Tom Hartsfield

Tom Hartsfield

Big Think Contributor

Tom Hartsfield is a PhD physicist. He lives in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
san josé
More than 300 years ago, a Spanish ship laden with unspeakable treasure sank after a battle. Because of greed, the treasure remains on the sea floor.
grenades
Before gunpowder was introduced to the West, medieval Arabs devised grenades using crockery.
Fire-retardant gels and slimes combine the best attributes of water and foam.
"The Soul of a New Machine" provides a rare level of insight into the minds and decisions of humanity's greatest thinkers.
A next-generation LHC++ could cost $100 billion. Here's why such a machine could end up being a massive waste of money.
experimental archaeology
Experimental archaeology is the practice of recreating past events using knowledge and tools available at the time. Sometimes, it involves elephants.
hyperloop
The Hyperloop is physically possible, but engineering challenges will make its construction very difficult. Also, accidents would be catastrophic.
But does Amazon know when you're tired or hungry?
anatoly fomenko
Searching for truth in unorthodox ways can be a valuable exercise. But Anatoly Fomenko's alternate world history is just plain weird.
ape sign language
The apes taught sign language didn't understand what they were doing. They were merely "aping" their caretakers.
nanofabricators
Nanofabricators could quickly synthesize whatever we need, molecule by molecule.
planet 9
Pluto failed to meet the definition of a planet, but some astronomers think there might be a legitimate Planet 9 out there.
The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter recently captured images that could help scientists better under the mysterious physics of our Sun.
gravitational waves
To study the origin of the Universe, we could build a constellation of six expensive spacecraft — or we could just use the Moon.
endurance
A famous explorer's doomed ship is finally found 107 years after it was lost to the Antarctic deep.
chernobyl radiation
The rhetorical fallout is greater than the radioactive fallout.
da vinci helicopter
Da Vinci dreamed up a helicopter 400 years before they actually existed. Now, engineers have brought his design to life, but with a twist.
5g airplanes
In general, 5G is not a threat to human health or activities, but there are some legitimate questions about interference with airplane instruments.
foamy beer
If you want to have foamy beer inside the comfort of your own home, you need to invest in a special nucleated glass.
battery
A century ago, electric cars were common. The fact that they were almost entirely replaced due to the internal combustion engine is a testament to the glacial pace of battery breakthroughs.