The internet is once again a slightly brighter place, as Dianna "Physics Girl" Cowern has posted her first science video in three years.
Starting her Physics Girl brand all the way back in 2011, when she graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cowern has amassed an impressive 3.52 million subscribers on YouTube.
Sadly, her channel has been a little quiet recently, with her last science-related video being posted all the way back in October 2022. While we'll admit it was a pretty cool video where Cowern got to dive in a nuclear submarine, there's been a noted lack of her distinctive brand of informational science videos in our lives.
There have been occasional updates on the Physics Girl channel, although the last YouTube video came nine months ago, as she explained what it was like spending two years in bed due to complications from long COVID.
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YouTubers taking unexpected breaks due to health issues are sadly common, and although she's still speaking from bed, Cowern has given her followers an update on how she's doing and much-missed science.
Physics Girl opens by discussing a picture of the Sun that's been circulating online. What makes this unique is that it was taken at night, captured by Japan's Super-Kamiokande neutrino observatory over the course of 500 days.
The viral image is made up of neutrinos being emitted by the Sun, and although you might not know it, there are said to be around 100 billion neutrinos passing through the nail of our thumbs every second.
Referring to neutrinos as perhaps the most elusive particles in physics, she goes on to explain how light from the Sun would take around two seconds to get from the core to the outside if it didn't have to interact with anything. However, the density and heat of the Sun mean it actually takes hundreds of thousands of years for the light at the center to travel this distance. As neutrinos interact with matter so infrequently, it only takes them 2.3 seconds to reach the outside of the Sun.
Neutrinos are important because if there were a solar apocalypse, we'd find out from them.
30,000 neutrinos are detected in the Super-Kamiokande every day, leading to the viral image. The weirdest bit is that the photo is actually from the 1990s and has randomly had a resurgence in popularity.
Moving on to her health, Physics Girl admitted that she only filmed a short video before having to stop due to the ongoing effects of long COVID. She's still filming from bed, adding that she was feeling exhausted after just a few questions. Still, saying that we have no idea how excited she is to return to her bread and butter of science videos, this could herald a more regular return of the Physics Girl we've come to love over the years.
Responding to the video, one fan cheered: "My daughter just ran through the house like Paul Revere announcing Physics Girl has a new video."
Another added: "So happy that your health is improving, and to see you online again!!! I missed learning from you."
A third said: "Probably one of my most anticipated notifications of the last few years :)."
Welcome back, Physics Girl. It looks like the YouTube community has missed you.