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Physics Facts

The World's Largest Laser

In a rural community in Northern California, in a building spanning the length of two football fields scientists are creating the world's largest laser. The National Ignition Facility project, know as ... Continue reading

The target chamber inside which NIF's 192 laser beams will converge upon a fusion-fuel-filled target.

The Sound of Turbulence

Do you ever watch the water tornado that forms in a draining bathtub? Woe unto any rubber ducky floating aimlessly in the vicinity; the water's force will pull it down into the tornado. The center of ... Continue reading

Smoke demonstrates the wakes caused by this jet.

Many Happy Returns!

The boomerang is a bent or angular throwing club with the characteristics of a multi-winged airfoil. When properly launched, the boomerang returns to the thrower. Although the boomerang is often ... Continue reading

Bizarre Boiling

The next time you're watching a pot of water boil, perhaps for coffee or a cup of soup, pause for a moment and consider: what would this look like in space? Would the turbulent bubbles rise or fall? ... Continue reading

Without buoyancy, the vapor produced by boiling simply floats as a bubble inside the liquid after the heating has stopped. Surface tension effects cause the many small bubbles produced to coalesce into one large sphere.