Space seems fundamental. To build a universe, surely you need something to build it on or in. Many, maybe most physicists now think that the fabric of space emerges from something deeper. And perhaps the most existentially disturbing...

No, technically Earth doesn't orbit the Sun. Yes, technically sound can travel through space. Over the years we've built up a lot of myths and misconceptions about astronomy. But of course some are more flat-out false than...

How Do Airplanes Fly?

If I roll a pair of dice and you get to bet on one number, what do you choose? The smart choice is 7 because there are more ways for 2 dice to come up 7 than any other number. Well, it turns out that you can apply the same logic to...

How does heat affect airplanes? Turns out heat, speed and density connect to create dangerous situations.

Researchers have published a new method of guiding lightning strikes using a laser. And another team of researchers developed a new test that uses DNA as bait for respiratory viruses like COVID-19.

By 1917, Albert Einstein had explained the relationship between space and time. But, that year, he designed a flawed airplane wing. His attempt was based on an incomplete theory of how flight works. Indeed, insufficient and inaccurate...

Wouldn't it be nice if our transportation was as sleek as in The Jetsons or Futurama? Flying cars are cool, but what about a giant network of human-sized tubes that run through buildings and across entire cities? Well guess what? The...

What do raindrops look like? Exactly how we drew them as kids, right? Wrong! Teardrop-shaped rain is physically impossible. This week I went inside a vertical wind tunnel to bring you the true shape of rain.

The energy in the universe never increases or decreases -- but it does move around a lot. Energy can be potential (like a stretched-out rubber band waiting to snap) or kinetic (like the molecules that vibrate within any substance). And...

In the early 1980s IBM engineers had a hard time to to figure out inexplicable computer module failures in Denver, Colorado. When they finally cracked the puzzle, the cause turned out to be otherworldly.

How Do Airplanes Fly?

May 23rd, 1967 could have been the beginning of the end - all thanks to the sun.

Our modern skies are filled with these flying tubes as they shuttle hundreds of thousands of people around the world every day, but even more impressive than their numbers is the science and engineering that makes airplanes work.

In some parts of the United States, it's said that a green sky means there's a tornado on the way. But while you should probably go inside, things might not necessarily get so bad"

In 1991 a single atomic nucleus slammed into our atmosphere with the intensity of a macroscopic object. It's been named The Oh-My-God particle.

Nothing's final yet, but there might be a drone, called the Mars Helicopter, on the upcoming Mars 2020 rover.

Web cartoonist Randall Munroe answers simple what-if questions ("what if you hit a baseball moving at the speed of light?") using math, physics, logic and deadpan humor. In this charming talk, a reader's question about Google's data...

Our respiratory systems do a great job of protecting us, but they are no match for the smallest pollution particles created by the modern world.

Many people avoid using microwave ovens, fearing how it changes the molecular structure of your food, but studies have some evidence that may surprise you.

Hank acknowledges the amazing feat performed by Felix Baumgartner and answers many of your questions about why it is so amazing.

Too often we think of air as empty space - but compared to a vacuum, air is actually pretty heavy. So, just how heavy is it? And if it's so heavy, why doesn't it crush us? Dan Quinn describes the fundamentals of air pressure and...

The terminal velocity of an object is the speed at which the force of drag equals the force of gravity on that object.

How does heat affect airplanes? Turns out heat, speed and density connect to create dangerous situations.