The Milky Way is the galaxy we live in, one of the countless collections of stars and dust throughout the universe. It’s a reality so basic, grade school kids learn it. But it wasn’t always so obvious. Just 100 years ago, the nature of the Milky Way — and the universe itself — was still …
Johannes Kepler published three laws of planetary motion, the first two in 1609 and the third in 1619. The laws were made possible by planetary data of unprecedented accuracy collected by Tycho Brahe. The laws were both a radical departure from the astronomical prejudices of the time and profound tools for predicting planetary motion with …
If you’ve ever shopped for a new computer or read computer reviews online, you may have heard of a graphics card, display card or video card. All of these terms refer to the same device: a specialized computer within the computer designed to speedily handle processing relating to drawing highly detailed, quickly updated video on …
Gold is a very soft, shiny metal. It is an extremely important material due to its physical properties. It possesses almost unlimited malleability and can be hammered into an extremely thin, almost transparent membrane or wire that is thinner than a human hair. Gold also has various useful physical properties, for example it is a …
Definition: Virtual reality has been notoriously difficult to define over the years. Many people take “virtual” to mean fake or unreal, and “reality” to refer to the real world. This results in an oxymoron. The actual definition of virtual, however, is “to have the effect of being such without actually being such”. The definition of …
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) comprises an array of nine radio telescopes around the world: in Chile, the United States, Mexico, France, Spain and Antarctica. By triangulating the data from each, the EHT works like one humongous radio dish, thousands of kilometres across. The signal will not be perfect, but should be enough to capture …
Machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning focuses on the development of computer programs that can access data and use it learn for themselves. The process of learning begins with observations or data, such as examples, direct …