Ideas | Economics
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Chapter one
Bright Lights
Culture | Fiction
Beacon Bugs
Every 29 years, their light proves disastrous.
Ideas | Linguistics
20 Ways to See the Light
The meaning of light through history in science, religion, philosophy, and culture.
Matter | Astronomy
John Bahcall and the Hubble Telescope
Bringing the universe home.
Ideas | Philosophy
Flashback: Human Uniqueness
Shining a light on the spark that separates man from beast.
Ideas | Physics
Why Physicists Make Up Stories in the Dark
In unseen worlds, science invariably crosses paths with fantasy.
Chapter two
Sky Lights
Matter | Astronomy
Falling in Love With the Dark
One astronomer has taken to U.S. National Parks to rekindle an old romance.
Matter | Astronomy
The Billion-Dollar Telescope Race
How three groups are competing to make the first extremely large telescope.
Biology | Neuroscience
Why the U.S. Military Is Into Bee Brain Surgery
Bees might hold the secret to a new kind of nighttime navigation.
Culture | Earth Science
The Lightning Beneath Our Feet
The strange lights that occur before earthquakes may originate underground.
Matter | Astronomy
Looking for a Second Earth in the Shadows
Scientists are blocking out the light of distant suns to look for life.
Chapter three
Utility Lights
Matter | History
The Glassmaker Who Sparked Astrophysics
His curious discovery, 200 years ago, foresaw our expanding universe.
Biology | Health
Take Light, Not Drugs
How light therapy can treat disorders from depression to Alzheimer’s disease.
Biology | Animals
How Animals See the World
See through the eyes of cats, birds, fish, and snakes.
Matter | Technology
Lights, Camera, Acrimony!
Physicists and engineers face off over how to make room for more data.
Chapter four
The Light Within
Biology | Health
Losing His Sight, a Scientist Sees an End to a Deadly Disease
Bill Jacobs lights the way to better tuberculosis drugs.
Ideas | Astronomy
When the Sky Explained Everything
How ancient astronomy sowed the seeds for science and math.
Ideas | Astronomy
Ingenious: Edwin C. Krupp
“Astronomy is almost nothing but the story of light.”
Culture | Anthropology
Why Light Inspires Ritual
For Aboriginal cultures, light is a physical and spiritual guide.
Biology | Archaeology
Early Humans Made Animated Art
How Paleolithic artists used fire to set the world’s oldest art in motion.
Chapter five
The Spring 2014 Quarterly
Ideas
It’s Alive!
The Spring 2014 Quarterly has awakened.
Culture | Environment
The Men Who Planted Trees
In West Africa, a model for worldwide conservation takes root.
Ideas | Oceanography
Voice of the Ocean
Sylvia Earle addresses the state of our seas.
Numbers | Math
Math’s Beautiful Monsters
How a destructive idea paved the way for modern math.
Biology | Environment
What the Deer Are Telling Us
A lesson in home improvement.
Related Facts So Romantic
“Reality provides us with facts so romantic that imagination itself could add nothing to them.” —Jules Verne
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Matter
Born of Meteor Dust, Unusual Clouds Appear in the Night Sky
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Matter
Can You Identify These Cities From Their Light Signatures?
The light that a city emits is like its glowing fingerprint. From the orderly grid of Manhattan, to the sprawling, snaking streets of Milan, to the bright contrast of Kuwait’s ring-roads,…
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Matter
The Quest to Understand—and Mimic—Nature’s Trickiest Colors
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Matter
Sparkly Mints May Help Explain Puzzling “Earthquake Lights”
For centuries, people have been reporting mysterious lights along the ground and in the sky soon before an earthquake hits. But it wasn’t until 1966 that there was some solid evidence…
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