Scientist Looks to Weaponize Ball Lightning

Ball lightning has been the subject of much scientific scrutiny over the years. And, as with many powerful natural phenomena, the question arises: "Can we turn it into a weapon?" Peculiar as it may seem, that's exactly what some researchers are working on -- even though it hasn't even been properly replicated in the laboratory yet.

Link:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/...

Help astronomers explore the Universe at Galaxy Zoo

The Galaxy Zoo files contain almost a quarter of a million galaxies which have been imaged with a camera attached to a robotic telescope (the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, no less). In order to understand how these galaxies — and our own — formed, we need your help to classify them according to their shapes — a task at which your brain is better than even the fastest computer.

More than 150,000 people have taken part in Galaxy Zoo so far, producing a wealth of valuable data and sending telescopes on Earth and in space chasing after their discoveries. Zoo 2 focuses on the nearest, brightest and most beautiful galaxies, so to begin exploring the Universe, click the ‘How To Take Part’ link above, or read ‘The Story So Far’ to find out what Galaxy Zoo has achieved to date.

Link:
https://www.galaxyzoo.org/

MIT-led team creates touch-based illusion

Anyone who has seen an optical illusion can recall the quirky moment when you realize that the image being perceived is different from objective reality. Now, a team of scientists from MIT, Harvard and McGill has designed a new illusion involving the sense of touch, which is helping to glean new insights into perception and how different senses--such as touch and sight--work together.

Link:
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/touch-0717.html

Timeline of the universe from before the Big Bang

Some theorists now believe they have found ways of pushing back even further, to the ultimate question: what came before the big bang? To do it, they have had to take on one of the greatest challenges in physics: the marriage of Einstein's theory of space, time and gravity, general relativity, with quantum theory, which describes the subatomic world. Only then can they hope to describe conditions at the big bang, when all space and time was compressed into a volume far smaller than a proton.

Link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/.../universe.physics

What makes a good teacher

I think this MIT teacher does what more teachers should do. Make learning fun and captivate the students.

Here's a bunch of his lectures if you're interested:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/...

Amazing cloth simulator

Link:
http://www.custom-logic.com/exp/cloth/cloth.html

The theory to everything?

Now I understand...