"when the speed of a car doubles, why is the breaking distance more than double?" -valerie lau (age 15)

About Us

8444 questions have been answered online since 1998 by volunteers from the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois' Physics Van outreach program. We've tried hard to make this the most reliable physics Q&A site on the Web, but no site is perfect, as we explain on this note. Our Baloney feature provides examples of how shaky many other sites are.

If you'd like to ask us a new question, not already covered, please read our answering guidelines first. We try to answer as many questions as we can, but it's not always possible to answer them all. Questions from kids are especially welcome.

Although we recommend not using our informal site as a cited reference, students who are in a rush and can't find a more proper peer-reviewed source can check our citation information section.