Friday, 25 May, 2012

High-speed movies of popping bubbles show a ring of “daughter” bubbles forming around the edge. A close look reveals a third generation of “granddaughter” bubbles. How does this happen? Does this matter to real-world medicine and climatology? And can we get paid to play with bubbles?

Whack that baseball! When you hit a baseball, speed, angle and air resistance all affect how far it travels. Balls hit too low quickly return to Earth; balls hit too high travel a long way vertically, but not far horizontally. Can you find the “sweet spot” where horizontal travel is greatest. Can you find the [...]

When the Large Hadron Collider starts running this summer near Geneva, Switzerland, some physicists have predicted that some of its high-energy proton collisions could produce microscopic black holes. Concerned about the ramifications of such black holes, two men filed a lawsuit in March in Hawaii contending that safety concerns have been inadequately addressed at the [...]

The Spallation Neutron Source, a mammoth science project involving the collaboration of six national laboratories, is scheduled to be completed 2006.

Austrian researchers show quantum entanglement across the Danube River, providing new promise in cryptography and computing. At the smallest scale, you can throw out the usual rules of engagement. What’s up with spooky action at a distance?

Throw a curve ball. Evade the rainstorm. And don’t get mouth cancer. It’s all in an afternoon’s ball game.

How violins make sound. And why the ear is the world’s most sophisticated spectrum analyzer.

Why does damp sand hold the shape of a container after you dump it out? Sand + water = physics!