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Elizabeth Fernandez

Dr. Elizabeth Fernandez is a science communicator, looking at the interface between science and technology in society, and writes on science and society, science and philosophy, astronomy, physics, and geology. Particularly, she looks at how science, philosophy, religion and culture intersect. She has a PhD in astrophysics and has worked around the world, using telescopes both on the ground and in space. Her articles have appeared on Forbes.com and Big Think. She is also the host and producer of SparkDialog Podcasts, a podcast on science and society, where she tells the story of science in our lives. Besides science, she is an artist and writer, loves pretty much ever genre of music in existence, and seeks out bizarre and unique musical instruments. She has a passion for interfaith relations, working with people from many countries and backgrounds promoting dialog between faiths. Follow her on Twitter @SparkDialog.

elizabeth fernandez

A map showing the location of Israel and Egypt, with a focus on its significance in biblical history.

Earth’s magnetic field supports biblical stories of destruction of ancient cities

When battles raged in ancient cities, their rocks blazed so brightly that they could be reoriented according to Earth’s magnetic field.

A fissure in a road in Iceland

Iceland earthquakes hint at a new era of increased volcanic activity

This new geologic activity could be part of a thousand-year cycle, ushering in a new era of volcanism on the island.

mars oceans

How Mars lost its magnetic field — and then its oceans

Chemical changes inside Mars’ core caused it to lose its magnetic field. This, in turn, caused it to lose its oceans. But how?

A collection of different colored minerals on a black background.

How rocks and minerals play with light to produce breathtaking colors

Rocks and minerals don’t simply reflect light. They play with it and interact with light as both a wave and a particle.

An image showcasing a quantum biology-inspired green, flower-like structure adorned with vibrant red dots.

Life

Quantum biology: Your nose and house plant are experts at particle physics

Quantum physics is starting to show up in unexpected places. Indeed, it is at work in animals, plants, and our own bodies.

a close up of the planet with a black background.

Could you stand on the surface of Jupiter? Exploring the enigmatic outer planets

The outer planets’ clouds hide the weirdness within.

Plants perform quantum mechanics feats that scientists can only do at ultra-cold temperatures

Plants at room temperature show properties we had only seen near absolute zero.

two views of the earth from different angles.

How plate tectonics shook life into existence

The cycles of life all rely on the dynamism of the Earth’s crust.

a diagram of the ocean floor.

5.3 million years ago, the world’s largest flood refilled the Mediterranean

About six million years ago, the Mediterranean was sealed off from the Atlantic, and over centuries it ran dry. One megaflood reversed that.

a picture of a blue planet with a black background.

How life survived “Snowball Earth”

Frozen adversity set the stage for an explosion of diversity.

tidally locked planet

Life might exist between eternal day and eternal night on tidally locked planets

Eternal twilight.

impact crater

The 8 best hidden impact craters on Earth

Many impact craters on Earth have been erased thanks to wind, water, and plate tectonics. But scientists have clever ways to find them.

Rubble pile asteroids are really hard to break

Some of them have survived the wilds of space for billions of years.

A railroad bridge collapse

MIT scientists design AI that could predict rare disasters, like bridge collapses and rogue waves

Catastrophes are difficult to predict because they are so rare. But AI using active learning can make predictions from very small data sets.

earthquake damage

Some earthquakes last for seconds, others for minutes — and a few for decades

What do you call it when the Earth shakes for three decades?

astronaut looking at Earth-like planet

Space travel will radically change human psychology and spirituality

We are traveling in a realm that once exclusively belonged to the gods. Space travel will force humanity to rethink everything.

We may not be alone in the Universe. Should we reach out?

A conversation with an advanced alien species is likely to be simple and to take 1,000 years. It might also be dangerous.

top 10

Top 10 most popular stories on Big Think in 2022

These were the stories you clicked on the most.

How science changes the way we think, according to 10 leading scientists

A group of prominent scientists shares how research has changed them.

Brain experiment suggests that consciousness relies on quantum entanglement

Maybe the brain isn’t “classical” after all.

quantum entanglement

Does consciousness change the rules of quantum mechanics?

Maybe our understanding of quantum entanglement is incomplete, or maybe there is something fundamentally unique about consciousness.

quantum sensors

Quantum sensors use “spooky” science to measure the world with unprecedented precision

Quantum entanglement may remain spooky, but it has a very practical side.

Practical physics: How quantum uncertainty will make our communications secure

We are not yet at the point where quantum communications can be deployed to secure the internet, but we might not be far off.

What Einstein and Bohr’s debate over quantum entanglement taught us about reality

Uncertainty is inherent to our Universe.

quantum communication

Could we use quantum communication to talk to aliens?

Quantum communication offers a surer path to sending an interstellar message, as well as receiving one. But can we do it?

length of day

Scientists may finally know why the length of a day changes

The length of a day oscillates slightly every six years. This was a surprising discovery made last decade. We might now know why.

earthquake

How the biggest earthquake in world history nearly destroyed a local civilization

Some of the coastal areas were not repopulated for millennia afterward, showing that there was a long-lasting memory of this tragic event.

marsquake

Mars “earthquakes”: Red Planet might have more seismic activity than we ever expected

There’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on beneath the single plate of Mars.

Antarctica

The strange under-ice lakes of Antarctica

The glaciers hide great lakes.

Why is Titan’s landscape so Earth-like despite its different composition?

The answer may lie in the particular way sand forms on Titan.