The Bizarre Behaviour Of Rotating Bodies

Veritasium · 1:33

3,489,786 views · 85,982 likes · Apr 2, 2026

What you are looking at is known as the Dzhanibekov effect or the tennis racket theorem or the intermediate axis theorem.

It involves arguably the best mathematician alive, Soviet era secrets, and the end of the world.

So in 1985, cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov was tasked with saving the Soviet space station Salyut 7 which had completely shut down. The mission was so dramatic that the Russians m…

What you are looking at is known as the Dzhanibekov effect or the tennis racket theorem or the intermediate axis theorem.

It involves arguably the best mathematician alive, Soviet era secrets, and the end of the world.

So in 1985, cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov was tasked with saving the Soviet space station Salyut 7 which had completely shut down. The mission was so dramatic that the Russians m…

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