Seeing Lightning in the Ash

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland created an ash cloud that disrupted air traffic throughout Europe. And as if  the magma and ash violently spewing out of the volcano's crater wasn't scary enough, the eruption also generates lightning!

Blowing in the Wind

Flying kites and tumbling plastic bags show that wind carries kinetic energy. The purpose of a windmill is to harness that energy. From the earliest versions 2,200 years ago in Persia to the Megawatt turbines today, windmills use physics to harness nature's chaotic fiery for human benefit.

Infrared Light

What do night vision goggles, land mine detectors, and studies of the universe have in common? In some way, all of them are connected to a small range of light sandwiched between visible light and microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum—infrared light.

Space Weather

How's the space weather today? Quiet enough for a safe trip to the moon? Quiet enough to operate your GPS navigation system accurately? So active that it would crash your power grid? Like our everyday weather, space weather can change suddenly, become violent, and interfere with our lives.

GRACE Under Fire

Remote and beautiful, Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet averaging several kilometers in thickness that locks up some 70% of Earth’s fresh water—if it all melted, the oceans would rise about 70 m.

Ice Ages

In the controversy over global warming, some people have suggested that human-induced warming might be a good thing if it kept us out of the next Ice Age.

Catch an Earthquake

San Francisco and Los Angeles, home to about 7.5 million people and to much of the economy of California, lie close to the infamous San Andreas fault.

Natural Reactors

The first controlled nuclear reactor, built during World War II, was a great achievement, but it was not the first reactor to operate on planet Earth.

Blowin' in the Wind

After crossing Florida, Hurricane Katrina headed into the Gulf of Mexico early on August 26, 2005 as a Category One hurricane.

Granular Materials

In our everyday world, matter is usually classified into solids, liquids, and gases. But what about dry sand?