physics

7 Science-Approved Tips for Walking Across Ice

According to a physicist, a glaciologist, and kinesiologist.

The North Face's New Geodesic Dome Tent Will Protect You in 60 mph Wind

An essential item for the extreme camper.

MIT Scientists Are Building Biomedical Research Labs Out of LEGO Blocks

The plastic toys are opening doors to cheaper, modular scientific tools.

Listen to a House Plant Play 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'

New technology from MIT can turn anything into a "visual microphone."

David Monniaux, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

The Thermodynamic Genius of the Classic Drinking Bird Toy

The kitschy desk ornament's mechanism confounded Albert Einstein.

Why Does My Shower Curtain Liner Attack Me?

It cannot be reasoned with. It cannot be bargained with. It's coming for you.

Here's What Actually Happens When You're Electrocuted

There's a reason why "electrocution" sounds like "execution."

Why Your Radiator is So Loud, According to Science

No, it's not a tiny man with a hammer.

6 Priceless Documents That Reveal Key Moments Early in Einstein's Career

Mental Floss spoke to ETH Zurich archivist Michael Gasser about the papers—including one letter in which Einstein calls his good friend a "frozen whale."

The Top 10 Science Stories of 2017

Science can't stop, won't stop.

Researchers Pore Over the Physics Behind the Layered Latte

Fluid dynamics has never tasted so good.

Why Your Christmas Lights Always Get Tangled, According to Science

We turned to mathematicians, physicists, and engineers to find out why the lights are so frustrating—and how to improve them.

Newly Discovered 350-Year-Old Graffiti Shows Sir Isaac Newton's Obsession With Motion Started Early

Conservators used light imaging techniques to spot a tiny windmill sketch that's invisible to the naked eye.

The Fascinating Device Astronauts Use to Weigh Themselves in Space

When conventional scales don't work, they use this instead.

What Is Infinity?

Let's try to wrap our heads around it.

What Causes Turbulence?

It's a lot less scary than it feels.

20 Years Later, James Cameron Is Using Physics to Defend Jack's Death in Titanic

The director claimed that he tested the board itself to gauge its buoyancy.

7 Fascinating Facts About the Sun

Get ready to feel small: The sun is 99.8 percent of the mass of the solar system. Here are more colossal facts about our star.

Scientists Discover a Mysterious Void in the Great Pyramid of Giza

This is the first time a new inner structure has been found in the pyramid since the 19th century.

Einstein's Handwritten Note on Happiness Just Sold for $1.3 Million

He wrote it to tip a hotel bellboy and told him "will probably be worth more than a regular tip."

Stephen Hawking's Ph.D. Thesis Is Now Available Online, and It's Crashing Cambridge's Servers

It was downloaded 60,000 times in 24 hours.

15 Subatomic Word Origins

The names for many of the dozens of particles that make up the universe—as well as a few that are still purely theoretical—come from ancient Greek.

NSF/LIGO/Sonoma State University/A. Simonnet

Astronomers Observe a New Kind of Massive Cosmic Collision for the First Time

"For me, it feels like the dawning of a next era in astrophysics."

Why a Howling Wind Sounds So Spooky, According to Science

Creepy dead trees actually play a part in the phenomenon.