Physical Science
Physical science is the study of the physical world around you. Learn about everything from electricity to magnetism in this section.
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More than 2.3 billion people across the globe drink alcohol, but most don't consider it a drug. But if you've ever seen someone who's had too much, you know alcohol has profound effects on the mind and body.
Smoking or chewing tobacco makes many people feel good, even mildly euphoric. It's the nicotine that produces the buzz. Find out how nicotine affects the human body and what makes it so addictive.
Do you remember holding a large conch shell up to your ear to hear the ocean? Why does this work even when you're far away from the sea?
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What exactly is an atom? What is it made of? What does it look like? The pursuit of the structure of the atom has married many areas of chemistry and physics in perhaps one of the greatest contributions of modern science!
Biting on aluminum foil can be painful -- basically, when you bite on foil, you build a battery in your mouth. Ouch!
Nuclear materials get used in many forms of nuclear medicine -- everything from PET scans to chemotherapy uses them. Learn how nuclear medicine works.
On the one hand, nuclear power offers a clean energy alternative that decreases fossil fuel dependence. On the other, it summons images of quake-ruptured Japanese power plants leaking radioactive water. What happens in reactors in good times and bad?
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The air we breathe contains 21 percent oxygen. Would we be better off breathing 100 percent oxygen?
Alfred Nobel revolutionized several industries with his invention of dynamite. Learn more about how dynamite works and its controversial history.
By Yara Simón
Just about everyone has seen a television show or movie in which a criminal suspect is questioned while detectives watch from behind a one-way mirror. How does a piece of glass manage to reflect light from one side while remaining clear on the other?
Rust is the common name for iron oxide, which is created when iron bonds with oxygen. In fact, pure iron is only rarely found in nature because it interacts with oxygen so easily.
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I recently bought a pair of mirrored sunglasses and they are already scratched. Isn't there a way to make them scratch-resistant?
They stick around long after death and compete with the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman as one of the great figures of classic horror movies. Are you brave enough to unravel the history of these real-life, tangible ghosts?
By Tom Harris
The human eye misses a lot -- enter the incredible world of the microscopic! Explore how a light microscope works.
If serial killer Ted Bundy hadn't been a biter, he might never have been caught. What can bite marks and teeth tell us about a person?
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Forensic scientists can help law enforcement catch even the wiliest perpetrator. What are their techniques?
Will your favorite criminal drama feature investigators packing calculators instead of heat? Probably not. However, forensic accountants help investigate criminal and civil cases involving financial issues like fraud.
Detectives arrive at a crime scene and lift fingerprints from the murder weapon. They'll use these oily markings to catch their criminal. But how do they match the print to the killer?
If you were to touch dry ice, it wouldn't be anything like touching water ice. So what's it like? Is it hot or cold? And would it leave a mark?
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We've all been told not to put aluminum foil in the microwave. Stories of incredible explosions and fires are usually at the center of these ominous warnings. Why is that?
In detective movies or TV shows like "CSI," photographers swarm in and take countless pictures of a crime scene. But how does crime scene photography really go down?
By Sarah Dowdey
Imagine spending your days racked with pain or losing pound upon pound because nausea leaves you unable to eat. Now imagine that someone offers you a wonder drug to cure all your ills. The problem? It's illegal.
If you were thrown into prison for a crime you didn't commit, you'd probably welcome DNA profiling. Although the use of this technology has recently helped bring justice, there may be cause for concern.
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The bloodstain from a crime scene has a story to tell, if you know how to analyze it. Then it might explain the who, what and when of a murder.
Who made it possible to light up your home at night? Thomas Edison, right? Yes, but without the work of Nikola Tesla, we would be living in a different world.