The Sharpest Object In The World Can't Cut Anything

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Published 2023-03-13

All Comments (21)

@SciShow 1 year ago

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@TheWretchedOwl 1 year ago

“While you were studying science, I was studying the blade” These scientists: “I was studying both, actually.”
@alexlandherr 1 year ago

In a twist of irony it’s almost pointless…
@philochristos 1 year ago

As a custom knife maker, I found this video to be very much on point and full of cutting edge information.
@leegreen4165 10 months ago

I've been using obsidian scalpels for cosmetically sensitive surgical procedures since the mid-1990s. They work remarkably well, and the difference in scarring is very noticeable. They're fussy to work with though, requiring a somewhat different technique and very meticulous care in handling.
@danielm.1441 1 year ago

I'm astounded that one of the sharpest materials known to man is still obsidian.
@Heeby-Jeebies 1 year ago

The puns were cutting. The writing was sharp. This really drove a wedge into the subject. And you made a good point! It kept me on edge throughout.
@fertandbooger 1 year ago

On obsidian surgical tools: I've heard that they require different movements than surgeons are used to making with scalpels and that if you use it like you would a steel scalpel you'll break bits off (which are, of course, incredibly tiny glass shards that get left in the incision). And even if they do use it correctly the obsidian edge is dulled beyond usefulness after just one surgery and needs to be recycled.
@sora1316 1 year ago

At one point I thought he was talking about Minecraft
@SomeGuyNamedTex 1 year ago

I knew obsidian was going to be mentioned at some point. I didn't know obsidian surgical scalpels were a thing though.
@GnrMilligan 1 year ago

You made that far more interesting than I thought the subject deserved. Well done!
@larrynguyen85 1 year ago

This reminded me of "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman, about a knife so sharp that it can pierce the fabric of the multiverse, opening portals to other universes
@Glockenspheal 1 year ago

This has finally convinced me that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.
@ericyang8474 1 year ago

This was something that crossed my mind for years, particularly when I asked my mom which knife was sharpest. A serrated bread knife does a better job cutting some materials while a general purpose knife could be better used on others. Sharpness could also be separated by type (piercing, shearing, and cutting) as to make better sense of what tool is more sharp in what context.
@jacobwansleeben3364 1 year ago

This reminds me of that one scene in One Punch Man where King can't pull a katana out of its sheath to cut an apple, but Atomic Samurai thinks that King wielded the sword with such skill that he pulled it out of the sheath and slid the sword between the atoms of the apple, causing the apple to not get cut, and then re-sheathed it faster than he could see.
@Expertato555 7 months ago

Wait until it becomes the second sharpest knife, wait until the tip is so small the tip can slice atoms in half. I could become the worlds strongest knife.
@megahunter223 1 year ago

I remember one time I asked my grandpa what the sharpest thing in the world is and he said: "It's a fart. They cut right through your pants without even leaving a hole." I still don't know if that was a joke he'd heard before or if he just made it up on the spot.
@martinpfefferle2558 1 year ago

There also needs to be a distinction between cleaving/shearing and slicing Jaggedness/serrations can make a big difference in slicing
@dabbopabblo 1 year ago

I love that scientist are just people who make complicated observations about simple things
@itryen7632 1 year ago

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me