There’s a concept that’s crucial to chemistry and physics. It helps explain why physical processes go one way and not the other: why ice melts, why cream spreads in coffee, why air leaks out of a punctured tire. It’s entropy, and it’s notoriously difficult to wrap our heads around. Jeff Phillips gives a crash course […]
In this episode of “It’s OK To Be Smart,” host Joe Hanson investigates how closely related we all really are. Basic math tells us that all humans share ancestors. But you’ll be amazed at how recently those shared ancestors lived. Thanks to genetic data in the 21st century, we’re even discovering that we really are […]
Watch as America’s favorite astrophysicist takes a look at the somewhat-questionable science behind big summer movies like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2″ and “Alien: Covenant.’ [The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]
NASA is offering a prize to coders who can help speed up the supercomputer software used to improve aircraft performance. You’ll need to be a US citizen and able to work with Modern Fortran. While many people think of NASA as being a space organization, it also works on aeronautics closer to home. This includes […]
One day, everything will end, even the universe. But before that happens, stars will start dying one after the other. The last ones to remain will be white dwarfs, the corpses of stars, which will continue burning for a long, long time before finally becoming Black Dwarfs. [Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell]
Sports drink commercials love talking about them, but what are electrolytes, why do we need them, and what happens if we don’t have enough? Electrolytes are salts that, once in our bodies, help our cells move water around. They also enable the nerve impulses that keep our hearts beating, our lungs breathing and our brains […]
The universe is expanding – this we know from looking at red shifts of distant galaxies – but the acceleration of the universe’s expansion is harder to measure. It requires measuring the change of recession velocity over time, and it’s done by comparing Type Ia supernovas as standard candles at different distances, which is how […]
Initially proposed as a LEGO Idea project by LEGO enthusiast saabfun, this LEGO Apollo Saturn V Rocket was recently unveiled as an official LEGO kit. Just like the real Saturn V rocket, which is the biggest and most powerful rocket NASA has ever made, the LEGO model is an impressive one too, measuring 1 meter […]