Now I get to do something with that force scale I built. I had a request some time ago to talk about friction. Friction is surprisingly complicated. When two surfaces rub against each other, why is ...

Beth Harris, a Raleigh mom and long-time science educator, returns with a fun and easy experiment where kids can test their strength with friction. Beth Harris, a Raleigh mom and long-time science ...

Say we consider a simple experiment of balancing a wooden rod on two fingers. The finger on the left, (1), will remain stationary, whereas the finger on the right, (2), will be moved toward the left.

The best part about living in Vermont is that we get to experience all of the seasons. Sometimes cool weather appears out of nowhere and we don’t have the proper attire so we rub our hands together to ...

There are people who can do truly amazing and fascinating experiments, and luckily for you, we created a list of 10 simple physics experiments with everyday materials to learn and impress your friends ...

Technological limitations have made studying friction on the atomic scale difficult, but researchers have now made advances in that quest on two fronts. By speeding up a real atomic force microscope ...

Physics, especially the part about forces and motion, often feels like a maze of confusing concepts and formulas. If you’ve ever stared at a problem about an object moving or a force acting and ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...