When you push “start” on your microwave or computer, the device flips right on – but major physics experiments like the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, don’t work that way. Instead, engineers and physicists need to take a few weeks every year to carefully reset the collider and...
Flying in helicopters is safer than you might think – an aerospace engineer explains the technology and training that make it so
Helicopters draw a lot of attention with their almost magical ability to hover, fly in any direction and operate without runways. They also help save many lives, often dramatically, with their extensive use in all-weather military missions, ambulance duties and search-and-rescue roles.
When things go wrong, dramatic images and news stories about...
Could people turn Mars into another Earth? Here’s what it would take to transform its barren landscape into a life-friendly world
Curious Kids[1] is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [2]. Is it possible that one day we could make Mars like Earth? – Tyla, age 16, Mississippi When I was in middle school, my biology teacher showed our class the sci-fi movie “
... Supermassive black holes have masses of more than a million suns – but their growth has slowed as the universe has aged
Black holes are remarkable astronomical objects with gravity so strong[1] that nothing, not even light, can escape them. The most gigantic ones, known as “supermassive” black holes, can weigh millions to billions times the mass of the Sun.
These giants usually live in the centers of galaxies[2]. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, contains a...