Physical Science

For many of us, a number is just a number, a bit of information that tells you, say, what time it is. But mathematicians look at that same number and divine relationships that underlie nature itself. Ready to enter the trippy world of number theory?

By Robert Lamb

Kaleidoscopes have been fascinating people since the early 19th century. Whether you think of kaleidoscopes as toys or as works of art, no matter how often you look inside, you'll never see the same thing twice.

By Melanie F. F. Gibbs

Who wants to reduce our complicated universe down to its simplest building blocks? A bunch of particle physicists, that's who. Why is the Higgs boson critical to that goal?

By Jonathan Atteberry & Sascha Bos

It's a force of habit to shake spray canisters, but when it comes to canned air, that inclination could cause frostbite.

By Laurie L. Dove

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor plant aims to demonstrate that nuclear fusion could be a viable source of power in the future.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Why do most of us start relaxing as soon as we smell lavender or vanilla? Is it the memories they conjure up or is there a chemical reason?

By Dave Roos

You know that sound synonymous with a certain laser blaster from a galaxy far, far away? Yeah. It sounds like that.

By Mark Mancini

Our fingerprints serve to definitively identify us forever, right? But do they? How long do fingerprints remain usable as identification after we are dead?

By Patrick J. Kiger

You've heard of Google, but what about a Googol? If not, then this tutorial is for you.

By Mark Mancini

Spanish researchers recently uncovered a new geometric shape that allows human tissue to curve. But how?

By Robert Lamb

You probably have a bottle of the stuff at your house. Have you ever seen it come in any color bottle besides brown?

By John Perritano

Something very strange is afoot above the frozen landscape of Antarctica.

By Ian O'Neill, Ph.D.

Developed in Israel, this foul-smelling liquid has been used on Palestinian and Israeli protesters … and it's showing up in the United States.

By Sarah Gleim

DNA found at a crime scene doesn't automatically mean the person matching it is guilty, say researchers of new forensics guide.

By Dave Roos

That's one seriously big number, and technically Amedeo Avogadro didn't even come up with it. So how did the Italian chemist make such an indelible (numerical) mark on the wonderful world of chemistry?

By Jonathan Atteberry

Thanks to our voracious appetite for energy, the element long linked with nuclear weapons is taking on a new role. Where does the hunt begin for uranium?

By Marianne Spoon

Light travels pretty rapidly, but when it comes to faraway galaxies, that light takes a while to reach our telescopes. In fact, the light you see might actually be from billions of years ago.

By Kate Kershner

Weight is the measurement of gravity's pull on an object. And it varies by location. Mass is a different beast altogether.

By Mark Mancini

Entropy is the disorder of a system, but that means a lot more than making a mess of a room.

By Jesslyn Shields

A research team has found that water acts strangely on an air-drying towel, which contributes to its signature stiffness.

By Jesslyn Shields

In 1999, Hisashi Ouchi, a Japanese nuclear fuel plant worker was exposed to critical levels of radiation. He suffered the worst radiation burns in history. He lived for 83 agonizing days afterward as his body all but disintegrated.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Thorium is in many ways safer than uranium for nuclear power production. But is it safe enough to bet on for our energy future?

By Jesslyn Shields

A sound wave alone probably won't kill you. Crank the volume on a terrible song, though, and you just might annoy everyone to death.

By Oisin Curran

These small molecules are the foundation for much bigger things, from ordinary household products around us to essential components within our bodies.

By Debbie Swanson

Polymers are the basic components in so many of the products we use each day.

By Debbie Swanson