Science

DNA profiling is a component of forensic science that identifies individuals based on their DNA profile. First applied by Sir Alec Jeffreys in 1984, DNA fingerprinting has become a important...

Wind generators can have two or three blades and can produce from 100 kilowatts up to several megawatts of power. They can be single units or placed in large groups to form a power plant to serve...

Atoms unite to form molecules by means of available electrons. Bonds can form by electron transfer or by electron sharing. Many chemical bonds are intermediate between those two. Elements combine...

Most inductors are wire coiled around a cardboard core. Knowing the coil diameter, wire diameter and number wire coils (turns), inductance can be calculated. Knowing this value (in Henrys) allows...

Silicone is a water-resistant and chemically durable material used in a wide variety of applications. The basis of silicone's utility lies in its chemical structure and the way it is created.

You can use light emitting diodes (LED) in many applications to provide status lights and illumination. LEDs are true diodes, meaning that they will only conduct electricity in one direction. LEDs...

Meteorologists employ a diverse assortment of instruments to observe weather conditions. These instruments allow a meteorologist to forecast the weather by relaying information to them about many...

A Zener diode is a diode designed to operate in the breakdown region. Normal diodes will become destroyed, but a Zener will conduct. It may be used for voltage regulation. To check one, use a...

Agarose gels and acrylamide gels are used in biotechnology laboratories for a process called electrophoresis, which is used to separate molecules of different sizes. Electrophoresis is used for...

Moonlight differs from sunlight in many ways, primarily in that moonlight is actually reflected sunlight that bounces off the moon in the direction of the Earth. Changes in the power density of...

Convection refers to the transfer of heat via a moving substance, such as air or water. Convection currents are the manifestation of those movements.

A light-year, which is abbreviated ly, is a measure of distance based on how far light travels in a year. It equals about 5.9 trillion miles or 9.5 trillion kilometers.

The ears are necessary for hearing and for the process of converting sound into electrochemical information that the brain can use to code the information. There are several parts to the ears that...

Water pressure is often measured in "bars" or "atmospheres" in open water. A "bar" equals 100 kilopascals, or 14.5 pounds per square foot. An "atmosphere" represents the pressure exerted by the...

Creating a science research project introduction will help you to communicate your scientific ideas to a larger community. Even if you plan to verbally introduce your project at a fair, to a boss,...

One of the things that people can debate is whether or not air has mass. The logic is that since it's invisible, then it can't have mass. This is a false statement. Air does indeed have mass and...

This is how to make meal powder, something found in a lot of fireworks. Try to keep this away from your testicles. I learned that the hard way. You cannot mix them all together and expect a big...

Genetics is the study of heredity, evolution and all life forms. Every human has similar characteristics, such as eyes, legs and hair. Genes are the instruction which make us all different. ...

Flowers are the means of sexual reproduction in angiosperms, those plants that produce seeds within an ovary. Flowers can contain male or female sex organs, or both. Depending on the species,...

Hydrocarbons are a class of organic compounds. The compounds must be composed of just carbon and hydrogen to be considered a hydrocarbon. These compounds are generally hydrophobic and absorb very...

Hurricanes are tropical cyclones. West of the International Date Line, the storms are known as typhoons. They are called cyclones in Australia and India. Heat causes the condensation of ocean...

You can make an electric doorbell as a science project. This project will demonstrate the concept of magnetic suction. Your doorbell works when an iron rod is sucked through a coil of copper wire...

A quantum is a small and exact amount of energy. Each photon contains a quantum of energy. An atom can only experience a transition through absorption of a particular frequency photon. This is the...

Infrared thermometers (temperature laser guns) give you a means to take the temperature of objects that are too difficult or dangerous to access otherwise, by using an infrared beam to collect the...

Helium is the sole unreactive gas used in modern airships. One could claim that nitrogen and argon, being the most common unreactive gases in the atmosphere, and therefore present in the air...

Dividing the process of respiration into two categories, internal and external respiration, can help clarify some of the complexities of this biologically important process. Together, the...

Chlorophyll, the main photosynthetic pigment in green plants, does more than give plants their green color; it also absorbs light, which allows plants to convert solar energy into chemical energy...

Hachure marks are defined as multiple crossing lines that create a shaded definition on either maps or drawings. In topography, they are used to define surface relief. They are also known as "tick...

The abbreviation pH represents a logarithmic scale that refers to the solution acidity. Neutral media has pH 7. Acidic solutions are signified with pH below 7, while basic solutions have pH above...

The material we call steel is in fact an alloy, a mixture of different metals. The element iron (symbol Fe) makes up a large percentage of all steels, generally composing more than 75 percent of...

The public once viewed the non-stick skillet coating known as Teflon as a godsend to the modern kitchen. It bears the chemical name polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Teflon surfaces are remarkably...

Hydro-electric power plants not only provide clean energy, they also conserve water and provide lakes for fishing, recreation and water sports. There are five major parts to a hydro-electric...

The chemical formula for glucose, C6H12O6, describes the composition of this sugar molecule; its structure and function require a more complex overview. Glucose, among other sugars, plays a vital...

The method of extrusion is one of the main processes in regards to the manufacturing of plastic. Extrusion refers to the process of forming a piece of plastic through the use of certain shaping...

A pie diagram is a graph used to visually explain fractions. Each pie piece is a section that represents a piece of a whole number. The pie diagram is used in business, science, government and...

Diodes are active electronic components that allow electrical current to flow when sufficient voltage is present. Because of this characteristic, diodes can be used as a switch and relay mechanism.

Combination chemical reactions, also called synthesis reactions, join two or more reactants into a product. The general equation is: A + B ---> AB.

An easy way to remember the skeletal system is to imagine you are building a house. The skeletal system is composed of three parts: the bones, the muscles and the connective tissues. Compare the...

Blood clotting is the process in which liquid blood turns into gel. Blood clotting is also called coagulation. Blood clots form naturally when the body is subject to injury or trauma, such as a...

Respiration is a process of gas exchange and energy conversion. It is the act by which we take in oxygen, expel carbon dioxide and convert food energy into chemical energy in our cells. We breathe...

Unlike a flashlight, the beam of a laser is highly concentrated. When pointed at a surface in clean air, all that can be seen of the laser is a small dot on the surface. However, if the air has...

Scientists and biology students use agar, a substance extracted from red-purple algae, to grow bacteria cultures in petri dishes. Sugar galactose, a substance prevalent in red-purple algae cell...

There is often much confusion over the terms "watch" and "warning" when it comes to weather. The difference between the two, no matter what type of weather they describe, is in the potential of...

Need an experiment to demonstrate how Newton's Third Law of Motion works? This rubber-band car project is a great way to show how for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

A vein is a blood vessel that carries carbon dioxide-rich blood away from the tissues in the body and toward the heart. The heart then pumps it into blood vessels in the lungs, which exchange...

Sonication is a ubiquitously used method of shearing open cells in molecular, cellular, microbiology and other laboratories. Sonication is useful as it does not alter the chemical composition of...

Building simple circuits on a breadboard is a time-honored way to learn electronics. Breadboard, also called protoboard, is a sturdy plastic panel perforated with rows of holes. On some parts of...

The flower is the part of a plant that is responsible for reproduction. Some flowers are called perfect flowers and contain both female and male organs, while others are incomplete flowers and...

Hydrogen and sulfur are elements. The chemical formula for sulfur is S, which is the same as its symbol. Hydrogen's symbol is H; however, it forms a diatomic molecule in pure form so its chemical...

The air on Earth is one of the biggest reasons that humans evolved to be the creatures we are today. Made up of several different substances, air sustains us and allows life as we know it to...