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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What makes sound a weapon? Review the basics of sound and discover exactly how the LRAD produces its "beam of sound." We'll also explore LRAD's hailing and warning abilities and other uses for sound.

By Tracy V. Wilson

If water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen, why can't we breathe underwater? It has to do with how molecules combine and how the human lung functions.

Ever wondered exactly what they "artificial flavors" in your candy are, and why no specific ingredients are listed? Find out in this article.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors & Yara Simón

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Electricity completely surrounds us whether you're charging your cell phone or watching the sky light up during a violent thunderstorm. For most of us, modern life would be impossible without it, and the natural world relies on it.

By Marshall Brain, William Harris & Robert Lamb

The thought of an autopsy usually provokes fear, apprehension or extreme anxiety in people. Cut through the mystery of this process and learn the details of the preparation, procedures and tools used to perform an autopsy.

By Robert Valdes & Patrick J. Kiger

Viagra is one of the best-known drugs of all time. Nearly every adult in America has heard of the drug and can tell you what it does. Find out how this high-profile medication works its magic.

By Marshall Brain & Katie Lambert

Crack cocaine, like many other illegal drugs, leads to addiction, death, increased crime rates and imprisonment. But this drug targets the inner city almost exclusively and possession or distribution of crack carries extremely harsh prison sentences.

By Stephanie Watson & Nathan Chandler

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When you watch crime drama on TV, you don't usually see what happens after the police and ambulance leave a murder scene. One thing those people do not do is clean up the blood. That's the work of a whole different team.

By Julia Layton

Magnets produce magnetic fields and attract metals like iron, nickel and cobalt. They're used in all sorts of applications but how are they made and how do they work?

By Tracy V. Wilson & Chris Pollette

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.

Pianos lose their tuning, guitars fall out of key -- even church organs need to be tuned every now and then. For centuries, the only sure-fire way to tell if an instrument was in tune was to use a tuning fork.

By Tristin Hopper

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Wavelengths are used to measure the size of a wave. Learn about wavelengths in this article.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Voltage is how we measure the difference in electric potential energy. Learn about what voltage is from this article.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

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

Did you ever wonder how to measure how fast sound travels in the air? Read this article to learn how to measure sound travel in the air.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

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Thanks to the Faraday cage, we can control electricity and make it safer for our computers, cars and other inventions.

By Chris Pollette & Nathan Chandler

You want to learn how to read the electric power meter in your home to see if the meter reader sent by the electric company was accurate. This article will teach you how to read a power meter.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

First there was Volvo. Then came IKEA. Well get ready for the next major Swedish export: snus, a smokeless tobacco product, similar to dip or chew.

By Matt Schwarzfeld

We've been observing and experimenting in the name of science for centuries. But who deserves the honor of being humanity's very first scientist? Is it Euclid, Darwin, Galileo or someone else?

By William Harris

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Explosions, fires and dangerous radiation levels dominated the headlines after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami sparked a nuclear crisis in Japan. How did so many safety measures fail?

By Marshall Brain

A unit circle is an important part of trigonometry and can define right angle relationships known as sine, cosine and tangent.

By Nokware Knight & Austin Henderson

A multiplication table is an easy-to-use grid of numbers that can help you learn to multiply quickly by using the chart and, eventually, your memory.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler & Austin Henderson

Sir Isaac Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation helps put the laws of gravity into a mathematical formula. And the gravitational constant is the "G" in that formula.

By Mark Mancini

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You use solenoids every day without ever knowing it. So what exactly are they and how do they work?

By Mark Mancini

Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory just made history with einsteinium. They held a sample of the short-lived element long enough to measure some of its chemical properties.

By Dave Roos