(Phys.org)—Why are the leaves on the tallest trees all about the same size, and why aren't those tall trees even taller? It all has to do with basic scientific principles at work in nature, according to researchers at Harvard ...
General Physics
Jan 14, 2013
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(Phys.org)—In the galactic scheme of things, the Sun is a remarkably constant star. While some stars exhibit dramatic pulsations, wildly yo-yoing in size and brightness, and sometimes even exploding, the luminosity of ...
Space Exploration
Jan 11, 2013
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(Phys.org)—For the first time, scientists witnessed the details of the full, ultrafast process of liquid droplets evolving into a bubble when they strike a surface. Their research determined that surface wetness affects ...
General Physics
Dec 13, 2012
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Floods have once again wreaked havoc across the country and climate scientists and meteorologists suggest that the problem is only going to get worse with wetter winters and rivers bursting their banks becoming the norm. ...
General Physics
Dec 4, 2012
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Mosquitos have the remarkable ability to fly in clear skies as well as in rain, shrugging off impacts from raindrops more than 50 times their body mass. But just like modern aircraft, mosquitos also are grounded when the ...
General Physics
Nov 19, 2012
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Penguins that face the bitter cold and icy winds of Antarctica often huddle together in large groups for warmth during storms. Mathematicians at the University of California, Merced created a model of penguin huddles that ...
Mathematics
Nov 16, 2012
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Plants lack muscles, yet in only a tenth of a second, the meat-eating Venus fly trap hydrodynamically snaps its leaves shut to trap an insect meal. This astonishingly rapid display of botanical movement has long fascinated ...
General Physics
Nov 16, 2012
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What makes soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo's "knuckleball" shot so unpredictable and difficult to stop? At the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) meeting, November 18 – 20, 2012, in San Diego, ...
General Physics
Nov 16, 2012
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Small floating objects change the dynamics of the surface they are on. This is an effect every serious student of breakfast has seen as rafts of floating cereal o's arrange and rearrange themselves into patterns on the milk. ...
Soft Matter
Nov 16, 2012
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Ethanol, a component of biofuel made from plants such as corn, is blended with gas in many parts of the country, but has significantly different fluid properties than pure gasoline. A group of researchers from the University ...
Soft Matter
Nov 16, 2012
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