What are some topics in astronomy or cosmology that you find fascinating and mind blowing? [more inside]
posted on Jul 3, 2008 - 17 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

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

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

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

"A human is halfway in size between an atom and the known universe"... This is a paraphrased quote I have come across several times. I like it. Who said it first? How true is it in the most literal sense? And, finally, what errors arrive in postulating a universe, or an atom, which can be measured AT ALL from our singular, relativistic, perspective? [more inside]
posted on Feb 18, 2007 - 14 answers

I've read a few really good works on quantum physics and other cutting-edge sciences, and I'd like to know more. However, I'm coming at this topic from a decidedly non-scientific education. Can someone suggest a few titles?
posted on Dec 28, 2006 - 15 answers

Does a 'water bridge' (like the one in Magdeburg, Germany) have to be strong enough to carry both the water and the ship travelling upon it? Or, thanks to displacement, does it only need to be strong enough to carry the water? [more inside]
posted on Oct 17, 2006 - 12 answers

What is anti-matter? [more inside]
posted on Sep 26, 2006 - 14 answers

Would a bag collapse if I sucked the air out of it in outer space? [more inside]
posted on Sep 8, 2006 - 32 answers

Is Dark Matter the new Phlogiston? [more inside]
posted on Jun 26, 2006 - 35 answers

PhysicsFilter: The Great Racquetball-in-the-Eye Debate [more inside]
posted on May 25, 2006 - 21 answers

Are there any reasonable scientific explanations for the fact that the width of the moon as viewed from the surface of the Earth is precisely the right width to match the apparent width of the sun, and give us total eclipses? It does seem spectacularly unlikely that it turned out that way by mere chance.
posted on Mar 29, 2006 - 50 answers

Is there a mathematical formula relating time and memory? [more inside]
posted on Jan 31, 2006 - 16 answers

How much lower is the air pressure on the 23rd floor of a standard apartment building than at ground level? [more inside]
posted on Dec 19, 2005 - 21 answers

What is a good book for beginning physics? [more inside]
posted on Sep 2, 2005 - 13 answers

When I was a kid, back in the '70s, our PBS stations would show physics demonstrations by a white haired old guy with an overbite. I loved everything about this guy and his demonstrations. He'd get so excited by predicted results that were observed in experiment. What is his name? Can I find these on video in any form?
posted on Jul 18, 2005 - 8 answers

When I was in college, beer was a central part of my life. In fact, we did all sorts of interesting things with beer, besides simply drink the stuff. One particular stupid-beer-trick that a friend did frequently - but which I have never been able to exactly replicate - intrigues me. Physicists and amateur scientists, lend me your eyes: [more inside]
posted on Jun 2, 2005 - 22 answers

What would happen if you take a cube of ice, at a specific size, and fit it in an airthight glass box with the exact same dimensions, and then let it melt? [more inside]
posted on Jun 2, 2005 - 29 answers

What would happen if someone were to build a tunnel or tube into space? (Description inside...)
posted on Jan 20, 2005 - 11 answers

When reading a book about Newton V's Leibniz recently, it occurred to me that great advances in Science often seem to occur in tandem, ie two unrelated persons or groups often arrive at a breakthrough at roughly the same time. Is this true? Can anyone think of some other examples? Can anyone explain why this may be the case?
posted on Nov 19, 2004 - 21 answers

ScientificIlliterateFilter: If the sun's gravity is so strong as to keep whole planets circling it in orbit (even ones million of miles away), how come light and heat (incredibly fragile things compared to planets) can escape as rays (or whatever they are)?
posted on Nov 14, 2004 - 53 answers

Is there a limit to scientific advancement? If there is only a certain number of elements to the universe, will there reach a technology plateau?
posted on Jul 17, 2004 - 25 answers

Ok, its homework help time! You'll probably groan at me to do the work myself, but believe me, I am. I'm just a little short of time, and textbooks and Google are not helping me. I'm analysing the data collected from my Physics coursework, and realised I need to know: Is the coefficient of restitution of two particles a measure of the percentage of kinetic energy retained after a collision? Or is it the energy lost? Or something else entirely?
posted on Dec 10, 2003 - 8 answers