Science

The Science of Bicycle Motion Gets a Re-Do

Bicycles, huh? When I was younger I found them to be mystical, two-wheeled things that remained upright seemingly by magic. Training wheels were my crutch until one day dad ripped them off and gave me a shove down the street. Weeping, I wobbled forward, fear in my eyes and terror in my gut until…I realized…

Physics & Chemistry Jack Loftus

Mr. Gagarin’s Wild Ride

Yuri Gagarin was a stone cold cosmonaut; landing his Vostok-1 capsule even after it failed to separate upon reentry, started into a high-G spin, and then blew its exit hatch 7,000m up. Starman has all the harrowing details here. Most published accounts state that Gagarin’s descent to earth went smoothly, without serious incident. Gagarin himself…

Space & Spaceflight Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony

Latest Energy Breakthrough Threatens the Entire Existence of Solar Panels

Upending a theory of physics maintained for over a century, researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that magnetic fields coming from light waves are 100 million times stronger than previously believed, creating new possibilities for harvesting solar power. According to PhysOrg, this discovery came about when researchers ran a light source through a…

Physics & Chemistry Adrian Covert

A Tribute to the Vostok 3KA: the Craft That Carried the First Man Into Orbit

Everyone is paying tribute to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin today, and with good reason: he was the first man to travel into space. But let’s not forget the craft that got him there, the Vostok 3KA. The Vostok was built in 1960, and under the name Vostok 1K, flew in six unmanned test missions prior to…

Space & Spaceflight Adrian Covert

Why Everyone Loves Yuri Gagarin, the First Human to Reach Space

It happened when Earth was still in black and white: 50 years ago we stepped outside our home planet for the first time. This is the tale of the beginning of an adventure that hasn’t ended yet, the biggest, most dangerous and rewarding quest ever embarked on by the human race—the fascinating story of two…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz

Latest Alien Life Theory Posits the Quietest Civilizations Probably Live Longest

For decades the Fermi Paradox has stipulated that unless life is unique to Earth, it must exist throughout the galaxy. And yet, so far there’s been no word. Hence, paradox. A new theory, based on natural selection, might explain why. According to paradox-smasher Adrian Kent of the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, aliens (should they…

Space & Spaceflight Jack Loftus

The Best Job In the World (Just In Case You Had Any Doubts)

I said if before, but really, look at him. That’s astronaut Lee Morin during his first spacewalk on mission STS-110, outside Atlantis back in April 2002. https://gizmodo.com/the-job-with-the-best-view-in-the-world-5547765 I can imagine him going “La-di-da, la-di-da, la la, I’m in space, fixing this thingie, La-di-da” while screwing screws in and out at the International Space Station. If…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz

The Mars Odyssey Orbiter Launched 10 Years Ago

10 years ago today, on April 7, 2001, NASA launched the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter into the sky. Its name alluding to Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal story of space exploration, the Odyssey was equipped with spectrometers and electronic imaging systems in hopes of finding evidence of water or volcanic activity on Mars.…

Space & Spaceflight Kyle VanHemert

Have Scientists Discovered a New Elementary Particle?

Researchers at Fermilab, who run the Tevatron particle accelerator, say they’ve discovered a new particle “anomaly,” leading people to think they may have uncovered a new elementary particle or new force of nature. But those working on the project are playing it safe, merely stating that the data is interesting. While it’s definitely not the…

Physics & Chemistry Adrian Covert

This Is the Next Mars Rover

I want to ride the Mars Rover Curiosity. Sure, at a maximum of 90 meters (300 feet) per hour it would be a glacial ride, but the bloody thing is going to Mars. Where have I been lately? To the dog park two blocks from my house, that’s where. Plus, there’s no dog poop on…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz

The New Falcon Heavy Rocket Can Take Us Back to the Moon

It’s so powerful that it could set a next-generation mission to the Moon. That’s what SpaceX’s Elon Musk said today about his new rocket, the Falcon Heavy. In fact, it’s going to be the most powerful rocket in history this side of a Saturn V. The Saturn V doubled the Falcon Heavy’s payload capacity, which…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz

Great Timing: Scientists Fine Tune Two-Part Method for Password Protection

Scientists at Max-Planck-Institute for Physics of Complex Systems recently published a paper describing a two-part method to improve password security. One part is all you: Memorize your password. The second is all computer: A stored, “CAPTCHA-like image of a chaotic lattice system” is generated along with it. Of all the days to see this over…

Physics & Chemistry Jack Loftus

First Ever Spacecraft “Black Box” Successfully Survives Fall from Space

We know the venerable black box can survive a harrowing plane crash, but what about falling from orbit? Today we know it can, although the form factor and recovery method aren’t quite the same as they would be for an airplane. The space-based version is called the re-entry break-up recorder (REBR), says the Aerospace Corporation…

Space & Spaceflight Jack Loftus

SpaceX Teasing “Something Big” for April 5

SpaceX, already famous for sending the first private spaceship into orbit last year, is at it again. On April 5, the company is promising something big, but won’t say what. https://gizmodo.com/why-the-dragon-spacecraft-success-opens-a-new-era-in-sp-5709477 Bigger than the Falcon 9? Whatever could it be? Good money’s on the Falcon Heavy rocket, but we’ll just have to wait and see.…

Space & Spaceflight Jack Loftus

Project Noah App Lets You Learn About Nearby Wildlife and Provide Worthy Research Yourself

This could be an app that makes you relinquish control of your iPhone and see the nearest kid around you begin a lifelong journey in wildlife appreciation. The free Project Noah app lets you snap photos of a plant or animal and submit it to find out details on exactly what it is, and what…

Biology Kat Hannaford

Cancer-Detector the Size of a Dime Can Also Spot HIV

Last month’s handheld cancer-sniffing device (pictured) has already met its match in a tool that’s the size of a dime—a tool that can spot cancer, but also HIV. The engineers who invented the microfluidic device are hopeful it can be used in developing countries. https://gizmodo.com/200-handheld-scanner-detects-cancer-in-just-one-hour-5769366 The Harvard Medical School professor of biomedical engineering, Mehmet Toner,…

Health Kat Hannaford

The Next Mars Rover Won’t Have a 3D Camera

It was pretty cool to hear that James Cameron got NASA to put 3D cameras in Curiosity, the next Mars Rover. If 3D is good for anything, it’s exploring space and worlds we’ve never actually seen before (see: Avatar). But alas, NASA decided against it. https://gizmodo.com/next-mars-rover-to-include-3d-camera-thanks-to-james-ca-5527969 Why? Basically, NASA didn’t have enough time to go…

Space & Spaceflight Casey Chan

Why Is NASA Burning Out Its Comet Hunting Spaceship?

This is Stardust, NASA’s comet hunter about 312,000,000 kilometers from Earth. Yesterday, they ordered her main engines to burn at full throttle until they consumed all the available fuel, and then turned off her radio. But why? Swinging around the solar system Launched in February 7, 1999, the brave 661-pound spaceship was the first spacecraft…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz

The Red Square Nebula rips a hole in space-time

This might look like some weird cosmic gateway straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey or a particularly trippy old-school Doctor Who adventure, but the Red Square Nebula is completely real. Just don’t ask astronomers to explain its bizarre shape. [io9] https://gizmodo.com/the-red-square-nebula-rips-a-hole-in-space-time-5784752

Space & Spaceflight Alasdair Wilkins

Antarctica Is Fake Mars

Sending humans to Mars is going to cost gazillion dollars and take a long, long time—but when it does happen, we want to be prepared. How? Go to Antarctica in spacesuits and pretend it’s Mars. NASA teamed up with the University of North Dakota’s Space Suit Laboratory (that’s a business card I’d love to hand…

Space & Spaceflight Sam Biddle

The Science of Bicycle Motion Gets a Re-Do

Mr. Gagarin’s Wild Ride

Latest Energy Breakthrough Threatens the Entire Existence of Solar Panels

A Tribute to the Vostok 3KA: the Craft That Carried the First Man Into Orbit

Why Everyone Loves Yuri Gagarin, the First Human to Reach Space

Latest Alien Life Theory Posits the Quietest Civilizations Probably Live Longest

The Best Job In the World (Just In Case You Had Any Doubts)

The Mars Odyssey Orbiter Launched 10 Years Ago

Have Scientists Discovered a New Elementary Particle?

This Is the Next Mars Rover

The New Falcon Heavy Rocket Can Take Us Back to the Moon

Great Timing: Scientists Fine Tune Two-Part Method for Password Protection

First Ever Spacecraft “Black Box” Successfully Survives Fall from Space

SpaceX Teasing “Something Big” for April 5

Project Noah App Lets You Learn About Nearby Wildlife and Provide Worthy Research Yourself

Cancer-Detector the Size of a Dime Can Also Spot HIV

The Next Mars Rover Won’t Have a 3D Camera

Why Is NASA Burning Out Its Comet Hunting Spaceship?

The Red Square Nebula rips a hole in space-time

Antarctica Is Fake Mars

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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