Physics & Math, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 24, 2014

Einstein's Gravity Waves Could Be Found with New Method

Gravitational waves, invisible ripples in the fabric of space and time, might be detected by looking for the brightening of stars, researchers say. These mysterious ripples were first proposed by Albert Einstein as part of his theory of general relativity. The waves' size depends on the mass of the objects...

Feb 6, 2016

Magnetic 'MoonWalker' Shoes Help You Defy Gravity

Have you ever fantasized about walking on the moon, but you don't want to put on a spacesuit and blast more than 200,000 miles (322,000 kilometers) through space? A New York-based startup plans to turn this lunar fantasy into a reality, and it could be as simple as putting on...

Feb 11, 2016

Gravitational Waves vs. Gravity Waves: Know the Difference!

So it looks like we'll be talking a lot about gravitational waves over the coming days, but why can't they be called gravity waves? In this social media world where brevity is key, it may seem that chopping gravitational to gravity is no big deal — it saves a whole...

Feb 12, 2016

Gravitational Waves: What Their Discovery Means for Science and Humanity

People around the world cheered yesterday morning (Feb. 11) when scientists announced the first direct detection of gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of space-time whose existence was first proposed by Albert Einstein, in 1916. The waves came from two black holes circling each other, closer and closer, until...

Mar 16, 2016

The Gravitational Wave Crests: Big Discoveries are Worth the Wait (Op-Ed)

Fleming Crim is assistant director for the NSF Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Crim leads a staff of nearly 180 and oversees an annual budget of $1.3 billion, with the directorate supproting core research in astronomy, chemistry, physics, material science and mathematics. Crim contributed this article to Space.com's Expert...

Jul 15, 2016

Gorgeous Gravity Waves Intersect Near Africa (Photo)

Interlacing waves of clouds decorate the sky above the coast of Angola in a new satellite image. The image, taken June 26 by an instrument on NASA's Terra satellite, highlights the atmospheric patterns off the coast of West Africa. The clouds are called gravity waves, which form as gravity and...

Oct 3, 2017

Nobel Prize Awarded for Sensational Gravitational Waves Discovery

BERLIN—As expected by many, the 2017 Nobel Prize for physics went to three scientists who helped detect gravitational waves, ripples in space-time predicted by Einstein. This year's prize is about a discovery that shook the world, said physicist Thors Hans Hansson, announcing the winners from Stockholm. Half of the 9...

Oct 3, 2017

Einstein Would Be 'Flabbergasted' by Gravitational Wave Nobel

Albert Einstein would be pleased — but flabbergasted — to hear the details of humanity's first direct detection of gravitational waves, according to one of three scientists who just won the Nobel Prize for the discovery. The detection earned the 2017 Nobel Prize in physics for Massachusetts Institute of Technology...

Oct 16, 2017

What Have Gravitational-Wave Detectors Discovered? Find Out Today!

Mark your calendars: Some big astronomy news is set to drop today (Oct. 16). At 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) on that day, scientists with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo collaborations, as well as researchers from a number of other institutions, will hold a news conference at...

Oct 16, 2017

Why Gravitational Waves Are So Exhilarating

Don Lincoln is a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermilab, the country's largest Large Hadron Collider research institution. He also writes about science for the public, including his recent The Large Hadron Collider: The Extraordinary Story of the Higgs Boson and Other Stuff That Will Blow Your...

Feb 6, 2018

Here's What It Looks Like When G-Force Knocks You Out

Soaring sideways over the Nevada desert in a small propeller airplane, a young boy laughs with awe at the tilted world below him. Then, a few seconds later, the boy's muscles droop. He passes out. And now it's his instructor's turn to laugh. Don't worry: The boy in the plane...

Apr 19, 2018

Are Those Gravitational Waves? Nope, They're Just Thirsty Ravens

Bizarre data glitches have set gravitational-wave scientists — and a conspiracy of ravens — all aflutter. A series of weird blips in the data, known as short-duration bursts, raised the suspicions of physicists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Hanford Observatory, in eastern Washington. Were they communications from alien...

Jul 5, 2018

Einstein's Theory of Gravity Passes Toughest Test to Date

Einstein's theory of general relativity has passed its toughest-ever test with flying colors, a new study reports. General relativity, which the great physicist proposed in 1916, holds that gravity is a consequence of space-time's inherent flexibility: Massive objects distort the cosmic fabric, creating a sort of well around which other...

Aug 10, 2018

Researchers Find Source of Strange 'Negative' Gravity

Sound has negative mass, and all around you it's drifting up, up and away — albeit very slowly. That's the conclusion of a paper submitted on July 23 to the preprint journal arXiv, and it shatters the conventional understanding that researchers have long had of sound waves: as massless ripples...

May 9, 2019

The Universe Probably 'Remembers' Every Single Gravitational Wave

The universe might remember gravitational waves long after they've passed. That's the premise of a theoretical paper published April 25 in the journal Physical Review D. Gravitational waves, faint ripples in space and time that humanity has only in the past few years managed to detect, tend to pass very...