ScienceIQ.com

A Big, Big Wave

A tsunami (pronounced 'soo-nah-mee') is a series of waves of extremely long wave length and long period generated in a body of water by an impulsive disturbance that vertically displaces the water. The term tsunami was adopted for general use in 1963 by an international scientific conference. Tsunami is a Japanese word represented by two ...

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ABigBigWave
Astronomy

The Big Bang Model

The Big Bang Model is a broadly accepted theory for the origin and evolution of our universe. It postulates that 12 to 14 billion years ago, the portion of the universe we can see today was only a few ... Continue reading

TheBigBangModel
Chemistry

Take Two And Call Me In The Morning

Aspirin has been used for hundreds of years to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. It belongs to a group of chemicals called salicylates and was originally derived from the bark of the willow tree. ... Continue reading

Aspirin
Biology

Vitreous Humor, Sclera and Other Yukky Eye Stuff

Eyes are one of the most complex organs humans have. In fact the optic nerve connection to the brain is so complex and delicate that no one has ever succeeded in transplanting the whole eye (the ... Continue reading

HumanEye
Engineering

Smoke Detectors

How does a smoke detector 'know' when there is a fire? Smoke detectors use one of two different methods to do their job, and for both methods the basic operating assumption is the cliche 'where ... Continue reading

SmokeDetectors

Your Serve

YourServeNASA is well known for developing technology that makes things better, so can you believe that NASA actually did research on how to make tennis balls slower?

A couple of years ago, the London-based International Tennis Federation (ITF) decided to look into introducing a slower tennis ball, and used NASA research in making the decision. The slower ball is intended to compensate for other new technology that has been introduced to the game. Improved racquets and other advancements have led to changes in the way tennis is played at professional matches. With the new racquets, tennis pros can serve the ball at almost 241 kilometers per hour [kph] (150 miles per hour [mph]), contributing to shorter rallies and more tie-breaker sets. In comparison, the fastest pitch on record in baseball was only 166 kph [103 mph].

In order to try to restore the way the game is played at these matches, the ITF used research conducted at NASA Ames Research Center in California to learn about the effects of changing the size of a tennis ball. NASA had already been studying the aerodynamics of tennis balls, and was involved in a project, in collaboration with Cislunar Aerospace Inc., to help get students interested in science and technology. The project used various aspects of tennis to demonstrate different principles of physics and aerodynamics. Students across the country were encouraged to perform experiments with tennis balls to help them learn more.