Museum of Science and Industry

Scientists at Kiel University and Hamburg University of Technology have created the world’s lightest* material, a carbon-based network of nanotubes called “Aerographite.” Seventy-five times lighter* than Styrofoam, this material has some very interesting properties. It can be compressed up to 95% and spring back without damage, it handles tension loads better than similar materials, and it conducts...

As you may remember from such films as Batman Begins, the Dark Knight uses his trademark cape to glide from rooftops down to street level, where he lands gently and commences bustin’ heads. A new paper, entitled “Trajectory of a falling Batman,” describes what would happen if Batman were to try this maneuver in real life.

According to the study, Batman would only be able to slow his velocity to somewhere...

Scientists from the University of Bristol studied whether an algorithm can predict whether a given song will hit the "top five" in the music charts. Their published accuracy rate? Approximately 60%, slightly better than random guessing. However, some interesting conclusions have emerged from this study:

1) It is easier for the algorithm to predict hits from the late '90s onward than in earlier eras, particularly the early '80s. Does this imply that David Bowie and Queen more musically complex...

Good news! The energy crisis could soon be over! Yes, all of our energy problems may soon be… behind us. Because scientists from Nanyang Technological University have invented a toilet that turns human waste into electricity! Yes!

Manually separating waste for processing is time-consuming, expensive and gross, which is why waste-to-power technologies have so far failed to catch on. The main advantage to this...

What is a Flame from Ben Ames on Vimeo.

When actor Alan Alda was eleven years old, he asked his teacher, "What is a flame?" She responded, "Flame is oxidation." Does that phrase mean anything to you? Would it have meant anything to you when you...