How a Computer Stores Information
Everything a computer holds is patterns of two states. The interesting part is not the binary, it is the ladder of storage types trading speed against size and cost.
Core science ideas explained step by step in plain language, assuming no prior knowledge.
Everything a computer holds is patterns of two states. The interesting part is not the binary, it is the ladder of storage types trading speed against size and cost.
A wing generates lift by pushing air downwards. The popular explanation involving air travelling further over the top is wrong, and the correct one is simpler than it sounds.
Plants build themselves out of air. Photosynthesis uses light energy to split water and attach the hydrogen to carbon dioxide, producing sugar and releasing oxygen as the leftovers.
DNA is a long molecule that stores instructions as a four-letter code. The code is copied when cells divide and read out in pieces when a cell needs to build something.
The internet is not a thing owned by anyone. It is thousands of separate networks that agreed to speak the same protocol, passing your data along in small packets that each find their own way.
A battery does not store electrons in a box. It stores two chemicals that want to react, and forces the electrons to take the long way round through your device.
Three rules cover most everyday motion: things keep doing what they are doing, force equals mass times acceleration, and every force comes in an equal and opposite pair.