5 facts about the Big Bang
Image credit: ESO 1. An accidental discovery The CMB was a key prediction of the Big Bang theory, so many people looked for it. It was eventually found in 1964 by radio astronomers looking...
How It Works Feed your mind with fascinating facts about the world around you
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Why aren’t today’s animals as big as the dinosaurs?
Image by Kevinsphotos from Pixabay Question from Eilidh Jane Bigger creatures require more food and spend their days constantly eating. Large animal species today can usually be found grazing on grasslands. This strategy is the most effective...
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How do you measure the calories in food?
Image by Katharina Dolinski from Pixabay Question from Annie Warman The calories you see on food packaging are actually kilocalories (1,000 calories) and these are defined as the amount of energy needed to raise...
5 facts about bird flight
Image by Liselotte Brunner from Pixabay 1. Weighty wings Around a third of a bird’s body weight is made up of the large wing muscles. These are the machines that power flight, keeping the bird airborne for large periods...
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What happens when galaxies collide?
What a cosmic pile-up will mean for the Milky Way Image by Alex Myers from Pixabay Astronomers already knew that our galaxy, in which our Sun is one of a hundred billion or more stars,...
How to see how dirty your hands are
Discover how much hidden dirt is on your hands and household items Before you begin… If you’re under 18, make sure you have an adult with you. Image credit: Future PLC/ © Illustrations by...
Cloud Seeding: How to make it rain
Incredibly, simply by dispersing salts into the air, rain-bearing cumulus clouds are germinated Image by Stefanie van Dijk from Pixabay The ability to control the weather might seem like something from science fiction, but...
5 interesting facts about Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Schrodinger (top row sixth from the left) poses with leading scientists at the Solvay Conference in 1927 (Image credit: Benjamin Couprie, Institut International de Physique Solvay, Brussels, Belgium) 1. Sanatorium study His thesis...
How do chemical pesticides work?
The deadly chemicals that keep our food safe… or do they? Image by zefe wu from Pixabay The most widespread method of keeping pests at bay is by chemical intervention. Created with the ultimate...
Why are vampire bats the only bats to seek blood?
Image by Saurabhkumar Singh from Pixabay Question from Caroline Ward There are several species of vampire bat in the world, and they’ve been found to be the only known mammals to solely survive by...
What happens if you put diesel in a petrol car, or vice versa?
Image by andreas160578 from Pixabay Question from Joe Melling It would certainly damage both engines if you tried to run them for any length of time, though the petrol engine would probably break down first. While both...
10 of the world’s deadliest avalanches
Image by Jacky Barrit from Pixabay 10. Blons, Austria 12 January 1954 Death toll: 57 Often considered Austria’s worst avalanche, it consisted of two slides nine hours apart. The first was a dry-snow avalanche...
