Physics & Math, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2012

Giant Strand of Elusive Dark Matter Seen in 3D

Astronomers have taken their first 3D look at a gigantic filament of dark matter, an invisible cosmic structure that can only be detected by its gravitational effects it has on its surroundings. The universe is thought to be structured like a tangled web, with long strings of mostly dark matter...

Aug 31, 2012

Sharper Curve, Stronger Egg

(ISNS) -- Breaking an egg is a lot easier along its side than at its tip, and scientists can now say exactly why -- and by how much. This new information could help bioengineers better understand the biological structure of egg-shaped cells -- and how those cells might respond to...

Jul 31, 2012

Invisible Dark Matter Likely Bountiful Near Sun

The area around our sun is probably rife with dark matter, the pervasive invisible stuff that populates the universe, a new study suggests. Dark matter is thought to be all around us, making up a large fraction of the mass in the universe. Yet whatever particles compose dark matter interact...

Jun 30, 2012

Giant Dark Matter Bridge Between Galaxy Clusters Discovered

A giant string of invisible dark matter has been discovered across the universe between a pair of galaxy clusters. The filament forms a bridge between two huge clusters called Abell 222 and Abell 223, which lie 2.7 billion light-years away. The universe is thought to be filled with such strings...

Jun 30, 2012

Who Deserves a Higgs Boson Nobel? One Scientist, or Many

There's the science, and then there's the glitter. As researchers celebrate the best-yet evidence of the existence of the Higgs boson, some are already thinking about who's going to get the Nobel Prize in physics for the seminal discovery. Stephen Hawking told the BBC that he thinks Peter Higgs, who...

May 31, 2012

'Peekaboo' Reveals Babies Understanding of Quantum Mechanics

Quantum mechanics, the bizarre set of rules that govern the behavior of elementary particles, is notoriously confounding. Even Albert Einstein — winner of a Nobel Prize for his work in the field — thought there was something dicey about the whole business. But then again, he was a grown man....

May 31, 2012

Fastest Swimmers Make Webbed Hands Out of Water

When watching the Summer Olympics, take a good look at the hands of the competitive swimmers. Chances are, their fingers will be slightly spread. Now new research finds that this hand position creates an invisible web of water that gives swimmers more speed. It is a counterintuitive idea, the fact...

Feb 29, 2012

Snowflakes Re-Created Using Physics

Windswept from cloud to cloud until they flutter to Earth, snowflakes assume a seemingly endless variety of shapes. Some have the perfect symmetry of a six-pointed star, some are hexagons adorned with hollow columns, whereas others resemble needles, prisms or the branches of a Christmas tree. Scientists as far back...

Nov 30, 2013

Tipsy Tottering, Sunlight and The Smell of Coffee: It's All Random

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The warmth on your face, the scenic view outside – such delights are delivered to you by countless photons from the sun. But believe it or not, these photons move...

Oct 31, 2013

5 Weird Effects of Daylight Saving Time

As daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. this coming Sunday morning (Nov. 3), most Americans will join snoozers across more than 60 other nations in savoring the gift of one extra hour of sleep. Though the biannual ritual of turning clocks might feel like second nature to us today,...

Sep 30, 2013

Spintronics Goes Through Blue Period

A dye used in ink, paint and in the blue livery of British Rail could be key to building future computing devices and exploring quantum mechanics. It's called copper pthalocyanine. A team of scientists in the U.K. used it to explore spintronics, the manipulation of electron spins. Electrons can have...

Aug 31, 2013

Beam Me Up: Bits of Information Teleported Across Computer Chip

Quantum mechanics allows for some very strange things, like the teleportation of information and computers that can break even the toughest codes. Recently, scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich made a step toward building a working quantum computer by teleporting bits of information across a...

Jul 31, 2013

Sluggish Surprise Found Deep Inside Earth

The way heat flows near the Earth's core, which is key to understanding the planet's evolution, has now been revealed to move more sluggishly than previously thought, researchers said. The manner in which heat flows inside the Earth helps control how the world's innards move. That in turn drives major...

Jul 31, 2013

How Does Newton's Cradle Work?

Whether you know it as Newton's Cradle or the Executive Ball Clicker, chances are you've seen the educational desk toy that seems to defy explanation. The device consists of a row of five metal balls — positioned to just barely touch one another — suspended from a frame by thin...

Mar 31, 2013

Space Station May Test 'Spooky' Entanglement Over Largest Distance Yet

Spooky quantum entanglement connects two particles so that actions performed on one reflect on the other. Now, scientists propose testing entanglement over the greatest distance yet via an experiment on the International Space Station. Until now, entanglement has been established on relatively small scales in labs on Earth. But now...