What's new

Built more than 4500 years ago, you’d think there was nothing left to discover inside Cairo’s Great Pyramid of Giza. Think again. Scientists have recently discovered a new chamber deep in the heart of the tomb, all with the help of starlight.

Do you have friends from the United States? Have you ever found a recipe on the internet with ridiculously high oven temperatures? Do you have a grandparent (or great grandparent) who doesn’t like the ‘new’ way of measuring temperatures? You might need our quick guide to the Fahrenheit scale.

Time for an Easter trick! There are lots of eggs around at this time of year, but this one is sure to raise some eyebrows. And when you’re finished, you can get your parents to help you cook your green egg, so you can gross out your entire family!

Perched high atop a giant shiny dish, sits a strange top hat. This hat is filled with high pressure steam, and it’s the secret to efficient solar power that can work even after the Sun sets. Welcome to the world of concentrated thermal energy.

When you’re installing solar panels, it’s important to point them at the Sun. But the Sun isn’t always in the same place – it moves across the sky over the course of a day. If you can aim the panels towards the Sun as it moves, they can produce up to 40 per cent more power…

In the latest issue of Double Helix magazine, we feature solar powered cars racing from Darwin to Adelaide. They zoomed to the finish line last week. The winner is Dutch team Nuon with their car Nuna 8!

Written by Beth Askham Make your own climbing frog, using the power of friction. You will need A 20 cm x 20 cm piece of cardboard Two 5 cm long pieces of drinking straw String Sticky tape Scissors Coloured pens, pencils, crayons, paints or textas Other decorations What to do On your piece of cardboard…

2015 is the The International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies. To celebrate, we’re sharing some light-based articles and activities:

A big congratulations to Dhruv Verma from Victoria and Jackson Huang from Queensland, the two winners of this year’s BHP Billiton Science and Engineering Awards. Dhruv was recognised for his PROTEGO project, and Jackson for his investigation into heartburn medication alternatives.

Written by Beth Askham Researchers have made sticky hand pads that let you climb walls like Spiderman. Inspired by gecko feet, a research lab at Stanford University in America developed the climbing device. This technology recently allowed a person weighing 70 kilograms to climb a sheer glass wall. The team have also used the structure…