After nearly a month of hand-wringing, finger-pointing, and head-scratching over the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, British Petroleum is finally reporting something worth some back-slapping.
Science
Oil Leak: What Does the Discovery of Oil Plumes Mean?
Scientists studying aboard a research ship in the gulf are discovering huge underwater oil plumes up to 10 miles long, a result of the April 20 oil rig explosion in the Gulf. But what do the plumes mean?
The Laser Beam Turns 50
Fifty years ago today the light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, or the laser, was (officially) invented.
Sinkholes: The Hidden, Deadly Physics of Cave-Ins
Mention the word “sinkhole,” and most people probably start thinking of potholes. But the video footage coming in from St. Jude, Quebec, where a farmhouse was swallowed by the Earth on Tuesday, suggests something far larger in scale.
Oil Spill: Hearings Find a List of Failures
Emerging evidence in Capitol Hill hearings on the Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster is increasingly showing that a lack of regulation is largely behind the blowout
Quotes: Tarballs Washing Up on the Beach
“Tarballs DO NOT pose a health risk to the average person,”
— A SIGN, posted on a beach on Dauphin Island, Ala., reassuring swimmers that the small blobs of oil that have begun washing up on shore are not a threat. Tests …
Giant Oarfish: A Real-Life Sea Monster Washes Ashore
The giant oarfish is huge, rarely seen, and might be the origin of the Loch Ness Monster tales. A prime specimen just washed up on shore. Look at this crazy fish!
What Created This Hole in Space?
Astronomers reclassified a bizarre dark patch sighted by the Hubble space telescope in a distant nebula in 1999. What is it?
Scientists: Mozart Was Brilliant, But He Won’t Get Your Kid into Yale
Considering his claim to be able to compose full symphonies in his head, Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is rightly considered a musical genius and virtuoso. But that doesn’t mean listening to him will make your kid any smarter.