All posts by Rachel Keatley
How Does This Lip Gloss Appear to Defy Gravity?
We attempt to explain a mysterious, gravity-defying phenomenon involving a viral video, dielectric materials, electrostatics, and lip gloss.
Happy Birthday, Arne Tiselius
The “Tiselius Apparatus” could help determine the isoelectric point, molecular weight, and physical properties of proteins. Learn about the “Father of Electrophoresis” and his accomplishments.
Exploring the 4 Basic Modes of Electrophoresis
Zone electrophoresis, moving-boundary electrophoresis, isotachophoresis, and isoelectric focusing. In most cases, the physics of new electrophoretic methods can be related back to these 4 modes.
What Is the Best Way to Analyze Fuel Tank Vibration?
In a traditional approach for modeling a fuel tank, the fluid mass is dispersed through the tank’s wetted surface. A multiphysics method specifically models the acoustic pressure in the fluid.
Happy Birthday, Alice Ball
Alice Ball studied the chemical makeup of chaulmoogra oil to develop a treatment for leprosy. She is also the first African American, and first woman, to graduate from the University of Hawaii.
3 Important Animals of Science from Throughout History
What do a bunny, mouse, and part-Samoyed terrier have in common? We discuss these 3 noteworthy yet unlikely characters from the history of scientific research…
Why Is My Coffee Maker Smiling at Me? Pareidolia Examined
A coffee maker smiles at you. A mop looks grumpy. The side of a building looks surprised. The phenomenon of seeing faces in inanimate objects, pareidolia, is more common than you might think…
Happy Birthday, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
In 1925, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin made a revolutionary discovery about hydrogen that unfortunately wasn’t believed at the time. This didn’t stop her from breaking new ground in astronomy.