Physics & Math, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 22, 2013

Bizarre Star-Shaped Gravity Waves Created

Star-shaped waves can form in vibrating tanks of liquid oil, researchers say. Learning more about such bizarre waves could shed light on counterparts that may exist elsewhere in nature, researchers added. Waves of all kinds often behave in an intuitively linear manner. For instance, a weight on a spring will...

Mar 13, 2013

Sex in Space: Plant Canoodling Is Weird Without Gravity

A real-time look at plant sex in an environment simulating microgravity reveals that agriculture in space might face challenges. The study also illuminates how gravity works on intercellular transport, a crucial process for mating plants and communicating human brain cells alike. There's no word yet, however, on how human sex...

May 2, 2013

Quantum Mechanics Trick May Detect Invisible Gravity Waves

The existence of gravitational waves, or ripples in space and time, has long been predicted, but the elusive phenomenon has eluded scientists for decades. Now researchers are proposing a new method to detect these cosmic wrinkles that relies on the quantum nature of atoms. Gravitational waves are a consequence of...

May 2, 2013

The Hunt for Elusive Gravity Waves Heats Up

In the next five years or so, scientists are poised to discover proof that space and time can wrinkle in the form of gravitational waves. These waves were predicted almost 100 years ago by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, but have yet to be seen. That could change soon...

Nov 4, 2013

Levitate Me: Water Droplets Dance, Defy Gravity (Video)

Wanna make a water droplet dance? Turns out all you need is a pair of opposing ultrasonic speakers. Called acoustic levitation, this technique holds droplets of water against gravity using ultrasonic waves. While this process has been done before, a team of scientists took the experiment a step further and...

Jan 14, 2014

Secret to 'Gravity-Defying' Beads Revealed

A chain of beads can defy gravity, acting like water spouting from a fountain, and now physicists reveal the secret behind this odd phenomenon. The findings could have surprising implications for everything from tethered satellites to elevators reaching from space to Earth. Chains are among the simplest, oldest and most...

Feb 24, 2014

An End in Sight in the Long Search for Gravity Waves (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Our unfolding understanding of the universe is marked by epic searches and we are now on the brink of discovering something that has escaped detection for many years. The...

Mar 4, 2014

How Harry Potter Magic Turned Gravity into Oscar Gold (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The huge success of Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity at this year’s Oscars is a genuine cause for celebration for much of the UK film industry – not least for the...

Mar 17, 2014

Scientists Report Evidence for Gravitational Waves in Early Universe

In what would represent the most direct evidence of Albert Einstein’s last major unconfirmed prediction, as well as a powerful confirmation of a violently fast expansion of the early cosmos, scientists using a cutting-edge South Pole telescope announced evidence for the first detection of gravitational waves in the initial moments...

Mar 18, 2014

What Gravitational Ripples from Big Bang Mean for Physics

The discovery of ripples in space-time from the mysterious earliest moments after the Big Bang is not only a smoking gun for the universe's rapid expansion but also could have important implications for physics. If the landmark finding of these gravitational waves, announced Monday (March 17), is confirmed, it would...

Jun 18, 2014

'Big G': Scientists Pin Down Elusive Gravitational Constant

A fundamental constant that sets the size of the gravitational force between all objects has finally been pinned down using the quirky quantum behavior of tiny atoms. The new results could help set the official value of the gravitational constant, and may even help scientists find evidence of extra space-time...

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...