elastic elements in the system can absorb some of the shock and reduce the peak forces, this is good for your gear and your spine. Handling falls in climbing isn't just about attaching yourself to something rigid with a static rope, you'll break your back if you don't snap a carabiner at least. Elasticity is the name of the game here, shock absorption. This is why all climbers should know their basic physics, you're a weight on the end of a string going through pulleys and often using nothing but friction to keep gear in the wall (cams). Call me cautious but I like to know when and how that string might break lol. Too many don't know this stuff, and hence why so many make critical errors like taking 50cm falls onto static gear. But this kind of thing is rarely explained to beginner climbers, presumably because instructors either don't really understand it themselves or because they assume the students would find it confusing. Personally I'd say, if you're not willing to be confused, you're not willing to learn, and if you're not willing to learn how to keep yourself alive you should find another hobby :P

0:39 You realize that "Accumulation of midichlorians" is also a Star Wars reference, right? And a good one, at that :)

I love this video, very well done, informative, and entertaining. I've watched it multiple times and never gets old.

being new on the lead this video was a great education, and helped me to appreciate my high school physics education! Keep up the great work - you are making the climbing community smarter. Humor on point!

I have a degree in mechanical engineering, why am I watching this? Great video tho

great video and channel. I wish Physic lessons in school would habe been so vivid!

Your style is so great!! Such simple explanations that are still so detailed. And the comedy was great

This was both entertaining and interesting to watch. As a new climber who is interested in the science behind climbing and the gear, this was a spot on video!

I was literally asking myself this stuff when I’ve seen your video about the double 8 knot. Thanks for doing the math for me :) Looking forward to see some videos about proactive belaying. Thank you so much for what you are doing.

9:07 You need to add m*a to that formula too, so it should be F=m*a*(1+h/d). Right now you're not taking the gravitational force into account, just the force created by the de-acceleration of the climber. Otherwise, great explanations!

This video finally got me to understand fall factor. Everything else I've seen focuses on the amount of rope in the system first instead of the distance slowing down.

This is the most informative video I have seen on any topic. And I've seen a lot of videos on many, many topics. Thank you Hard Is Easy.

Whippers are more comfy than I expected. Not so much on slabs though. 😅

Very good overview, it helped me a ton to visualize both taking and belaying falls. I'm caught on that big vs. small falls example though, by your example the belayer caught the short fall two meters off the ground, which does leave room for a softer fall, but with a climber any lower than that I personally would worry that a hard catch would be better than even giving possibility for a ground fall - but I don't know for sure. I guess I could do the math if I sat down with it for a bit, but do you have any thoughts/recommendations for calculating more specifically at what height it is safe to make a dynamic catch?

So happy I found your gem of a channel, love your style.

I used to work the manufacturing floor of BD, and watching the break batch tests were so cool. I learned a lot working there, I loved it.

literally a physics lesson with the real physics terms substituted with climber slang :D

I have fallen from 3 meters on my chest and face. A 12 meter whip sounds terrifying. Will see which is worse to take. I'm betting the whip. EDIT1: I didn't realise the 12m whip would have 2 meters of dampening. Probably the 2m fall is worse impact. EDIT2: yea dampening op.

Your content is so interesting that my 7 year old daughter just sat through this entire video with me and was interested the whole time. Good stuff!

I've just discovered this channel and I couldn't be happier, thank you! I'm a physics and maths tutor and also the sort of physics climber nerd who does calculations for fun in their spare time to see exactly why certain things work or don't work. your video is exactly how I like to explain concepts to my students! =) Haven't progressed to experiments yet, but I can see it coming! Latest project of mine was creating a very simple mathematical model of my body shape and mass distribution so I can have a better approximation rather than a point mass for any future calculations. I used average CoM measurements of different parts of the body from a biology paper (who actually cut up dead people to make the measurements which is pretty cool).

Climbing roofs makes gravity less, according to gravity field's laws

Love your channel, from the mental game of climbing to physics! Awesome! Have you ever considered making videos on the physics of climbing technique? For instance, I've heard that laybacking is like creating a lever between your feet and your hands, are there any lessons in this on how to get through laybacks with minimal wasted energy? Or, how much weight is really on your hands vs your feet for various levels of overhang? Obviously physiology is a larger factor in most techniques but physics still probably offers lessons in a few areas! :)

Your humor at 10:43 to 10:50 and very slow steady pace of teaching made me subscribe!

Great video!! I feel like you put a lot of work into them. Keep it up!! Not a climber but a real geek here. Thanks!!!

“I keep falling, i see the wall pas by in front of me. And i think... hmm, why is it taking so long for me to stop” famous last words

So ok, I decided to take a look at this video for educational purposes (I love to learn about physics and all add sorts of odd things) but I have to say, that clone machine portion of the video would have made it all worth while even if I hadn't learned a thing... which fortunately I still actually did. Now if I could just figure out how to make a clone machine... I'd like one as well.

Wow loved every second a mechanical engineering PhD student. It was amazing how you narrowed down every concept! And the examples were magnific!! I would now love a video on hard vs soft belaying :)

After watching this clip, you Sir, deserved my subscription. Nice video and great explanation and illustration of the physics behind kilonewtons and how they fall and stop falling. Some faster, some slower.

3:00 If the objects are the same shape and have the same density, the heavier object will fall slightly faster because the smaller object has to overcome more drag proportional to it's weight

Would be nice to see a fully fleshed out video on proper belaying, I know you have some smaller ones on certain scenarios, but I think it would be valuable to join them into one.

I’m not a climber, and I’ve only ever done so a few times in my life. I’ve also never even heard of you before this video. However it popes up on my feed and this was one of the most entertaining and educational videos I’ve seen in awhile!

Ive never climbed anything more difficult than a staircase; yet i watched this entire video because it was so interesting, entertaining, and expertly explained

"and that's enough advertisement for you" Hahahahahaha 🤣🤣🤣

imagine if not this newtoon we'd be able to fly now

This video highlights how important it is to have some know how to catch someone falling properly. I broke my ankle (talas and heel fracture) due to a short snappy fall and I still have issues with my ankle after three years!

Yet another brilliant video, so glad I found this channel! Thank you! 🙌

beautiful video, But we want Banana Hanna!! i'm joking (maybe...) but i'm really curious about some raw climbing videos of you or Anna. big love from Italy :) (sorry about my english)

YESS I was thinking the whole time about how gravity is just an illusion!! It's all about that warped space-time amiright

I have no interest in climbing but love to learn from people who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their subject. One of your videos was recommended and now I have to watch them all!

the production value here is crazy good

I'm pretty sure YT recommended this to me because I follow Matt's Off Road Recovery; they use dynamic ropes to pull vehicles out of mud, sand, snow, etc. The recovery rig is often much lighter than the one to be recovered, but the rope stores the kinetic energy when the rope goes tight, jerking the recovered vehicle out. Yay for dynamic ropes!

Finally, someone who explained climbing forces in a way I could understand them :D

Your videos are amazing. Thank you for the great info for the community in a clear, interesting and fun manner.

Your physics are clear and concise. Good job. Thanks for the video. The takeaway I've learned from this video is 1. Soft gear begins to _significantly_ lose its rating as it ages/wears. 2. I think I can reasonably assume that gear will hold up just fine under static loads, and even appear to still be working to spec under typical low impact dynamic conditions - but when a dynamic situation is greater than usual - that's when I might find out -- I should've replaced that gear. I've got webbing in my life that's at least 30 years old - still works great - as a dog collar, strapping my sleeping bag to my backpack... I'm a sailor, so all this applies - it's just I'm less likely to be seriously injured or die from a gear failure. This doesn't make it okay. A lot of sailors are replacing metal shackles with Dyneema soft shackles - they're more versatile, easy to make, cheaper, cause less chaffing (to other lines) and don't rattle against the mast all night long. Your video makes it clear that every sailboat with soft shackles in critical places should maybe have a replacement chart right inside the cabin with 'Replacement Dates." I don't think it would be at all difficult to simply remake and then replace all the soft shackles every year. (What I know about splicing Dyneema is the first one takes a lot of time, but quickly it's just a job. (I can see audiobook, an entire day and soft shackles for this year and next.) I also think that unless for some reason space is limited, just use the largest diameter Dyneema I can get for everything. And to reiterate: I am talking sail boats (and hammocks) here, not climbing where the consequences are much more serious.

This was fun. Great humorous method to explain. Watched it all. Enjoyable.

Massive support to your massive works! 🙏💪

Loved the extra little facts and examples. Funny and informal. 👍

came for the cool climbing insights, stayed for the very well explained physics! also those short inserts of michael were great 😂

i am not a climber and this video got recommended to me because im a mountain- / downhillbiker. Knowing the physics on what forces are generated when falling is nice to know. Helps me decide on what risky jumps i take and which ones i skip becaue the risk is just too high because of physics.

Fantastic video! A physicist here, I once attempted to calculate the force of a fall, basically calculating the change of momentum of the catch, and it is not straightforward and requires a lot of experimental data about the rope, the belay, etc. Glad that someone came up with an approximate equation to estimate the force. Stay safe out there!

1:35 That's the greatest and funniest oversimplification I've seen in a while, nice sketch haha. Great vid overall, I didn't expect a vsauce-explanation on gravity at the end. He has a way of messing with people's heads which is great.

Love your all your vids, old is new!

We love your kind of content and we think its amazing that you explain those things to people😄😄

This is one smart & educated cookie of a climber! 😃👍

I have never had an interest in climbing but damn, I could not help but watch this whole video. Great explaining, even somebody with no prior experience who might also be high (me) could understand quite well.

It was WAY more interesting than I thought when I first clicked on the video. And I'm not even a climber :)

So glad I found this channel!

Amazing explanation of hard stuffs! 🙌🏼🔥

Amazing work thanks so much! I've been wanting to watch such a video for a long time 😊

Thank you so much for all the info, data and fun ! My students will be happy to have a more competent teacher !