How Long Can You Balance a Pencil?

Thanks to those who support me on subbable! Especially:
Chris Romano
@vicnice137
@OWorthyFoo
Nir Lifshitz
@JMike9595
Ryan Cox

Image credits:
Pole Balancing

Quadcopter

Balancing Rocks

And twitter - @minutephysics

Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute!

[PaulMagnusSrensenClark]

Bruuuuh. We are talking about balancing pencils and quantom physics gets involved. I like it.

[willlhaney]

Stabbed pencil through my hand. Can hold indefinitely.

[pebleeto]

I balanced my pencil for 8 minutes.











I never sharpened it.

[jackreayroberts]

Try balancing a diet.
My record is 0.4 seconds, can anyone beat that?

[mediocre-motorcycle-modifi]

All you need to do is have the object spinning.

[ByRecentDesign]

I tried to balance a gun, but I dropped it. It went off and I was killed. What should I do next time?

[caramida]

Wow, this video truly... caught me off balance...

[andrewcurley]

I can balance myself on my tip for about 3 hours. I usually need a nap afterwards.

[dvidd]

Hey everyone, the secret to balance stick like objects with your hand/fingers/etc... is to watch the top of the object your are stabilizing. You will end up keeping the top in the center and your hand will adjust beneath automatically. The longer or more rigid the object is the easier it gets (up to a point). To keep it interesting, try throwing with your finger for a flip and catch it again while keeping balanced between throws. Happy lockdown!

[MsPtilopsis]

I really enjoyed the whimsical nature of the question. And it brought more personality to the channel by showing who you are.

[MicroBlogganism]

Would the atom at the tip be able to support the weight of the pencil? Graphite isn't exactly know for being a tough material.

[gozhven]

Extremely interesting.  So glad to see you back to doing videos related to science.

[wello]

One of the greatest channels on youtube. It would be petty to list a series of channels, but I hold minutephysics within my top ten.

[EmanuelsWorkbench]

It's great to see you in your videos!

[Vesadera]

why does a pencil look like it bends when you shake it? light refraction?

[yarrowplant]

Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

[JackFeelsNerves]

1:24
How do you expect me to believe ANY of your calculations when you say "...less than 3 seconds" and your drawing shows 3.1s? :P

[u.l.robotics]

Isn't the rotation of the earth also a factor when it comes to balancing objects?
I once heared a story that you can only balance an egg on the ground when you're on the equator. Is that true?

[mattybill]

What if the pencil was spinning, would it still fall over if it was spinning on its point at a certain speed?

[ZL]

That's some slick balancing there, especially with the talking and all!