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The 70th anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will undoubtedly be accompanied by images of the “mushroom clouds” that rose over both cities. Terrible and sublime, these images burned themselves into the consciousness of “the greatest generation” and every generation since that’s lived with both the legacy of nuclear war and the reality of nuclear energy. A new exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario titled Camera Atomica looks deeply at the interrelated nature of photography and nuclear war and peace to come away with a fascinating glimpse of the calculatedly manufactured “atomic sublime” — the fascination with such terrible power at our command that simply won’t let us look away.

Alan Watts recognized that money was only an abstract idea compared to actual wealth. Will we ever learn the same? 

“You’ll never get a good job, son, if you’re smoking pot all the time!” That’s a scolding you won’t hear in the future.  

There are many different levels, but one key difference separates science from the rest. “I cannot help fearing that men may reach a point where they look on every new theory […]

Climate change doesn’t have the emotional characteristics that make it truly deep-in-your-heart scary. Leaders will have to act anyway.

These findings are extremely helpful.

Thomas Jefferson is probably most famous for drafting the Declaration of Independence, but the indelible legal document is just one of many intriguing facts about the man.

But especially for anyone who listened to your “Celebration of Creation” speech. “In science it often happens that scientists say, ‘You know that’s a really good argument; my position is […]

And how close does the farthest one we’ve ever found so far come to it? “Science, however, gives me the feeling of steady progress: I am convinced that theoretical physics […]

Your grandparents got way more nutrition out of their vegetables.

In Munich last week, physicists and philosophers debate what makes for a scientific theory. Surprisingly, no one agrees. This piece was written by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized […]

Is inertia of prior ideas the only thing keeping us from the next major revolution in science? This post was written by Brian Koberlein. Brian is an astrophysicist and Senior Lecturer […]

Before #OscarsSoWhite and #MoviesSoBland, William Cameron Menzies turned American movies into art.

One of UK’s biggest retailers shows us how zero waste to landfills is done.

Musk shows no signs of letting his brilliant madness die.

Star Trek’s ideal view of medicine is closer than we think.

Dark matter makes up the vast majority of mass in the Universe, and most of it is unknown. But not all of it. “A cosmic mystery of immense proportions, once […]

Traveling to the future is possible, but the “back” part runs into trouble. Mr. Strickland: “I noticed your band is on the roster for the dance auditions after school today. […]

Or if it were perfectly smooth, instead, could we have still had stars and galaxies by today? “First, you should check out my house. It’s, like, kinda lame, but way […]

Questioning the power of individual choice.

Take part in the biggest media campaign in history and spread awareness of UN’s Global Goals for the next 15 years. 

We want to believe.

The glorious meteor shower peaking this week is the most consistent, year after year. Here’s why. “Men of genius are often dull and inert in society; as the blazing meteor, […]

If you took all the energy out of something, you’d reach absolute zero, the coldest temperature of all. But is there a highest temperature? “Nothing is lost… Everything is transformed.” […]

Scientists work on it, it’s consistent with science, and it hopes to be the biggest scientific breakthrough of all. But it’s missing one key ingredient. “As of now, string theorists […]

Most likely not, though Bill’s not ruling it out completely.

So let’s talk about fracking. It isn’t a terrible idea in theory, says Bill Nye the Science Guy, but it can’t be allowed to go unregulated. This is because new technologies have promoted irresponsible fracturing practices with severe environmental and public health consequences.

It’s not breaking news that the universe is slowly dying. It is significant that scientists have been able to finally measure the degree to which it’s dying. Let’s just say you should push up any appointments you might have 100 billion years from now.

Dark things come in small packages, but the reason why is what’s truly astounding. “A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than a giant himself.” […]

See it over the coming six weeks, before it disappears and heads out of the Solar System forever. “I have worn myself thin trying to find out about this comet, and […]