ScienceIQ.com

What Happens at the Edge of a Black Hole?

The greatest extremes of gravity in the Universe today are the black holes formed at the centers of galaxies and by the collapse of stars. These invisible bodies can be studied by examining matter swirling into them, and by listening to the waves of distortion they make in spacetime. New data from X-ray satellites, such as NASA's Chandra X-ray ...

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EdgeofaBlackHole
Astronomy

A Map of the Sky

Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful... we know they're spectacular sites, but how did we find out about them? Early explorers took the time to map out the United States and as a result, you ... Continue reading

AMapoftheSky
Chemistry

Warmer Hands (And Toes) Through Chemistry

A popular item for skiers and snowboarders, hunters and people who have to work outside in cold areas, and found in many outdoors shops, are disposable hand warmers. If you haven't used them before, ... Continue reading

WarmerHands
Engineering

Big Boom

They sound like thunder, but they're not. They're sonic booms, concentrated blasts of sound waves created as vehicles travel faster than the speed of sound. To understand how the booms are created, ... Continue reading

BigBoom
Chemistry

What Makes a Candle Burn?

Have you ever wondered how a candle works? If you haven't, think about it for a while. Why does it take so long for the wick to burn down? Why does it need a wick at all? ... Continue reading

CandleLight

Vibrational Energy

VibrationalEnergyWhy is hearing such a rich and powerful sense? Maybe because it alone of all the senses has the power to fill our entire body with vibrational energy. We sometimes think of hearing as one of the 'distant' senses, distant because we can use it to perceive things from a distance without having to get too close. In some ways, though, hearing is a much 'closer' sense than even taste or touch.

All the senses gather energy, but only sound can set your body vibrating like a giant tuning fork. Sound is, in fact, vibration. When vibrations in the air beat against the thin skin of your eardrum, stretched tight like the skin of a real drum, it commences to vibrate at almost exactly the same frequency. So the first step in hearing is when your ears internalize and match the external vibrations traveling through the air, and a part of your body begins to vibrate in harmony with the soundwaves themselves.