Science Facts for Kids
Mind-blowing science facts
Glass is classified as an amorphous solid — its molecules are arranged randomly like a liquid rather than in a regular crystal pattern. It forms when silica is melted and then cooled too quickly to crystallise.
Humans share about 50% of their DNA with bananas, because all living things share many of the same fundamental genes needed for basic cellular functions.
Lightning strikes the Earth about 100 times every second — that is around 8 million lightning bolts every day. The energy in a single bolt could power a 60-watt light bulb for several months.
The nucleus of an atom is held together by the strong nuclear force, which is the most powerful force in nature. It is what is released in a nuclear explosion or harnessed in a nuclear power station.
Diamonds and the graphite in pencil lead are both made entirely of carbon — the difference is how the carbon atoms are arranged. In diamonds, they form a rigid lattice; in graphite, flat sheets that slide apart.
In perfect darkness, the human eye can detect a single photon of light — the smallest possible unit of light. The brain filters out most of these signals to avoid unnecessary visual noise.
White light is a mixture of all the colours of the visible spectrum. When white light passes through a prism, it separates into a rainbow because different colours bend at slightly different angles.
The human body emits a very faint glow of light — about 1,000 times too dim to see with the naked eye — as a result of chemical reactions inside cells. This is called biophoton emission.
If you cut a magnet in half, each half immediately becomes its own magnet with a north and south pole. You can never isolate a single magnetic pole — a phenomenon called magnetic monopole that has never been found.
Carbon dioxide is about 1.5 times heavier than air, which is why it sinks and can accumulate at ground level in poorly ventilated spaces, and why dry ice fog creeps along the floor.