Space & Physics
How Can Galaxies Move Faster Than the Speed of Light? [Video]
Charles Liu, astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, answers questions submitted to our YouTube Space Lab Channel
Stories by Eric R. Olson
5 Essential Facts about Gravity Waves from the Big Bang – The Countdown, Episode 44
On March 17th, physicists with the BICEP2 experiment announced they had detected the remnant of gravity waves in the cosmic microwave background, the light left over from the Big Bang.
Space & Physics
Why Is There Something Instead of Nothing? [Video]
Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist at Arizona State University, answers an age-old question.
5 Space Photos that Speak to Our Human Existence – The Countdown, Episode 43
Since at least the 1960s, astronauts and satellites have been snapping photos of planet Earth from on high. While many of these photos possess an intrinsic beauty, some hold important clues about the goings-on of the inhabitants below...
5 Strange Ways to Clean Up Our Space Junk – The Countdown, Episode 42
According to NASA, more than 500,000 pieces of debris are tracked as they orbit earth. Individual pieces can travel at speeds of up to 28,000 kilometers per hour, creating a potentially dangerous situation for both satellites and astronauts alike...
5 Everyday Products Developed from NASA Technology – The Countdown, Episode 41
NASA is known for hi-tech wizardry when it comes to spacecraft, but some of its technology has floated back down to earth and made it into products we use everyday.
Space & Physics
Will Heat from Our Dying Sun Make Mars Habitable? [Video]
Emily Rice, astrophysics researcher at the American Museum of Natural History, answers question submitted to Scientific American's Space Lab channel.
The Sciences
The Mind-Blowing Mathematics of Sunflowers [Video]
Why do the number of spirals in a sunflower match up with the integers 34, 55, 89 and 144numbers found in the famous Fibonacci sequence? Scientific American editor John Matson explains in our latest Instant Egghead video: More to explore: What Is the Fibonacci Sequence?...
Instant Egghead Cracks Up
If you haven’t seen it before, “Instant Egghead” is Scientific American’s ongoing series of short and (hopefully) entertaining explainer videos.
The Top 5 Space Stories of 2013! – The Countdown, Episode 38
We rounded up the coolest, biggest and most important space stories of 2013 and asked the editors of Scientific American to vote for their top five.
Are Genes Really Selfish? [Video]
Biologist Richard Dawkins coined the phrase “the selfish gene” with his best-selling book of the same name. “Selfish”, however, was perhaps an unfortunate word choice because genes lack their own will and can actually drive altruistic behavior...
5 Things You Should Know About Comet ISON – The Countdown, Episode 36
If you live in the U.S., chances are good you’ll be munching on turkey tomorrow in celebration of Thanksgiving. But millions of miles above your head, Comet ISON will make its closest pass to the sun...
Who Owns Outer Space? [Video]
With the exception of international waters, unclaimed portions of Antarctica and a Hong Kong-sized parcel of land wedged between Egypt and Sudan, nearly every square inch of planet Earth has been claimed by a governing body...
Electronics
How Does Cloaking Work? [Video]
Films like The Invisible Man and the more recent Harry Potter series speak to the fascination humans have with invisibility. Will new technology grant us this ability? Scientific American 's John Matson explains how it might work...
Taking a Closer Look at How Meditation Improves Our Brains [Video]
The practice of meditation can sharpen our attention, strengthen memory and improve other mental abilities. In our latest Instant Egghead video, Scientific American editor Ferris Jabr examines the changes in brain structure behind some of these benefits...
How a Young Boy, a Cow and a Milkmaid Helped to Conquer Smallpox [Video]
If you aren’t familiar with the TEDEd series of animated videos, you should be. The series pairs professional educators with top-notch animators to create short video “lessons” on a huge variety of topics in science, medicine and history...
Why Is Yawning Contagious? [Video]
Contagious yawning can be annoying, but it might also be a sign of good social skills. It’s a type of emotional contagion, a phenomenon in which we tend to share the feelings of people around us...
5 Amazing Exoplanets – The Countdown, Episode 33
More to explore: Exoplanet colour confirmed for first time: it’s blue, but not pale — and nothing like Earth (Scientific American Blog Network) http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/b… Diamond ‘Super-Earth’ May Not be Quite as Precious (University of Arizona) http://uanews.org/story/diamond-super… Strange Exoplanet’s ‘Backwards’ Orbit Explained by Extra Star, Planet (Space.com) http://www.space.com/19421-backward-a… Astronomers Find Most Ancient Planet Yet (Scientific [...]..
Water on Mars, and More – The Countdown, Episode 32
More to explore: Universe May Be Curved, Not Flat (Scientific American) http://www.s
Space & Physics
What Would Happen If the Center of Our Galaxy Turned into a Powerful Quazar?
New York University research scientist Gabe Perez-Giz answers questions submitted to our YouTube Space Lab Channel
