Man builds homemade X-ray machine
X-ray imaging is best left to the professionals for a good reason. While the tool is not dangerous when utilized properly, it’s whole purpose is to fire radiation at a…
Berry picker finds mystery WW2 plane wreckage in Poland
A hiker’s recent berry-picking trip in the woods along the northern Polish-German border yielded more than a basket of fruit. After inspecting metal fragments found among the trees near the…
White House report says Trump can usher in a “new golden age” of science
On Tuesday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a report entitled “Science: A New Golden Age,” in which it lays out how it has viewed…
Orcas team up to ram sunfish until they explode
Credit: Kathryn Ayres Credit: Kathryn Ayres There have been numerous accounts in recent years of orcas ramming boats—and sometimes sinking them. Scientists believe this may be a form of culturally…
Airplane seats really are getting smaller
Airplane seats can feel ridiculously small. It’s gotten to the point where I, a small woman of average height, have trouble even reaching under the seat in front of me.…
Robotic Servicing Mission Launches with NASA Support
Following its liftoff from Cape Canaveral on July 21 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) hosting the NASA-supported Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) payload…
Why 1960s technology makes seeing ‘The Odyssey’ in 70mm IMAX so difficult
It’s relatively easy to see a digital IMAX showing of Christopher Nolan’s new film The Odyssey, although at this point you’ll likely need to reserve a seat well in advance.…
What happens when you try to chop a photon in half?
A photon is a single particle of light, and under normal circumstances, it can’t be divided. But a photon is also not a particle, in the sense that it does…
Jimothy the raccoon has a rare spinal condition. Here’s what that means.
You’d have to be living under a dumpster not to have heard of Jimothy, Seattle’s favorite raccoon and the internet’s newest folk hero. He’s inspired nicknames like ‘King Jimothy,’ as…
Let Tom Hiddleston be your guide to Pompeii’s final day
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, it spewed molten rock, pumice, and hot ash over the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing thousands of people. It’s one of the…