Physics in Action

Artist's rendition of Centaur upper stage rocket approaching the moon with the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), 'shepherding satellite,' attached

Finding water on the moon

How do you find water that is frozen beneath the surface of the moon? Send a high-speed satellite to plunge  into the lunar surface like a manmade meteor and then examine the debris. When is comes to finding water in an extraterrestrial desert, NASA doesn’t mess around.

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Feynman Diagrams: The science of doodling

Every popular explanation of particle physics is liberally illustrated with cartoon-like pictures of straight and wiggly lines representing electrons, photons, and quarks, interacting with one another. These so-called Feynman diagrams were introduced by Richard Feynman in the journal Physical Review in 1949, and they quickly became an essential tool for particle physicists.

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Lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries already power your cell phone and your laptop, and they may soon power your car. What makes these batteries so great?

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Fiddle Physics

Physicists are using sophisticated recording equipment and computer models to probe how a violin makes its sound. Could they be on the verge of discovering the "secret of Stradivari"?

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Dark Matter

In 2006, an investigation of the Bullet cluster, which is composed of two colliding clusters of galaxies, provided important evidence for the existence of dark matter.