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.

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Physics4 min read Why light bends in water: the lifeguard's shortest-time path (Fermat's principle) A lifeguard runs faster than she swims, so the quickest route to a swimmer is not a straight line. It bends at the… Mind4 min read Why a falling ruler slips through your fingers: gravity as a reaction-time stopwatch Drop a ruler without warning and you will not catch it at the top. The place where your fingers close is a stopwatch… Engineering5 min read Why airliner windows have no corners: stress piles up at the tightest curve Cut a hole in a stretched plate and the force has to squeeze past it, so the metal beside the hole carries far more… Economics5 min read Why the auction winner so often overpays: the winner's curse Why does the winner of an auction so often go home poorer? When a prize is worth the same to everyone, each bidder only… Food Science4 min read Why chocolate needs tempering: cocoa butter can freeze six ways, and only one snaps Two bars of dark chocolate can share every ingredient and still differ completely: one glossy, snappy and firm, the… Physics5 min read Why a spinning ball curves in mid-air: the Magnus effect Clip a football with the side of your boot and it bends around a wall with nothing touching it in the air. A spinning…

Categories

01 BiologyCells, bodies, evolution and everything that grows. 10 breaks 02 ComputingThe ideas inside the machines we use all day. 8 breaks 03 Earth & SpacePlanets, weather, oceans and the sky above them. 9 breaks 04 EconomicsPrices, incentives and why markets do what they do. 8 breaks 05 EngineeringHow things are built, and why they don't fall down. 8 breaks 06 Food ScienceThe chemistry happening in your kitchen. 9 breaks 07 HistoryThe decisions, accidents and people that shaped now. 10 breaks 08 LanguageWords, grammar and how people make meaning. 9 breaks 09 MathsPatterns, chance and the numbers hiding in everyday things. 8 breaks 10 MindPsychology, perception and the quirks of the brain. 8 breaks 11 Music & SoundVibrations, harmony and why some sounds feel right. 9 breaks 12 PhysicsForces, light, time and the odd behaviour of the very small. 10 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.