Energy, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 18, 2023

Chernobyl: The world's worst nuclear disaster

In the early morning hours of April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (formerly part of the Soviet Union) exploded, creating what many consider the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever seen. Even after many years of scientific research and government investigation, there are still many...

Jul 19, 2023

What is fission?

Fission is the process by which an atom splits in two. Fission can occur spontaneously, via natural decay, or through controlled chain reactions initiated by people. Either way, the process releases a tremendous amount of energy. Nuclear power plants harness this awesome power, but so do nuclear bombs, and there...

Feb 8, 2024

Nuclear fusion reactor in UK sets new world record for energy output

A nuclear reactor in the U.K. has just broken a new fusion record. In a news conference today (Feb. 8), representatives from the Joint European Torus (JET) facility declared that the reactor's final tests yielded 69.26 megajoules of heat from just 0.21 milligrams of fuel — the equivalent of burning...

Jun 10, 2010

How Big Is the Gulf Oil Leak?

The size of the Gulf Oil leak increases every day, as do estimates of how quickly the oil is escaping into the sea. At this point, any statistics about the scale of the leak have grown so incomprehensibly large that they blunt any visceral understanding about the magnitude of the...

Jun 10, 2010

Treated Cotton Could Help Fight Gulf Oil Spill

Cotton sheets soaked in a secret chemical have the ability to literally grab and transport oil from water, according to new research that could aid the Gulf oil spill cleanup efforts. Unlike current oil containment materials, the treated fabric can both admit water and repel oil, allowing it to act...

Jun 22, 2010

A Vegetable Oil for the Future?

Scientists have successfully found a way to produce an entirely new kind of vegetable oil. Rare in nature and combining properties that don’t usually go together, the oil is made from acetyl glycerides and could lead to applications like a very low-calorie cooking oil and a biofuel that can go...

Jun 22, 2010

Oil Slick a Mess of Swirls in Satellite Photo

A new satellite image reveals swirls of oil spreading northeast from the leaking Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil appears as a maze of silvery-gray ribbons in the photo-like image taken on Saturday, June 19, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite....

Jun 30, 2010

Open the Floodgates: Mighty Mississippi May Fight Oil Slick

Oil has hit the fragile Gulf coast wetlands. To fight it, the mighty Mississippi River must get even mightier, scientists suggest. The battle plan is simple: Open the floodgates on the Mississippi River leg that runs through New Orleans and the rushing water will block the BP Deepwater Horizon oil...

Jul 2, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill Update: Just the Facts

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is in its third month with no end in sight. Here's where things stand now in the Gulf of Mexico. How much oil is still gushing? No one knows exactly how much oil is escaping BP's oil collection system (series of pipes drawing oil from...

Jul 19, 2010

Natural Oil Seeps in the Gulf Make BP's Task Even Harder

BP executives and government representatives are acknowledging that oil is now seeping from the sea floor near the original leak caused by the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion. But whether the leak is a result of the well that BP claims it has successfully capped or a natural oil...

Jul 29, 2010

What Will Happen During the Next 100 Days of the Oil Spill?

Exactly 100 days after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig sent an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 barrels of oil per day gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, officials say engineers are on the cusp of completing a final plug on the well. But scientists say it could...

Sep 2, 2010

Oily Sheen Spotted Near Burning Gulf Oil Platform

Editor's Note: As of Friday, Sept. 3, Coast Guard officials have said no oil could be seen on the water near the Mariner Energy platform, contradicting an earlier report. An oil platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in U.S. Coast Guard helicopters rescuing 13 people from the water....

Sep 2, 2010

Why Is So Much Oil In the Gulf of Mexico?

An explosion on the Mariner Energy oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico is the latest in a series of drilling-related disasters in the Gulf. Why exactly are all these companies drilling in the Gulf, and where did all that oil come from anyway? Oil, the lifeblood of U.S. transportation...

Sep 3, 2010

Sizing Up Oil Drilling Rigs in the Gulf

The Mariner Engery oil platform that erupted into flames in the Gulf Thursday has reportedly taken no lives, with all crew workers rescued and no signs of a leak. Even so, the accident, on the heels of the months-long Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, has sparked lots of talk on the dangers...

Sep 21, 2010

Degraded Oil From BP Spill Coats Gulf Seafloor

NEW YORK - Now that BP's Deepwater Horizon oil well has been sealed, the long, hard work of assessing the damage begins even as the oil is dispersing throughout the Gulf. A research team from Columbia University in New York returned this past weekend (Sept. 17 to 19) from a...