Science Dictionary
Do you know what a meteor is, or what scientists mean when they are talking about cryogenics? Our collection of science terms explains the meaning of some of the most common scientific ideas.
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A light-year is a way of measuring distance, which doesn't make much sense because "light-year" contains the word "year," which is normally a unit of time. So, how does a light-year measure distance?
Comets are remarkable pieces of our universe's past, and they tell us a great deal about how the universe was formed. Learn about the long but rewarding process of discovering and analyzing comets.
A black hole occurs when a massive star dies -- its enormous mass implodes and becomes so heavy that it bends space. So how do astronomers detect something that they can't see?
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How do scientists find details about the early days of our solar system? One way is to investigate comets. Find out how the Deep Impact spacecraft fired an impactor into Comet Tempel 1 to get some answers.
By Carolyn Snare
What exactly are asteroids? And what was the NEAR Shoemaker mission about?
Polymer crystals are amazing in that they can absorb many times their size. In fact, one pound of these crystal flakes can hold up to 50 gallons of water. Find out what these polymer crystals are and why they are able to absorb so much water.
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
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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.
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?
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
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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?
The man who had some theories about relativity was also an eccentric who gleefully eschewed socks, dodged German military service and spurned social conventions.
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.
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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.
Nobel prizes offer lots of prestige and big payouts. But how do you become eligible for one? And can you lobby for yourself?
By Dave Roos
Planck's constant, which made an appearance in the Netflix series "Stranger Things," is one of the most important differences between reality at the atomic and subatomic level and what we can see around us.
As much as we might like to think that our collective knowledge has unlocked most of the mysteries of the universe, we've really only got a hold on a tiny fraction of the knowledge required to fully understand it all-and it's a weak hold at best. But every once in a while a new theory [...] The post 12 Of The Most Mind-Blowing Scientific Theories Ever Conceived appeared first on Goliath.
By Wes Walcott
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From astronauts to doctors to an archaeologist, we present eight scientists whose contributions to science, engineering and math were inseparable from their identities as Indigenous Americans.
By Dave Roos
Questions, theories and debates about quantum physics can get muddled because of a number of myths and misconceptions. Here are four of them.
Under the right conditions, hot water can somehow freeze faster than cold water. It's called the Mpemba effect. We'll explain how it happens.
By Dylan Ris
Einstein famously called the phenomenon "spooky action at a distance," and physicists just won the Nobel Prize for their work on it, but what is quantum entanglement?
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Having one Nobel Prize winner in the family is a huge accomplishment. But the extended Curie family had five winners - and one was even awarded twice. How did they get so smart?
The number 137, which is significant in multiple applications, has long been an object of fascination for physicists, mathematicians and mystics.