Surprising Science — February 28, 2014

Charge Your Cell Phone in Five Minutes

Is this science fiction? Can you really charge your cell phone in the time it takes to check all those voice-mails?

Supercapacitors let you bring your cell phone back to life in five minutes or charge up an electric car in sixty seconds, according to DNews. They’re not only super-powerful, super-convenient but also biodegradable. Check out this astounding video from our friends at DNews.

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Image credit: Cuddle Bug Kids/Flickr

13.8

Quantum physics forces us to make really weird choices

Einstein always loses in the quantum realm.

The Past

Did extraterrestrials visit ancient Sumer?

Venerated astrophysicist Carl Sagan entertained the possibility.

Leadership

Great leaders ask great questions: Here are 3 steps to up your questioning game.

Questioning isn’t just a way to get the right answer — it’s also a means for sustaining relationships and creative thinking.

Starts With A Bang

A failed proton decay search accidentally birthed neutrino astronomy

Before we discovered gravitational waves, multi-messenger astronomy got its start with light and particles arriving from the same event.

The Past

Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world for 265 years. Here’s why.

Japan just opened to tourists for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, echoing the island country’s isolationist policies during the feudal era.

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