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 ...

We tend not to dwell on the fact that we exist in three dimensions. Forwards-back, left-right, up-down; these are the axes on which we navigate the world. When we try to imagine something else, it ...

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 ...

Discover the simple experiment that transformed our understanding of physics and why its insights still influence science today. Surprisingly, you can even try a version of it at home with basic ...