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OREM — YouTube is often seen as a time waster, but for 17-year-old Nathan Stone, the video website is a place for him to share his personal science projects.
The “Keystone Science” YouTube channel, created by Stone in early 2016, has accumulated over 60,000 subscribers and far over 1 million video views. And it continues to grow steadily.
Stone, a high school student and resident of Orem, has been interested in science since his childhood. His favorite fields are physics, chemistry, and biology. All three of these interests are reflected in his homemade “laboratory”: a shed filled with wires and magnets, beakers and chemicals and several potted plants in the windowsill.
Stone spent six months cleaning out and repurposing the shed so that he could have a more permanent place to do experiments.
“I have a very selective attention, so I’ll go in and try to do something, and then I’ll get distracted and do something else,” Stone said.
His fascination with electricity in particular began after a perilous experience he had three years ago.
“I was somewhere in West Virginia, and lightning struck 10 feet away from me. I thought that was super cool, so I went home and tried to make high voltage things,” he said.
Stone, who is mostly self-taught, started making videos about his projects for fun. His YouTube channel has an educational lean, featuring many “how to” tutorials for building electrical devices. Some recent videos include burning Lichtenburg figures into wood and making lightning chimes.
The content of the channel may go over the heads of some viewers, however. Many of the videos include circuit diagrams and technical terms. According to YouTube analytics, the age range of most of his viewers is 25-34.
Despite having a narrow audience, “I’m just trying to get people interested in science,” Stone said.
Recently, Stone was surprised when his channel grew from 3,000 subscribers to 15,000 in one weekend. Since then, Keystone Science has continued to gain popularity. Now, Stone has enough of a following to make money from YouTube ad revenues.
“More money to do science!” Stone said. He is currently saving up for the supplies to make a vacuum chamber.
Fans frequently send Stone emails inquiring about scientific subjects.
“People ask me questions a lot, and it’s fun to help them,” he said.
The fun of running a YouTube channel is accompanied by challenges, however. Stone tries to post a new video every Wednesday, but Stone says he is often hindered by procrastination.
“Waiting ’til Tuesday night and staying up ‘til 3 a.m. to post (a video) at 5 a.m.,” Stone said. “Sleep is for the weak, right?”
Most of the responses to his videos are positive, but Stone also encounters the occasional cynic.
“A lot of (viewers) get mad at me because they say I talk too fast,” Stone said.
Some of Stone’s experiments can also put him in danger. He admitted that he has shocked himself on many occasions—once severely enough to make his brain hurt. In his videos, Nate often includes warnings like this one: "Microwave oven transformers will kill you if you touch them, so be very careful."
Usually, however, his heavy duty goggles and gloves do their job to protect him.
Even after the success of his YouTube channel, Stone continues to do science experiments for his own amusement. Recently, he installed working Christmas lights in his car by wiring them into the car’s electrical system. He also corrals his friends into various scientific escapades like making miniature rockets.
Stone said he spends about half his time working on experiments for his videos and the other half doing recreational science.
As for Stone’s plans for the channel’s future?
“Hopefully I’ll keep it around for a while, just because I think it’s fun,” he said.
The aspiring scientist also hopes to pursue physics and chemistry in college and someday move on to grander experiments.
“I want to make new ways of generating electricity and transmitting it wirelessly throughout the world,” Stone said.
In the words of Stone's send-off at the end of each Keystone Science video: “Be safe, and have a wonderful day!”
To learn more, viewers can visit the Keystone Science Twitter page.
Mabel Wheeler is a junior at Mountain View High School in Orem where she writes for the school newspaper, "The Bruin Post." She can be contacted at MabelEWheeler@gmail.com.
