All Stories by Stephen Ornes
- Climate
Hotspots found for lightning’s superbolts
A nine-year survey reveals where and when the most energetic lightning strikes — and it’s not what scientists expected.
- Physics
Scientists find the secret to colossal bubbles
What’s the right mix of materials to blow big bubbles that stretch without popping? Physicists have turned up the solution.
- Climate
Explainer: What is attribution science?
A relatively new, developing field of science investigates possible links between climate change and extreme weather events.
- Climate
Space weather forecast: Big storms ahead
Scientists studying blobs of energetic particles shot from the sun may help us prepare for stormy consequences on Earth.
- Math
For these artists, math is their muse
Artists around the world are finding inspiration in the curves, equations and patterns of mathematics. Here are some of their stories.
- Tech
This robot’s parts are helpless alone, but turn smart as they team up
In a new system called “particle robotics,” many small, simple helpless units can seemingly come to life and start moving when amassed into a team.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: Vaccines are not linked to autism
Some parents say no to children’s vaccines because they worry immunizations could cause autism. But science has looked again and again and still finds no causal tie.
- Physics
Explainer: What are black holes?
Among the most extreme celestial bodies in the universe, black holes are dense, massive entities whose gravity can sometimes hold together an entire galaxy.
- Tech
Rise of the botnets
Botnets are armies of connected, infected computers that attack websites and other online businesses. Some scientists have found ways to use connected computers for good, too.
- Oceans
How three coastal communities are dealing with rising seas
As our climate changes and seas rise, people who live near the ocean are at risk of losing their towns — and homes.
- Materials Science
Some plastics learn to repair themselves
A new material can fix its own scratches and small cracks. One day, it also may make self-healing paints and plastics possible.
- Physics
Scientists vote to fix the world’s weight-loss problem
Scientists will soon vote to change the definition of the kilogram. The event shows how much we depend on a tiny metal cylinder locked in an underground vault in France.
