Physical Science
Physical science is the study of the physical world around you. Learn about everything from electricity to magnetism in this section.
Why Can You Hear the Ocean When Holding a Seashell to Your Ear?
Can a sound wave kill you?
Can two cans and a string really be used to talk over a distance?
Why Do Bubbles Pop?
It's Elementary: The Periodic Table Quiz
10 Things You Should Never Mix With Alcohol
How Electricity Works
How Faraday Cages Work
How Gasoline Works
What do bugs have to do with forensic science?
5 Things You Didn't Know About Autopsies
Can you explain the diameter measurements used in bullets, wire and nails?
How Alchemy Paved the Way for Chemistry
How did Nikola Tesla change the way we use energy?
Time May Not Exist, Say Some Physicists and Philosophers
Why Does Ice Stick to Your Fingers?
What if I forgot to remove a piercing before an MRI?
A Kid-friendly Introduction to Magnets and Magnetism
We've Got Your Numbers Quiz
HowStuffWorks: Illustrated: Scutoids! Just Like Spheres and Cubes, But Not
11 Basic Math Symbols and How to Use Them
5 Hugely Fun Facts About Mass (Not Weight)
Antarctica's Spooky Cosmic Rays Might Shatter Physics As We Know It
Could Newly Measured W Boson Break the Standard Model?
Could an 'X17 Particle' Hint at a Fifth Force in the Universe?
Where do they get the particles for accelerators?
5 Baffling Subatomic Particles
Why Are School Buses Yellow?
Why Spinning Blades Look Weird on TV
HowStuffWorks: How To Draw An Impossible Shape
Learn More / Page 12
It's an important question, so come with us and we'll show you how to figure it out.
A simple math problem may seem to some of us like an inscrutable pile of numbers and symbols, just waiting to trip us up. PEMDAS to the rescue!
By Mark Mancini
Although the term might be unfamiliar, you know all about alkali metals. Ever used salt or eaten a banana? So, what special properties do these elements have?
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Vantablack is one of the darkest substances known, able to absorb up to 99.965 percent of visible light. But is it the blackest of blacks on the planet?
Static electricity happens when there's an imbalance between negative and positive charges in an object. It's when those charges get released that we feel that infamous spark.
More than fodder for melt-in-your-hand YouTube videos, gallium is a key component in LED lights and the powerful microchips in your smartphone.
By Dave Roos
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
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Entropy is the disorder of a system, but that means a lot more than making a mess of a room.
A research team has found that water acts strangely on an air-drying towel, which contributes to its signature stiffness.
Coroners and medical examiners both help investigate unusual or violent deaths. The two jobs are different, but deeply connected.
By John Donovan
You don't need to be a fan of chemistry to appreciate isotopes. They affect geology and medicine, too.
By Mark Mancini
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Alchemy may seem like a cousin to witchcraft but in reality it was the forerunner of modern chemistry.
Primary colors are the blocks from which all other colors are built. But there's a lot more to know about them than the basic red, yellow and blue we learned about in kindergarten.
Long-banned in the U.S., except for religious purposes, peyote is starting to be decriminalized in some cities. But is that a good thing for this endangered plant?
Making chemical compounds is a lot like dating. Some ions are naturally compatible; others hook up out of desperation.
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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
For more than a century, the mass of a kilogram was defined by a weight stored in a French vault. But now, instead of a hunk of metal, the kilogram's mass will be tied to a mathematical equation.
By Dave Roos
I was watching a movie the other night and the main character found a mummy in his backyard. Does this really happen? Could someone find a mummy in his backyard?
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What was once fringe science is becoming mainstream — scientists now believe that humans may be able to detect Earth's magnetic field.
Can you name even one female mathematician? Don't worry if you can't. That just means you need to read our article on five famous female mathematicians to up your cred.
By Dave Roos
Researchers in Sweden confirm through genetic testing that a 10th-century Viking warrior, first unearthed in the 1870s, was a woman.
By Jim Marion
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Autopsies have been around since ancient times, but they seem so shrouded in secrecy. What goes on when a corpse goes under the knife?
By Mark Mancini
The proposed collider would dwarf the existing Large Hadron Collider. But is the $22 billion price tag worth it?