Articles by

Rhett Allain

Why the Polar Vortex Is Bad for Balloon Artists

It's been crazy cold this week, even down where I live in Louisiana, thanks to an outbreak...

School of Rock: The Physics of Waves on Guitar Strings

Perhaps the most iconic instrument in modern rock is the guitar. It's really just a bunch of...

How to Measure the Impact From a Collision

A batter hits a baseball, NASCAR has a 21-car crash, or maybe Thor punches the Hulk. When...

Could a Cockroach Survive a Fall From Space?

I saw this post on Reddit: Would a cockroach survive a fall from the stratosphere? Oh, what...

How to Measure the Calories in a Candy Bar—With Physics!

This Halloween, when you grab a candy bar, pay attention to the wrapper. In the United States,...

The Physics of Faraday Cages

The world relies on electromagnetic waves for communications: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5G, even radio waves. But suppose you...

Which Spider-Man Is Stronger: Tobey Maguire or Tom Holland?

Although Spider-Man started as a comic book character, he has made his way to live-action video several...

Can You Really Pump Water Without Any Electricity?

I'm surprised at the number of YouTube and TikTok videos showing novel ways to pump water, but...