Biology / Computing / Earth & Space / Economics / Engineering / Food Science / History / Language / Maths / Mind / Music & Sound / Physics

Step away.
Come back smarter.

Short, interactive explainers for your break from work. Read one in thirty seconds, dive deeper if you like, then get back to it.

Browse all Random break

Latest

View all →
History4 min read How a 2,000-year-old bronze machine predicted eclipses with the number 223 In 1901, divers pulled a corroded bronze machine from a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. One dial ended… Maths3 min read How dropping needles on a floor reveals the number π: Buffon's needle Toss a match onto a plank floor and ask: does it touch a crack? Do it thousands of times and the fraction that do will… Earth & Space3 min read Why one day on Mercury lasts two Mercury years Mercury circles the Sun in 88 Earth days and spins once every 58.6 days. That odd pairing, three spins for every two… Language3 min read Why the same sound is a b to English ears and a p to Spanish ears Say "bat" and "pat". The only physical difference is a tiny delay between your lips opening and your vocal cords… Music & Sound3 min read Why you hear bass from a speaker too small to make it: the missing fundamental Your phone speaker is far too small to produce a deep bass note, yet you still hear the bass. The trick is that pitch… Computing3 min read How a Bloom filter says "definitely not" using just a few bits How can a computer check whether a word is on a huge list using only a few bits per entry? A Bloom filter flips a…

Categories

01 BiologyCells, bodies, evolution and everything that grows. 5 breaks 02 ComputingThe ideas inside the machines we use all day. 4 breaks 03 Earth & SpacePlanets, weather, oceans and the sky above them. 5 breaks 04 EconomicsPrices, incentives and why markets do what they do. 3 breaks 05 EngineeringHow things are built, and why they don't fall down. 3 breaks 06 Food ScienceThe chemistry happening in your kitchen. 4 breaks 07 HistoryThe decisions, accidents and people that shaped now. 6 breaks 08 LanguageWords, grammar and how people make meaning. 5 breaks 09 MathsPatterns, chance and the numbers hiding in everyday things. 4 breaks 10 MindPsychology, perception and the quirks of the brain. 3 breaks 11 Music & SoundVibrations, harmony and why some sounds feel right. 5 breaks 12 PhysicsForces, light, time and the odd behaviour of the very small. 4 breaks

How it works

30 Second Break is a collection of short explainers for curious people of every age. Each break is one idea you can read in thirty seconds, with an optional deep dive that has its own interactive design.

01
Pick a topic
Browse by category, or hit Random.
02
Read for 30 seconds
Go deeper if you have a few more minutes.
03
Back to work
One thing smarter than before.