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Physics

A new study examines how bees adapt to build honeycombs on top of various 3D-printed foundations.

Bees Manage to Build the Best Honeycombs, Even on Imperfect Foundations

In a new study, scientists tested how honeybees adapt to construct their hives on 3D-printed foundations of varying sizes

Weaver ants link their bodies together to form chains while bending leaves to create their elaborate dwellings.

Weaver Ants Use Teamwork to Become ‘Superefficient,’ Building Complex Nests From Leaves With Extra Pulling Power

When humans work in large teams, they become less individually effective. But each ant grows more efficient when collaborating—a discovery that could help engineers build better robots

Researchers used a laser to superheat a sample of gold past its theoretical limit and directly measured its temperature.

Physicists Superheated Gold to Hotter Than the Sun’s Surface and Disproved a 40-Year-Old Idea

A thin piece of gold reached 33,740 degrees Fahrenheit, which is more than 14 times higher than its melting point, by being rapidly heated—and it didn’t melt

A screenshot from the CCTV footage reveals the moment when the ground moved.

CCTV Footage Captures the First-Ever Video of an Earthquake Fault in Motion, Shining a Rare Light on Seismic Dynamics

A clip recorded in Myanmar in March reveals a curved path of the fault slip, which can help scientists better understand the physics of such events

The push and pull between the Earth and its moon impacts our planet's rotation.

Today Will Likely Be Shorter Than Usual, and It Will Happen Again in August. Here’s Why

Because of the moon’s position, Earth is rotating just over a millisecond faster than usual on a few days this summer

An artist's reconstruction of the giant ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus (left), featured in the study, and researchers examining part of the creature's flipper at Sweden's Lund University (right).

Fossil Flipper Reveals Ichthyosaurs Hunted in Lethal Silence With Unique Adaptations for Stealth

An analysis of a roughly 180-million-year-old fossil fin reveals serrations and flexibility that might have served to dampen sound as the predator swam

Researchers announced they have discovered the most massive black hole merger by detecting gravitational waves.

Physicists Detect the Most Massive Black Hole Merger Ever Observed by Studying Gravitational Waves

A short-lived ripple in space-time revealed that two black holes merged into a giant black hole with the mass of 225 suns

A NASA astronaut captured this odd weather phenomenon, called a red sprite, from the International Space Station.

Mysterious ‘Red Sprite’ Appears in NASA Astronaut Photo From the Space Station. What Is This Strange Electrical Flare?

Red sprites are among a class of enigmatic weather phenomena that appear over thunderstorms, known as Transient Luminous Events

NASA's ANITA experiment is lifted above Antarctica by a balloon and seeks to detect radio pulses connected to neutrinos.

Mysterious Radio Pulses Found in Antarctica Seem to Defy Physics, and Researchers Are Trying to Trace Their Origins

Strange signals detected by a NASA instrument more than a decade ago have continued to confound scientists, but a new paper rules out cosmic neutrinos as a source

The Solar Orbiter has captured the first-ever views of the sun's south pole.

See the First-Ever Direct Images of the Sun’s South Pole, Captured by the Solar Orbiter Spacecraft

The spacecraft’s tilted orbit will allow scientists to investigate the mechanisms behind space weather that impact crucial human activity on Earth

New research suggests using a thin, sharp knife and cutting slowly could help prevent crying while cutting onions.

What’s the Best Way to Cut Onions Without Crying? New Research Suggests That Thin, Sharp Blades Are Key to Minimizing Tears

For a new study, physicists visualized and quantified the tear-producing droplets that get expelled from onions when they’re cut

A new study reveals how Chilean flamingos are so adept at finding food.

Feeding Flamingos Create Underwater Tornado-Like Vortices to Capture Their Prey, Study Finds

Rather than passively filter-feeding, the birds use their heads, beaks and feet to generate motion in the water that funnels invertebrates into their mouths

The researchers conducted static compression tests to measure the force needed to break the eggs in different positions.

This Is the Best Way to Drop an Egg Without Breaking It, According to Scientists

Experiments challenge the commonly held idea that dropping an egg vertically will help prevent it from cracking in a classic school assignment

A cup of pour-over coffee is prepared by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

Here’s the Secret to Making the Perfect Cup of Pour-Over Coffee, According to Physicists

By adjusting the pouring technique and height, the new method could use 10 percent fewer coffee grounds without compromising on strength or flavor

"Torpedo bats," like the one shown here used by New York Yankees player Jazz Chisholm Jr., have a slightly bulbous shape that's similar to a bowling pin.

Trending Today

The Science Behind the MLB ‘Torpedo’ Bats That Everyone’s Talking About—How Do They Work? And Are They Really Better?

Developed by a physicist, these bats have their widest part, called the barrel, closer to the player’s hands to offer a better chance of hitting the ball on their “sweet spot”

This portrait of Cristina Roccati (left) is by the contemporary Italian painter and engraver Matteo Massagrande. In the background is the only depiction of Roccati (right) from the 18th century.

How an 18th-Century Female Physicist Broke Boundaries and Inspired the Generations Who Followed

Cristina Roccati graduated from the University of Bologna when few other Italian women earned degrees, and she taught physics for decades

This is the first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and released in 2022.

This Comprehensive Guide Will Answer the Questions You Have About Black Holes—and Spark Some New Ones

In a new book release, two scientists combine forces to explain the discoveries, developments and theories made in the realm of the densest objects in space

A digital optical module of the K3MNeT collaboration telescope, which identified the high-energy neutrino.

A Record-Breaking ‘Ghost Particle’ From Outer Space Made a Splash of Light in the Mediterranean

The neutrino was 30 times more energetic than any other previously observed particle of its kind. Scientists still don’t know exactly where it came from

Scientists tested how the peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) delivers its destructive blows without damaging its own body.

Mantis Shrimp Pack a Punch With the Force of a Bullet—and They Don’t Get Hurt. Here’s How

In a new study, scientists tested the complex layers in the animal’s clubs that serve as mighty shields to absorb the shock of the impact

The MeerKAT radio telescope, part of a 64-antenna array located in South Africa, was used in the recent detection of long-wavelength gravitational waves.

Astronomers Suspect Colliding Supermassive Black Holes Left the Universe Awash in Gravitational Waves

Radio telescopes tracking signals from spinning, ultra-dense stars point to ripples in the fabric of space

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