Sunday, November 01, 2009










(1) Which is worse in car crashes: crashes into shops, into walls, or into other cars, as in a head-on collision? Why would having a passenger in the car with you decrease your risk of fatality in a head-on collision?



(2) Worm grunting (which sounds terrible, doesn't it?) and the giant sandworms of Dune.



(3) The curtain of death in a meteor strike, and the crater hoax of last week.



(4) Pub trick of the month: the physics behind hanging spoons



(5) Article of the month: hydraulic jumps (shock waves in water flow), such as the one you have seen every day in your kitchen sink.