Prune Time in the Bath – Why Do Our Fingers Wrinkle in the Water ?
Having a bath has uses aside from getting clean and reading a good book: it gives you an excuse to observe a bodily quirk that it would appear has been with us since Homo sapiens left the trees.
Valentine Conundrums : Why Does an X Stand for a Kiss? and Why Do Humans Kiss?
A valentine’s day conundrum for you : Why does an X stand for a kiss? and why do humans kiss anyway?
Why is it that Humans Can Speak?
Of all the things that define us as humans there is surely one remarkable thing that marks us out from other life on earth – language and the ability to communicate via speech. But what is it in our genes that allows us to do this?
Could Huge Dinosaurs Really Sustain Themselves on a Veggie Diet?
On the face of it there seems little hope of working out precisely how a 75ft long, 50 ton Brachiosaur fed itself. However it is possible to make a few guesstimates, by assuming the present laws of physics and chemistry applied 65 million years ago.
The Joy of Slinky – The Physics of a Metal Marvel
I’ve recently re-discovered the joy of the Slinky – one of the simplest of all children’s toys and yet, so beguiling, as it seems to defy the laws of physics by hinting at some sort of perpetual motion. So how on earth does this work?
How to Measure the Speed of Light Using Chocolate, a Microwave and a Ruler
It took over 300 years of experimentation and refinement to arrive at the figure for the speed of light which we use as standard today. That being the case, the method proposed in this article for determining that speed yourself might seem more than a little surprising.
Is it True that Opera Singers Really Can Shatter Wine Glasses by Singing ?
The renowned soprano Dame Nellie Melba is reputed to have performed this trick and in 1971 the audio-tape maker Memorex based a very successful advertising campaign around Ella Fitzgerald shattering glass both when singing live and when recorded on its tape cassettes (a claim the company still stands by today).
Does any other Animal ‘Speak’ or Communicate like Humans?
Chimpanzees share about 99% of our DNA, making them our closest living relatives, so the questions might be better re-phrased as “Can chimps speak?”
Why are only some substances magnetic?
Magnetism is a manifestation of some very fundamental physics, ultimately linked to the orbital motion and spin of the electrons in atoms.
Can Magnets Wear Out?
Toy magnets sometimes come with warnings not to drop them or heat them up, lest they lose their magnetic power. But is that true can magnetic substances really lose their magnetism ?.
Where Does All the Light Go When you Switch Off the light Switch ?
It seems simple enough – you flip a switch, and in the blink of an eye the room has gone completely dark. But where exactly did all of the light go ? What actually makes the room dark?
Why is the Universe Expanding?
According to the big bang theory, the universe started off as an infinitely small point and expanded incredibly quickly in a process called inflation. But why is the Universe still expanding ?
Why Does Ice Float?
Water is one of the strangest chemicals in the universe, and many of its strangest features turn out to be essential for life as we know it, particularly the almost unique property of water related to freezing. So why does it float when it becomes a solid?
Out of Africa : Did an Exploding Star Alter Human Evolution
A team of German scientists examining material from the seabed beneath the Pacific Ocean believe that they may have uncovered explosive evidence of an event that altered the evolution of humankind.
