Humans
How to invent a language — like that of Avatar’s Na’vi
Linguists can choose to follow, mix or break the rules of real-world languages to create interesting fictional ones.
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Earth
Scientists Say: Van Allen belts
Astronomers have detected these radiation belts around Earth and beyond. Jupiter’s belt is thousands of times as intense as Earth’s.
Experiment
Physics
Why are skis so long?
Let’s strap skis to an action figure to see how long sticks of wood help people glide gracefully over snow.
Technically Fiction
Animals
Rudolph’s red nose could glow through bioluminescence
Simple chemistry could give the reindeer his iconic red snout. But physics would make it look different colors to anyone who spied Rudolph from the ground.
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Winter weather
Watch This
How to make a pitched ball curve to your will
A range of tricks pitchers use to get curve all come down to the thin layers of air next to the ball — and how a ball’s spin and seams affect them.
