Physical Science

First, you burn the body until only brittle, pulverized bones are left. These remains are pulverized into ashes, and then placed into urns -- or diamonds, coral reefs and even outer space.

By Michelle Kim

Overtone is a sound accompanying the main tone produced by a vibrating body. The number and loudness of overtones determine the timbre, or tone color, of a musical sound.

An object free to vibrate tends to do so at a specific rate called the object's natural, or resonant, frequency.

When sound waves strike the ear, these waves produce the sensation of sound. Let's take a look at how sound waves work.

Marijuana isn't just a recreational drug for hippies and philosophy majors -- its psychoactive history ranges from Egyptian mummies to modern U.S. politics. What's the big deal about this leafy, green plant?

By Kevin Bonsor & Nicholas Gerbis

You know how chocolate sometimes turns white? Why does that happen and is it still OK to eat?

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors & Desiree Bowie

Without gasoline, the world as we know it would grind to a screeching halt. The U.S. alone consumes well over a hundred billion gallons of gasoline per year. Learn all about this vital fuel.

By Marshall Brain

You're driving down the road on a sunny day, and you see a puddle of water coming up. You look again and it's gone! What happened? You'll be able to answer that question if you read our miraculous mirage article.

By Tom Harris

Have you seen investigators on crime shows who spray some stuff on a "clean" carpet and suddenly -- blood stains! Well, of all the fictional technology on TV, it turns out this stuff is real! Find out how luminol reveals the blood.

By Tom Harris

For centuries, curious observers have probed the heavens with the aid of telescopes. Today, both amateur and professional scopes magnify images in a variety of ways.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

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.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D. & Michelle Konstantinovsky

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.

By Maria Trimarchi & Ann Meeker-O'Connell

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?

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!

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Biting on aluminum foil can be painful -- basically, when you bite on foil, you build a battery in your mouth. Ouch!

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.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Atom smashers tell us about the fundamental structure of matter, the forces holding it together and the origins of the universe. Discover how scientists use particle accelerators to break atoms apart to learn about the nature of reality.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

The Diamond synchrotron is a massive facility that houses a beam of light 10 billion times brighter than the sun. But is that all it does?

By Jacob Silverman

Once considered a semiprecious metal alongside gold and silver, aluminum pretty much languished in obscurity until the 19th century. How did the metal become so ubiquitous?

By William Harris

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.

By Jacob Silverman

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.

By Shanna Freeman

A venerable work of art hangs lifeless in a museum, the once brilliant scene dulled by centuries of dirt and grime. Can laser analysis and modern art restoration techniques save the masterpiece?

By William Harris

We love it. We wear it glittering around our necks and sparkling at our ears, wrists and feet. We pass it down to our children and hoard it in secret stashes. Why is this precious metal so prized?

By William Harris