Physics
Planning Space Missions of the Future
The European Space Agency recently outlined its “themes” for space exploration in the future, outlining humanity’s top priorities in space.
An artificial sun?
A new nuclear reactor in China debuted late last year, and is able to reach temperatures hotter than the sun.
What if an elephant fell from the Empire State Building?
The physical size of objects, and the resulting implications, are often hard to model outside of fitting squares and triangles into holes on a wooden board. Morbidity aside, the size of an object (including elephants) is easy to showcase by dropping it from high places.
What is gravity, and how does it work?
What goes up, must come down. But why do those who go up eventually come back down?
How stable are Christmas trees?
It’s a typical December scenario: The family trip to the tree lot. The Fraser Fir tied to the roof of the car. Dad under the branches screwing the stand to the trunk. And the inevitable wobbling of the 7-foot holiday embellishment as it threatens to topple over and onto the floor, scattering needles everywhere.
Boats can float upside down underneath water?
It may look like wizardry or something out of a sci-fi movie, but no, the boat you see really is floating upside down.
Future spacecraft - and how they will handle landing on new planets
Scientists have already landed spacecraft on the easier, calmer planets – now they have to figure out how to get their machines onto planets with high pressured atmospheres, steep, mountainous surfaces, and slippery ice surfaces
A device can produce energy using shadows
A new device exploits the contrast between bright spots and shade to create a current that can power small electronics.
Fish save energy by swimming in schools
Robot-like fish provided insight to researchers and scientists who were interested in the effects other fishes’ swimming on a member of the school.