The Best: Science Projects That Scare the #%@! Out of Us [View All]

Heavy Ion Collider
What's faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive? Beams of gold ions slamming into each other at light-speed. Although the thermal release from this collision is a million times hotter than the surface of the sun, scientists at Brookhaven National Lab say this won't create a galaxy-swallowing black hole or fundamentally alter the universe. Probably.

Remote-Controlled Sharks
In a Darpa-funded effort to develop the ultimate stealth spy, chips implanted in the brains of blue sharks will enable the creatures' movements to be guided by sonar. What, no lasers on their heads?

Ionosphere Heater
Here's an idea: Build an array of 180 antennas in Alaska to beam radio waves at the ionosphere – the upper layer of Earth's atmosphere – creating an electric field that interacts with charged particles. Operated by the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, this disruption can raise the temperature of the ionosphere by as much as 30 percent over a 9- to 40-kilometer radius. It's targeted global warming.

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Nanobomb
By manipulating the properties of metals on the nanoscale, Defense and Energy Department scientists are figuring out how to make faster and more energetic explosions. The goal? Compact weapons that pack several times the detonative force of even the MOAB (mother of all bombs). Next up: a briefcase nanonuke.