Experiments
Onnes and the Discovery of Superconductivity (1911)
On April 8, 1911, Kamerlingh Onnes watched the resistance of mercury vanish in liquid helium. How the experiment worked and why it surprised him.
mercury
4 articles tagged with #mercury
Space
Mercury Explained: Iron Core, Polar Ice, Odd Orbit
Mercury has an oversized iron core, ice at its poles, and a day longer than its year. What MESSENGER found and what BepiColombo is due to do in November 2026.
Space
What Is Tidal Locking? How Gravity Synchronizes Worlds
Tidal locking happens when a body's rotation period equals its orbital period, so one face always points at its partner. The Moon is locked to Earth, Mercury is caught in a 3:2 resonance instead, and many planets around red dwarf stars are probably locked to their stars.