Science

All physical quantities can be measured. But the majority of measurements cannot get the true value exactly. The difference between the true value and the measured one is called the absolute...

Washing soda, or sodium carbonate, is a salt with many useful applications. According to the Mineral Information Institute, it works as a water softener, and it's stain-removing capabilities make...

Named after the Scandinavian goddess of youth, beauty, love and death, Vanadis, vanadium was discovered in 1801 and mischaracterized as impure chromium by Andres Manual del Rio.

Building a three-dimensional DNA model can be an educational and fun experience for people of all ages. Not only can it be used for school science projects or classroom presentations, but it will...

Air may seem to be made up of nothingness, but in reality it consists of a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gasses that have mass and take up space. The density of air can be...

In probability, a density function gives the probability density for different values of variables. Such variables, called "random variables" or "covariates" in statistics, are assigned...

Chemical heat packs can be used to apply heat to specific areas on the body to help with pain and injury recovery. They are most popular in sporting events where athletes suffer from various...

From its discovery in lodestone in ancient times, to modern scientific research, magnetism has long fascinated people. Magnets and magnetic materials are an important part of everyday modern life....

Although there is a lot of material written about atoms, the investigations in atomic science are far from complete. Protons are the positive particles in atomic nuclei. In 1919, the existence of...

Ping pong balls are tiny balls with an amazing bounce capability. These little white orbs are hollow on the inside, small in size, and made of a little-used plastic material called celluloid....

A jack is a device meant to multiply a small force in order to enact a large force on an object. In principle, it works similarly to a mechanical advantage, such as a pulley. Jacks must have a...

To calculate rotation is to calculate the rate at which an object spins around its axis. The amount of energy required to keep an object rotating increases in proportion to the mass of the object...

Nuclear power has been used in a wide variety of applications for decades. Most people are at least vaguely familiar with the existence of nuclear power plants for civil utilities and aboard naval...

You can produce electricity from vegetables and fruits as a science experiment or just for fun. Potatoes are most commonly used, but apples, lemons and other vegetables can be used too. You will...

Photocells, otherwise known as photodetectors and photosensors, are a catch-all category for a wide range of devices that interact or operate based off exposure to photons, or electromagnetic...

A solution always freezes at lower temperature than the corresponding pure solvent does. The magnitude of the decrease of freezing point depends on the concentration of the dissolved substance and...

A quadrilateral is a four-sided polygon. Each one has four sides, four angles and two diagonals. The area of a quadrilateral is calculated by dividing it into triangles and summing. The challenge...

The existence of electromagnets serves as a testament to the ability of electric current to change the properties of metal objects. Electromagnets are used in a variety of industrial applications,...

Secret spy messages or hidden pirate treasure may come to mind when you think of disappearing ink. The message is written on a scrap piece of paper, then disappears, only to reappear once more in...

A pH meter is used to measure the pH (acidity or alkalinity) of an aqueous solution. A pH meter consists of a probe and a voltmeter. The most common commercially available pH probes consist of a...

There are many different types of batteries, and most have different voltages, ranging from 1.5-volt AA batteries to the common 12-volt car battery. Many people, however, do not know exactly what...

Fossil fuels have been the world's dominant energy source since about 1800 A.D. Before the advent of these fuels, humans relied primarily on energy generated from other humans, commonly in the...

Present age demands energy conservation and that is the main reason why most of the countries are trying to exploit renewable energy sources. Nowadays for each and every person it is become...

The human cellular structure is a complex system of metabolic reaction pathways, protein synthesis and a membrane that protects and wraps it. Within our tiny cells, several organelles, including...

This is an easy, classic and fun way to introduce science to young children. It's an inexpensive experiment that can occupy kids time for hours while teaching them that science can be fun.

In many power stations, various types of fuel are used to heat water. In the U.S., coal-burning plants are very common, but oil, natural gas, methane and nuclear power is also used. In a nuclear...

Powered by wind energy, the windmill is designed to convert the energy supplied by the wind, as it turns the blades of the windmill, into an electric energy. Originally, windmills were used to...

Iron objects have tiny pockets of magnetism, called domains, but they're usually disorganized, and the domains cancel each other out. If something has a noticeable magnetic field, it means the...

An anemometer is a weather instrument used to measure wind speed and direction. There are three main types of anemometers ranging from basic to complex. The spinning cup anemometer only measures...

Electrolytic capacitors store an electrical charge. Similar to a battery, the storage of the charge is released 60 times a second. The purpose for this fast charge and release of a capacitor is...

A calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. However, scientists use the joule, the standard scientific measurement of energy, or SI...

A protractor is an instrument used to determine the size of an angle. Protractors are usually first used as early as upper elementary or middle school. Although protractors come in a variety of...

Nanotechnology is a new, unifying science that provides a different perspective from the physical point of view. Learn how nanotechnology brings together multiple scientific disciplines with this...

A diode bridge rectifier is a device for converting AC, or alternating current electricity into DC, or direct current. AC electricity goes from positive to negative constantly, whereas DC always...

Mouse trap cars are an exciting project to undertake since they teach valuable lessons about energy, motion and physics. Creating a mousetrap racer is a great way to get students and adults alike...

Arc welding is an integral part of modern industry. As with all welding methods, arc welding heats two pieces of metal, causing the metals to melt into each other. When the heat is removed, the...

Light travels both in straight lines and through reflection, which is a process in which light enters a prism and bends. Discover how light bends when going from one material to another with...

An electric motor works through two main elements, with the first being opposing magnets and the second being a wire coil. Learn about carbon brushes and commutators and how they help electric...

Building a water rocket involves using a launcher and stand, pumping water and air into a soda bottle and launching it outside to see it shoot up from the ground. Put together a water rocket with...

To make a tornado in a bottle, fill a plastic bottle partially with water, add a few drops of dish soap and add a bit of glitter before swirling the water around to create a miniature cyclone....

You can make a simple rocket fuel out of ingredients that are simple to get and relatively cheap. The engines you make will not be super powerful, but will work for most rocketry projects.

Magnetic materials should maintain a balance between temperature and magnetic domains (the atoms' inclination to spin in a certain direction). When exposed to extreme temperatures, however, this...

Bubbles are generally made of soapy water that has been formed into a thin film. The film traps air in the center, causing the bubble to retain its spherical shape until it pops. The addition of...

Dry ice is exactly that: It changes directly from a solid state to gas, never becoming liquid. The unique process that dry ice goes through is called sublimation. The speed of the process is...

Fog occurs when the air temperature comes within four degrees Fahrenheit of the dew point, and the dew point is the temperature at which the water goes from gas to liquid. Learn more about fog and...

The first component of a jet engine is a diffuser. This is the space between the mouth of the engine and the first set of blades on the compressor. The cross-sectional area increases as the space...

Micrometers are tools used to make highly accurate measurements, usually of things that are difficult to measure to begin with. There are two basic types of micrometer. The screw gauge uses...

As a teacher I am always looking for unique inexpensive project for my students. Recently we got to extract DNA from wheat germ, and it was a lot of fun for everyone, and, dare I say educational.

Eugenics was a common ideology or philosophy, as well as a scientific idea, that involved the self-direction of human development. Learn about the fallout of eugenics as a form of human rights...

There are two types of rain forests, including temperate rain forests and tropical rain forests, but both possess an abundance of different animal species. Discover the variety of rain forest...