Physics
- Physics
Why the knuckleball takes such a knucklehead path
They used to say it was how the seams interacted with the air. The new explanation is different. Scientists say its due to a ”drag crisis.”
- Tech
Clear, stretchy sensor could lead to wearable electronics
Researchers have combined plastics and metal to make a transparent, stretchable sensor. It could soon find use in touchscreens, wearable electronics and more.
- Animals
Snout goo may help sharks sense prey
Scientists may be one step closer to understanding how sharks sense their prey. Pores on their snout and face are lined with a gel that may help relay electrical currents created by prey’s movements.
- Physics
Gravity waves are seen again
Four months after scientists announced the first detection of gravity waves, another set of ripples in spacetime have emerged. The new ones come from the clash of mid-size black holes in the distant universe.
- Physics
Cool Jobs: Solar sleuthing
No star is closer than the sun, and yet there’s much science still don’t know about how it actually works. These scientists are helping solve the mysteries.
- Tech
Concrete science
Teen researchers are exploring ways to strengthen this building material, use it for safety purposes and use its discarded rubble.
- Physics
Famous physics cat now alive, dead and in two boxes at once
Splitting Erwin Schrödinger’s famous — and fictitious — cat between two boxes brings scientists one step closer to building quantum computers from microwaves.
- Climate
Zapping clouds with lasers could alter Earth’s climate
Scientists zapped ice crystals in a lab. They were exploring whether this approach might be used to break those crystals in clouds — potentially as a way to cool Earth’s fever.
- Physics
Spinning black holes may ‘sing’ during a collision
The massive black hole in the movie Interstellar would create a unique gravity-wave signal when gobbling a smaller partner.
- Climate
This planet’s lightning storms are like nothing on Earth
Radio waves from a faraway exoplanet could signal intense lightning storms there.
- Animals
The shocking electric eel!
Electric eels are fascinating animals. Their powerful zaps can act like a radar system, trick fish into revealing their location and then freeze their prey’s movements.
- Animals
Snot may be key to dolphins’ tracking of prey
Dolphins produce clicking noises that bounce off of prey, like sonar, showing where they are. Mucus in the animals’ nasal passages may make that ‘sonar’ work.
