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A team of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have tested a hypersonic plane in a wind tunnel to speeds of Mach 7, or 5,600 miles per hour, according a paper published (PDF) in the Chinese journal Physics, Mechanics and Astronomy. The project is led by Cui Kai, who's part of the Key Laboratory of High Temperature Gas Dynamics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, though the plane is likely a biproduct of research from other Chinese hypersonic programs, too, including those with military ties. This reported breakthrough comes hot on the heels of other Chinese hypersonic successes, including China's DF-17 HGV as well as various scramjet test flights and rocket-powered spaceplanes. The test adds teeth to U.S. Admiral Harry Harris's warning to Congress that China is looking to lead the global hypersonic arms race. Hypersonic vehicles are considered potential strategic game-changers. The speed would allow for greater global reach, but also could nullify curren...

Snow can be soft and fluffy or stinging and icy; perfect for skiing or prone to melt. The difference lies in the shape of the flakes. They don’t all look like the kind you see in emoji. Researchers have classified as many as 108 types, but according to Kenneth Libbrecht, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology, you can pare them down to four broad categories: plates, columns, needles, and dendrites. By re-creating snowflakes in a lab, Libbrecht and other scientists found that the keys to getting one shape instead of another are temperature and humidity. Snow crystals form when the humidity is so high that the air can no longer hold water. Then vapor condenses into droplets, which begin to freeze. Higher humidity lets the crystals take on more complex shapes—when the air is drier, snowflakes grow more slowly and take on simpler forms. READ MORE AT: https://www.popsci.com/different-snowflake-shapes

When they arrived in Cincinnati, OH, Washington, DC, and other pockets around the country during the summer of 2004, the desiccated husks of the red-eyed invaders coated hot sidewalks like leaves in the fall. They got into classrooms and cars, and pet owners had to pull away their cats and dogs before they gorged themselves silly on the tasty, plump food that littered every surface. The husks crunched underfoot, while their living brethren sang in a constant, raucous din that could drown out thought and worries. After 17 years, the cicadas of Brood X were back. READ MORE AT: https://www.popsci.com/why-are-cicadas-showing-up-early

Earlier this week in Taipei, Intel announced the most powerful desktop chip for consumers that it has ever sold. With 18 cores and a price tag of $1,999, the processor is known as a teraflop chip, meaning it can accomplish a trillion computational operations every second. Called the Core i9 Extreme Edition processor, the chip is not for the average computer user, someone who just wants to check email, read the news, and watch “House of Cards.” Instead, the processor is for people who want to do extreme stuff, like playing a game in 4K while simultaneously livestreaming it—oh, and also doing two other things at the same time. In a cute turn of phrase, Intel calls this “mega-tasking.” This is Intel’s first time making a consumer desktop chip that breaks the teraflop barrier, and Gregory Bryant, an Intel senior vice president, calls it “by far the most extreme desktop processor ever introduced.” READ MORE AT: https://www.popsci.com/intel-teraflop-chip#page-2

Video running at the speed of molasses reveals hidden movements our feeble peepers can’t typically see. While most footage is filmed at 30 or so frames per second (fps), the ultrafast cameras below can capture hundreds or thousands. When played back at a normal rate, the movies stretch out time, creating cinematic magic. GoPro Hero5 Black Like many smartphones, this action camera can record footage at 240 fps, or eight times slower than real life. Unlike your smartphone, however, it can plunge up to 33 feet underwater and survive sky-high drops, so it can go where the action is. Try filming the mesmerizing-but-gross undulations of a dog’s tongue as it drinks from a bowl of water. $399 READ MORE AT: https://www.popsci.com/best-cameras-for-slow-motion#page-2