8.2.2 Greatest hits from previous weeks

8.2.2.1 Nice scientific pictures show off

https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=question&id=158668

Task 
Show off your best scientific illustration ! 
The main purpose of this question is to share beautiful scientific pictures, preferably with an educational aspect. 
Content 
Your post must ... 
[diagrams] [3d] [technical-drawing] [fun] [big-list]
 

asked by Thomas https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=42660 553 votes

answered by Charles Staats https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=484 331 votes

8.2.2.2 How to add an empty line between paragraphs?

https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=question&id=135134

I have two sections which I'd like to separate by an empty line. Every time I press Enter, LyX removes that empty line between paragraphs. How do I prevent this? 
[spacing] [lyx]
 

asked by goldisfine https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=37301 136 votes

answered by Werner https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=5764 151 votes

8.2.2.3 Superscript outside math mode

https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=question&id=47324

What is the easiest way to superscript text outside of math mode? 
For example, let's say I want to write the $n^{th}$ element, but without the math mode's automatic italicization of the th.  And what ... 
[superscripts]
 

asked by jamaicanworm https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=9757 490 votes

answered by Werner https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=5764 727 votes

8.2.2.4 Show equation number only once in align environment

https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=question&id=17528

I want the equation number to be shown only at the last line, or better, somewhere in the middle of all. So instead of (1), (2), ... only (1). 
I use \begin{align} ... \end{align} 
[equations] [align]
 

asked by Theta30 https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=5350 236 votes

answered by Gonzalo Medina https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=3954 218 votes

8.2.2.5 How can I get bold math symbols?

https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=question&id=595

To make Latin-letter variables bold I can use e.g. \mathbf{a}, but while putting Greek letters or symbols such as \nabla inside \mathbf doesn't cause any errors or warnings, it also doesn't do ... 
[fonts] [math-mode] [symbols] [bold]
 

asked by Michael Underwood https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=32 551 votes

answered by Mark Meckes https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=206 463 votes

8.2.2.6 Is there a way to slightly shrink a table, including font size, to fit within the column boundaries?

https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=question&id=10863

I have a table that is just a little too wide for a 3.33" column. Is there a way to simply shrink the table a little to make it fit? I'm OK if the 10pt font becomes 9pt-something. Here is an example. 
... 
[tables] [scaling]
 

asked by Nathan Farrington https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=3504 167 votes

answered by Martin Scharrer https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=2975 245 votes

8.2.2.7 How to influence the position of float environments like figure and table in LaTeX?

https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=question&id=39017

How to influence the position of float environments like figure and table in LaTeX? 
This is a general question and should collect useful answers for all users. I hope we can use this as a reference 
[floats] [positioning]
 

asked by Marco Daniel https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=5239 682 votes

answered by Frank Mittelbach https://tex.stackexchange.com/landing/r/digest?cta=user&id=10109 978 votes