A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away… we wondered, could you ever build a real lightsaber like the ones in Star Wars? A lightsaber is a glowing sword that can cut through metal – and pretty much anything else you can think of. It’s the favorite tool of heroes like Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, as well as villains like Darth Vader. That’s just in the movies, but could we make them real? We asked mechanical engineering professor Sayan Biswas to help us find the answer.

Got more questions than Luke when he was training with Yoda? Send them to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help use the force to find an answer!

Lots of people love spicy food for that tongue-tingling feeling. But where does it come from? What’s happening in our mouths when we bite down on a jalapeño or chili flake? We asked taste and smell researcher Arthur Zimmerman to help us find the answer.

Got a tasteful question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll spice up your life with the answer!

Earth is always moving around the sun, but does the sun move too? Or is it fixed in one place in the cosmos? In this episode, we talk to astrophysicist Brittany Kamai to get to the heart of this issue!

Do you have a Moment of Um question that’s burning in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help shine a light on the answer.