In the Cimitero Monumentale in Milan lies a crypt of the Galimberti family. Cuboid in shape, it bears numerous engravings which appear scientific in nature. I can make out what appears to be smashing particles, parabolas, lenses, and spirals. Is there a hidden meaning to all of this? A message? Code? [more inside]
posted on May 9, 2008 - 8 answers

So who's the person who gets to test a new roller coaster for the first time? [more inside]
posted on May 8, 2008 - 12 answers

How would I calculate the G-Force of this impact? [more inside]
posted on May 5, 2008 - 19 answers

Quotation-filter. I'm trying to remember how a quotation went concerning Richard Feynman's lectures on physics. [more inside]
posted on May 2, 2008 - 5 answers

Where did the idea of faster than light (or near light speed) travel come from, and how is it described in different science fiction/fact works? [more inside]
posted on Apr 21, 2008 - 25 answers

Does the theory of the multiverse in contemporary physics mean that the top card in a deck of cards isn't "set" until it is seen? (ideal answerers have a background in physics, but all answers appreciated.) [more inside]
posted on Apr 14, 2008 - 27 answers

How fast would a typical escalator need to operate, in order to keep a standard metal Slinky moving indefinitely (i.e., in place)?
posted on Mar 27, 2008 - 5 answers

How has our understanding of Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, etc. changed in the last five years? [more inside]
posted on Mar 24, 2008 - 15 answers

What books or online courses will best help me learn science and engineering? I'm especially interested in physics, astronomy, general electronics, and computer science. [more inside]
posted on Mar 24, 2008 - 8 answers

I'm after violin sheet music that has been inspired by physics - any suggestions or recommendations? [more inside]
posted on Mar 6, 2008 - 9 answers

Why is the Big Bang possible? [more inside]
posted on Feb 20, 2008 - 24 answers

My cousin's four year old son is obsessed with things like quarks and infinity. He insists to his mother that infinity is the last number. She isn't so sure, and wants to know more about things like strangeness. I don't want to determine this kid's future, but it seems fun to feed his curiosity. And since my wife's babysitter was Murray Gell-Mann, the responsibility has fallen partially on my shoulders to help answer his questions. What kinds of information can you recommend that I give to his mother so that she, an attorney and not a mathematician, and her son can learn more about this information. In particular, what kinds of books, games, and projects would introduce him to other neat ideas in mathematics and physics?
posted on Feb 16, 2008 - 27 answers

ScienceFilter: Creationists, crystals, and thermodynamics. [more inside]
posted on Feb 6, 2008 - 19 answers

Is there a chemical explanation for the density of an element or is it simply an innate physical characteristic? [more inside]
posted on Jan 21, 2008 - 14 answers

How do you stop a tree swing from twisting? [more inside]
posted on Jan 19, 2008 - 10 answers

Why do neutrons have more mass than protons? [more inside]
posted on Jan 16, 2008 - 30 answers

In a modern CPU, how many individual electrons, approximately, are "let through" in each clock-cycle of, say, an individual transistor or logic gate? [more inside]
posted on Jan 8, 2008 - 7 answers

I see you there. You're smart. You've got great ideas. You want to help me make the world a better place. So, help me brainstorm this contraption. [more inside]
posted on Jan 2, 2008 - 35 answers

A few years ago I came across some cool OpenGL 3D physics demo programs. Basically, they gave you a surface with various objects on it, and you could click and drag the objects around, and watch them bounce into other objects - knock down bowling pins, roll along the floor, all that stuff. I want to find them again, or possibly something much cooler or newer - any ideas? [more inside]
posted on Dec 26, 2007 - 5 answers

quantum physics. what am I not getting? [more inside]
posted on Dec 20, 2007 - 48 answers

FirstTimeTutorFilter: I'm plan to start tutoring Math, Chemistry, Physics and possibly ESL in January. Only problem is, I have *no idea what I'm doing*. Anyone have any textbooks, general teaching books, online certification courses, etc to recommend? [more inside]
posted on Dec 17, 2007 - 8 answers

Are there any easily demonstrable physical effects to being on the equator? [more inside]
posted on Dec 10, 2007 - 30 answers

I'm trying to find information on a physics seminar/lecture/colloquium series that was a tradition at a certain school where the colloquium was always given by a member of the faculty whose name was drawn out of a hat before the start of the talk. [more inside]
posted on Dec 6, 2007 - 2 answers

Who said "Given the velocity and position of all atoms I can predict the future." (or something very similar to that)?
posted on Dec 4, 2007 - 13 answers

What does it take to get into a top-level physics program for graduate studies? [more inside]
posted on Dec 2, 2007 - 16 answers

What, if any, is the relationship between bandwidth and power? [more inside]
posted on Nov 19, 2007 - 14 answers

E8: what's in it for me? (inspired by this post) [more inside]
posted on Nov 16, 2007 - 6 answers

Do the green light triggers for motorcycles actually work? [more inside]
posted on Nov 16, 2007 - 11 answers

Physicsfilter: Is the magnetic flux passing through an area Φ = BA or is it Φ = nBA*cos(θ)? [more inside]
posted on Nov 13, 2007 - 10 answers

What would happen if you could create a perfect two-way mirror into a sphere? [more inside]
posted on Oct 30, 2007 - 12 answers

I badly need help on formalisms in Quantum Mechanics! I just read this post from 2 years ago, and it did help a little, but not really enough. [more inside]
posted on Oct 24, 2007 - 7 answers

This may be crazy dumb talk, but could it be said that when I in Texas, USA make a request over the internet to a server in Helsinki Finland, that some finite physical thing is transported from my computer to the computer there in a continuous fashion?
posted on Oct 18, 2007 - 22 answers

Physics: Suppose I have a 10million gallon tank of H2O and I drill a 0.5mm hole near the bottom... [more inside]
posted on Oct 17, 2007 - 43 answers

How did my spilled coffee wind up on the ceiling? [more inside]
posted on Oct 10, 2007 - 25 answers

I want to start teaching myself physics, but how? [more inside]
posted on Sep 11, 2007 - 12 answers

Help me find an interesting website I've forgotten the name of. [more inside]
posted on Aug 19, 2007 - 4 answers

Power generation: Let's say we have a hydroelectric dam. My understanding is that water turns a dynamo, which provides electricty. It seems like there would be a way to use the same water flow more than once. Could we make raceways of some indeterminate length to get the water back up to speed with sufficient force to turn a second dynamo? Could this be repeated so that a single water flow powers some n dynamos? What kind of constraints keep dams all over the world from doing this sort of thing?
posted on Aug 16, 2007 - 22 answers

Lightning. Why does it always go to ground? [more inside]
posted on Jul 24, 2007 - 14 answers

A question about lighting for my wedding. I am making lights for my wedding, which essentially will be in a tent. I am making a bunch of fixtures and each fixture will have 3 to 7 paper lanterns hanging in clusters. The problem is that the lanterns are either 12, 14 or 16 inch diameters and I want to find a way to make sure that all shine equally as bright. [more inside]
posted on Jun 13, 2007 - 9 answers

An empty field. Nothing for miles and miles and miles. And a gun. I shoot the gun. The bullet blasts out of the barrel and doesn't stop until....well, that's my question. Few more details inside. [more inside]
posted on Jun 10, 2007 - 19 answers

Help me with the math of two spheres colliding [more inside]
posted on Jun 10, 2007 - 8 answers

When I'm driving, why is the wind less strong when two windows are open than when I just have the driver's window down? [more inside]
posted on Jun 7, 2007 - 8 answers

I'm a math major, but dont know exactly what I want to do. Should I also major in Physics? Economics? [more inside]
posted on Jun 4, 2007 - 13 answers

Are there any great lecturers/public speakers in the realms of cosmology, astronomy and physics? [more inside]
posted on Jun 4, 2007 - 21 answers

A question about the observer-participancy phenomenon in subatomic physics. [more inside]
posted on May 30, 2007 - 17 answers

Guitar tuning through harmonics: Could you fine fine folks explain the physical/mathematical principles behind the increased "distortion" as two guitar strings being tuned through harmonics approach being tuned? [more inside]
posted on May 19, 2007 - 24 answers

Physics: Difference between two people pulling on each end of a rope, and one person pulling on a rope tied to a tree. [more inside]
posted on May 18, 2007 - 35 answers

Lighting a fluorescent bulb by just wrapping a plugged in extension cord around it. I remember this. Can't find an example. Help me? [more inside]
posted on May 17, 2007 - 11 answers

I'm a sophomore physics major at a fairly prestigious university (USN&WR Top 25) known for its technical and scientific offerings. My parents currently pay for tuition and dorm housing, with no financial aid. However, my grades have been lower than they expected, and they are now refusing to pay for me to return next year. What are my options? [more inside]
posted on Apr 18, 2007 - 38 answers

i have an enormous chest and it's very heavy. it's wood. i made it myself. it's about 1.5 metres squared and one metre high. i use it to store "stuff" in and i want to put casters on it, but not significantly increase its height. the problem is that all the casters or wheels that would take the kind of weight of the chest are gi frickin' normous. and all the casters/wheels i've seen with a lower profile have quite low weight restrictions. can i just put heaps more small casters on the box or do i have to put the huge casters on that fit the overall weight of my chest? i believe the chest weighs in the vicinity of about 100kilograms.... and when you fill it with all the stuff i keep in it.... maybe 150-200 kilograms. help me before i set fire to it in frustration.... my physics, like gravity, sucks.
posted on Apr 9, 2007 - 8 answers