Physics

See a nuclear explosion from 10 feet away

Ever wonder what a nuclear explosion looks like from far, far too close? Remarkably like candy. Writer Richard Miller has sent in an amazing photo taken in an underground test facility. The many tests of nuclear bombs over the past three-quarters of a century have been filmed in many ways. There are photos of the…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell May 2

The World’s Toughest Material Is Built of Knots

A scientist from the University of Trento in Italy claims to have made the world’s toughest material. But this isn’t some kind of exotic super material—it’s just made from strands of fiber with knots tied in them. The material, created by Nicola Pugno, is formed from strands of Endumax polymer fiber with a simple slip…

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe May 2

That condensation on your beer can might not be a good sign

We’ve all seen a cold beer can sweat in the summer heat. Now, a new scientific study reveals the surprising effect that layer of condensation has on the temperature of your beverage. If you’re familiar with evaporative cooling, there’s a chance you guessed that moisture keeps your can chilled. After all, when people sweat, we…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez May 1

This is officially the world’s tiniest stop-motion film

What you’re about to watch here is the smallest stop-motion movie ever made. Called “A Boy and His Atom,” the one-minute clip was compiled by manipulating a few dozen carbon atoms on a copper surface. We’re having a hard time getting our heads around just how astoundingly small the scale is, here. Each frame of…

io9 George Dvorsky May 1

This Stop Motion Movie Is Animated Using Individual Atoms

Occasionally, researchers at IBM take a break from exploring the limits of data storage at the molecular level—and instead make stop motion films, animated entirely with individual atoms. This is the result. Created using a custom, IBM-manufactured microscope which operates at -268°C, IBM claims this is the “world’s smallest movie.” By manipulating individual atoms, the…

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe May 1

Watch ice needles shooting out of a lake in this insane video

Ice needles literally spurt out in waves from chunks of ice at a Minnesota Lake in this amazing video. The phenomenon looks like magic, and the scientific explanation is even better. We share the amazement of the people in the video, watching as ice all along the shore of Medicine Lake suddenly seemed to spit…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Apr 29

Physicists believe it’s possible to build a perpetual motion machine

All bets are off. A prominent physicist has just announced that he’s developed a proof for “time crystals” that can move thanks to a break in the symmetry of time. And now he’s about to test his proof in the real world. Over at the excellent Simons Foundation, Natalie Wolchover has the story: In February…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 26

Neutrinos From Another Galaxy Have Been Discovered in Antarctica

Scientists at the IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory have captured the highest energy neutrinos that have ever been seen. And to find them, they used faster-than-light particles and a hole drilled 1.5 miles under the Antarctic ice. Neutrinos are those spooky massless subatomic particles that can pass through normal matter like a ghost. They can…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 26

Watch what happens to a boomerang in zero gravity

This isn’t a boomerang in the traditional Aussie mode, and it’s not being thrown by a guy in a big hat. More awesomely, this is a boomerang being thrown on the International Space Station. In space, no one can hear you cheer for a guy throwing a boomerang. Which is a shame, because this astronaut…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Apr 26

How Skynet Might Emerge From Simple Physics

A provocative new paper is proposing that complex intelligent behavior may emerge from a fundamentally simple physical process. The theory offers novel prescriptions for how to build an AI — but it also explains how a world-dominating superintelligence might come about. We spoke to the lead author to learn more. In the paper, which now…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 26

Silk: Nature’s Homespun Supermaterial

Most of your exposure to silk probably comes in the form of uncomfortably sensual linens or cobwebs in a dusty old closet. In reality, though, silk is an incredible and overlooked material. While it may have roots in the ancient past, it could also form the building blocks of the future. Spinning a Good Yarn…

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe Apr 26

The Center of the Earth Is 1,000°C Hotter Than We Thought

A new series of measurements have revealed that the Earth’s core is actually 1,000°C hotter than we previously thought—meaning the center of our planet is actually as hot as the surface of the Sun. We’ve long known that the very core of the planet—despite being exceedingly hot—is made of solid, crystalline iron because of the…

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe Apr 26

The Science of Jetpacks

If there’s one universal truth, it’s that everybody wants to fly around using a jetpack. But how the hell do they work? This video should help explain. Bear with the physics, because the video as a whole makes for some really interesting watching. [YouTube]

Physics & Chemistry Jamie Condliffe Apr 26

Must Watch: Neil deGrasse Tyson Moderates a Debate on Nothingness

For 14 years now, the American Museum of Natural History has hosted the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate – an annual meeting of scientific and philosophical minds, held in honor of one of modern history’s most formidable intellects. The debates are always fantastic, but this year’s topic – the existence of nothing – proved particularly compelling.…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Apr 25

How to Make a Better Sand Castle That Can Hold the Weight of a Human

Here’s a relatively useless yet undoubtedly impressive trick you can pull the next time you go to the beach: make a sand castle that’s so unbelievably sturdy that it can hold up an entire person. Seriously. What’s it take? Unfortunately, a wee bit more than just wet sand. The scientific reasoning is to create enough…

Physics & Chemistry Casey Chan Apr 24

Mosh Pit Physics Reduces Humanity to a Gas

By analyzing the flocking behavior of heavy metal concert goers in mosh pits, Cornell University researchers discovered that their collective actions closely approximate the way particles work in a two-dimensional gas. While it might seem like frivolous work, this study has serious implications for understanding how people move in panic situations, like when fleeing from…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 24

Incense flowers and magnet trees

This is what you see when you light a stick of incense, you just don’t know it. A project sponsored by the Czech Ministry of Education makes smoke into flowers and creates trees out of magnets — and then photographs them all. All you need is smoke, a light to illuminate it, and a very…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Apr 24

This jaw-dropping water simulation is the most realistic yet

Simulating the complex ebbs and flows of liquid in real-time is not easy, but this jaw-dropping new demonstration from PhysX shows we’ll eventually get there. This new system is called Position Based Fluids (pdf), and it works off a previously developed model called Position Based Dynamics. The new algorithm reduces water to a large series…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 24

Travel with Albert Einstein through Space and Time in This Comic

Journey by Starlight is a graphic novel that takes you on a historical journey through the discoveries of astronomers and physicists, kicking off in the year 1200 BCE and ending with the postmortem travels of Einstein’s brain. “Journey” is a very apt word apt to describe this work, as the reader is comfortably taken through…

io9 Keith Veronese Apr 23

Will the universe end in a “Big Rip”?

There’s overwhelming evidence that the universe is accelerating. This means that the future is going to be a relatively lonely place, with galaxies getting ever further from one another, and no hope (if there ever was any) of traveling between them. But could the accelerating universe be even more grim than that? https://gizmodo.com/are-physicists-just-making-up-dark-energy-5607692 For this…

io9 Dr. Dave Goldberg Apr 23

See a nuclear explosion from 10 feet away

The World’s Toughest Material Is Built of Knots

That condensation on your beer can might not be a good sign

This is officially the world’s tiniest stop-motion film

This Stop Motion Movie Is Animated Using Individual Atoms

Watch ice needles shooting out of a lake in this insane video

Physicists believe it’s possible to build a perpetual motion machine

Neutrinos From Another Galaxy Have Been Discovered in Antarctica

Watch what happens to a boomerang in zero gravity

How Skynet Might Emerge From Simple Physics

Silk: Nature’s Homespun Supermaterial

The Center of the Earth Is 1,000°C Hotter Than We Thought

The Science of Jetpacks

Must Watch: Neil deGrasse Tyson Moderates a Debate on Nothingness

How to Make a Better Sand Castle That Can Hold the Weight of a Human

Mosh Pit Physics Reduces Humanity to a Gas

Incense flowers and magnet trees

This jaw-dropping water simulation is the most realistic yet

Travel with Albert Einstein through Space and Time in This Comic

Will the universe end in a “Big Rip”?

Disney’s Massive Layoffs Have Seemingly Hit Marvel Hard

Anthropic Is Jacking Up the Price for Power Users Amid Complaints Its Model Is Getting Worse

Bose SoundLink Max Bluetooth Speaker Quietly Drops to Its Lowest Price, Now Cheaper Than Last Week’s Low

The Wicked Stepmother of ‘The Testaments’ Is So Much Fun to Hate

Apple’s Smart Glasses Are Stepping Into a Privacy Minefield

Allbirds Is Getting Out of the Shoe Business and Pivoting to AI Infrastructure

Anker Nebula P1i Portable Projector Debuted at CES 2026 and Now Hits Record Low Just Weeks After Launch

There’s No Saving Windows 11. It’s Time for Windows 12

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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