Science Dictionary

Physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking was a fierce spirit who symbolized the foibles and complexities inherent in human nature. Learn more about him by taking our quiz.

By Nathan Chandler

A new experiment supports the famous theoretical physicist's idea of radiation being emitted by black holes.

By Jonathan Strickland

The world often seems chaotic and events appear to occur randomly, but what's the difference between chaos and randomness?

By Mitchell Newberry

Scientists announced the discovery of the largest known planet in the universe. TrES-4 has a density similar to balsa wood, and some say this gas giant could float on water. Learn why this planet is so puzzling and how planet hunters make amazing discoveries like these.

By Jacob Silverman

When a star dies, it becomes a black hole. Once something passes through the it's gone for good, never to be seen or heard from again. If we lived next to a black hole, would it suck us in too?

By Marshall Brain

So much about galaxies remains a mystery. We know what they're made of and that we live in one (the Milky Way), but how many galaxies are in the universe?

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

He starred with Superman, drove the getaway car at Pluto's demise and was voted sexiest astrophysicist by People magazine. Is there anything Neil deGrasse Tyson can't do?

By Laurie L. Dove

He is famous for a phrase he never said, for wearing turtlenecks and for hosting the original 'Cosmos' TV series. As enthusiastic about the stars as he was about marijuana, Carl Sagan led a very surprising life.

By Laurie L. Dove

Everyone knows that nothing travels faster than the speed of light, but how does the speed of dark compare? Read on to find out!

By Bambi Turner

If you have a theory that potato chips are making you fat (with the proof being your expanding waistline), you've just used two scientific terms in a very unscientific way.

By Beth Brindle

He built President Eisenhower an indoor golf-training machine, analyzed the Zapruder film and searched for an Egyptian pyramid's treasure chamber using cosmic rays. Aren't you dying to meet this wide-ranging scientist?

By Nicholas Gerbis

The man who had some theories about relativity was also an eccentric who gleefully eschewed socks, dodged German military service and spurned social conventions.

By Nicholas Gerbis

Every day, astronomers unravel a little more of the universe's inner workings, but the jury is still out on 95 percent of its contents.

By Robert Lamb

Space collisions are the universe's car wrecks. Only in outer space, it's stars, asteroids and even galaxies doing the smashing.

By John Fuller

Some scientists believe that space is infinite. But is it? If it isn't, what form does space take? Is it a dodecahedron or a triple torus?

By Jonathan Strickland

You've heard of the big bang, of course, but do you have any idea as to what was happening during that massive flurry of activity billions of years ago?

By Robert Lamb

So much of our cosmological history starts with the much-discussed Big Bang, but what led up to that cataclysmic moment? And did time even exist back then?

By Robert Lamb & Patrick J. Kiger

He was born exactly 300 years after Galileo died. He never won a Nobel Prize, although he was awarded a guest spot on “The Simpsons.” What else do you know (or not know) about this acclaimed physicist?

By Jane McGrath

He may have been born in Brooklyn, but Carl Sagan was gunning for the stars as soon as he arrived in this world. Get to know the scientist whose infectious delight in the universe still holds us spellbound.

By Marianne Spoon

Is this famous primatologist atheist, agnostic or theistic? Find out as we bravely explore whether science and religion must always collide.

By Marianne Spoon

Every November, the Leonid meteor shower fills the sky with "shooting stars." This year, the shower is expected to peak twice. Learn how Leonid and other meteor showers work.

By Marshall Brain

While routinely scanning the stars, NASA scientists came across something they didn't expect to see: a vast area of space empty of stars, planets and matter.

By Jacob Silverman

Frequency has to do with wave speed and wavelength is a measurement of a wave's span. Learn how frequency and wavelength of light are related in this article.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

He ventured to the abyss of black holes, wagered on the information paradox and floated around in zero gravity. Meet the man, the legend, the super scientist: Stephen Hawking.

By Marianne Spoon

How cool would that be to stand amongst the company of fellow laureates like Mother Teresa or Albert Einstein? We have some ideas for scoring you one.

By Marianne Spoon