Physics
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ArticleDoes water go down the drain counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern ... It all depends upon how the water was introduced and the geometric structure of the drain. Handwashing over a sink. Amanda Mills, CDC photographer, 2011. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public...
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ArticleHow does a stone "skip" across water? Spin, speed, shape and angle are the crucial factors, with angle being the most important. Skipping stones at Seneca Rocks. Ryan Hagerty, USFWS photographer, 2014. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital...
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ArticleHow does static electricity work? An imbalance between negative and positive charges in objects. Two girls are “electrified” during an experiment at the Liberty Science Center “Camp-in”, February 5, 2002. America’s Story, Library of Congress. Have you...
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ArticleIs it possible to fry an egg on the sidewalk if it's hot enough? Yes, theoretically. But it doesn’t actually get hot enough. Russell Lee, photographer. Faro Caudill frying eggs over camp fire the day he was moving his dugout. Pie Town, New Mexico. 1940. Prints...
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ArticleWhy does ultraviolet light cause color to fade? Because of photodegradation. A faded mural on the wall of a building in Dallas, Texas, advertising the Texas and Pacific Railroad’s passenger service to Saint Louis in what at the time was...
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ArticleWhy don't I fall out when a roller coaster goes upside down? Gravity is counteracted by centripetal force, due to acceleration, which is the force that pushes you into your seat. Roller coaster, Seaside Heights, New Jersey. John Margolies, photographer, 1978. Prints & Photographs...
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ArticleWhy is the ocean blue? There are several theories: – Blue wavelengths are absorbed the least by the deep ocean water and are scattered and reflected back to the observer’s eye – Particles in the water may...
