Pee Power Roundup
Scientists designed a battery that runs on urine. Players get injured in post-goal celebrations.
Spinning Earth
Why does the Earth spin? (Debris came together to form the Earth was spinning)
Camera Red-Eye
Why do flash pictures sometimes give subjects red eyes? (Light reflects off blood-vessel-rich retina.)
Particles & Pyramids
Using elementary particles called muons to search for hidden chambers in a Mexican pyramid
Quake Side Effects
The earthquake that caused the Southeast Asian tsunami changed the shape of the Earth
Theory of Relativity
Albert Einstein's 1905 paper on the theory of general relativity
Atomic Motion
Albert Einstein's 1905 paper on how heat can be explained by the atomic nature of matter
Quantized Light
Albert Einstein's 1905 paper on the quantum nature of light
Einstein’s Miracle Year
In 1905, Albert Einstein submitted three revolutionary papers on physics to a German journal.
Shower Curtain
Why does a shower curtain move inward when you shower? (Low pressure vortex set up by shower spray.)
Digital Thermometers
How do digital thermometers work? (Sensor's electrical resistance changes with temperature, or measures infrared heat in ear canal.)
Record Restoration
Removing clicks and pops fromg old records and digitizing them with optical metrology
Nanoconveyor Belt
A conveyor belt made out of a nanotube that carries metal atoms from one place to another.
Squeezing Iron
Squeezing iron under high pressure and temperature to learn about Earth's core
Hard Diamonds
Diamonds made by chemical vapor deposition are harder than natural ones.
Ping-Pong Avalanche
Using ping-pong balls to model the path of powder snow avalanches
Semiconducting Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes are the best semiconductors.
WIMP Detector
Searching for particles called WIMPs with an underground detector in northern Minnesota
White Snow
Why is snow white? (All colors of visible light reflect off ice grains equally, mixing to make white.)
Root Beer Foam
Why does root beer foam when you drop ice cream into it? (the protein in ice cream stabilizes the bubbles in root beer -- so they act just like the bubbles in beer foam)
Hybrid Lighting
Research on hybrid lighting devices -- fibre optic cables that capture sunlight and transmit it to indoor light fixtures