Science and Technolgy blog
Like a lot of competitors in the global launch industry, Russia for a long time dismissed the prospects of a reusable first stage for a rocket. As late as 2016, an official with the Russian agency that develops strategy for…
A study of married couples in the United Kingdom found that marital partners tend to have similar vocabulary sizes. Even after controlling for years of marriage, a substantial correlation between partners’ vocabulary sizes remained, indicating that vocabulary size was likely…
During my first semester as a computer science graduate student at Princeton, I took COS 402: Artificial Intelligence. Toward the end of the semester, there was a lecture about neural networks. This was in the fall of 2008, and I…
Quantum dot (noun, “KWAHN-tum DAHT”) Quantum dots are teeny tiny crystals. They’re often made of semiconductors — materials that partially conduct electricity. Each quantum dot is mere billionths of a meter across. And at such tiny scales, these specks’ properties…
A new study hints at how skateboarders can up their half-pipe game — using math. Tricks like kickflips and ollies require speed. As skateboarders roll along a U-shaped ramp called a half-pipe, they build speed and climb higher by pumping.…
An artist’s rendering of a black hole
Turbulence in airplanes could become a thing of the past with FALCON, a new AI system that helps vehicles learn how to adjust to turbulence within a matter of minutes.
Archaeologists say the “oracle bones” from ancient China were used in magical attempts to predict the future.
A recent study published in Communications Psychology reveals that individuals with higher psychopathic traits show reduced sensitivity to pain, which affects their ability to learn from painful consequences. The researchers found that people with elevated psychopathic traits tend to revert…
Coastlines are challenging to measure, but why?
