Physics & Math, features and articles | Educational Science

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...

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...