* that's a big, fat "might"
Two desktop-printer engineers quit their jobs to search for the ultimate source of endless energy: nuclear fusion. Could this highly improbable enterprise actually succeed?
Careers: Physics researcher, nuclear engineer
Six years' worth of incredible places.
Last October, Iceland's economy tanked. Its bailout? A two-mile geothermal well drilled into a volcano that could generate an endless supply of clean energy. Or, as Icelanders will calmly explain, it could all blow up in their faces
In a highlight of last week's conference, Gates calls for zero emissions and agrees with Obama: We need nukes
Everything you need to know about the hottest topic in medicine, from big-league breakthroughs and new therapies to emerging health risks and the patients willing to take them
While their peers worry about zits, these rising young stars are designing lunar bioreactors and new cancer drugs. What did you accomplish before turning 18? Meet our eight future Edisons here
Several of Japan's nuclear power plants are experiencing serious damage from the earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Here's what you need to know to understand the news, as it happens
These elite nuclear divers are risking their lives to help save a troubled industry.
Nuclear power is the most efficient emissions-free energy available. But can it be made safe? Two new reactor designs do just that
It's the ultimate nightmare: a nuclear attack in the U.S. masterminded by terrorists. Here's how that could happen-- and how we can prevent it
Six Generation III+ reactors set for the U.S.
Taylor Wilson always dreamed of creating a star. Now he's become one
And how to mutate plant seeds using radiation
A reactor ten times smaller than any online today is cheaper, but still lacks interested customers
To rescue the Earth, we need bold engineering ideas that go beyond simple recycling
As nations around the world rush to reconsider their nuclear plans, nuclear experts look toward a future of smaller, safer reactors designed to greatly reduce the likelihood of a Fukushima-sized catastrophe
Scientists hope to build an experimental fusion reactor
Shock Trauma photo gallery, by Popular Science staff photographer John B. Carnett
Rossi--a lone Italian inventor with no real credentials and a history as a convicted scam artist--has convinced a small army of researchers that his box can harness a new type of nuclear reaction. What if they're right?
Forget algebra homework: try building spaceships, operating a nuclear reactor or listening in to distant galaxies
Lawmakers look to new nuke plants to fuel the coming hydrogen economy.
As helicopters drop tons of water on the fuel rods, a U.S. Global Hawk drone monitors the situation from above
Are nuclear disasters the new normal?
Safer, smaller nuclear reactors have amassed a powerful cult following
Aliens, man. If we would only listen to them, the world would be a better place.
A nuclear reactor leak, decoded dinosaur proteins, and swine flu?! The news gods have smiled on this blogger
Nuclear energy is looking like it will be a big part of a fossil-fuel-free future in the U.S. But the big question remains as big as ever: What's to be done with the waste it generates?
A former spy's excruciating death by radiation poisoning marks the beginning of an era of high-tech hit men who can kill from anywhere
The first reactor-on-a-barge will bring power to Russia’s electricity-starved Arctic
The first of their kind used for commercial energy generation
Joseph Longo's Plasma Converter turns our most vile and toxic trash into clean energy—and promises to make a relic of the landfill
We'll get a vaccine for addiction, debate the future of nuclear power, use new tech to take on water shortages, and-just maybe-find an extra dimension or two. Happy New Year
Sixty years ago today, the U.S. detonated the first hydrogen bomb. Here's how we got there. Plus, the atomic spaceship we're still waiting for.
Many machines over the past 60 years have been billed as the one that will make the big breakthrough in fusion science, only to stumble. This one could be different.
The reactor's makeshift tomb was only supposed to last until 2001
Scientists invent a uranium-eating molecule that could help turn nuclear junk into fuel
The most complex machines ever built don't just hunt for obscure subatomic bits
Ten students who are improving MRIs, cancer treatments and human-robot interaction--between classes, of course
Self-repairing computers! Electronic skin! Bat-wing planes! A look at the amazing stuff that's changing the world.
What would you use to keep next-generation nuclear reactors cool? If you said highly reactive molten sodium, take a bow
As an American fusion project gets ready to fire up, the European one reels from reduced funding and ambition
Not your rainy afternoon trip to the science museum
A word with the nation's biggest petascale supercomputer
A long-forgotten physics paper holds the secret
A solar disaster isn't a question of if, but when--and it looks like soon
The curious history of mankind's most vital resource. No, not oil.
A muscle-numbing magic wand protects cops and citizens, Jedi-style
The tastiest images from around the web
But the hybrid girl raises more questions than she answers.
Energy officials argue for a new breed of reactors that run on recycled radioactive fuel
Scientists cast doubt over the Pentagon's plan to build a new nuclear bunker buster
Astronomy: Timothy Ferris eyes the amateur asteroid-watchers.
This is definitely not TSA compliant.
Findings complicate debates over nuclear reactors, GM crops
For some, the eclipse looked a lot like Pac-Man
The next big breakthrough in synthetic biology just might come from an amateur scientist
Tests in mice show potential for reversing the slowdown in learning that comes with puberty
Ten amazing projects built by teens.
A space rock detonated into flames and smoke over western Russia Friday during the region's morning commute, ultimately smashing into a factory.
Why would a petro-state erect a solar-powered eco-metropolis in the middle of the Arabian desert? To change the world.
A state-by-state breakdown of policies that could change your community.
Our editors are back with more bizarre facts for season two.
Whatever did happen to yesterday's beloved technologies of tomorrow?
Massive space rocks hurtle past Earth with frightening regularity. Some scientists want to deflect them. Others want to drag one closer.
Jellyfish invasions, Internet auctions, god particles: Read about the year's biggest science stories before they happen. Bonus: How to decipher geeky jargon and when to buy a DeLorean
The History of Popular Science
Since 2000, the government has tried to help democracy go digital. But is it working?
It takes real proof to back up even the simplest theories--these 10 studies show that the obvious can have not-so-obvious implications
It might seem silly to investigate whether people are happier on the weekend, but behind such truisms are revelations about our brains, our behavior and our environment. Here we round up the year's most outwardly obvious scientific studies
Sometimes our biggest fear is not knowing what to fear most. Fortunately, the weird science of risk analysis can teach us to judge better and fear smarter
A look at tomorrow's turbines
In Kenya, two new varieties of wheat are resistant to a fungus that defeated even Norman Borlaug's resistant plants.
Addressing the American Geophysical Union, James Hansen urges fellow scientists to study, share facts on nuclear energy
Awesomely terrifying, or terrifyingly awesome?
It's not the best time to be a pangolin.
The effects of Chernobyl are still being felt 28 years later
Longest-lasting lightning bolt also measured
Stories from the coolest day jobs in the world.
It's time to talk about informed consent.
