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Why a microwave leaves cold spots: a standing wave 12.2 cm long, and a chocolate bar that measures the speed of light
Microwave ovens fill a metal box with radio waves 12.2 cm long. The waves bounce off the walls and add up into a standing wave, a frozen pattern of hot spots…
How chameleons change colour: they stretch a mirror made of crystals
A chameleon doesn't change colour by mixing pigments. Under its skin sit cells packed with tiny guanine crystals, arranged in a lattice that works like a…
Why the sky is blue and sunsets are red: it's the same light
The blue sky and the red sunset are the same effect, seen from two angles. Air molecules scatter short, blue wavelengths far more than long, red ones: about…