physics
We started this series with a ball sitting at the top of a hill and a simple question: why does anything move? Ten articles later, we've traveled from Newton's laws to quantum mechanics, from energy conservation to the curvature of spacetime, from the four fundamental forces
physics
Every push, pull, attraction, repulsion, orbit, decay, bond, and break in the universe is caused by exactly four forces. That's it. Four. Every interaction between every particle of matter that has ever occurred — from the nuclear fusion that lights the sun to the static shock you get from
physics
Every push, pull, attraction, repulsion, orbit, decay, bond, and break in the universe is caused by exactly four forces. That's it. Four. Every interaction between every particle of matter that has ever occurred — from the nuclear fusion that lights the sun to the static shock you get from
physics
You assume time passes at the same rate for everyone, everywhere, always. That assumption is wrong. If you move fast enough, time slows down for you relative to someone standing still. If you stand near something massive enough, time slows down for you relative to someone farther away. These aren&
physics
You assume time passes at the same rate for everyone, everywhere, always. That assumption is wrong. If you move fast enough, time slows down for you relative to someone standing still. If you stand near something massive enough, time slows down for you relative to someone farther away. These aren&
physics
At the scale of atoms and electrons, the rules you've learned so far break down. Objects can exist in two states at once. Observing something changes it. Particles pass through barriers they shouldn't be able to cross. This isn't science fiction or philosophical speculation
physics
At the scale of atoms and electrons, the rules you've learned so far break down. Objects can exist in two states at once. Observing something changes it. Particles pass through barriers they shouldn't be able to cross. This isn't science fiction or philosophical speculation
physics
Electricity and magnetism aren't two separate things. They're two faces of one force — electromagnetism — and that force is the reason modern civilization exists. Every light in your house, every message on your phone, every beat of your heart, every chemical bond holding your body together is
physics
Electricity and magnetism aren't two separate things. They're two faces of one force — electromagnetism — and that force is the reason modern civilization exists. Every light in your house, every message on your phone, every beat of your heart, every chemical bond holding your body together is
physics
Everything you see right now is a wave. The light hitting your eyes traveled from a source — the sun, a lightbulb, a screen — as an electromagnetic wave. Everything you hear is a wave. The sound of your own breathing is a pressure wave rippling through air. The Wi-Fi signal carrying
physics
Everything you see right now is a wave. The light hitting your eyes traveled from a source — the sun, a lightbulb, a screen — as an electromagnetic wave. Everything you hear is a wave. The sound of your own breathing is a pressure wave rippling through air. The Wi-Fi signal carrying
physics
Your room gets messy on its own. It never gets clean on its own. That's not a personal failing — that's a law of physics. The second law of thermodynamics says that disorder in a closed system always increases or stays the same. It never spontaneously decreases.