Surprising Science — March 25, 2014

Setting Sound Waves on Fire

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This classic physics experiment is made thanks to some hot jazz. Literally hot jazz. Flammable gas is pumped through a Reuben’s tube, which is attached to a speaker. Watch what happens:

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

Two glowing spheres connected by a thin line suggest a quantum link above a red, knotted rope, with abstract wave patterns in the background.

The Long Game

The “quantum long game”

A meditation on quantum physics, creative endurance, and the unseen forces that shape what lasts.

Circular astronomical image showing constellations and celestial objects labeled against a dark sky, reminiscent of a NASA PUNCH video sun corona visualization, with a timestamp of 2025-06-03 01:52 at the bottom left.

Starts With A Bang

Video: NASA’s PUNCH mission sees the Sun’s corona in action

Launched in March, the PUNCH mission has viewed two incredible coronal mass ejections, tracking them farther from the Sun than ever before.

A man in glasses and a suit jacket, resembling John Green, stands in front of a light background with a purple rectangle and abstract black lines.

Books

‘Everything is Tuberculosis’ author John Green on writing, anxiety, and illness

John Green opens up about his struggle to remain hopeful while writing about suffering and injustice.

A large circular particle accelerator laboratory with various machines, cables, and equipment; two people are working near the center on experiments related to the muon g-2 anomaly.

Starts With A Bang

Anomaly no more! “Muon g-2” puzzle resolved at last

When theory and experiment disagree, it could mean new physics. This time, they solved the muon g-2 puzzle, and saved the Standard Model.

Starts With A Bang

How the Milky Way-Andromeda merger became so uncertain

For decades, astronomers have claimed the Milky Way will merge with Andromeda in ~4 billion years. Here’s why, in 2025, that seems unlikely.

Up Next

Surprising Science

Supersonic Jet Creates a “Cloud”

This supersonic jet, the F-14 Tomcat, can create a cloud. Check out this footage of the jet ripping through the sky, leaving a trail of vapor. What you’re witnessing are […]