Applied Physics

Ebb, Flow, Swell- What A Battery Really Looks Like Inside

A way to microscopically view battery electrodes while they are bathed in wet electrolytes means it is possible to mimic the realistic conditions inside actual batteries. It may not seem possible that batter science still has some things to accomplish, bu ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 27 2013 - 1:55pm

Add Light, Sound, And Motion To Your Crafts And Projects With LittleBits

littleBits are color coded electronic modules that connect together magnetically to create simple electronic circuits. They are designed for ages 8 and up so hobbyists, designers, makers, and artists, and can add light, sound, and motion to their crafts an ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Mar 18 2015 - 6:39am

Comic Book Science: How To Defeat Someone Who Gets Stronger When You Hit Them

Comic book heroes get into all kinds of crazy situations, everything from alien invaders to losing their powers. Most often, though, might simply makes right-  but what happens when the thing you are fighting gets stronger from being hit? How do you defeat ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Jan 16 2014 - 6:59pm

Snap Circuits Science: Audible Light Meter

In the comments section of my previous article I demonstrated an optical Theremin. This article is the build for that circuit. The circuit and circuits that are similar to it in function have also been called a “Light Sensitive Tone Generator,” “Photo Ther ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Jan 10 2014 - 4:04pm

Tesla Gets A Little Closer: Range Of Wireless Power Transfer Extended

Inventor and AC electricity proponent Nikola Tesla was on a mission to transmit energy through thin air almost a century ago, but, claims about a conspiracy to keep his work quiet aside, experimental attempts at the feat have resulted in cumbersome device ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 13 2014 - 12:05pm

Gray's Paradox Resolved: Dolphins Do Have Enough Muscle To Go That Fast Without Tricks

When E. F. Thompson stood on the deck of a ship cruise ship the Indian Ocean in the 1930s and observed a dolphin speed past the vessel in 7 seconds, he had no idea that this single observation would lead Sir James Gray to formulate the enduring paradox th ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 1 2014 - 1:09pm

3D Dirac Fermions: Natural 3D Counterpart To Graphene Discovered

The discovery of what is essentially a 3D version of graphene – the 2D sheets of carbon through which electrons race at many times the speed at which they move through silicon- could lead to much faster transistors and far more compact hard drives. Resear ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 17 2014 - 12:14pm

Making More Comfortable Shoes- The Science Approach

Researchers recently got 54 volunteers to try on free shoes. But this wasn't for fun, it was for a biomechanical study of the shoes manufactured by the Majorcan Camper brand. The six designs of men's and women's footwear were then analyzed u ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 19 2014 - 1:01pm

Biodegradable Battery Runs On Sugar

A new battery that runs on sugar has an "unmatched energy density", according to the team behind it. Other sugar batteries have been developed but energy density has always been the problem. There is a reason gasoline is still popular after 150 ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 21 2014 - 1:27pm

Why Beer Can Act Like A "Nuclear Explosion"- Cavitation

Why does beer transform from a liquid to a foamy state after an impact? Science is on the wave propagation case. As you know, if you shake a carbonated beverage, it will foam over when you open it. But one messy and slightly dangerous bar trick involves h ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 3 2015 - 5:46pm