Science & Technology

After scientists created oxygen-28 in the lab, it almost immediately degraded, baffling physicists around the world For the first time, scientists have created oxygen-28, a rare oxygen isotope that has 12 more neutrons than oxygen-16, the most common form of oxygen on the planet. This newly created “heavy” oxygen isotope has the…
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Militant aggression, conquest and colonialism. Oppression. Genocide. Ecological destruction. Economic depredation. Domestic conflict. Child abuse. Bullying. Waste. Neglect. These and other related pernicious phenomena have perpetually persisted for millennia, assuming various forms in each generation to thwart anew the dream for a…
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Solar radiation modification is a form of geoengineering that aims to cool off the Earth by reflecting sunlight back into space. The controversial strategy comes with significant risks, but that didn't stop the White House from moving forward with a research plan for “solar and other rapid climate interventions.” SRM is a form of…
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When I was in secondary school, a teacher showed me an animated optical illusion in which a dancer appears to be spinning in one direction. I was adamant that the dancer was spinning clockwise, while my teacher insisted it was spinning counterclockwise. She then told me that you could change the direction of the dancer by focusing on the…
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Imperial physicists have recreated the famous double-slit experiment, which showed light behaving as particles and a wave, in time rather than space. The experiment relies on materials that can change their optical properties in fractions of a second, which could be used in new technologies or to explore fundamental questions in…
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There is an inspiring story hidden behind the formulas and word problems of single-variable calculus – a story that should be told in every introductory calculus course, but usually isn’t. Regardless of if you’ve taken a few calculus courses before or are just beginning your study of calculus, the following video aims to give a…
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It turns out that a breakfast staple around the world might just be the answer for removing microplastics from water. Princeton researchers have successfully used egg whites to create a lightweight and porous aerogel material that can be used in several ways, including water filtration, energy storage, and sound, as well as insulation.…
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Researchers recently discovered that the proton sometimes includes a charm quark and charm antiquark, colossal particles that are each heavier than the proton itself. “The positively charged particle at the heart of the atom is an object of unspeakable complexity, one that changes its appearance depending on how it is probed. We've…
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Experiments with entangled light have laid bare a profound mystery at the heart of reality One of the more unsettling discoveries in the past half a century is that the universe is not locally real. In this context, “real” means that objects have definite properties independent of observation – an apple can be red even when no one is…
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