Physics

Faster-Than-Light Travel May Be Possible

According to Einstein’s special theory of relativity, light traveling in a vacuum is the universal speed limit. But scientists love to try and break rules—and now a tweaked version of Einstein’s equations suggests that faster-than-light travel might just be possible. Out with the old… Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity was first published way back…

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe Oct 12

Check out lightning going through oil and water!

You’ve noticed that oil and water always separate out in a container, with water staying on the bottom and oil floating along the surface. What does it take to make the water rise up? This experiment shows that it takes a lot of charge, which resolves into lightning! Ah, science. It never stops finding ways…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 11

Physicists say there may be a way to prove that we live in a computer simulation

Back in 2003, Oxford professor Nick Bostrom suggested that we may be living in a computer simulation. In his paper, Bostrom offered very little science to support his hypothesis — though he did calculate the computational requirements needed to pull off such a feat. And indeed, a philosophical claim is one thing, actually proving it…

io9 George Dvorsky Oct 10

The real reason why the Pioneer spacecrafts appear to be slowing down

Back in July we reported on a new theory explaining why both Pioneers 10 and 11 were decelerating at a rate that seemed to defy Newtonian physics. The answer, it seemed, had to do with heat from the electrical subsystems and the decay of plutonium which was pushing back on the craft. But now, a…

io9 George Dvorsky Oct 10

This levitating barbecue is the coolest thing you’ll see today

Let’s face it: when it comes to jaw-dropping video footage, it’s hard to compete with live coverage of the world’s first supersonic dive from the edge of space. But Felix Baumgartner’s spacejump was just cancelled, which makes this video of a levitating sheet of piping-hot metal (the equivalent of a floating, aluminum griddle) the most…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Oct 9

How Real-Life Physics Fakes Telekinesis

We all know telekinesis can’t be real. As hard as you try, you can’t will the remote into your hand from five feet away, at least not in this reality. But still, all kinds of seemingly telekinetic forces operate around us all the time. How do they do that? Neil Turok, filling in for MinutePhysics,…

Physics & Chemistry Eric Limer Oct 7

Why do arrows have feathers?

To get the desired effect of an arrow – something pointy stuck into someone that you don’t like – all you need is a pointed stick and something to launch it. So what are all those feathers doing on the back end of an arrow. We’ll tell you the simple physics reason why arrows are…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 7

Why are atomic bomb clouds mushroom-shaped?

The mushroom cloud that forms after an atomic blast is almost an iconic. People use the terms “mushroom cloud” and “atomic bomb” interchangeably. But why does it form? And does it only go up after a nuclear blast? Let’s find out. You don’t need a nuclear weapon to create a mushroom cloud, but it helps.…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 5

We’ve finally figured out what these strange breast-shaped clouds mean!

Well, literally they mean “booby clouds,” but they also have a meaning for all weather-watchers out there. And it’s precisely the opposite of the meaning that most people think. These are mammatus clouds. The name means “breast clouds,” for obvious reasons. They form when the underside of a thundercloud, laden with ice crystals, cools the…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 4

How did we discover the existence of ultraviolet light?

Ultraviolet light is super useful in tanning people who want their skin to look like leather and for killing vampires, but it’s not something you can see or feel. So how did people figure out it existed, in the first place? An ingenious — and quite simple — experiment. Light, though pretty thoroughly abundant when…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 3

Earth’s magnetic field is singing. This is what it sounds like.

It sounds like the call of an extraterrestrial bird species, but the recording featured in the video up top (and the player, down below) is actually made by our very own planet. Scientists call the eerie sequence of quavering whooping sounds “chorus” — and this is one of the clearest examples of the phenomena NASA…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Oct 1

Why Is the Sky Dark at Night?

The answer to that question seems easy: Because it’s night, duh. But on second thought, you’ll remember the sky is actually littered with stars, and even though our sun is pretty close, it seems like a few hundred thousand (Hundred million? Hundred trillion?!) other stars should at least put out a better glow. There is,…

Space & Spaceflight Eric Limer Sep 30

What Is the Hottest Temperature Anything Can Be?

Everybody knows about absolute zero, but what about the other end of the spectrum, absolute infinity, as it begs to be called? As you might be able to guess, there’s a lot more room to go hotter than there is to go colder, but there still has to be some sort of limit, right? Kinda-sorta.…

Physics & Chemistry Eric Limer Sep 30

Cherenkov Radiation is a sonic boom for light

When a plane goes faster than the speed of sound, those around it hear a resounding crack that’s called a sonic boom. When particles go faster than the speed of light, those around them see a special glow. This is called Cherenkov Radiation. And it’s a lot prettier than a sonic boom. Aircraft traveling through…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Sep 29

There’s a good, sensible reason why this protractor is a rainbow

Making plastic into rainbows would nice enough even as a hobby — but it turns out there’s an entire field of study behind this light display. It’s called photoelasticity, and it helps people check where the lines of tension are on a structure. When light moves through a material, its angle of movement is generally…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Sep 28

What’s so super about Supersymmetry?

The headline discovery out of the LHC was, of course, the Higgs Boson. But the LHC is no one-trick pony. The search is on to find hints of Supersymmetry. What’s that, you ask? In this week’s column, we’ll find out. https://gizmodo.com/stop-calling-it-the-god-particle-5923170 All images via NASA/ESA/Hubble. There’s been a deafening silence from the “Ask a Physicist”…

io9 Dr. Dave Goldberg Sep 28

Watch 32 discordant metronomes achieve synchrony in a matter of minutes

If you place 32 metronomes on a static object and set them rocking out of phase with one another, they will remain that way indefinitely. Place them on a moveable surface, however, and something very interesting (and very mesmerizing) happens. The metronomes in this video fall into the latter camp. Energy from the motion of…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Sep 27

The Weird Physics Behind Thunderstorms Created by Wildfires

Cumulus clouds are the big puffy clouds that look great in epic musicals and old Dutch paintings. They’re the kind of clouds that let you know you’re likely to get rained on. So why are they up in the sky over desert wildfires so often? Wildfires tend to start when grass is incredibly dry and…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Sep 27

Scientists claim to have synthesized the superheavy Element 113

It’s taken close to a decade of experimentation, but now, a team of Japanese researchers claims to have succeeded in creating element 113, a superheavy synthetic element thought to reside toward the bottom reaches of the periodic table of elements. If the results are confirmed, the team could be granted the privilege of naming the…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Sep 27

How Many Water Molecules Does It Take to Make Ice?

You might think that sounds like a dumb question: why does it matter how many molecules there are, they just need to be cold enough, right? Wrong: you need enough to make the complex crystal structure that you see so clearly in snow flakes—and now scientists have worked out exactly how many that is. 275.…

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe Sep 27

Faster-Than-Light Travel May Be Possible

Check out lightning going through oil and water!

Physicists say there may be a way to prove that we live in a computer simulation

The real reason why the Pioneer spacecrafts appear to be slowing down

This levitating barbecue is the coolest thing you’ll see today

How Real-Life Physics Fakes Telekinesis

Why do arrows have feathers?

Why are atomic bomb clouds mushroom-shaped?

We’ve finally figured out what these strange breast-shaped clouds mean!

How did we discover the existence of ultraviolet light?

Earth’s magnetic field is singing. This is what it sounds like.

Why Is the Sky Dark at Night?

What Is the Hottest Temperature Anything Can Be?

Cherenkov Radiation is a sonic boom for light

There’s a good, sensible reason why this protractor is a rainbow

What’s so super about Supersymmetry?

Watch 32 discordant metronomes achieve synchrony in a matter of minutes

The Weird Physics Behind Thunderstorms Created by Wildfires

Scientists claim to have synthesized the superheavy Element 113

How Many Water Molecules Does It Take to Make Ice?

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