Researchers have uncovered friction without contact—driven entirely by magnetic interactions. As two magnetic layers slide, ...

Explore 25 science experiments that defied the laws of physics, revealing mind-bending phenomena that challenge intuition.

Researchers at the University of Konstanz have uncovered a new mechanism of sliding friction: resistance to motion that ...

The best part about living in Vermont is that we get to experience all of the seasons. Sometimes cool weather appears out of nowhere and we don’t have the proper attire so we rub our hands together to ...

The relationship between friction and load, quantified three centuries ago, has an exception when the interaction causes magnetic realignment. The discovery won’t let you off the hook when dragging ...

Dumping literal tons of hot volcanic material down a lab flume may finally have revealed how searing mixtures of hot gas and rock travel so far from volcanic eruptions. These pyroclastic flows can ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...