Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 195)

AI will require even more energy than we thought
AI

AI will require even more energy than we thought

Forecasts suggest new power plants, often relying on fossil fuels, will be needed to feed AI’s energy demands.

Amazon workers testing Prime Air drones outside
AI

Amazon’s Prime Air delivery drones get a major FAA clearance

Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) approval is a big step for the company’s drone plans.

fossilized leg bones in reddish-brown sediment
Dinosaurs

New horse-sized dinosaur species discovered in Zimbabwe

Musankwa sanyatiensis was a two-legged, swamp-dwelling sauropod.

The Sonos 100 speaker in a diagonal pattern on a plain background.
Audio

Get Sonos’ newest speakers at their lowest prices ever on Amazon

The Era 100 is the company's new entry-level smart speaker, and you can save $50 on it right now thanks to a limited-time deal on Amazon.

This photo taken on May 11, 2024 shows the northern lights over a suburb in London, Britain. (Photo by Stephen Chung/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Photography

Why low-light events like the northern lights often look better through your phone camera

Phone cameras can take in more light than the human eye.

white fluffy clouds on blue sky
Projects

NASA needs your help identifying clouds

Look up at the sky. What do you see? Tell NASA. 

two electric bikes on a rural road
Electric Vehicles

I really wanted to love the LiveWire S2 Del Mar

A great concept is undermined by flawed execution.

beer being poured from a tap
Technology

How recycled beer yeast can remove lead from water

A single brewery in Boston could produce enough waste yeast to treat the entire city’s water supply.

Metamaterial film on glass
Engineering

New material looks like frosted glass but lets in more light than a window

The ultrathin coating is also self-cleaning and can cool ambient room temperature.

Orcas only need one breath between dives
Wildlife

Orcas only need one breath between dives

'Putting a Fitbit' on killer whales could help these endangered and threatened predators.

Phone screens of the future might be squishy
Technology

Phone screens of the future might be squishy

The silicon material deforms when poked.

a brown snail sits on a green lettuce leaf
Animals

Slimy slugs and snails surprisingly thriving in LA

Five species of the land mollusks appear to prefer urban spaces.

Underwater image of Titanic wreckage
Conservation

Billionaire plans to ride $20 million submersible to the Titanic

‘While the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way.’

Panels A, B, and C each show stereographic image pairs of the asteroid Dinkinesh taken by the L’LORRI Instrument aboard NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft. The images were taken in the minutes around closest approach on November 1, 2023. The yellow and rose dots indicate the trough and ridge features, respectively. These images have been sharpened and processed to enhance contrast. Panel D shows a side view of Dinkinesh and its satellite Selam taken a few minutes after closest approach.
NASA

The odd moon orbiting a ‘Dinky’ asteroid is actually two moons fused together

Understanding how space objects behave 'when they hit each other' is crucial.

Amsterdam, Netherlands - 10 April, 2021: a chair in front of a book shelf with many books on it and a lamp sitting next to the chair
Life Skills

How to protect your books long term

Proper preservation can protect your books from deterioration, ensuring they remain readable and aesthetically pleasing.

UNSPECIFIED, ANTARCTICA - OCTOBER 31: A calving glacier is seen from NASA's Operation IceBridge research aircraft, in the Antarctic Peninsula region, on October 31, 2017, above Antarctica. NASA's Operation IceBridge has been studying how polar ice has evolved over the past nine years and is currently flying a set of nine-hour research flights over West Antarctica to monitor ice loss aboard a retrofitted 1966 Lockheed P-3 aircraft. According to NASA, the current mission targets 'sea ice in the Bellingshausen and Weddell seas and glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula and along the English and Bryan Coasts.' Researchers have used the IceBridge data to observe that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may be in a state of irreversible decline directly contributing to rising sea levels. The National Climate Assessment, a study produced every 4 years by scientists from 13 federal agencies of the U.S. government, released a stark report November 2 stating that global temperature rise over the past 115 years has been primarily caused by 'human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases'. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Climate Change

The ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is melting faster than scientists thought

Miles of seawater are flowing under Thwaites Glacier, undermining an Antarctic ice sheet and threatening rapid sea level rise.

an otter eating while floating on its back
Wildlife

Female sea otters use tools more than males

The furry mammals use sticks and even trash to crack open food.

Farmer finds hunk of charred space debris, potentially from a SpaceX rocket
Space

Farmer finds hunk of charred space debris, potentially from a SpaceX rocket

‘Originally, we just thought it was garbage until we got closer.’

a human skull on a dark background with E270 printed on it
Cancer

4,000 year-old Egyptian skulls show attempts at brain surgery to treat cancer

'Cancer was still a medical knowledge frontier.'

The best air purifiers for smoke on a plain white background.
Smart Home

The best air purifiers for smoke, tested and reviewed

Clear out the haze and keep fabrics and lungs happy and healthy with an air purifier that effectively filters smoke.