Surprising Science — March 25, 2014

Superfluid Appears to Defy Gravity

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

In the 1930s, scientists were baffled by liquid helium, which, at extremely low temperatures, exhibited strange behaviors. Learn more about this amazing superfluid by watching this short video clip from BBCFour:

Image credit: JoeFutrelle/Flickr

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Interior of a particle physics laboratory showing a complex particle accelerator setup with multiple cables, detectors, and machinery designed to study glueball particles.

Starts With A Bang

What do unexpected experimental results actually tell us?

Scientific surprises, driven by experiment, are often how science advances. But more often than not, they’re just bad science.

A collage featuring the text "Forgotten Hardships," images of a struggling family, a graph, a historical farming scene, hands with a skin condition, and an illustration of a caliper.

The Past

Life was dirty, difficult, and dangerous for almost everyone who ever existed

9 minutes of cruel history may cure the anti-progress delusion.

Illustration of a drone exploring over a dusty, red martian landscape with mountains in the background.

13.8

Dragonfly: The billion-mile mission to explore Saturn’s biggest moon

NASA’s minivan-sized drone is scheduled to search for signs of life on Titan in 2034.

a man sitting in a wheel chair next to a laptop.

High Culture

Stephen Hawking’s famous voice belonged to this pioneering MIT scientist

Dennis Klatt developed trailblazing text-to-speech systems before losing his own voice to cancer.

A model of the Colossus depicting the grandeur of ancient Rome.

The Past

This virtual 3D model lets you wander the streets of ancient Rome

Archaeologist Bernard Frischer spent decades uploading the ruins of the Eternal City to the cloud. Here’s what it looks like.

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Surprising Science

Throwing a Boomerang in Space

What happens when you throw a boomerang in zero gravity? Japanese astronaut Takao Doi demonstrates on the International Space Station: Image credit: popofatticus/Flickr