Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 884)

Why do we still have fax machines?
Technology

Why do we still have fax machines?

Just the fax, please.

Why hasn’t the sun burned out yet?
Sun

Why hasn’t the sun burned out yet?

Our planet's personal space heater is incredibly efficient.

pac man
Physics

The universe may be a giant video game, but it certainly isn’t Pac-Man

How to interpret one popular Flat Earth theory.

Tengyun China Hypersonic Spaceplane
Military

China’s opening a factory to build engines for hypersonic missiles and spaceplanes

Reconnaissance and strike capabilities of aircrafts with these engines could upend air combat and strategies around the world.

EarBot Drone
Drones

Drones can take scientists to strange new places—like inside whale snot

Remote-controlled robots make data more accessible and are quickly becoming a desired tool in scientific research.

bears
AI

Facebook used billions of hashtagged Instagram photos to train its AI

Hashtags are actually useful for training computer vision systems.

America’s most populated areas lose 175,000 acres of tree cover every year
Climate Change

America’s most populated areas lose 175,000 acres of tree cover every year

People need trees, but they keep destroying them.

dna test
Science

Consumer DNA tests can’t tell you much, but they sure can get your relatives arrested

It's time to think about who has your data.

earth
Space

Yes, Earth’s magnetic poles can flip. But they probably won’t anytime soon.

But they might wobble.

Millennials don’t care about owning vehicles, so manufacturers are offering subscriptions
Vehicles

Millennials don’t care about owning vehicles, so manufacturers are offering subscriptions

Volvo, Porsche, BMW, and others are bundling a car with insurance, maintenance, and everything else.

Watch water droplets dance across a surface using electricity
Technology

Watch water droplets dance across a surface using electricity

Cool things happen when you control water with a computer.

How Popular Science covered the Empire State Building’s 1931 opening
Engineering

How Popular Science covered the Empire State Building’s 1931 opening

'Robot Elevators to Serve 85,000'

New eco-friendly microbeads could save oceans, rather than destroy them
Ocean

New eco-friendly microbeads could save oceans, rather than destroy them

Researchers are working on designs to help sop up pollutants.

Everything you need to know from Facebook’s 2018 F8 developer conference
Technology

Everything you need to know from Facebook’s 2018 F8 developer conference

Mark Zuckerberg takes the stage to talk about Facebook's post-Cambridge Analytica future.

beagle lying on carpet
Psychology

A pet’s death can hurt more than losing a fellow human

Social norms are wrecking your grief experience.

NASA’s next mission will give us InSight into Mars’ interior
Mars

NASA’s next mission will give us InSight into Mars’ interior

InSight is blasting off this week.

a degraded coral reef
Ocean

A healthy reef is alive with music, but the chorus fades as the coral dies.

It's bad news for fish when their homes go quiet.

We’re finally understanding why exercise is great for your heart
Heart Disease

We’re finally understanding why exercise is great for your heart

Another reason you should make yourself a frequent gym visitor

This butterfly’s transparent wings could one day save people’s vision
Insects

This butterfly’s transparent wings could one day save people’s vision

See it with butterfly wings.

And now, a ship that can mine 39,000 tons of ore from a mile under water
Military

And now, a ship that can mine 39,000 tons of ore from a mile under water

There are giant robots involved.