Physical Science
Physical science is the study of the physical world around you. Learn about everything from electricity to magnetism in this section.
Brown Noise vs. White Noise: Which Is Best for Quality Sleep?
Can a sound wave kill you?
Can two cans and a string really be used to talk over a distance?
Understanding the Empirical Formula in Chemistry
The Most Expensive Metal in the World Isn't Gold or Platinum
Delta-8 vs. Delta-9: Comparing Types of THC
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
Do a Person’s Fingerprints Change After Death?
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
What Is the Associative Property of Mathematics?
What Is a Linear Pair of Angles in Geometry?
How to Find the Area of a Triangle
5 Hugely Fun Facts About Mass (Not Weight)
Antarctica's Spooky Cosmic Rays Might Shatter Physics As We Know It
Entropy: The Invisible Force That Brings Disorder to the Universe
The Demon Core: A Tale of Atomic Ambition and Tragic Fate
Half-Life Formula: Components and Applications
Could an 'X17 Particle' Hint at a Fifth Force in the Universe?
Why Are School Buses Yellow?
HowStuffWorks: How To Draw An Impossible Shape
What Are the Colors in the Visible Spectrum?
Learn More / Page 13
If you're one of those people who chooses invisibility as your desired superpower, it could mean you have a dark side.
By Alia Hoyt
Scientists have figured out why some objects stick more to each other. And it's a very cool trick.
By Alia Hoyt
Why do we love looking at a perfectly stacked display of soup cans or six flower petals around a stamen? Our brains seem wired for it -- but why?
By Dave Roos
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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
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.
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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.
Science requires that we make guesses, which is why we have confidence intervals.
Adrenochrome has been linked to schizophrenia and the LSD counterculture movement. Now QAnon conspiracy theorists say it's part of a child sex-trafficking cult. So what's the truth behind this chemical compound?
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Seven ounces a ray! No, that's a lie. Measuring the weight of light is not as straightforward as that. So what's the more complicated explanation?
By Kate Kershner & Yara Simón
Atoms: the building blocks of life and the universe. We're all made of these microscopic bits of matter, but how many does it take to make a complete human being? And exactly what kinds of atoms do we have inside us?