Firefighters use water to battle a towering inferno. You might wonder if water could also stifle an erupting volcano. Actually, this experiment happens every time a volcano erupts at the bottom of the ocean. What Happens When A Volcano Erupts Underwa...
Don: Hey Ya?l, I was wonderingwhy don't we hear much about the moon anymore? Ya?l: Whadya mean, Don? D: It's just that back in the 1960s and '70s, sending astronauts to the moon was a big deal, but nobody talks much about it anymore. Y: Well, actuall...
Once the ball leaves the tube it will move in a perfectly straight line. Whats interesting, though, is that it wasnt until the 17th century that this was realized to be the case. For hundreds of years people thought that some aspect of the thing that...
Ya?l: [OVER THE DRUMS] Don! Hey, Don! Hey! [DRUMMING STOPS] D: Did somebody say something? Y: Yes, over here, hello!?! D: Oh, hi Ya?l. What a sec, let my take my earplugs out. Man, drums are loud. Y: Tell me about it! What are you doing? Starting a r...
Last time we discussed joke evolution. Philosopher of science Daniel Dennett uses jokes to illustrate how evolution works. Very few people actually sit down and make up jokes. But everyone is always telling jokes. Where Do They Come From? They come f...
When youre pregnant, the extra weight and girth shifts your center of gravity forward, which makes it harder to maintain balance even in sensible, flat shoes.Perched up on high heels, the shift in your center of gravity makes stumbling all the more l...
You have a long metal tube that is curved. You also have a miniature golf ball that you are knocking into one end and out the other. How does the ball move after it leaves the other end of the tube? Does it move in a straight line or a curve? Perhaps...
It sounds like something from a fairy tale. If you look at the horizon at sunsetexactly as the last sliver of sun disappearsyou might see a flash of brilliant green blaze across the sky. Indeed, an old Scottish proverb maintains that whoever sees thi...
Fire is a chemical reaction between oxygen molecules and some kind of fuel. This reaction releases the heat and light that we call fire. You might wonder how a chemical reaction like this turns into the colorful flame you see dancing on a candle. Wha...
Say youre five or six months pregnant and youre invited to a wedding. Its a formal affair, and although your belly isnt as flat as it used to be, you still want to look sexy and fashionable. Normally, this would mean wearing those three inch high hee...
Don: Time now for another episode of A Moment of Science's Did You Know... So,Ya?l, did you know that there have been about twenty-three mass extinctions since life began on earth? Ya?l: I know there've been a few extinctions, Don, but not that many!...
According to a study by German researchers, the same does not hold true. In fact, they found that women who pair up with men several years their junior tend to live shorter lives. Really?Why?The study dosen't say. But marriage and relationship expert...
I know that new mo the rs sometimes experience postpartum depression. But can new dads get depressed after having a baby,too? Intetesting question.And although it may surprise you, the answer is yes. Research shows that as many as one in four new dad...
Ya?l: Hey Don, whatch'a doing? Don: Booking a trip to Glacier National Park. I want to go there before the glaciers disappear. Y: What do you mean? D: Scientists predict that within twenty years the park's remaining glaciers will melt away. Y: Why? D...
Turbulence is characterized by winds moving at different speeds. If the airborne particles are moving in wildly different directions in one region, but moving in unison in another, the pilot will have a much better sense of exactly where the most sev...
