Researchers have worked out how shoelaces come undone. (Seemingly "knot failure" happens in a matter of seconds, and is triggered by a complex interaction of forces: These include the stomping of the foot, which gradually loosens the knot. The movement of the foot creates a whipping force which acts like hands tugging on the ends of […]
According to researchers at Kyoto University cats have a rudimentary understanding of physics. (The researchers showed how cats would react differently when they shook boxes with something in them, than when they shook empty boxes. Amazing! Cats reacted to a rattling sound? I don't suppose it occured to them that the shake of a cat […]
If it's green or wiggles, it's biology. If it stinks, it's chemistry. If you can't touch it it's physics. If it has faults, it's geology. If it's incomprehensible, it's applied mathematics. If you can make it do whatever you want, it's statistics. If it doesn't make sense, it's economics or psychology.