An engineer came up with a plan to drop tungsten telephone poles from space - the idea has been seriously considered on multiple occasions, so we tested it. Head to https://brilliant.org/Veritasium to start your free trial. The first 200 will get 20% off Brilliant's annual premium subscription.nnMassive thanks to Archisand for building such a beautiful sandcastle. https://www.youtube.com/@GregLeBonnnHuge thanks to John and Angie Miller for helping us with securing the shooting location and going above and beyond to make this shoot happen – https://highdesertlocations.com/nnThanks to Inland Empire Film Services and the San Bernardino County Film Office for portions of the video shot in the County of San Bernardino.nnMassive thanks to Dr David Wright for the interview and providing invaluable guidance during the research for this video.nnHere’s a great video about space-based missile defense – https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/space-based-missile-defense-not-good-ideannMassive thanks to Adam Savage for being part of this video.nnAdditional photos from NASA and ESA.nn▀▀▀nReferences:nUSAF. (2003). The US Air Force transformation flight plan.nnPreston, R., Johnson, D. J., Edwards, S. J., Miller, M. D., u0026 Shipbaugh, C. (2002). Space weapons earth wars. Rand Corporation.nnWright, D., Grego, L., u0026 Gronlund, L. (2005). The physics of space security. A Reference Manual, Cambridge.nnDeBlois, B. M., Garwin, R. L., Kemp, R. S., u0026 Marwell, J. C. (2004). Space weapons: crossing the US Rubicon. International Security, 50-84.nnBaucom, D. R. (2017). The Rise and Fall of Brilliant Pebbles 1. In United States Military History 1865 to the Present Day (pp. 329-376). Routledge.nnHitchens, T., u0026 Samson, V. (2004). Space-based interceptors: still not a good idea. Georgetown journal of international affairs, 21-29.nnNational Research Council. (2012). Making sense of ballistic missile defense: An assessment of concepts and systems for US boost-phase missile defense in comparison to other alternatives. National Academies Press.nnBorger, J. (2005). Bush likely to back weapons in space. The Guardian, 19.nn▀▀▀nSpecial thanks to: Bernard McGee, James Sanger, Elliot Miller, Brian Busbee, Jerome Barakos M.D., Amadeo Bee, TTST, Balkrishna Heroor, Chris LaClair, John H. Austin Jr., OnlineBookClub.org, Eric Sexton, John Kiehl, Diffbot, Gnare, Dave Kircher, Burt Humburg, Blake Byers, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Bill Linder, Paul Peijzel, Josh Hibschman, Mac Malkawi, Mike Schneider, John Bauer, Jim Buckmaster, Juan Benet, Sunil Nagaraj, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Stephen Wilcox, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Michael Krugman, Cy 'kkm' K'Nelson, Sam Lutfinn▀▀▀nWritten by Petr Lebedev, Derek Muller, and Emily ZhangnFilmed by Trenton Oliver, Derek Muller, Petr Lebedev, Emily Zhang, Raquel Nuno, and Eddie LopeznAnimation by Mike Radjabov, Fabio Albertelli, and Jonny HymannEdited by Trenton OlivernSlow Motion Camera: Shawn Sanders and Anthony CorralesnSandcastle Timelapse by Greg LeBon and ArchisandnPhantom rental from Panny Hire LAnHelicopter Pilots: Rick Shuster and Cliff FlemingnHelicopter Safety Officer: Ryan HoskingnFPV Drone Pilots: Sammie Saing and Josh EwaltnProduction Assistants: Roman Bacvic and Eddie LopeznIntern: Katie BarnshawnAdditional video/photos supplied by Pond5 and Getty ImagesnMusic from Epidemic SoundnThumbnail by Ignat BerbecinProduced by Derek Muller, Petr Lebedev, and Emily Zhang
