Science
Discover facts about science. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Science
Muons outrun their own expiration dates
Muons are born high in the atmosphere and decay quickly, so it seems they shouldn’t make it to the ground. But they travel so close to light speed that, from…
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Ekeberg discovered tantalum buried in Nordic minerals
When tantalum meets many acids, its surface quickly forms a thin oxide layer. The coating keeps the acid from reaching the metal beneath—like a raincoat made…
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The moon is slowly leaving Earth
Earth’s tides give the Moon a slow push outward. The Moon raises ocean bulges, but friction shifts them slightly ahead as Earth turns; their gravity then tugs…
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Rhenium is one of the absolute densest elements around
Rhenium packs a lot of atomic mass into a small volume, which is why a little of it feels remarkably heavy. Its metal atoms also hold together so strongly…
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Mendeleev predicted gallium before it was found
The periodic table’s repeating patterns gave Mendeleev a clue that an element was missing. He left a gap and predicted properties for the element that should…
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The vine that can grow a foot in one day
In warm weather, kudzu can grow as much as a foot in a day. When a vine touches the ground, that section can take root and start a new plant, letting the…
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The moth that can no longer survive on its own
Silkworm breeding favored caterpillars that made useful silk, not adult moths that could survive on their own. The resulting moths struggle to evade predators…
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Your cheap bookshelf may be sawdust and resin
That wood-grain surface may be a thin printed layer, not solid wood. Beneath it, manufacturers press wood scraps and sawdust together with resin to make…
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Why some people think Sirians are dolphins
The name “Sirians” can make an imagined alien civilization sound official. But while Sirius is real, there’s no evidence that intelligent, dolphin-like beings…
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Why tree kangaroos sometimes fall from trees
A tree kangaroo can escape danger in the canopy by leaping down to the forest floor. Its sturdy limbs help it handle the rough landing, so dropping from a…
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Spiders can sail through the sky on threads of silk
A spider can send out fine silk threads that catch the wind and lift it into the air. The threads may also carry electric charge, allowing Earth’s electric…
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How gut bacteria talk to your brain
Gut microbes make chemicals that gut cells and nerves can detect. Signals also travel through hormones and the immune system, with the vagus nerve providing…
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The Bermuda Triangle is ordinary after all
The Bermuda Triangle is a loosely defined patch of ocean, not a place with a known special force. Storms, currents, and navigation errors can cause trouble…
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We see only a tiny slice of reality
Human eyes catch only a narrow band of light, from violet to red. Infrared has longer wavelengths than red, while ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays have…
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Rational numbers turn into repeating decimals
In long division, the decimal digits depend on the remainder. If the remainder reaches zero, the digits stop; if a remainder comes around again, the same…
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Long bus gaps take up more of your day—and your luck
Imagine two gaps between buses: one lasts five minutes, the other twenty. If you show up at a random time, there are four times as many moments when you could…
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Cybernetic feedback loops maintain cruise control speeds
Cruise control isn’t a one-time command to hold the pedal still. It checks your speed again and again, adding or reducing throttle whenever the car drifts…
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A millisecond can make sound seem to come from one side
Your brain is listening for which ear gets the sound first. Natural direction-finding uses extremely tiny timing differences, so a delay of a millisecond is…
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Feldspar constitutes over half of the continental crust
Rain and weathering slowly change feldspar grains into clay. That means a mineral making up much of the continents also helps make the soil underfoot—and the…
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Normal force stops you from sinking into solid floors
When you stand still, the floor pushes up on your shoes as your weight pushes down. The atoms in the floor and shoes resist being squeezed into the same…
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Watching an action can recruit parts of your movement system
Some brain regions involved in planning or carrying out movement also become active when you watch another person act. A hand reaching for a cup is therefore…
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Magma can make the ground swell before an eruption
When magma pushes upward underground, it can press against the rock above and make the volcano’s surface bulge. Ground instruments and satellites can spot…
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Axiom of choice lets math handle undefined selections
Imagine having infinitely many nonempty boxes and being told you can take one item from each, even if nobody gives you a method for choosing. That’s the axiom…
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Why scientists can barely gather francium
Francium is hard to collect because it decays almost as soon as it is made. Even its longest-lived known isotope loses half its atoms in about 22 minutes, so…
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