The Olympics Games are here (well, in Beijing) and everyone’s watching and trying to guess who will win a medal. But, apparently, even the Olympics is a source of scientific inquiry, and not just for geeks. The “Speedo” controversy raises some interesting points about the effect of a swimsuit on the swimmer, and the effect [...]

All super-thieves know that lasers go straight. It’s the tenet of their masterplan to jump over, crawl under and squeeze between those annoying laser beams around whatever-it-is they are interested in stealing. It can take them weeks to study the angles and train to spray dust over it so they can see them. Talented thieves.
I [...]

You probably hear this every day, that weird phenomenon sounds makes when it whooshes you by quickly. In fact, the entire ‘whoosh’ effect - that ‘zzzzzzzzzzzhoooooooom!’ that seems all children are familiar with and use as a description for a passing car is a great hint that something is going on.

Consider: You’re a deer on a dark road. A pair of headlights is suddenly approaching you. Fast. You stare at it intently… wondering - how fast is the light moving? Now, if you’re that deer, chances are this wouldn’t be your first concern. Or maybe it would. Maybe that’s why they take so long to [...]