bigthinkeditor
In the 1930s, scientists were baffled by liquid helium, which, at extremely low temperatures, exhibited strange behaviors. Learn more about this amazing superfluid by watching this short video clip from […]
What happens when you throw a boomerang in zero gravity? Japanese astronaut Takao Doi demonstrates on the International Space Station: Image credit: popofatticus/Flickr
What’s the opposite of inhaling helium? Inhaling sulfur hexafluoride. While helium makes you sound like a Merry Melodies character, sulfur hexafluoride will make you sound like, well, Satan. Adam Savage […]
“Mathematics reveals its secrets only to those who approach it with pure love, for its own beauty.” ― Archimedes
“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
Back on July 15, 2012, stargazers across planet Earth received a special treat in the predawn sky. Many had the opportunity to see an extra-bright Jupiter cozied up to a […]
A “swan” and “tulip” combine to form this beautiful image. The Tulip Nebula is in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. NASA explains: Framing a bright emission region this telescopic view […]
Sometimes images captured by NASA look like works of art. This one looks painted in the style of Chiaroscuro, sharp contrasts between light and dark. NASA explains why: Deep shadows […]
A black hole has never been seen directly. There are always clear indicators of a black hole at work. For instance, this image released by NASA shows a swirling whirlpool […]
Dust surrounds the Orion Nebula, a hotbed of star formation some 1,600 light years away. Who knew dust could be this beautiful? The “intricate and picturesque filaments of dust,” as […]
This is exactly what the world needs: a trash-talking robot. Victor likes to think that he’s a a master Scrabble player, and it gives him a superiority complex that he […]
Electrical engineering maestro Steve Ward, then a college student in Illinois, programmed this Tesla coil in 2007 so that each spark sounds like a musical note. In this now classic […]
There’s a reason why the French are the masters of making wine. The earliest evidence of wine-making discovered in France dates back to 425 BC. The French have had time […]
Are we getting closer to building an invisibility cloak? According to new research out of Duke University, science may have built an early ancestor to the science fiction device. Watch […]
Last month in Iceland, a photographer captured this incredible aurora. Iceland’s volcano Öræfajökull can be seen in the foreground. The constellation of Orion is visible to the left of the […]
It’s Monday, and after a relaxing weekend it’s time for coffee. A lot of coffee. But do you know what can happen if you drink too much? There’s such a […]
This summer, fire up the 3D printer! Here’s another impressive success story from the 3D printing revolution: a kayak. Engineer Jim Smith, founder of Grass Roots Engineering, created a 3D […]
The night sky isn’t actually dark to begin with, according to MinutePhysics. Then why does Space at night appear dark to us? Because our universe is constantly changing and expanding, […]
Recent research suggests that our ancient cousins, the Neanderthals, may have been able to speak. Does this mean that Neanderthals had their own version of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”? We […]
Stargazers, now you can have a telescope that does the heavy-lifting for you. The Celestron Cosmos 90 GT is costly ($400), but it works with your Wi-Fi to search the heavens […]
From base to summit, Yosemite’s El Capitan is around 3,000 feet, and hiding the north celestial pole in this photograph. But follow the star trails, and you’ll of course get […]
“I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.” – Johannes Kepler
The radiating “donut shape” around Earth has a surprising structure discovered this week. The scientists who made the discovery have dubbed it “zebra stripes.” Wired has the story: The Van […]
One of our favorite blogs, Brain Pickings, has a great piece featuring best-selling author Neil Gaiman: Neil Gaiman — prolific author, champion of the creative life, disciplined writer, sage of […]
It used to be commonly believed that the human nose can pick up 10,000 odors. We were wrong “by a factor of a hundred million,” according to The Washington Post. […]
Popular television shows have actually shaped scientific experiments? Mental Floss provides 9 examples of when researchers used TV shows to study test subjects’ behavior. The shows include classics like Cheers, […]
One day we may need to use the Moon as a “refilling station” or for upscale retirement communities. Before Space commercial developers get any ideas, they better count on engineering […]
Alchemy was once all the rage in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Yes, people actually practiced this witchcraft-like form of chemistry. It centered around uncovering an elixir of life, […]