University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Diesel Smells Sweet!
Fess up. Faced with the morning craving for caffeine, do you, with trembling hand, pour that first delicious, nutritious cuppa joe, and then just trasho the soggy coffee grounds?
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Edward Teller
The "Father of the hydrogen bomb" is dead. But Edward Teller did more than design nuclear weapons -- he also fought arms control and pushed missile defense. What did Teller invent? Did he make us safer?
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Blast Protection: A New Approach
With the weekly attacks on U.S. soldiers in Iraq surpassing 600, roadside bombs remain the weapon of choice for Iraqis intent on killing Americans. But beyond protecting soldiers on the ground, the U.S. military is also concerned about...
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Electronic Eye Is Biological Eye
Lenses make a distorted image on the back of a camera, especially at the edge. A revolutionary camera eliminates distortion with a curved light detector.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Got a Jones for Indiana Jones?
Archeologists use radar, magnetic, electrical sensors to see through the ground, find where to dig, sonar, ground-penetrating radar.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: A Climate of Extremes
Higher temperatures are only part of the climate-change forecast. Are current extreme weather events a sign that warming is already here? What do climate models forecast for weather around the globe? Why is it so hard to predict the...
![The Why Files: Weather [More Data + More Computers = Better Forecasts] Unit Plan](https://content.lessonplanet.com/knovation/original/175687-fcb720f3284fa4d03535a4cac27b5ec1.jpg?1661787482 "The Why Files: Weather [More Data + More Computers = Better Forecasts] Unit Plan")
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Weather [More Data + More Computers = Better Forecasts]
Weather forecasters are gathering new data to improve forecast accuracy, but already, forecasts outside the summer season are highly accurate. What new technologies are being put into place to improve forecast accuracy, especially for...
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Pop Goes the Super Supernova
Small stars can hang around for billions of years and slowly fade away, but large stars have a spectacular way to wave goodbye. When a large star collapses, it can start a new round of nuclear fusion that powers an explosion called a...
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: How a Fruit Fly Flies
If you can get past the annoyance factor at the cloud of fruit flies swarming above your superannuated cantaloupe or peach you may wonder how the little devils do it. Fly, that is!
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Secrets of the Sidewinder
By now, we know about robots that roll, fly, swim and walk, insect-like, on six legs. But a robot that climbs a sandy hill in the fashion of the sidewinder rattlesnake? What?
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Oceans' True Boundaries and "Garbage Patches"
A deep look at ocean circulation returns a surprise: Currents transport water - and non-degradable, floating plastic - between the ocean basins. Thus, some of the plastic in the South Atlantic "garbage gyre" was actually thrown away in...
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: On the Wing: Birds, Skeeters, Jet Planes
Evolution through natural selection governs the "design" of flying creatures. Engineers design flying machines. But flying is about physics, and physics is the ultimate arbiter of both processes, and that produces parallels in mechanical...
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: This Just In! Sand Dunes Are Cruising on Mars!
New pix from Mars show sand dunes on the move. Mars has been dry for 1.5 billion years; could massive erosion be due to wind?
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: The Known Universe Requires Black Holes!
Models of star formation don't match the true star number. Now see how the black hole restrains news stars so everything adds up.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Eating Organic? Roaches Disdain Key "Junk Food" Sweetener
An extermination trick that married insecticide with sugar worked for a while - but then suddenly lost its power against roaches. Now science tells us why.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: First Animal Ancestor Discovered in Deep Mud
Two billion years ago, we share a common ancestor with this new-found relative. Is this our origin?
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Flying South for the Winter?
A look at long-distance migration reveals a surprising pattern. Migration did not originate in the tropics, home to bird diversity.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Science Behind the News
The Why? Files from the University of Wisconsin explains the science behind the news. The website, tackling issues in news headlines, provides a good mix of information and interactivity that takes the "chore" out of learning.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Pitching the Biomechanics
The fate of baseball teams valued at millions of dollars and followed by millions of rabid fans can come down to the elbow and shoulders of their pitchers. What can biomechanics contribute to the team?
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Olympics: Science of the Sporting Life
When the Winter Olympics begin we can study the science of sports: biomechanics, figure skating, high jumping, mental preparation, alcohol and athletes, sports doctors, staleness, and training in the ancient Olympics.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Honeybees Getting Lost?
As colony collapse disorder continues to attack honeybee hives, a new study shows that a common insecticide interferes with their return flights.