Everyday Myths

Though they're indispensable to any construction project, nails have a nasty habit of getting hammered into thumbs and puncturing tires. Is a rusty nail even more dangerous?

ByMolly Edmonds

A CART race at Texas Motor Speedway was cancelled because the G-forces on the drivers were too high. How can you calculate the G-forces, and how do the cars generate forces that high?

In the news coverage of the Russian submarine accident, I read that the Norwegian salvage divers used a technique called saturation diving, whereby they could stay underwater for days to weeks at a time. How does saturation diving work?

You've heard the saying for ages, but exactly why is it so dangerous to go swimming right after you eat?

You may have noticed that we're all constantly traveling into the future. But what if you were interested in dancing through the fourth dimension more deftly than the next guy? How might you do that?

由凯文Bonsor &Robert Lamb

Looking forward to instantaneous travel? The Star Trek teleporter is one step closer to reality. Scientists have now teleported a laser beam. Could humans be next?

由凯文Bonsor &Robert Lamb

And, here comes the pitch. Hey Bob, is that player reading a physics textbook at bat? Strike! Wait, Bob, he's put down the book and is getting ready to swing. And -- it's outta here. That guy in the lab coat has scored a home run!

ByRobert Lamb

Ever wonder why we start our year on the first of January? Or why we have January and the other 11 months in the first place? Find out all about time.

ByMarshall Brain

There's actually an equation to figure it out!

ByKatherine Neer

A helium balloon rises because the helium is lighter than air. So how would a balloon -- made from a very sturdy but very lightweight material -- that had been removed of all air respond?

If you could spin a carousel fast enough to get its rim moving at nearly the speed of light, would time stand still for people on the carousel?

February is an unusual month, especially when it comes to leap years. In this article, you can read about why we use leap years and how the year 2000 was a leap year and 1900 was not.

Special relativity deals in phenomena that don’t agree with our historical or commonsense views of how the universe works. In fact, many of the theory’s assertions almost appear ludicrous.

ByJohn Zavisa

If you were to fly west around the world, fast enough so that you crossed one time zone every hour, would you stand still in time?

Unlike our beloved earthly matter, strange matter is weird -- that is, if it even exists. Did we mention its unnerving habit of eating everything in its path, under the right conditions?

BySusan L. Nasr

From plane crashes and deaths to sports superstitions and hexagrams, many people believe that the number 23 possesses magical properties.

ByPatrick J. Kiger

The idea that dinosaurs roamed the Earth with man is one of the many that persist despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. What is belief perseverance, and why does the human mind go to such great lengths to keep the peace?

ByJulia Layton

Some malarkey is so believable that it's turned many of us into inadvertent purveyors of hogwash. What are 10 bits of malarkey that tend to slip through the "hey, wait a minute" filter?

ByJulia Layton

When big spills hit our environment, scientists think the best sponge is the one made out of aerogel, a substance that's a cross between a slice of Jell-O and a brick of smoke. Why are aerogels so good at cleaning up some of our worst messes?

ByRobert Lamb

According to new research, many people believe wildly inaccurate myths about the brain and learning — even those who know a lot about neuroscience.

ByShelley Danzy

Humans are awesome and we have superpowers of our own. But could a greedy world of "supervillains" twist them against us?

ByDiana Brown

Fast, right? You'll have no trouble accommodating your vampire overlord.

ByRobert Lamb

CERN's work has been groundbreaking to say the least, but conspiracy theories run rampant about the potential disasters it could cause, too.

ByDiana Brown

Thousands of years ago, the Babylonians created the zodiac and dropped a constellation when it didn't quite fit into their schematic. Its name? Ophiuchus. Should it be part of our horoscope?

ByKate Kershner&Kathryn Whitbourne

A bunch of Yale physicists decided to give Schrodinger's cat not one but two boxes. And that, strangely enough, could eventually prove handy for quantum computing.

ByJulia Layton