57 results for “matter”
Space & the Universe
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
matter is not Dark matter is not simply ordinary stuff that happens to be dim. Astronomers
Article · 3 min read
The Human Body
Muscles
matters, or thousands, in the thigh where power matters. The brain does not think about individual
Article · 4 min read
Matter, Energy & Physics
Atoms
matter filling space but from the electric repulsion between the electron clouds of its atoms and those
Article · 4 min read
Space & the Universe
The Big Bang
matter, protons and neutrons, to exist without being torn apart. Matter and antimatter had been created
Article · 4 min read
Matter, Energy & Physics
Electricity and Magnetism
Matter is made of atoms, and atoms contain charged particles: positive protons in the nucleus and negative
Article · 4 min read
Matter, Energy & Physics
Energy and Heat
matter corresponds to a vast amount of energy, which is why the Sun can shine for ten billion
Article · 4 min read
Chemistry
Acids and Bases
matters in your body and the oceans. Bite into a lemon and your face scrunches up. Rub soapy
Article · 3 min read
Matter, Energy & Physics
Light
matter how you move. Waves Light is an electromagnetic wave, a ripple in electric and magnetic
Article · 4 min read
Matter, Energy & Physics
The Periodic Table
matters The periodic table is a map of everything matter can be made of. It tells
Article · 4 min read
Life & Biology
Ecosystems and Food Webs
Matter goes round and round. Chains and webs A food chain is the simple version: grass
Article · 4 min read
Animals
Mammals
matter to biologists: a single lower jawbone, three tiny bones in the middle ear that evolved
Article · 4 min read
Planet Earth
Weather and Climate
matters Weather decides the harvest, the flood, the water supply and the day's plans. Climate
Article · 4 min read
Chemistry
Water: The Strangest Ordinary Substance
matters enormously. When a lake freezes in winter, the ice forms a lid on top that
Article · 3 min read
Animals
Animal Migration
matters more than anyone expected. Salmon imprint on the chemical signature of their home stream as young
Article · 4 min read
Life & Biology
Bacteria and Viruses
matter most to us: bacteria, which are alive, and viruses, which may not be. Bacteria A bacterium
Article · 4 min read
Matter, Energy & Physics
Gravity
matter, physics has no working theory at all. Why gravity is so much weaker than the other
Article · 4 min read
Plants & Fungi
Carnivorous Plants
matters Carnivorous plants show that the division between plants and animals is a matter of habit
Article · 4 min read
Planets & the Solar System
Jupiter
matters Jupiter's gravity has shaped everything else. During the solar system's formation it stirred
Article · 3 min read
Planets & the Solar System
The Moon
matters The Moon is Earth's archive. Its ancient surface records the bombardment that shaped our planet
Article · 4 min read
Life & Biology
Dinosaurs and Mass Extinctions
matters The fossil record shows that dominance is temporary and that catastrophe is a normal part
Article · 3 min read
Planets & the Solar System
Mercury and Venus
matters Venus is the clearest warning in the solar system of what a runaway greenhouse effect
Article · 3 min read
Planet Earth
Rocks, Minerals and Fossils
matters Rocks are the only record of the deep past. They tell us when oxygen first
Article · 4 min read
Planets & the Solar System
Comets, Asteroids and Pluto
matters Asteroids and comets are the most primitive material in the solar system, unaltered since before
Article · 4 min read
Space & the Universe
Galaxies and the Milky Way
matter, invisible but holding the whole structure together with its gravity. Counting the stars Nobody knows
Article · 4 min read
Space & the Universe
Exoplanets: Worlds Around Other Stars
matters as much as distance. Sniffing alien air When a planet transits its star, a little
Article · 3 min read
The Human Body
Digestion
matters Digestion is where the outside world becomes you. Every protein in your muscles, every cell
Article · 4 min read
The Human Body
The Skeleton and Bones
matters Without a skeleton you would be a puddle. Bones hold you upright, let muscles move
Article · 5 min read
Plants & Fungi
Photosynthesis: How Plants Eat Light
matters Photosynthesis is the gateway through which the Sun's energy enters the living world. Every
Article · 3 min read
Planet Earth
Plate Tectonics and Earthquakes
matters Plate tectonics is not just the cause of disasters. It built every mountain range, shaped
Article · 4 min read
Life & Biology
Evolution
matters Evolution is the central idea of biology, the reason the living world makes sense. It explains
Article · 4 min read
The Human Body
The Immune System
matters You are alive because of a defence you never see. Every day it destroys invaders
Article · 4 min read
Plants & Fungi
Fungi
matter and the cycle of life would stall. The same ability makes them troublesome. Fungi rot timber
Article · 4 min read
Space & the Universe
The Life of a Star
matters The early universe made only hydrogen, helium and a little lithium. Everything else, the carbon
Article · 3 min read
Planet Earth
Volcanoes
matters Volcanoes destroy, but they also create. They built the Hawaiian islands, Iceland and Japan from
Article · 4 min read
The Human Body
The Brain
matters for learning. Memories are reconstructed each time they are recalled, and they change a little
Article · 4 min read
Life & Biology
DNA and Genes
matters DNA is the thread connecting everything alive. Your genome records your ancestry, your relatedness to every
Article · 4 min read
Matter, Energy & Physics
The Quantum World
matters Whatever it means, it works. Transistors, lasers, LEDs, solar cells, MRI scanners, atomic clocks and the GPS that
Article · 4 min read
Plants & Fungi
Flowers and Pollination
matters Flowers are the reason the land is colourful, the reason there is fruit, and a large
Article · 4 min read
Plants & Fungi
Seeds
matters A seed is the simplest and most effective means ever devised for a living thing
Article · 4 min read
Plants & Fungi
Trees and Forests
matters Trees made the land habitable. They built the soils, steadied the water cycle, sheltered most
Article · 4 min read
Planets & the Solar System
Saturn
matters The Cassini mission orbited Saturn for thirteen years and ended in 2017 by plunging into
Article · 4 min read
Animals
The Octopus
matters Intelligence, we used to assume, needed a backbone, a long life, a social group and parents
Article · 3 min read
Planets & the Solar System
The Sun
matters Nearly every form of energy on Earth is sunlight in disguise. Plants capture it; animals
Article · 4 min read
Planets & the Solar System
Uranus and Neptune
matters Among the thousands of planets discovered around other stars, worlds of Neptune's size are far more
Article · 4 min read
Animals
Whales and Dolphins
matters Whales fertilise the oceans, bringing nutrients from the depths to the surface in their waste
Article · 4 min read
Planet Earth
The Atmosphere
matters The atmosphere keeps the surface about 33 degrees warmer than it would otherwise be, through
Article · 4 min read
The Human Body
The Senses
matters The senses define the world you can know. They are also limited and selective: you cannot
Article · 4 min read
Space & the Universe
Nebulae
matters Nebulae are the recycling plants of the galaxy. Dying stars return their gas, now enriched
Article · 3 min read
Animals
Reptiles and Amphibians
matters Reptiles and amphibians are a living record of how life moved from water to land
Article · 3 min read
Chemistry
Chemical Reactions
matters Chemical reactions run the world. They power engines and bodies, make medicines, plastics, fertilisers and steel
Article · 3 min read
Chemistry
The Chemistry of Life
matters These four families explain nutrition, medicine and much of biology. A balanced diet supplies the carbohydrates
Article · 3 min read
Animals
Sharks
matters Sharks sit at the top of ocean food webs, and removing them has consequences all the way down
Article · 3 min read
The Human Body
Lungs and Breathing
matters Breathing is the fastest link between you and the world outside. Food can wait days
Article · 4 min read
Animals
Birds
matters Birds pollinate plants, spread seeds, eat crop pests by the billion and clean up carrion
Article · 3 min read
The Human Body
The Heart and Blood
matters Every cell you have depends on the blood arriving within seconds of when it is needed
Article · 4 min read
Planet Earth
Inside the Earth
matters Everything on the surface depends on the interior. The mantle's slow churning builds continents
Article · 4 min read
Matter, Energy & Physics
Sound
matters Sound lets us talk, make music and sense danger. Understanding it has given us telephones
Article · 3 min read
