NASA’s Juno spacecraft made all the headlines this past Fourth of July as it successfully went into orbit around Jupiter after a five-year journey—and deservedly so. But not many people realized the significance of the name.
Competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut set a new record this Fourth of July when he scarfed down a whopping 70 hot dogs and buns in just 10 minutes at the annual Famous Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in Coney Island. How do he and other champion competitive eaters do it? With a couple of savvy tricks of the trade,…
NASA’s Juno spacecraft will be entering Jupiter’s orbit later tonight after a very long journey, kicking off the next phase of its mission. And we’ve got NASA JPL scientist Glenn Orton with us today to answer your burning questions about Jupiter, the Juno mission, what the team hopes to learn about our solar system,…
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been spinning through space on its way to Jupiter for five years and 445 million miles, and now it’s less than 10 hours away from entering the gas giant’s orbit—the equivalent of a single rotation of Jupiter. If all goes well, scientists will finally be able to learn what lies beneath…
Medieval armor has a bad reputation when it comes to how much movement is possible for a fully-armored and outfitted knight. Chances are you’ve bought into the notion that it resulted in clunky, slow, and awkward battles.
Scientists at MIT have designed an ingenious new concept for a battery that operates on the same fundamental principal as an hourglass—it relies on gravity to generate energy. They described the device in a recent paper for Energy and Environmental Science.
Scientists are scouring the universe for evidence of extraterrestrial life, but have you ever wondered how life began on Earth? Let physicist David Kaplan explain in the latest installment of Quanta’s “In Theory” video series. Hint: it’s all because of increasing entropy.
There’s lots of fun things you could be doing this weekend, barring unexpected misfortune—like needing an emergency root canal. It’s arguably the most dreaded dental procedure, but if a promising new type of filling pans out, no one need ever suffer through this often-painful process again.
NASA has teamed up with Apple on a short film, “Visions of Harmony,” celebrating the imminent arrival of its Juno probe at Jupiter this Monday, July 4. It’s available for free on iTunes and Apple Music, and features music by former Nine Inch Nails frontman and current Apple Music executive Trent Reznor, as well as…
Stop the presses! Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have made a new measurement of Planck’s constant to a highly accurate degree. It’s the latest step toward improving the official definition of the kilogram, the unit of mass that underpins our entire international system of weights and…
Prehistoric humans may have observed the sky via primitive lens-less “telescopes,” according to a team of British astronomers who have studied the long passageways of ancient megalithic tombs. The details were presented today by Kieran Simcox, a student at Nottingham Trent University, at a meeting of the Royal…
Experts have been warning of a looming shortage of helium for years, as the known reserves are being depleted. Now British researchers have discovered a large reserve of helium gas in Tanzania, using a new exploration method that offers hope for the future.
A new book by bestselling author Mary Roach is always cause for celebration. In Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War, she brings her keen eye for detail and sharp wit to bear on the dead-serious science of keeping soldiers intact and sane in the extreme conditions of war.
If you’re the kind of Marvel fan who loves to ponder the inner workings of the Iron Man suit, the physics of Captain America’s shield, or how Bruce Banner’s brain might change after Hulk-ing out, you’ll love the new interactive Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibit. It just opened this week at the Treasure Island Resort…
The dragons on Game of Thrones may breathe fire, but it’s not the kind of thing mere mortals should attempt—unless said mortal is Thom Britton, self-described fire-eating science clown with Freak Show and Tell (“Science+History+Insanity”). He explains the science behind eating fire in this new video of his performance…
Around 40 people attending a seminar with motivational speaker Tony Robbins in downtown Dallas yesterday were injured when a group exercise involving walking across hot coals went wrong. And it’s not the first time this has happened: back in 2012, for instance, 21 people in San Jose were burned after attempting the…
Rumors are swirling again among physicists, but this time they’re not about gravitational waves. Instead, hopes are fading that two separate, but complementary, experiments at the Large Hadron Collider may have discovered a possible new particle.
Last year, Chris Borland of the San Francisco 49ers announced he was quitting football because of the high risk of concussion and long-term brain damage, despite protective helmets. And he’s not alone: it’s a growing concern, particularly for teenaged athletes. But a new collar inspired by the humble woodpecker may…
A classic 18th century astronomy catalog of galaxies and nebulae is the inspiration for Deep Sky Companion, a series of 110 pairs of paintings and photographs of objects visible in the night sky by artist Lia Halloran, currently on exhibit at Caltech in Pasadena California.
Every doting cat owner will attest to the innate intelligence of their beloved pet, and now Japanese scientists say they have evidence that felines have a rudimentary grasp of cause and effect. They described their results in a new paper in Animal Cognition.
