Physics

As you pour your Champagne to celebrate the New Year, remember that the physics behind those bubbles has some real-world applications.

The Physics of Champagne Bubbles Could Help Power the Future

Studying the principles that govern bubble formation in sparkling wine could improve power plant boilers

Snowflakes All Fall In One of 35 Different Shapes

The latest categorization of solid precipitation types inspired a cool graphic

Arachnophobia, coral reefs, artificial cells and strange amphibians starred in some of this year's science finds you might have missed.

Ten Cool Science Stories You May Have Missed in 2014

ICYMI, there's a newfound coral reef in Iraq, the smallest force has been detected and more in this year's surprising science

Blind People Can Echolocate

Echolocation acts as such a close a proxy for vision that it falls victim to the same shortcomings

Both the Hubble Space Telescope (blue) and the ALMA Observatory contribute to this image of the Boomerang Nebula

This Dying Star Is the Coldest Place We’ve Found in the Universe

The Boomerang Nebula is just one degree above absolute zero

Why String Theory Still Offers Hope We Can Unify Physics

Evidence that the universe is made of strings has been elusive for 30 years, but the theory's mathematical insights continue to have an alluring pull

What Does 'Happy New Year' Even Really Mean?

Physicists engage in a strange debate about whether time really passes

Creep Through Albert Einstein’s Love Letters

The Digital Einstein archive offers a look into the great physicist's writings

Thanks to millions of microscopic hair-like structures, a gecko's foot can resist pulling forces up to 20 times the lizard's own weight.

Geckos Have a Surprisingly Strong Death Grip

Gecko toes remain firmly stuck in place even after the animal dies, implying that the lizards do not actively control their clinginess

A full-size Boeing 757 tail equipped with sweeping jets was tested in a wind tunnel at the Ames Research Center.

Designing a Smaller, Lighter Airplane Tail

With engineers from Caltech, Boeing and NASA, Israel Wygnanski is ushering in a new era of fuel-efficient airplane design

The quantum realm can seem to defy common sense.

Five Practical Uses for "Spooky" Quantum Mechanics

Fifty years after Bell's Theorem, tools that harness the weird properties of quantum mechanics are at work all around you

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The Physics of Whisky’s Aesthetically Pleasing Residue

A photographer teamed up with scientists to figure out the fluid dynamics behind patterns left in whisky glasses

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Physicists Explain Why Coffee Is More Prone to Spills Than Beer

It all comes down to the foam

Performers in "Multiverse" during the opening of a 2010 art festival in Kiev

What If There Are Parallel Universes Jostling Ours?

It could explain a lot of weird, quantum physics

Rainbows Don’t Include Purple Light, So Why Do They Sometimes Seem To?

Supernumerary rings, supernumerary rings, supernummrings

Build a Cloud Chamber for Cheap And See Particles From Outer Space

A simple device lets you see cosmic rays' effects with your own eyes

Like Ants, Small Backpackers Are Adept at Carrying Proportionally Heavier Loads

The weight a person or animal can carry does not increase uniformly with size

A mass of insects teems around an outdoor lamp in Brazil.

The Potential Dark Side of Nobel-Winning LEDs: Pest Problems

The white lighting is clean and efficient but also a lot more attractive to flying invertebrates

Balloons taking off during the Mass Ascension at the opening of the International Balloon Fiesta at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

New Mexico's Skies Burst With Color During World's Largest Hot Air Balloon Festival

The 43rd Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta sends hundreds of hot air balloons soaring into the sky

Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler tags out Tampa Bay Rays' Sam Fuld on a stolen base attempt.

Breaking Down the Science of the Stolen Base

What does it take to swipe second? Math and physics lend their advice

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