Interesting Science Facts

A lot of what we see and experience today are the results of countless scientific researches. Even at this exact moment, more developments and advancements are taking place.

Researchers’ ceaseless effort in their respective disciplines has led to discovery of new things and scientific breakthroughs every day. Their endeavor has helped us expand our wisdom and understand things as they happen and positively affected our way of living.

9. Aerogel is the Lightest Solid Known to Man, and it’s 99.8 Percent Air

Aerogel (aka frozen smoke, solid smoke, or solid air ) is the material with the lowest density in which 99.8 percent of the volume is empty space. This means that even if you held it, you would hardly be able to see it or feel it. Aerogel has excellent insulating properties and it can withstand heat transmitted through conduction, convection or radiation. It is also incredibly compression resistant: it can hold thousands of times its own weight without damage.

8. The Amount of Friction Between a Shoe, a Banana Skin and the Floor is 0.07. This Explains Why Banana Skin is So Slippery

Japanese scientists once measured the coefficient of friction between the banana and the shoe’s surface, and it was found to be 0.07. In case you didn’t know what the coefficient of friction is – it’s a value for for one surface rubbed against another. Higher the coefficient of friction means higher the friction between two surfaces, and vice-versa.

So if you see a banana peel on the floor, how concerned should you be? Well, very. Because the presence of a banana peel lowers the friction between the shoe and the floor by about one-sixth, and if you step on it, you will most likely slip. It is also found that polysaccharide follicular gel is responsible for causing the lubricating effect of the banana peel. Now no more joke about slipping on a banana peel, you know how much it could be true.

7. In the year 1006, there was a supernova, which was bright enough to cast shadows, and was visible during a day for weeks

Supernova SN 1006 (7200 light-years away from Earth) was the brightest stellar explosion ever recorded on Earth. Appearing between April 30 and May 1 of the year 1006, this spectacular light show was bright enough to cast shadows, and was visible during daytime for weeks. Researchers say the supernova of 1006 (SN 1006) occurred as a result of collision and merger of two white dwarfs of similar mass.

6. Bats Aren’t Blind. They Use Echolocation To “See” Everything, But Color

Echolocation is the process by which certain animals navigate, find foods and detect obstacles by sending soundwaves off of them, then analyzing the echoes bounced off from the objects to measure how far or how big the object is.

Bats are perfect echolocators. Just as how we understand what we see and hear, they can process every bit of information using echolocation. In other words, they can see everything but color, and identify obstacles as thin as a human hair in absolute darkness.

5. Scientists Can Make Diamonds Out Of Peanut Butter

Turning peanut butter into diamonds sounds like an impossible feat, but scientists at Edinburg University pulled it off with a technique that harnesses pressures higher than those at the core of the earth. The technique involved compressing the paste between tips of two diamonds; it resulted into an effect known as “stiletto heel effect” – and in turn, successfully created the peanut butter diamond. The same method can turn oxygen into red crystals.

4. Humans Have Stolen Roughly 145 Genes From Other Species

On a genetic level, we are not completely human. We have about 145 genes picked up from bacteria, worms and fruit flies through the process called Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT). These genes have not simply passed down from our primitive forebears; they have jumped directly into the human genomes hundreds of millions of years ago.

3. There’s A Capsule That Can Keep Us Alive Under Water Without Having To Breathe

The capsule in question is an oxygen-filled microparticle that consists of a single layer of lipids. Bubbles of oxygen gas are kept confined within this layer and arranged in such a way that they don’t get any bigger. Upon injecting directly into the bloodstream, capsules enter the red blood cells and transfer 70 percent of the oxygen to the cells.

2. 90 Percent Of All Scientists Who Have Ever Existed Are Alive Today

90 percent of all scientists who have ever lived are alive today, according to Eric Gastfriend. Considering each scientist is 27 years old when they acquire their doctoral degree, and 80 years old when they die, scientists from 1959-2012 are possibly alive today, and if you do the math, the figure will come close to 90 percent.

1. Youngest Person To Have Research Paper Published In A Peer Reviewed Journal Was Only 9

Emily Rosa, 9 at the time, executed a scientific study which ended up debunking the claim by Therapeutic Touch (TT) practitioners that they could detect and manipulate “Human Energy Field” (HEF) in order to diagnose and treat disease. The study got published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998, and Emily became the youngest person to have research results published.

The list may seem too short for now, but it does not end here. I will keep adding thousands and thousands more as I come across more appealing scientific facts, and as more breakthroughs take place.