Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
- Earth
Bubbles may have sheltered Earth’s early life
For Earth’s earliest inhabitants, a bubble on the beach would have been the next best thing to a safety blanket.
- Earth
News Brief: Why rainbows can lose some hues
When the sun is right near the horizon, such as at sunset, its light travels through the most atmosphere. When there’s also plenty of water in the air, this can rob colors from a rainbow, scientists now report.
- 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.
- Physics
Einstein taught us: It’s all ‘relative’
One hundred years ago, a German physicist shared some math he had been working on. In short order, his theory of relativity would revise forever how people viewed the universe.
- Earth
Explainer: What is a tsunami?
Earthquakes and landslides can create huge waves that travel across oceans.
- Earth
Ground-thumping cheers help scientists
Eager to test new sensors before the next ‘big one,’ earthquake scientists make use of a predictable source of ground-shaking: football fans.
- Tech
This door handle kills germs
A high-tech door handle may cut down on disease transmission, say its teen developers. The system is powered by simply opening and closing the door.
- Earth
Keeping roofs cooler to cut energy costs
Cool it! A cheap paint-on coating for roofing shingles could help reduce a home’s heating bills and might even trim urban ozone levels, a teen shows.
- Brain
Scientists Say: MRI
MRI is a technique used to diagnose diseases and to study the body. The machine can map internal structures, all the way down to tiny blood vessels.
- Tech
Making cents of sounds
Some people give up when a vending machine rejects their money. But one student decided to turn his frustration into inspiration. Through research, he showed how to identify coins by the sounds they make.
- Brain
Trip to Mars could damage astronauts’ brains
Experiments in mice suggest the high-energy particles that would zap astronauts on a mission to Mars could leave the explorers with brain damage.
- Chemistry
Cool Jobs: Saving precious objects
Museum conservators are experts at protecting and restoring precious objects. Along with art or history, many also have studied chemistry, physics, archaeology or other scientific fields.
