Ron Cowen

All Stories by Ron Cowen

  1. Space

    Cool Jobs: Probing Pluto

    The New Horizons mission captivated the world as it flew by Pluto. Here are some of the people who made that possible.

  2. Physics

    Explainer: Locating a gun with sound waves

    Recording the sound of a gun from three microphones can help scientists pinpoint the weapon’s location.

  3. Physics

    Boom! Sounding out the enemy

    Armistice Day marked the end of the Great War. But what arguably won the war was acoustics — the science of sound. It allowed Allied troops to home in on and rout the enemy.

  4. Materials Science

    Explainer: Temperature and electrical resistance

    Higher temperatures mean more energy and more motion. In contrast, cold means slow moving molecules.

  5. Space

    Profile: Looking for life beyond the solar system

    Planetary scientist and astrophysicist Sara Seager is a leader in the search for signs of life on planets beyond our solar system.

  6. Physics

    How science saved the Eiffel Tower

    The Eiffel Tower was an engineering masterpiece. But Parisians initially thought it too ugly to let stand for more than 20 years. So Eiffel made the tower a bastion of science. And that would soon ensure that the structure was too valuable to tear down.

  7. Tech

    Fun facts about the Eiffel Tower

    Here are some details of what it took to design, build — and what it now takes to maintain — this icon of the Paris skyline.