Physics

Serendipity plays an important role in scientific discoveries, but it takes an exceptional scientist to follow up on lucky breaks.

Aug 10, 2011 - Paul A. Heckert

The decibel is a unit-less, logarithmic ratio, whose exact meaning is known from the context in which it is used.

Jul 7, 2011 - Richard Walloch

The International Atomic Energy Authority set up the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale which indicates the severity of a nuclear accident.

Mar 18, 2011 - Mark Tibbits

Nuclear meltdowns are a serious situation, but there are warning signs that allow experts to try to prevent the situation from escalating into a meltdown.

Mar 17, 2011 - Ashley Anderson

Scholars have wrestled with this question since ancient times, and none have been able to satisfactorily describe it. What is time?

Mar 15, 2011 - Andrew Perry

Learn how nuclear reactors generate electricity, why meltdowns occur at power plants and the efforts to prevent a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Japan.

Mar 13, 2011 - Mia Carter

Unlike light waves, sound waves cannot travel through a vacuum. Hence space is silent, rockets traveling through space make no sound.

Feb 28, 2011 - Paul A. Heckert

We know what a white wall of surf looks like - we know what it sounds like - but what is it? Scientists say that ocean waves are not made of water.

Feb 4, 2011 - Janet Cameron

Einstein's famous equation, E=mc², revolutionized physics by equating mass and energy and by providing an equivalency between mass and energy.

Jan 4, 2011 - Paul A. Heckert

According to Einstein's special theory of relativity, no object having mass can travel at or faster than the speed of light in a vacuum.

Dec 17, 2010 - Paul A. Heckert

Einstein's special theory of relativity predicts that the mass of a moving object increases with its speed and becomes infinite at the speed of light.

Nov 30, 2010 - Paul A. Heckert

Einstein predicts time dilation in his special relativity theory. Observers at rest see time move more slowly for objects moving near the speed of light.

Nov 22, 2010 - Paul A. Heckert

Einstein's special relativity theory predicts Lorentz contraction. An object moving near the speed of light will appear shorter to an observer at rest.

Nov 19, 2010 - Paul A. Heckert

To derive the theory of special relativity, Einstein assumed that the speed of light is a fundamental constant for all unaccelerated observers.

Nov 12, 2010 - Paul A. Heckert

How the laws of thermodynamics in physics affect running, including energy supplies, hitting the wall, and running in unusually hot or cold weather.

Jun 29, 2010 - Paul A. Heckert

The TSA uses back scatter X-ray and millimeter wave technology for full body scans. What is the physics that makes these airport security systems work?

May 10, 2010 - Paul A. Heckert

A team from Michigan Technological University have devised a method to synthesise Boron Nitride Nanotubes, which have potential applications in electronics

Jan 18, 2010 - Simon Davies

Despite the very bad recession and high unemployment rates, 2009 college graduates with physics bachelors degrees found high paying jobs with among the highest salaries.

Nov 16, 2009 - Paul A. Heckert

Physics might someday make Halloween costumes more realistic with nearly invisible ghosts, flying broomsticks for witch or Harry Potter costumes, and flying superheroes.

Oct 18, 2009 - Paul A. Heckert

Ultrasound imaging is a safe noninvasive technique for making diagnostic medical images of the human body. What physics makes this technique work?

Oct 13, 2009 - Paul A. Heckert

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging provides safe nonintrusive medical diagnostic images of the interior of the human body. How does MRI work?

Oct 11, 2009 - Paul A. Heckert

In a world record 100-meter run, either for humans or cheetahs, the top speed must be faster than the average speed. What are the top speeds for these sprints?

Sep 13, 2009 - Paul A. Heckert

A cheetah at the Cincinnati Zoo ran a world record 100-meter dash starting from rest, but cheetahs and horses have run faster average speeds for different distances.

Sep 12, 2009 - Paul A. Heckert

Is it possible to balance an egg on its end on the fall or spring equinoxes? Will balancing the egg prove that there is something special about the equinox?

Sep 10, 2009 - Paul A. Heckert

The Feynman physics lectures are the result of an introductory physics course that Nobel prize winning physicist, Richard Feynman, taught at Caltech in the early 1960s.

Sep 8, 2009 - Paul A. Heckert