The Conversation

Why does a rocket have to go 25,000 mph to escape Earth?

Written by Benjamin L. Emerson, Principal Research Engineer, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with its Crew Dragon capsule launches from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in January 2024.Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Why does a rocket have to go 25,000 mph (about...

From watts to warheads: Secretary of energy oversees big science research and the US nuclear arsenal

Written by Valerie Thomas, Professor of Industrial Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

The Energy Department recently finished modernizing the B61-12 nuclear bomb, extending its service life by at least 20 years.Devan Halstead, U.S. Air Force

The U.S. Department of Energy was created in 1977 by merging two agencies with different missions: the Atomic Energy Commission, which developed, tested and maintained the nation’s...

Secretary of defense must perform a ‘delicate dance’ between the president, Congress and the public

Written by Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director, McCain Institute, Arizona State University

The U.S. military is a massive group effort serving the nation's -- and the public's -- interests.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Senate confirmation hearings are slated to begin on Jan. 14, 2025, for Pete Hegseth, whom President-elect Donald Trump has chosen to serve as the next secretary of defense. It’s a massive job, broadly affecting...

Wildfires can contaminate drinking water systems with harmful chemicals − here’s what Los Angeles needs to know

Written by Andrew J. Whelton, Professor of Civil, Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Purdue University

Water runs from a pipe where a home once stood in the Pacific Palisades community of Los Angeles in January 2025. Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images

The wildfires in the Los Angeles area have destroyed thousands of structures, many of them homes, and firefighters continue to battle the infernos. Parts of Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena and other...

Philly sports fans consider themselves ‘gritty’ − but it’s merely a myth used to fuel their passion

Written by Timothy J. Brown, Professor of Communication Studies, Eastern University

Philly sports fans ... rowdy or rude?Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Philadelphia sports fans like to think of themselves as “gritty.”

In Philadelphia, grittiness can be defined as a working-class ideology that thrives on being the “underdog” and emphasizes toughness, hard work, physicality and a combative...

An eye for an eye: People agree about the values of body parts across cultures and eras

Written by Yunsuh Nike Wee, Ph.D. Student in Experimental Psychology, Oklahoma State University

These values seem due more to shared intuitions than local customs or social practices.arturbo/E+ via Getty Images

The Bible’s lex talionis – “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (Exodus 21:24-27) – has captured the human imagination for millennia. This idea of fairness has been a model for...

How the EPA administrator protects public health, air, water and the environment

Written by Stan Meiburg, Executive Director, Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability, Wake Forest University

An EPA-sponsored cleanup of toxic waste from the Gowanus Canal, a Superfund site in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2016.Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

From the time you get up in the morning until you go to bed at night, and even while you are asleep, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency affects your life. The air you breathe, the water you...

With more Americans able to access legalized marijuana, fewer are picking up prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications – new research

Written by Ashley Bradford, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology

New research suggests that in some states, medicinal cannabis use could be leading to a reduction in the use of anxiety medications.Olena Ruban/Moment via Getty Images

In states where both medical and recreational marijuana are legal, fewer patients are filling prescriptions for medications used to treat anxiety. That is the key finding of my...

Even 1 drink a day elevates your cancer risk – an expert on how alcohol affects the body breaks down a new government report

Written by Nikki Crowley, Assistant Professor of Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology, Penn State

The Surgeon General's report links alcohol to 100,000 cancer cases every year.Lord Henri Voton/E+ via Getty Images

Many people use the new year to reflect on their relationship with alcohol. Just-released government guidelines are giving Americans another reason to consider a “dry January.”

Over the past few decades, mounting scientific...

Funding public schools based on enrollment in the previous year may help keep their budgets more stable, research shows

Written by Angie Nga Le, Postdoctoral Associate in Public Policy and Public Finance, Rutgers University

Arizona public school teachers have been fighting for more funding for schools. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Funding for public K-12 schools in the U.S. is based on enrollment. More students mean more money. In 31 states, public schools use the previous year’s enrollment numbers to determine the current year’s funding, which makes it...