Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Power Plant.

Is Japan’s Offshore Solar Power Plant the Future of Renewable Energy?

The densely populated nation has found a new way to harness the power of the sun

None

Discussion

From our readers

From the Editor

Introducing our February 2014 issue

Cool Finds

Some People Are Terrified of Chewing Sounds

When you chew loudly, cough or clip your nails, you might be causing another person to bubble with rage

Equal opportunity boredom.

Trending Today

Jurors Cannot Be Dismissed From a Case Based on Sexual Orientation

The price for being treated like an equal human? Also having to serve jury duty

Trending Today

2013 Continues 37-Year Warm Streak

Yep, global warming is still a thing. The last time it was cold, globally, was in 1976.

It might be Friday night lights out on the extra point soon.

Trending Today

The NFL Is Considering Axing the Extra Point After Touchdowns

Scoring these points is easy, and the NFL might just get rid of them

Being on the beach helps too.

New Research

You Can Get Placebo Sleep

Simply thinking you got better sleep makes your brain work better

New Research

This Crazy Anemone Hangs Upside Down From the Antarctic Ice Shelf

Edwardsiella andrillae pop their tentacles out to feed

Hello? Are you asleep or dead?

Cool Finds

Could a Computer Ever Learn to Identify Death?

Identify signs of life in a human might still be beyond a computer’s grasp

The Tsunami House, on the northern end of Washington's Camano Island, is designed to withstand the impact of high-velocity wave walls with heights of up to eight feet.

This House is Built to Withstand the Force of a Tsunami

A clever idea to let water flow through a home may allow residents in Puget Sound to escape the fate that locals centuries ago could not

Can a lab-made gel, added to foods, actually make it possible to munch your way to a trimmer figure?

Eating This Gel Might Help You Lose Weight

It’s not a diet pill, but researchers have developed an edible substance that makes you feel fuller longer

Trending Today

Rio’s Giant Christ Statue Damaged by Lightning

Repairs will begin on Christ the Redeemer’s fingers and head

Cool Finds

This One Site in Texas Will Get Most of America’s Low-Level Nuclear Waste

As America’s nuclear plants run out their lives, decommissioning waste will be headed to Texas

A redesigned egg carton from Gil Rodrigues.

These Redesigned Egg Cartons and Tea Bags Let You Play With Your Breakfast Meal

To reimagine your morning meal, one designer looks to bridge engineering and another to common sense.

Before long, artificial intelligence will stop looking to humans for upgrades and start seeking improvements on their own.

What Happens When Artificial Intelligence Turns On Us?

In a new book, James Barrat warns that artificial intelligence will one day outsmart humans, and there is no guarantee that it will be benevolent

Cool Finds

Virgin Galactic Started Selling Tickets to Space Before Getting Permission to Take People There

The private spaceflight company is missing a crucial FAA permit

None

Cool Finds

One Italian Director Animated These Old Masterpieces With New Technology

We can’t decide if these moving paintings are cool or totally creepy

Clouds of haze rise above China, largely the result of the country's massive manufacturing industry.

Air Pollution in China Is Spreading Across the Pacific to the U.S.

China is sending detectable levels of pollution to the U.S., but a significant fraction of it results from manufacturing products for American customers

Beautiful, beautiful vaporized dirt.

New Research

Vaporized Dirt Might Be the Mysterious Cause of Ball Lightning

An analysis of one ball’s contents found silicon, iron and calcium—the main components of dirt

Page 636 of 1324