Physics

Higgs Boson Explained Using Fat Man in a Pool Metaphor

The Higgs Boson is big news today. We found it. We are close to finding it. We have surrounded it are are now waiting for a list of it’s demands. But if you’re someone who has no idea what a hell a Higgs Boson is, how are you supposed to...

Podcast: Super-Awesome Juice

Newton’s Balls! Teleporting Energy a Possibility!

Researcher Masahiro Hotta at Tohoku University has developed a framework by which it could be possible to teleport energy vast distances. The implications for this are pretty amazing. Could we use this to power deep space missions?...

Invisibility Ray or Magic Trick?

According to an article from the October 1936 issue of Modern Mechanix, invisibility wasn’t just a possibility, it was a reality. The author credulously reports a description of an invisibility ray, but states emphatically that, “This is...

Call New Element Kryptonite!

Super-heavy element 112 is now on the scene, more than ten years since it’s creation at the Center for Heavy Ion Research in Germany. And it needs a name. Internet sensation Professor Richard Wiseman believes it should be called...

Saturn’s Persistent Hexagon

Saturn’s North Pole (Cassini-Huygens, 2007 and 2008) In November 1980, planetary scientists eagerly examined transmissions received from the Voyager 1 spacecraft as it sped past Saturn. And with good reason! Amid those transmissions was...

Making Star Trek Possible: Warp speed without the warp drive

A five-part series that tries to explain how to make the science of Star Trek real… Probably the most fascinating idea that Star Trek popularized was the idea of a warp drive. This was a concept from golden age sci-fi that went mainstream...

Making Star Trek Possible: The Humanoid Problem

A five-part series that tries to explain how to make the science of Star Trek real… In an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation called the “The Chase” a long running problem in Star Trek was finally solved – Why do all the aliens in...

Making Star Trek Possible: Practical Time Travel

A five-part series that tries to explain how to make the science of Star Trek real… Time Travel stories generally suck. There are some noteworthy exceptions – specifically stories that deal with the problems of time travel and not just...

Making Star Trek Possible: Mind melding and ESP

A five-part series that tries to explain how to make the science of Star Trek real… An important part of the Star Trek mythos is the idea of mind-to-mind contact. Spock uses this to probe other people’s minds and even transplant his entire...