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672 results
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Boxing mantis shrimps
Mantis shrimps use their claws like a boxer to smash their prey. They are brightly coloured hunters with a powerful punch! A mantis shrimp’s claws are so powerful they can even break aquarium glass.
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Electron behaviour
By observing an electron you can change its behaviour! Quantum theory says that there is a probability of electrons being in more than one place at the same time. But, by watching carrying out an experiment on the electrons, we force them to be in one place.
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Destination download
It would take around three million years to download all the information currently on the internet, assuming a download speed of 44 megabits per second. There are an estimated 550 trillion megabytes of data on the web. A world of information at your fingertips. Thank physics for that!
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Edible insects
Insects are an important food source throughout the world. Two grasshoppers pack more protein than a quarter pound of hamburger! Silkworm pupae, a delicacy in South East Asia, can produce around 14 kilos of meat for every 45 kilos of plant matter they consume, meaning that they require far less resources.
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The long jump
Grasshoppers can jump up to 20 times their own body length when jumping along the ground and up to 10 times their own body length when jumping up.. That’s like a human jumping over a five storey building! Their powerful back legs act as a catapult to propel grasshoppers to huge lengths.
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The mutants among us...
A closer look at cancer, explaining how genes are linked to cancer and why we are getting better at doing something about it.
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Healthcare Science Week 2012
Find out about the wide range of opportunities for a career in healthcare science in the NHS.
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Sugar flashes
If you crush sugar you get flashes of blue light called triboluminescence. Scientists aren't sure exactly why triboluminescence occurs. They think it's probably to do with positive and negative charges separating sugar molecules.
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The speed of hurricanes
Hurricanes are very powerful storms. They can reach speeds of up to a huge 225 miles per hour!
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The power of fireworks
Only 50mg of gunpowder is found in fireworks that you can use at home. That's about half an aspirin tablet - a big explosion for a little bit of gunpowder!
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Vinegar & money
You can clean your pennies with salt and vinegar. They're not just for chips!
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How big is a hair?
You can fit the entire Periodic Table on a single human hair!
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Reusable urine
Urine could be a good renewable and alternative soure of fuel! That would be an ingenious way to use our waste products.
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Bubble wrap and a trampoline
That bubble wrap and a trampoline have something in common? Scientists have combined the best functions of both to design new running shoes that help us to run faster and longer.
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Synthetic skin
Scientists are developing alternatives to animal testing. Some scientists are using synthetic skin to measure how drugs travel through the skin. Other scientists use human cell cultures to test how drugs work.
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Black holes and solar systems - does size matter?
There is a black hole at the centre of our galaxy which is 4 million times as massive as our Sun, but fits into a space smaller than our Solar System.
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3...2...1...Lift off!
NASA are planning the world's biggest rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). At 100 metres tall, the SLS will be taller than the Statue of Liberty and have a lift-off power 30 times greater than a 747 jet!
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Funny smells!
Some scientists think there is a link between odours we smell and our behaviour. One scientist found that the smell of hidden lemon-scented cleaner persuaded students to clean up after themselves! This was true even if the students didn't notice that they smelt anything.
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Dynamic drinking
Cats can lap water four times per second and drink around five tablespoons of liquid in a minute. Pretty impressive for an animal with a tiny tongue!
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Hidden in the reef
Coral reefs are made up of thousands of tiny animals. These animals live in a fixed place and feed by catching prey from the surrounding water using their stinging tentacles.
