You Can Count on Pi

On Pi Day we answer the burning question: Is there any world in which pi does…

How Do Heat Pumps Work?

Our in-house physics **** explains how a heat pump can warm your home without burning fossil…

Is This New 50-Year Battery for Real?

BetaVolt’s nuclear battery lasts for decades, but you won’t see one in your next iPhone—powering a…

Why Is Our Solar System Flat?

It started as a big old ball of dust, so how did it end up like…

How to Convince Your Flat-Earth Friends the Earth Is Round

Two experiments you can do yourself to finally, definitively put this question to rest.

Why the Polar Vortex Is Bad for Balloon Artists

Leave a balloon out in the cold and it’ll shrink and look pathetic. Sorry, but that’s…

School of Rock: The Physics of Waves on Guitar Strings

Playing the guitar is an art form. But the good vibrations you hear are a science.

How to Measure the Impact From a Collision

Things smash into one other. Here’s what to do next.

Could a Cockroach Survive a Fall From Space?

If you’re resorting to more, uh, unconventional pest control methods, you’ll want to read this first.

How to Measure the Calories in a Candy Bar—With Physics!

Step one: Trick or treat. Step two: Get out your bomb calorimeter. (Yes, that is a…