Science
Discover facts about science. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Science
Holmium boasts the highest magnetic strength of all
Holmium atoms have strong magnetic moments, but at room temperature they are jostled in too many directions to line up as a permanent magnet. Cool the metal,…
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Thulium is so scarce it remains commercially useless
Thulium can power specialized lasers and portable X-ray devices, but it costs a lot to separate and purify. If a cheaper, more abundant element does the same…
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Mercury dissolves other metals into amalgams
Mercury can slip between the atoms of certain metals, including gold, and form a soft mixture called an amalgam. As the mercury disrupts the metal’s rigid…
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Aluminum instantly forms a protective oxide shell
Aluminum quickly grows a thin oxide layer when exposed to air. That invisible coating keeps oxygen and water from reaching most of the metal underneath;…
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Nitrogen boils at remarkably negative temperatures
Liquid nitrogen boils at about –320°F under ordinary air pressure, so a room is an enormous heat source by comparison. Heat flows into the liquid and turns it…
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Death Stranding makes you balance boxes
A tall stack shifts the character’s center of mass upward, so even a small lean can start the boxes tipping. The player counters by steering the other way,…
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Battlefield lets you demolish skyscrapers
A blast can turn a wall into a shortcut—or bring down a tower that was giving the other team a perfect perch. Because the map changes as players fight, the…
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Tony Hawk landed the trick before the game
Hawk pulled off the two-and-a-half-spin at the X Games months before his skateboarding game came out. The timing helped build excitement: people had already…
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Gold needs a special acid cocktail to dissolve
Aqua regia dissolves gold because its acids split the job. One helps turn gold atoms into charged ions; chloride from the other binds those ions in the…
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Erbium ions actively amplify optical signals in glass
Energy primes erbium ions in the glass. When a faint signal passes, those ions release matching light that joins and strengthens it, letting the message…
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Vanadium exists in four distinct oxidation states
An acidic solution containing vanadium can change color as the balance shifts among four oxidation states. In each state, the atoms arrange their electrons…
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A magnetic field can change a metal's dimensions
In magnetostrictive materials such as terbium, changes in magnetic ordering are coupled to tiny changes in the crystal structure. Add those shifts across a…
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Darts' highest single score is not in the bullseye
The inner bull scores fifty, while the narrow treble band in the 20 segment scores sixty. That top target sits above the center, with low-scoring neighboring…
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Xenon forms compounds despite being a noble gas
Xenon usually keeps to itself, but fluorine pulls electrons so strongly that it can bond with the noble gas. The result can be xenon difluoride, a stable…
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Ping pong paddles require two colors
The two rubber faces on a ping-pong paddle can send back different amounts of spin. Different colors let the opponent see which face hit the ball and adjust…
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Soccer referees use disappearing spray
The spray is foam, not paint: it briefly marks where the ball should go and how far defenders must stand. Then the water drains away and evaporates, taking…
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Silicon dioxide forms the primary basis of sand
Many sand grains contain silica, a starting ingredient for glass. Heat silica-rich material until it melts, and it can cool into glass; to make computer…
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Oganesson vanishes almost as soon as it's made
Oganesson is too short-lived to collect in a little jar. Its nucleus contains 118 protons, and the strong electrical repulsion among so many positive charges…
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Why iron rusts back toward the earth
Moisture lets oxygen react with iron to make rust, but rust flakes off instead of forming a tight protective coat. Each crumbly patch exposes fresh iron…
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Palladium absorbs absurd quantities of hydrogen
Hydrogen atoms can slip into tiny gaps in palladium’s repeating atomic structure. A small piece can hold enough hydrogen that, as a gas at room temperature,…
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Burnout Paradise rewards massive car crashes
Crash mode turns a traffic pileup into the objective. You launch into a crash, try to involve as many cars as possible, and earn rewards for the damage. In…
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Zirconium heavily resists damage from basic alkalis
Zirconium quickly forms a thin oxide layer on its surface. That layer acts like a shield, keeping many corrosive alkaline solutions from reaching the metal…
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Turning twenty five triggers massive panics
Turning 25 does not set off a hidden biological alarm. But it can make an unwritten checklist—career by now, money by now, relationship by now—feel suddenly…
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Astatine is rare partly because it keeps disappearing
Natural radioactive decay continually makes tiny amounts of astatine, which then decay again. Even its longest-lived known isotope has a half-life of only…
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