subatomic particles
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Dark Matter: What We Don’t Know
Okay, I know…weird way to start a post, right? Isn’t this blog supposed to teach science? How can we teach something we don’t know? This is actually one of the most important concepts in the realm of astrophysics, and even…
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A Cosmological Timeline
We started covering cosmology way back in April. And since then, we’ve explored quite a bit — in fact, the grandest story the universe has to offer. We’ve followed the universe from the first fractions of a second after the…
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How Were Atoms Discovered?
Welcome to my fourth “Science Answers” post! If you have a question, you can ask it in the comments here, or ask it in an email. Or find me on Facebook! Q: (1) How did scientists find elements in the first place?…
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What Happens in an Expanding Star’s Core?
Depending on their mass, stars can remain stable for millions and even billions of years. The most massive stars live for “only” about 10 million years, but models predict that the least massive live for much longer — longer than…
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The Solar Neutrino
Ever heard of a neutrino? Well, I guess now you have. But what exactly is a neutrino? Don’t worry, they’re not harmful. They’re passing through you this very second and you’ll never notice them, not in your whole life. They’ll never…
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The Proton-Proton Chain
Take a wild guess: how much energy do you think the sun generates? Think about it. It definitely generates enough energy to power a world. Humans depend on the photosynthesis of plants, which converts sunlight into energy. And that’s not…
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The Battery of the Sun
Does this image look familiar? It should — these are soap bubbles. Okay, now you’re probably going to ask me how soap bubbles have anything to do with the battery of the sun. Well…you might be surprised to know that…
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Atoms and Radiation
Everything we know about space comes from radiation. Now wait just a moment here. That statement explains how astronomy is such a successful field of science — it’s based entirely on the information we can glean from radiation, after all.…
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How Atoms Work
Have you ever seen something like this? I’m going to venture a wild guess and say you haven’t, since scientists have only recently been able to take this kind of image. I learned about it in my biology class this…
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Types of Atoms
Does this look familiar? It might, or it might not. If it does, you might recognize it as the periodic table of the elements — more often known as simply the “periodic table.” It’s an ingenious way to organize elements…
