question stringlengths 3 301 | answer stringlengths 9 26.1k | context list |
|---|---|---|
what is a centromere? | During mitosis, a cell splits its genetic material in half, with each daughter cell getting an equal number of chromosomes. Before the chromosomes are split up, the DNA has to be copied so that way there are 2 copies of each chromosome to be split up later. After DNA replication up to the anaphase period of mitosis, ... | [
"The centromere is the specialized DNA sequence of a chromosome that links a pair of sister chromatids (a dyad). During mitosis, spindle fibers attach to the centromere via the kinetochore. Centromeres were first thought to be genetic loci that direct the behavior of chromosomes.\n",
"It may also be analytically ... |
why do powerful drag racing engines sound so terrible when they're in idle? | When you have a fixed cam profile, as is the case for the majority of racing engines, you can either have a smooth idle or good power at the top RPMs. Race engines spend most of their time turning fast and don't need a smooth idle.
Lots of road-going vehicles made now have the ability to switch cam profiles in one way... | [
"BULLET::::- Cackle Fest: A.) (Drag Racing) Referring to when 2 Top Fuel or Funny Car cars are sitting at the starting line and one or both cars refuse to stage. The motor noise at idle sounds like a cackle. At the discretion of the starter, they can order the drivers to stage or even have them pull out of the lane... |
why does light oscillate? | The photon travels in straight lines and isn't wiggling around like you see in some animations. That's just a bad way of showing the wave nature of it.
For imagination purposes don't think of waves in the ocean that have motion up and down as they travel across the surface. Think of light more like sound waves. Sou... | [
"Since light is an oscillation it is not affected by traveling through static electric or magnetic fields in a linear medium such as a vacuum. However, in nonlinear media, such as some crystals, interactions can occur between light and static electric and magnetic fields — these interactions include the Faraday eff... |
url shorteners and why can't webs just use it "natively"? | This is a commonly posted topic here. Please see [these previous posts.](_URL_0_) If they don't entirely answer your question, you might create a new post with
a more specific question.
Try our handy Search function sometime. :-)
For best results in most cases, use 2 or 3 general, common words
that refer to the key c... | [
"Web applications often include lengthy descriptive attributes in their URLs which represent data hierarchies, command structures, transaction paths and session information. This practice results in a URL that is aesthetically unpleasant and difficult to remember, and which may not fit within the size limitations o... |
Why is Israel hiding its nuclear project? | The US in the 1960s tried to strongly discourage Israel from getting nuclear weapons, because it feared that it would lower US freedom of action in the Middle East and increase the possibility of a Middle Eastern arms race. Israel did it anyway, going to great lengths to deceive US inspectors.
By the 1970s, it was cle... | [
"It also recommended that Israel should retain its current policy of deliberate ambiguity regarding its nuclear status. If, at a later date, other states in the Middle East (particularly Iran) were to acquire nuclear technology that Israel perceived as a threat, then the Daniel Project recommended limited disclosur... |
why do we put gnomes in our gardens? | Because they look nice. Seriously, that's just about it. Putting statues in your garden started during the Renaissance and was dwarves and the like and has stuck around since. The standard lawn gnome comes from 1800s Germany.
Source: _URL_0_ | [
"Garden gnomes () are lawn ornament figurines of small humanoid creatures known as gnomes. Traditionally, the figurines depict male dwarfs wearing red pointy hats. Typically, gnomes stand between . A recent trend has introduced miniature gnomes of only a few inches in height. Originating as a decoration for wealthy... |
Why did the French wear blue uniforms during WW1? Did this not leave them poorly camouflaged? | It was a longstanding tradition. Other countries had recently adopted camouflage uniforms, and in 1912, French Minister of War Adolphe Messimy saw their advantages and tried to change the French uniform. However, there was mass protest. The colorful uniforms, it was felt, were linked to Army prestige - which embodie... | [
"The basic German (Luftwaffe) camouflage during most of the war was based on a light blue undersurface and a two tone splinter pattern of various greens for the upper surfaces. In the first year of the war, the top colors were dark green and black-green; later, lighter and more greyish colors were used for fighters... |
why is there such a high education requirement for menial jobs? | A big part of this is the labor market in general. When there is high demand for labor and low supply (low unemployment), companies can't be very picky about who they hire, especially for menial jobs.
Right now more people are looking for jobs, so companies can be more particular about who they hire. Even in a menia... | [
"Due to the rarity of men in early childhood education, men who do choose to enter the profession can find it easy to obtain employment, and may have more employment options, because of the preference for hiring men. In essence, men tend to have slightly more leverage or pull compared to women with similar qualific... |
Did Hitler actually take away guns from the Jews? | From an [earlier answer on this topic](_URL_0_)
it was actually Weimar Germany that instituted wide-scale legislation restricting firearms in 1922 with the *Republikschutzgesetz* (law for the protection of the Republic). Under the rubric of "endangering public safety," the *Republikschutzgesetz* outlawed the organizat... | [
"The Disarmament of the German Jews started in 1933, initially limited to local areas. A major target was Berlin, where large-scale raids in search for weaponry took place. Starting in 1936, the Gestapo prohibited German police officers from giving firearms licenses to Jews. In November 1938, the \"Verordnung gegen... |
Who were the Denisova hominin? | History is only the story of humans that have left records; it isn't the study of things that have happened in the past unless they were recorded (hence this is PREhistory). You are thinking of anthropology. Try /r/anthropology for details.
Edit: Here's my take: They're a recent find, so the stuff you can find on Wiki... | [
"The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans in the genus \"Homo\". Pending its taxonomic status, it currently carries temporary species or subspecies names \"Homo denisova\", \"Homo altaiensis\", \"Homo sapiens denisova\", or \"Homo sp. Altai\". In 2010, scientists ... |
Did the Native Americans of the Great Plains and the West communicate with tribes farther east about the presence of white settlers before they actually met them? | There are a couple complications to this questions. First, for the southern Plains at least, contact with Europeans began in 1540s when de Soto's expedition into present day American Southeast attempted to retreat back to Mexico through Texas and when Coronado's expedition marched from the American Southwest into Kansa... | [
"With the help of the Native Americans, they were able to find the rest of their way north through the woods. Before long they encountered a vessel with men working to load corn into it. After being received by them, Henson spoke to the captain who received him warmly and agreed to take them to Buffalo, which is wh... |
My mom inherited a bunch of Roman Catholic artifacts. Here are a few of them. Anyone know more about them? | I can comment very generally on 2. 2 does indeed look like a pair of leaves cut from a 16th century manuscript or at any rate the style of of the leaves fits with other early 16th century manuscripts. They depict the evangelists Mark and Luke with their respective symbols(winged ox and bull). My guess is that they were... | [
"The church also contains a purported relic of Saint Clemens that is in fact an example of a so-called catacomb saint, a corpse that has been taken from the Roman Catacombs, decorated, given a fictitious name, and presented as the relic of a Roman Catholic saint.\n",
"According to \"Roman Catholic Saints\", the r... |
what does it mean to testify before (us) congress? | The House of Representatives and the Senate have, like the Parliament of the United Kingdom, a "power of inquiry." To assist in their lawmaking power, they can call individuals to testify before the houses or their committees to investigate a matter. The people summoned before the committee are required to answer all q... | [
"BULLET::::- George W. Bush – President; testimony not under oath. The session was not officially transcribed because the White House considered it a \"private meeting\" in which highly classified information would be discussed. Asked to limit the length of testimony to one hour (However, the meeting lasted for thr... |
if tv remotes emit infra-red rays, then why does camera lens pick violet rays being emitted from the remote? | First, a quick introduction to how camera sensors work:
Camera sensors actually just see in "black and white". That is, they only measure light intensity, not frequency. The sensor itself doesn't know if a photon hitting it has the "red" wavelength or the "blue" wavelength.
To figure out which wavelength a photon is... | [
"Image intensifiers have been introduced that increase the brightness of the screen, so that the patient needs to be exposed to a lower dose of X-rays. Whilst this reduces the risk of ionisation occurring, it does not remove it entirely.\n",
"The television receiver would use the output of the photoelectric cell ... |
Was there any existing plans on how the Axis countries would coexist in the event they won WW2? | Check this answer by /u/commiespaceinvader, it's quite in depth.
_URL_0_ | [
"With the signing of the Tripartite Pact on September 27, 1940, creating the Axis of Germany, Japan, and Italy, Decoux had new grounds for worry: the Germans could pressure the homeland to support their ally, Japan.\n",
"Planning for global territorial expansion of the Axis powers; Germany, Italy and Japan, progr... |
why is it necessary to shoe and maintain shoeing horses, but wild ones are fine? | Wild ones don't walk of roads or pull vehicles on roads. This exposes them to a different sort of wear profile, which they have evolved to handle naturally. Working horses are doing unnatural things, so they have to have tools to do their jobs well, just like people. | [
"Nonetheless, domestic horses do not always require shoes. When possible, a \"barefoot\" hoof, at least for part of every year, is a healthy option for most horses. However, horseshoes have their place and can help prevent excess or abnormal hoof wear and injury to the foot. Many horses go without shoes year-round,... |
*Why* did the Luftwaffe fail to beat the RAF? |
- RAF operated over it's own territory, it's fighters could stay in the air longer, it's pilots were not permanently lost after bailing-out, and aircraft forced to crash-land could be recovered. Also, bomber losses are much harder to replace in terms of manpower and treasure - fighters are relatively cheap.
- German ... | [
"The \"Luftwaffe\"'s poor intelligence meant that their aircraft were not always able to locate their targets, and thus attacks on factories and airfields failed to achieve the desired results. British fighter aircraft production continued at a rate surpassing Germany's by 2 to 1. The British produced 10,000 aircra... |
how can social security be in trouble when people pay through a social security tax to fund it. | Well, its a little more weird and complex than that.
First, you are paying in but the people who currently need it are drawing on your funding of it. As will you from the people who pay after you.
Second, the politicians love to tweak things and they made a few major tweaks. Here is one: the capped the contributi... | [
"Critics of the system, such as Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman, have said that Social Security redistributes wealth from the poor to the wealthy. Workers must pay 12.4%, including a 6.2% employer contribution, on their wages below the Social Security Wage Base ($102,000 in 2008), but no tax on income in e... |
The Battle of Britain has ended and I've just turned 18. I want to join the RAF as a fighter pilot. What is the recruitment process like? If I were successful, how long would I be training for before my first flight into battle? | I can partially answer your question, but I think other people with more knowledge would be able to give you a little more information.
Initially, the RAF was very much an "an old boys club" and crew were expected to have attended public schools such as Eton. Although losses changed this very quickly and air crew wer... | [
"Prior to the outbreak of war, in view of the worsening European situation, the RAF had embarked on a series of expansion plans. These included Short-Service Commissions for pilots from the air forces of other British Commonwealth countries, namely Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia.... |
why is a root canal preferable over say an extraction/implant? | Root canal or implants are not the only options. There's also the "old way", extraction and a dental appliance (dentures). The emphasis on keeping all your teeth is relatively new - in past times, dentists had no compunction about yanking problem teeth. Not all countries place such an emphasis on cosmetically-perfect t... | [
"The alternatives to root canal therapy include no treatment or tooth extraction. Following tooth extraction, options for prosthetic replacement may include dental implants, a fixed partial denture (commonly referred to as a 'bridge'), or a removable denture. There are risks to forgoing treatment, including pain, i... |
Has there ever been a time in history when white people have been persecuted because of their colour? | In Zimbabwe, after the end of apartheid, there have been a lot of incidents of white people being targeted because of their [race.](_URL_0_)
While kind of understandable because of the earlier apartheid situation it is whites being persecuted because of race.
| [
"BULLET::::- 1923 \"United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind\": Indians, despite being anthropologically Caucasian, were ruled to be non-white as they were not seen as white in the \"common understanding\", thus excluding non-U.S. born South Asians from citizenship under the racial prerequisites for naturalization at th... |
Did the Roman navy use heavy armor and shields or were they lightly armored? | Are you asking about marines or rowers? The vast majority of the people on any warship would be unarmed and unarmored rowers huddled below decks on their benches. Marines, however, were most certainly heavily armored and armed, that is well accepted. Both the Greeks and the Romans essentially employed exactly the same ... | [
"Armoured warships (dreadnought battleships, armoured cruisers and later light and heavy cruisers) of the early 20th century carried their main protective armour above the waterline – the \"main belt\" – which was intended to stop flat-trajectory gunfire from piercing the hull. Below the belt, the armour generally ... |
how do insurance companies like geico, progressive, etc. have so much money to spend on ads? | There are roughly 265 million vehicles on the road in the US. Roughly 87% of those vehicles are insured. That leaves you with about 230 million vehicles insured in the US.
There are approximately 6 million car wrecks a year in the US. I'm assuming some of those vehicles didn't even need to have insurance claims done.... | [
"Most of the revenue received by insurance companies consists of premiums, but revenue from investing the premiums forms an important source of profit for most life insurance companies. Group Insurance policies are an exception to this.\n",
"In the mid-1990's, insurance company advertising was considered novel an... |
Are there any theories on different ways to generate gravity besides having mass? | It's not *real* gravity, but one idea for *simulating* gravity (which would be useful for space ships and stations in a microgravity orbit: spin a circular disc around at a constant velocity to generate a centrifugal force, making the outside of the disc exert a normal force back on you to counteract it, thus simulati... | [
"Based on observational evidence, it is now known that gravity interacts with all forms of energy, and not just with mass. The electrostatic binding energy of the nucleus, the energy of weak interactions in the nucleus, and the kinetic energy of electrons in atoms, all contribute to the gravitational mass of an ato... |
Does dreaming have any effect on the qualify of sleep? | Dreaming occurs during the R.E.M. cycle of sleep, the most important aspect of it. [This question](_URL_0_) also hinges around the same area that you are prodding at, as there is information there as well.
As far as dreaming having a DIRECT effect on quality of sleep, that answer has yet to be supported or rejected. V... | [
"In a study conducted with depressed and healthy adults and were able to show that in healthy subjects, dreaming was a way to positively influence mood and cope with stress at night. Dreams of depressed persons, however, might deteriorate their mood further. This study's interesting results are limited in generaliz... |
why are sit-ups harder to do with your hands behind your head, rather then free? | Have you ever looked at a teeter-totter before? If one person on the teeter-totter is sitting at the very end and person on other side is sitting closer to the middle, then there's an imbalance and that imbalance spreads outward from the middle, which is called the fulcrum. Even though the two people may weigh the sam... | [
"2 point players need to put one hand on their chair's wheel for stability when trying to rebound. This is because of stability issues. When pushing themselves around the court, they do not require the back of their chair to maintain stable forward movement.\n",
"Sitting problems are usually an invisible disabili... |
why is quarantining for a few weeks so effective? wouldn't it just start spreading just as bad as soon as the quarantine ends? | Viruses, like all living things, need to reproduce to survive. They do so by infecting an animal (or sometimes even a bacteria) and taking over its cells to replicate. By people who have the virus quarantining for an extended period of time, the hope is that they recover and develop the antibodies to fight off the viru... | [
"Quarantine periods can be very short, such as in the case of a suspected anthrax attack, in which persons are allowed to leave as soon as they shed their potentially contaminated garments and undergo a decontamination shower. For example, an article entitled \"Daily News workers quarantined\" describes a brief qua... |
why does it feel like there's less viruses on the internet nowadays? | *Fewer
And the purpose of viruses has shifted from being some piece of code that just fucks your system up, to being motivated by money. Modern malware is mostly targeted at businesses, websites, banks, etc. The home user isn't really a lucrative target. There are still viruses out there, but most end user AV software... | [
"Computer viruses currently cause billions of dollars' worth of economic damage each year, due to causing system failure, wasting computer resources, corrupting data, increasing maintenance costs, etc. In response, free, open-source antivirus tools have been developed, and an industry of antivirus software has crop... |
why do boxers get paid so much? | If anything, why do athletes get paid so much? | [
"There were speculations that ring girls are paid more than some female athletes. In 2015, former UFC bamtamweight champion Ronda Rousey protested. \"Do you think her walking in circles, \" argued Rousey, \"is worth more (than fighters)? ... either the ring card girls are paid too much, or the fighters aren't paid ... |
What is the difference between amplitude (volume) and loudness? | Amplitude is a feature of a signal, usually periodic signals like sine-waves. It is a measurement of the 'height' of the signal, the distance from the lowest point to the highest in whatever units the signal is in. If we were measuring the signal sent to the speakers, it would be measured in Volts, or if we measured th... | [
"Amplitude is the size of the pressure variations in a sound wave, and primarily determines the loudness with which the sound is perceived. In a sinusoidal function such as formula_1, \"C\" represents the amplitude of the sound wave.\n",
"The amplitude of sound waves and audio signals (which relates to the volume... |
why do musicians (famous and average) choose to publish music through record label companies, as opposed to going to pandora/spotify/itunes radio/all the others directly? | For a lot of musicians, it's still easier to let someone else handle all of the details of dealing with distribution, marketing, and production. And since record labels have been doing this for a long time, they tend to have the resources to handle all of that pretty efficiently.
Record labels probably take more than... | [
"Musical performers often self-release (self-publish) their recordings without the involvement of an established record label. While some acts who enjoy local or small scale popularity have started their own labels in order to release their music through stores, others simply sell the music directly to customers, f... |
During WWII, did German U-boats attack ships traveling from the UK to the US as well? | Yes, westbound convoys were attacked, often just as heavily as ones heading eastwards. The goal of the German submarine offensive was to reduce the amount of merchant shipping available to the Allies. If it could be reduced far enough, then Britain would not be able to import the supplies it needed to fight the war and... | [
"At sea, German U-boat (submarine) forces were taking a considerable toll on Allied shipping. The Air Ministry decided to launch an attack on German surface ships to prevent them supporting the U-boats in the North Atlantic. On 18 December 1939, a force of three RAF bomber squadrons was sent to engage German ships ... |
What do emission spectra reveal about stars? | As you've already recognised, we can deduce the composition of a star from the spectra, assuming we know enough about the placement and surroundings to compensate for various shifts. From this we can classify the star, and with just a bit more information about their luminosity, we can more or less pin down what type o... | [
"In 1994, several stars were identified as having broad helium emission lines in their spectra, and some showed narrow hydrogen emission lines. This was completely unexpected for protostars, instead suggesting the objects were much more evolved stars. Shortly afterwards two emission line stars were classified as Wo... |
Obviously spices were central, but to what degree were drugs included in "the spice trade"? | Opium is your answer. Go look into that. | [
"The spice trade refers to the trade between historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, and turmeric were known and used in antiquity for commerce in the Eastern World. These spices found their way into the Middle East before the beginni... |
is there a way commercial banks are creating their own money (digital or paper) without anyone knowing? | Okay, this is going to be complicated, but bear with me.
Economists have names for different types of money. M0 is the sum of all the dollars bills and coins printed by the treasury. Banks do not increase the M0 supply.
But there are several other types of money that economists count - traveller's checks, demand no... | [
"In the late twentieth century advances in computer and photocopy technology made it possible for people without sophisticated training to easily copy currency. In an attempt to prevent this, banks have sought to add filtering features to the software and hardware available to the public that senses features of cur... |
what causes eyes to get fatigued from reading for too long? | We actually have muscles in our eyes. These muscles constrict and relax to change the shape of the lens, which is how our eyes focus. Reading or looking at a screen for long periods of time requires these muscles to hold themselves in specific position in order to focus on what we're looking at. We also have muscles th... | [
"Primary reasons is eye fatigue as a result of excessive pressure on the eyes because of reading, watching TV, computer, poor lighting, etc. Some other reasons are poor posture, poor diet, lack of sleep, etc.\n",
"When the eyes dry out or become fatigued due to reading on a computer screen, it can be an indicatio... |
How did the Romance language-speaking enclaves in former Dacia survive amongst Slavs, and how did they expand to the borders of modern-day Romania? | The people speaking Proto-Romanian, the ancestor of Romanian language, are thought to have lived in a rather small area, hence the distinctive lack of dialects of Romanian (with the exception of Aromanian and other southern dialects which have split around a thousand years ago).
The exact area where they lived is a ma... | [
"A number of Romance languages were once spoken in Southeastern Europe for centuries, but the Dalmatian branch of this Eastern Romance disappeared centuries ago. Although the surviving Eastern group of Balkan Romance has in the meantime split into four major languages, their common features suggest that all of them... |
what does it mean to have something notarized? | A document that's been notarized has been approved by an a neutral and trusted public official called a notary public. Basically it means the notary witnesses and confirms the identity of the person or persons signing the document and that they understand what the document does so there's no question later as to its va... | [
"An accusative and infinitive can also be used to express a piece of information which someone has been told, or by extension which someone has learnt about, noticed, realised, seen, dreamed of, perceived or simply knows:\n",
"In predicate logic, what is described in layman's terms as \"something\" can more speci... |
if we created a magnet that was say 1 inch in diameter and was a kilometer long, is it possible we can create monopoles on each end (north side doesnt connect to south side) | by definition, no.
every north and south side of the magnet will connect. If the magnet is 1 long magnet of uniform orientation, than thats what it will be.
If you force opposite poles together, or separate magnets with a non magnet filler, then your just moving the goal posts, but each magnetic segment will pair no... | [
"Magnetic monopoles can be theoretically realized, although current observations and theory are consistent with them existing or not existing. Electric and magnetic charges can effectively be \"rotated into one another\" by a duality transformation.\n",
"In a multipolar generator, the armature and field magnets a... |
What did Augustus (Roman Emperor) read and study growing up that prepared him for office | In terms of direct evidence for Augustus himself, we only have a very short description of his education in Suetonius (Life Of Augustus 84):
"From early youth he devoted himself eagerly and with utmost diligence to oratory and liberal studies. During the war at Mutina, amid such a press of affairs, he is said to have ... | [
"Augustus is an epistolary, historical fiction by John Williams published by Viking Press in 1972. It tells the story of Augustus, emperor of Rome, from his youth through old age. The book is divided into two parts, the beginning chronicling his rise to power, the latter describing his rule thereafter, and the fami... |
Great Grandpa was official photographer for WW2, recently found a torture picture and POW. Anyway to find out more info? | Hello there! You're right, we don't have a lot of desire to host pictures of people being tortured.
As your question is related to looking for identification/information regarding military personnel, our [Guide on Military Identification](_URL_0_) may be of use to you. It provides a number of different resources, inc... | [
"In 2009, the film, \"Toyo's Camera\" was released, documenting the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II through the perspective of the photographer's images. Narrated by George Takei, music by Kitaro.\n",
"The book describes the backgrounds of several American airmen who flew raids over Japan dur... |
how can the bootes void, or the great void as it is sometimes called, be filled with stars and galaxies and still be called a void? | Because our definition of "void" (in regards to space) is not just _URL_0_ just means less than average density of matter compared to the rest of the observable universe. | [
"The Boötes void (or The Great Nothing) is an enormous, approximately spherical region of space, containing very few galaxies. It is located in the vicinity of the constellation Boötes, hence its name. Its center is located at approximately right ascension and declination .\n",
"BULLET::::- The Void is the name g... |
why don't more companies collaborate on everything? | Because if there is no competition, your company doesn't have the chance to win more money than the rest. It's like the prisoner's dilemma:
_URL_0_ | [
"Usually, firms that promote open forms of collaboration benefit from having access to different capabilities and knowledge, enhancing their competitiveness and accelerating their innovation process. On one hand, it enables small companies such as start-ups to partner with other players, complementing each other an... |
Will all stars in the universe die eventually? | Stars form from the free gas floating in the galaxy. This gas condenses and collapses into star clusters. Each star cluster has a mix of stars of different masses.
The most massive stars will explode as supernovae, throwing a lot of gas back into the galaxy, which can then mix around and collapse and form new stars. H... | [
"The most massive stars that exist today may be completely destroyed by a supernova with an energy greatly exceeding its gravitational binding energy. This rare event, caused by pair-instability, leaves behind no black hole remnant. In the past history of the universe, some stars were even larger than the largest t... |
How does wasp and hornet killer work? | I fucking hate bees, but at the same time I must acknowledge the vital role they play in pollinating things. So I guess it's a love-hate relationship we've got going.
Many of the more popular wasp & hornet sprays use resmethrin (an insecticide of the [pyrethroid](_URL_0_) family). The insect exoskeleton is rather po... | [
"Killer Wasp is a human/insect hybrid. He has enhanced strength, agility and endurance. He also has wasp-like wings on his back which allow him to fly up to speeds of 50 mph, and the ability to shoot electrical blasts from his hands.\n",
"Cicada killer wasps frequently attack \"Neotibicen\" cicadas. The female wa... |
- could someone explain to me the ethical theories of plato, aristotle, kant and mill by giving examples? | Plato: The well-being of the soul *("eudaimon")* is the highest goal of thought and action. This is achieved when each member of society commits to his *ergon*, his natural duty. Batman's natural duty is to protect the common good. Thus Batman's obligation to himself leads to an obligation to his *ergon*, which compels... | [
"Aristotle considered ethics to be a practical rather than theoretical study, i.e., one aimed at becoming good and doing good rather than knowing for its own sake. He wrote several treatises on ethics, including most notably, the \"Nicomachean Ethics\".\n",
"Kant's philosophy marks a number of important conceptua... |
Where does the heat from the Earth go? | Well, into space... | [
"Earth heat transport occurs by conduction, mantle convection, hydrothermal convection, and volcanic advection. Earth's internal heat flow to the surface is thought to be 80% due to mantle convection, with the remaining heat mostly originating in the Earth's crust, with about 1% due to volcanic activity, earthquake... |
how do rocks (track ballast) able to support a train? | 1) I assume the gravel is compressed when it is installed, e.g. with a heavy roller and/or a vibrating plate, so that if it's going to move down and fill a hole then it does that while it's being installed, not when a train is on it.
2) The rails and sleepers do a good job of spreading out the load. While a car only ... | [
"Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railroad ties (sleepers) are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to bear the load from the railroad ties, to facilitate drainage of water, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track structure. This also serves to h... |
How long can you survive drinking only water distilled from your own urine? | Well, you also will have fluid losses other than urinary evacuation (sweating, water vapor in your breath), if the system is closed, ie no additional water is added, you will run out.
On a related note, I have read that drinking the water from a healthy bladder is acceptable, purportedly certain eskimo cultures do it ... | [
"Briefly, to excrete free water from urine, the urine flow (which is solute clearance + free water clearance) will equal the rate of solute excretion divided by the urine osmolality. With a diet of only solute poor beer, only about 200–300 mOSM (normal 750 mOSM to greater than 900 mOSM) of solute will be excreted p... |
why are most houses that were made recently so ugly? | The first reason is survivorship bias. There were tons of ugly buildings in the 50s. For example [Nissen huts](_URL_0_) were a cheep and fast way to build and ugly ass garage or barn and were very popular until the 60-70's. You don't see many today because people tore them down whenever they got the chance and replace... | [
"In the present scenario, these houses are now endangered and are hardly built due to the adaptation of modern architecture. Also the reason that the poor house owner are unable to bear expenses for wood carvings for the embroideries, thus resulting in the extinction of local craftsmen and hence the traditional des... |
Have there ever been proposed additions to the English alphabet? | The two most notable ones off the top of my head were thorn (which got replaced by combining t and h) and ash (**EDIT:** which is apparently NOT related to the mushed together AE that pops up still in fancy spellings of encyclopedia.)
Wikipedia has a [surprisingly robust article](_URL_1_) about this.
As for propose... | [
"It was originally published in June 1845. Subsequently, adaptations were published which extended the alphabet to the German, Arabic, Spanish, Tuscan, French, Welsh, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese and Sanskrit languages.\n",
"The modern English alphabet is a Latin alphabet consisting of 26 letters, each havi... |
Is the sun soft or hard? | To use your terminology, the edge of the Sun is rather soft. Take a look at [this graph of the matter density profile of the Sun](_URL_1_). Close to what we usually take to be the edge of the Sun, the density is about 10^(-4) g/cm^(3). This density is comparable to the density of our atmosphere on Earth at ground level... | [
"14 Boötis has 1.46 times the mass of the Sun and 2.1 times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 5.9 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 6,169 K. The metallicity is near solar, based on the abundance of iron in the stellar atmosphere.\n",
"As described in the Sun artic... |
What was the endgame for the Soviet Union in the Cold War? | I think that question is too far raging, and it'd be better served as something more focused, its a little bit like asking:
What is the US endgame in the 21st century? Does it involve an eventual military conflict?
If you're interested National Interest's Robert Farley and Zachary Keck made a couple of articles abo... | [
"The Cold War was a state of political and military tension after World War II led by the United States (and the Western Bloc) and the Soviet Union (and the Eastern Bloc). After World War II, the victory of the Soviet Union over Germany granted them considerable territorial spoils; the Soviet Union banded together ... |
what would happen if an illegal immigrant claimed that she had always lived in that country and had simply lost her id? even if they didn't believe her, what country would they deport her to if they didn't know? and if she had no money, would they just keep her locked up forever? | I don't understand why people are failing to understand Stallone2's question. I think it's essentially:
If the authorities think a person is an illegal immigrant they usually deport them to their country of origin.
If no country of origin can be established, what happens? | [
"In 1929, within eight months of attaining the age of majority, Marie Elg obtained an American passport through the American consul in Sweden, and returned to the United States. In 1935 she was notified by the U.S. Department of Labor that she was an illegal alien and was threatened with deportation.\n",
"One cas... |
How fast does something have to travel in earths atmosphere before it begins to heat up? | When the air is hits an object going through it, it gets warmer, because kinetic energy energy gets converted to heat.
This also applies to your hand out of the car window scenario, however it is only about [0.4°C](_URL_1_) (assuming 100km/h speed; 20°C ambient temperature). However, in this case, your hand feeling co... | [
"Traveling at approximately 6.9 kilometers/second and 125 kilometers above the surface, the spacecraft entered the atmosphere and was initially decelerated by using a 2.4 meter ablation heat shield, located on the bottom of the entry body, to aerobrake through 116 kilometers of the atmosphere. Three minutes after e... |
If you took a breath of pure oxygen could you hold your breath longer than if you took a breath of normal air? | Yes. I'm an anaesthetist - When someone is anaesthetised it is common practice to "pre-oxygenate", ie give 100% oxygen for around 3 minutes via a tight fitting face mask. This gives a margin of safety after induction, in case there is some disaster and there's a failure to ventilate.
The idea of pre-oxygenation is to... | [
"According to the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, in humans, \"breathing an oxygen deficient atmosphere can have serious and immediate effects, including unconsciousness after only one or two breaths. The exposed person has no warning and cannot sense that the oxygen level is too low.\" In the ... |
How do one way hashes work? | A one-way hash is a function which is easy to calculate forwards, but difficult to invert.
For example, SHA256 is conjectured to be a one-way hash function. An easy way to see the SHA256 hash of any string is to use an online calculator like this one: _URL_4_
If you have an input, say 'flopdood', then you can easily ... | [
"Hashing is used in database systems as a method to protect sensitive data such as passwords; however it is also used to improve the efficiency of database referencing. Inputted data is manipulated by a hashing algorithm. The hashing algorithm converts the inputted data into a string of fixed length that can then b... |
How can we tell if a trait a characteristic about a person is genetic or environmental? | You might want to take a look at [epigenetics](_URL_0_), which is a study of where the rubber of genetics meets the road of environment.
Basically *biological functions* are entirely due to protein activity. Protein activity is influenced by many factors, but the big ones are genetic and environmental. Protein activ... | [
"For any trait of interest, observed differences among individuals \"may be due to differences in the genes\" coding for a trait or \"the result of variation in environmental condition\". This variability is due to gene-environment interactions that influence genetic expression patterns and trait heritability.\n",
... |
Did monotheism only develop in the ancient Near East (Akhenaten, Zoroaster, Judaism, etcetera), or have there been other instances of it in other parts of the world? | Your question almost answers itself, because a presumed historical Zoroaster (who we will for convenience define as the composer of the Gathas) would definitely not have lived in the Near East. Instead linguistic and textual evidence suggests he would have been from _Bactria_ or thereabout, roughly in modern-day Afghan... | [
"Alleged traces of primitive monotheism were located in the deities Assyrian Ashur and Marduk, and Hebrew YHWH. Monotheism in Schmidt's view is the \"natural\" form of theism, which was later overlaid and \"degraded\" by polytheism after deceased ancestors' veneration became worship, and personified natural forces ... |
why do i have an explosive bowel movement very shortly after eating indian food? it can't be getting through the gi tract that fast, right? | Many GI reactions are due to something simply being in the tract. When you eat some exotic food, your body may react to the unusual foods and spices regardless of where the food is in the digestive process. | [
"When infants bring solid foods to their own mouth, they are the ones guiding the sensory experience, starting and stopping when they are comfortable and ready. When food does move too posteriorly in the mouth triggering a gag reflex, the \"entire\" bolus is expelled from the mouth. Also, food moves slowly in compa... |
What forces /physical causes give a frisbee its lift, and why can't we manipulate them to create a flying saucer, similar to how we can utilize an airfoil to make a flying airplane? | The force that gives lift to a frisbee is the same aerodynamic lift utilized in a regular aerofoil ([Bernoulli's Principle](_URL_0_)). That lift force isn't balanced along the length of the disc and is generally larger at the front. Under normal circumstances this torque would cause unstable flight and the fisbee woul... | [
"Aerostats are so named because they use \"aerostatic\" lift, a buoyant force that does not require lateral movement through the surrounding air mass to effect a lifting force. By contrast, aerodynes primarily use aerodynamic lift, which requires the lateral movement of at least some part of the aircraft through th... |
motherboard types | It's basically just that each type of CPU needs a different motherboard, hence all the different kinds. Some boards also have different features, such as integrated graphics. | [
"Motherboards are produced in a variety of sizes and shape called computer form factor, some of which are specific to individual computer manufacturers. However, the motherboards used in IBM-compatible systems are designed to fit various case sizes. , most desktop computer motherboards use the ATX standard form fac... |
does epidural anaesthetic during childbirth inhibit uterine contractions | Epidurals for child birth generally are analgesic, not anesthetic.
An analgesic is something that blocks pain (at the doses typically used for labor it isn't always 100% effective at that, but it definitely knocks it WAY down in terms of severity). It still allows you to feel pressure (to know when to push) and allow... | [
"Broadly speaking, surgical management of adenomyosis is split into two categories: uterine-sparing and non-uterine-sparing procedures. Uterine-sparing procedures are surgical operations that do not include surgical removal of the uterus. Some uterine-sparing procedures have the benefit of improving fertility or re... |
How does an electric motor turn electrical current into physical force | Get a magnet, a battery, and some wire. Put the magnet near the wire, then connect both ends of the wire to the ends of the battery. The wire should jump or move. This is because a current generates a magnetic field. If you coil the wire up, you multiply the magnetic field from the wire. You can put this coiled up... | [
"In this electric motor design, the force is produced by a linearly moving magnetic field acting on conductors in the field. Any conductor, be it a loop, a coil, or simply a piece of plate metal, that is placed in this field will have eddy currents induced in it thus creating an opposing magnetic field in accordanc... |
why do shoes/tires have better grip with less surface area touching the ground? | They don't. The greater the surface area in contact, the greater the friction (grip). Race cars have wide slick tires, rock climbing shoes have smooth soles. The problem is if it is wet then you get a layer of water between road and rubber so no contact and no grip. | [
"Off-road tires are typically radials with thick, deep tread. On dirt surfaces, the exposed edges of the tread dig into soft ground to give more traction than rolling friction alone, analogous to the traction provided by cleated shoes. These off-road tires provide their maximum grip on loose surfaces, but on paved ... |
Where would I find a cuneiform translation of a line from Gilgamesh? | _URL_0_
Clear sketches of the original tablets are way at the end | [
"To explain how divergent translations from the biblical text came about, Gregory Vall, a Christian professor of Religious Studies at Trinity Western University, speculated that the Septuagint translators were faced with כארו; i.e. as in the Masoretic text, but ending with the longer letter \"vav\" (ו) rather than ... |
Are there more even numbers or whole numbers? | You are asking about the [cardinality](_URL_1_) of a set and you have more or less stumbled upon how we define the size of sets. We say that the sets A and B have the same cardinality (written as |A| or |B|) if there is a bijective correspondence between the elements of A and B. This means there is a way to assign each... | [
"If a number is larger than another one, then the other is \"smaller than\" the first one. Examples: three is smaller than eight () and five is smaller than eight (). The symbol for \"smaller than\" is . A number cannot be at the same time larger and smaller than another number. Neither can a number be at the same ... |
How did ancient engineers (Roman or otherwise) determine elevation in order to build water projects? | The Romans had no good way to measure absolute elevation (i.e. height above sea level). They occasionally attempted to measure the height of mountains; but since they did not have barometers (or any concept of atmospheric pressure), they had to rely on [rather haphazard trigonometric methods](_URL_2_).
When it came t... | [
"The construction of aqueducts was not an easy job. It was very difficult to make sure all the pipes were level and that the pressure was correct at both ends. The surveyor was responsible for calculating all these measurements beforehand and then leaving the directions with the procurator. They would most likely b... |
At high altitudes how does unconsciousness due to hypoxia occur in 10-15 seconds if you can hold your breath for up to 3 minutes? | Short answer: You can't hold your breath for 3 minutes at high altitudes.
At high altitudes, there's a lot less air. Air exerts a lot of pressure, it's just normally balanced by having a similar pressure inside and outside of your lungs so you don't notice. However, if you try to hold your breath with lungs full of ... | [
"In central sleep apnea, the basic neurological controls for breathing rate malfunction and fail to give the signal to inhale, causing the individual to miss one or more cycles of breathing. If the pause in breathing is long enough, the percentage of oxygen in the circulation will drop to a lower than normal level ... |
why do wood pigeons hoot in the same melodic pattern? | Many bird species have a very specific call that they all do. This is how they recognize fellow members of the same species at a distance | [
"The lightweight \"Pigeons\" is driven by a one-note banjolele line that parodies English musician George Formby. Steve Hackett commented in 2009 that \"the thing about ‘Pigeons’ was that it was possible for the band to play a whole note for a whole thing: ding-ding-ding-ding. And that was unvarying whilst the keyb... |
what is the process of a catholic confession, from walking through the church doors, to walking out afterwards? | when I was younger the confessionals were located in the back of my church. There was certain times that the priest held confession. The confessional was a booth separated by a screen you could do it anonymously or looking at the priest. I don't remember if he said my child.
So you go in and start the confession w... | [
"In confession (also known as the sacrament of Penance or reconciliation), a person confesses their sins to a priest or bishop and receives God's forgiveness through absolution by the priest or bishop. This sacrament was criticised by many Protestants during the Reformation and abolished in many of the new Protesta... |
- how does someone get into whiskey/bourbons and able to pick up tastes? | Just like in beer, it takes training. You have to try a lot of different types and compare notes.
It helps to find one or two you really like, drink them a bit to become very familiar with them, then compare others to your "base". | [
"A food taster is a person who ingests food that was prepared for someone else, to confirm it is safe to eat. One who tests drink in this way is known as a cupbearer. The person to whom the food is to be served is usually an important person, such as a monarch or somebody under threat of assassination or harm.\n",
... |
why was half life 2 considered such a milestone in gaming? | It had amazing graphics and physics at the time, just compare [it's character animations](_URL_2_) with a similar game at the time like [Far Cry](_URL_0_) and you can see it still holds up, and is even better than some [current games](_URL_1_).
Not to mention it's just a really good game to boot. | [
"\"Half-Life\" sparked numerous fan-made mods, several of them becoming standalone games, notably \"Counter-Strike\", \"Day of Defeat\" and \"Sven Co-op\". A sequel, \"Half-Life 2\", was released in 2004. An unofficial remake of \"Half-Life\" titled \"Black Mesa\" was released in 2012 as a mod of \"Half-Life 2\".\n... |
can hard liquors ever go bad? | Hard liquor such as vodka have near limitless shelf lives when unopened, however, once the seal is broken and the liquor has been exposed to the air it will only last around 6-8 months | [
"The production of hard liquor has a tradition dating back to the 18th century and was at a high in the 1840s. Since the 1880s, the state-owned Systembolaget has a monopoly on selling spirits with more than 3.5% ABV, limiting access. \"Hembränt\" (moonshine) used to be made in rural Sweden, but production has lesse... |
How does Mithras fit into Zoroastrianism? | Sorry for the briefness and oversimplification...I browse this forum too late at night...but here goes:
A yazata is anything to be worshiped in Zoroastrianism. Ahura Mazda is the highest yazata. The divine sparks are all manifestations of different qualities of Ahura Mazda, and they are yazata as well. Much like the C... | [
"Mithra was worshipped throughout the Roman era, from the late Republic to the later Imperial era. The cult of Mithraism spread from the Middle East to other parts of the Roman Empire throughout the Mediterranean basin, at first by military-political adventurers, travelers, slaves and merchants from the Orient. Lat... |
How was China able to stay so technologically advanced compared with the rest of the world throughout most of its history despite having little contact with other civilizations? | Firstly, China engaged in much more trade than you're suggesting. The silk road, running from central China through Central Asia and the Middle East to Europe was the longest trade route throughout much of human history - there was plenty of technological exchange, such as the spread of gunpowder to Europe. China was m... | [
"In 1980, the Chinese computing technology was estimated to be about 15 years behind United States technology. From the early 1980s on, China’s leaders recognized that their nationalistic development strategy was inhibiting their scientific competitiveness with the West. Therefore, imports from the United States an... |
what is piezo-electricity and what are its uses ?? | Piezoelectricity is an effect found in some solid materials that causes a charge to build up when it's under stress (an applied force). This relationship makes possible to use electricity to cause deformation of the material, known as the *converse piezoelectric effect*. This basically means you can create movement jus... | [
"A piezoelectric nanogenerator is an energy harvesting device capable of converting external kinetic energy into electrical energy via action by a nano-structured piezoelectric material. Although its definition may include any types of energy harvesting devices using nano-structures to convert various types of ambi... |
What is the physical volume of a visible rainbow? | _URL_0_
A rainbow is a refractory effect. You're seeing light refracted from a collection of water droplets that happen to be in the correct position relative to you and the sun for you to see it. Someone standing in a different location seeing the 'same rainbow' is seeing it refracted from a different section of a ... | [
"From above the earth such as in an aeroplane, it is sometimes possible to see a rainbow as a full circle. This phenomenon can be confused with the glory phenomenon, but a glory is usually much smaller, covering only 5–20°.\n",
"St. Albert the Great was the first to propose that each drop of falling rain had the ... |
what is a css subreddit? | CSS is cascading style sheets. Basically it enables admins of specific subreddits to create a look and potentially change some functionality (like removing downvote buttons) to help enforce the feel of the sub. | [
"CSS-in-JS is a styling technique where JavaScript is used to style components. When this JavaScript is parsed, CSS is generated (usually as a style element) and attached into the DOM. It allows you to abstract CSS to the component level itself, using JavaScript to describe styles in a declarative and maintainable ... |
Can an α-particle ejected from a radioactive nucleus capture 2 of the nucleus's electrons and become a helium atom? | Captured from the atom that is undergoing the radioactive decay? I would say - impossible.
Imagine a marathon runner trying to get two drinks at the same time from a water station. Except that instead of running, he is driving an Indycar while blindfolded.
I am guessing it is something like that. | [
"The electron that is captured is one of the atom's own electrons, and not a new, incoming electron, as might be suggested by the way the above reactions are written. Radioactive isotopes that decay by pure electron capture can be inhibited from radioactive decay if they are fully ionized (\"stripped\" is sometimes... |
in what way is the unionization of european states similar than or different from the unionization of early states and territories of the us? | Different. They're not forming a federal government with explicit foreign affairs and military "supremacy" over the individual states. That is, local militaries are not being disbanded, and individual nations within the EU can maintain varying degrees of foreign relations with external countries, independent of the EU'... | [
"Legitimation of the European Union rests on the Treaty System. The move toward unification first arose in the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1928, which gained adherent countries during negotiations and took on a theme of integration for the achievement of peace between the Great Powers. After World War Two, Europe sought... |
Can someone explain the new prenatal DNA tests to me? | you mean paternity tests? or chromosomal screening?
The [American Pregnancy Association](_URL_1_) can answer your questions, or the [Prenatal Genetics Center](_URL_0_)
Or maybe you're referring to the new [non-invasive screening process](_URL_2_), it actually reduces the risk of miscarriage (which is less than 1% fo... | [
"Genetic testing for a variety of disorders has seen many advances starting with cytogenetics to evaluate human chromosomes for aneuploidy and other chromosome abnormalities. The development of molecular cytogenetics involving techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) followed, permitting the det... |
How do you view old scholarly secondary sources? Should their conclusions be discounted because newer sources on the same issue exist? | In general, a good rule of thumb is that the newer the source is, the more likely it is to reflect the current state of research on the subject. Obviously, you have to read every article or book critically and evaluate their argument, no matter the age (because even now people write just as much bad scholarship as goo... | [
"Many sources can be considered either primary or secondary, depending on the context in which they are examined. Moreover, the distinction between \"primary\" and \"secondary\" sources is subjective and contextual, so that precise definitions are difficult to make. A book review, when it contains the opinion of th... |
why are salty and fatty foods the tastiest things to eat when your drunk. | They're always the tastiest, but when you're drunk the voice in your head that would usually say "no that's bad for you" just says HUNGRY | [
"Most soft drinks contain high concentrations of simple carbohydrates: glucose, fructose, sucrose and other simple sugars. If oral bacteria ferment carbohydrates and produce acids that may dissolve tooth enamel and induce dental decay, then sweetened drinks may increase the risk of dental caries. The risk would be ... |
How do forensics deal with identical twins? | Identical twins have identical DNA that cannot be distinguished from each other.
They do have different fingerprints, though. | [
"Criminal anthropology, and the closely related study of Physiognomy, have also found their way into studies of social psychology and forensic psychology. Studies into the nature of twins also combines aspects of criminal anthropology, as some studies reveal that identical twins share a likelihood of criminal activ... |
When did the U.S. turn away from having a major religious presence in the government during the 20th century? | I'm not certain on this answer at all, but I'm willing to bet it died, quickly, with Kennedy. His religion was a very touchy subject, so it would have been prudent of him and his administration to downplay religion.
It's also worth noting that religion became a more important part of America's politics in direct respo... | [
"During the sovereignty of the United States, the American government implemented the separation of church and state. It reduced the significant political power exerted by the Church, which led to the establishment of other faiths (particularly Protestantism) within the country. In this era, in the first decade of ... |
why are some words considered more offensive/rude than others, despite meaning a very similar or even the exact same thing? i'm referring to swear words mainly. | Similar question has been asked more than once today. It's weird.
All languages have curse or swear words; words used to describe acts, ideas, or concepts that are considered taboo by the culture that uses said language. These can vary widely from culture to culture, of course, but the common taboos in western civiliz... | [
"Profanity is socially offensive language, which may also be called curse words or swearing (British English), cuss words (American English and Canada), swear words, bad words, crude language, coarse language, oaths, blasphemous language, vulgar language, lewd language, choice words, or expletives. \n",
"The word... |
When did the idea of secession from the United States become almost unthinkable? When did people start thinking of the US as an unbreakable collection of regions subject to a federal government? | As a practical matter, the Civil War decided the issue, however, the Supreme Court officially ruled on the issue in Texas v. White in 1868. | [
"Discussion about the right of U.S. states to secede from the union began shortly after the American Revolutionary War. The United States Constitution does not address secession. Each of the colonies originated by separate grants from the British Crown and had evolved relatively distinct political and cultural inst... |
why is it that i wake up right before the good parts | I remember reading that the "good" part gets you excited and that excitement is what may contribute to you waking up. | [
"[...]And while you sleep you don’t know what happens either, what could have been changed while you have been sleeping. If things are different when you woke up just now, it could have been different before and you might not have remembered. Or if it is the same, the scenery, one way or the other you don’t see muc... |
If time is dependent on speed, what is the reference point? | There isn't any special reference point that matters. Your results simply depend on whichever reference frame you happen to find most convenient. | [
"It is important to note some assumptions made above about the various inertial frames of reference. Newton, for instance, employed universal time, as explained by the following example. Suppose that you own two clocks, which both tick at exactly the same rate. You synchronize them so that they both display exactly... |
why do patents expire? | So that a patented device or technique or medicine cannot remain proprietary forever. This is important because it would then allow for people to later build upon whatever was previously patented to continue advancement in creative, industrial and scientific endeavors.
The idea of patents (and copyrights, even though ... | [
"Excessive patent protection may also be attributed to evergreening, or methods to extend patents that are about to expire. Drug companies may extend patents well beyond their original expiration date by making slight modifications to their drug, preventing antiretroviral drugs from attaining reduced prices. For ex... |
how did internet explorer and chrome end up so different? | Internet Explorer has a lot more history than Chrome has.
In the mid-late 90's, Microsoft had managed to tie in business deals with a lot of PC manufacturers, governments, schools, and so on to make Windows the default operating system on something like 95% of the personal computers in the world. Internet Explorer cam... | [
", StatCounter estimates that Chrome has a 71% worldwide browser market share on traditional PCs and 63.34% share across all platforms. Because of this success, Google has expanded the \"Chrome\" brand name to other products: Chrome OS, Chromecast, Chromebook, Chromebit, Chromebox, and Chromebase.\n",
"Google Chr... |
What if Venus turned out to be more like Earth?
| > Also, consider that intelligent life arose on Venus around the same time as humans on Earth, at what point would we both be detectable to each other?
Probably a little after we both developed radio. If not the first probes sent to Venus would have probably have found them.
> How would his affected the scientific... | [
"In the early 20th century, Venus was often thought to be similar to Earth in terms of habitability, but observations since the beginning of the Space Age have revealed that Venus's surface is inhospitable to Earth-like life. However, between an altitude of 50 and 65 kilometers, the pressure and temperature are Ear... |
why do you need to apply pressure to bullet wounds? | pressure slows the bleeding and helps promote clotting.
Either that or they are afraid the bullet will shoot back out of the wound and kill someone else. | [
"Placing pressure on the wound constricts the blood vessels manually, helping to stem blood flow. When applying pressure, the type and direction of the wound may have an effect, for instance, a cut lengthways on the hand would be opened up by closing the hand into a fist, whilst a cut across the hand would be seale... |
how were large purchases made in gold coins during the middle ages? i.e. 2 million gold pieces? | People didn't really buy anything worth that much.
Considering how much gold has historically been worth, a couple of coins could buy most commodities, and even a good-sized castle (if you could even buy a used castle) wouldn't be worth more than a few dozen large chests of gold. | [
"For all that the surviving western specimens of early medieval gold coins must represent only a tiny proportion of the original stock, it must be borne in mind that before the 13th century gold coins were extremely rare in western Europe: in England, for instance, only eight native gold pieces with meaningful lege... |
what exactly happens when you see a beam of light? | The space between the light source, and whatever it is being shone upon is not empty. In fact, it's got lots and lots of stuff bouncing around in it. Light is hitting those things and bouncing off them in not-quite-random directions. Dust motes, smoke, water vapor, etc. Your eyes are picking up photons pinged off a... | [
"From the side, a beam of light is only visible if part of the light is scattered by objects: tiny particles like dust, water droplets (mist, fog, rain), hail, snow, or smoke, or larger objects such as birds. If there are many objects in the light path, then it appears as a continuous beam, but if there are only a ... |
why isn't the board game go as popular or mainstream around the world as.chess? | There are many cultural factors at play here. The places where Go is popular (China, Korea, & Japan) had a lot of cultural exchange over the last millennium. The places where chess is popular (Europe, US, Arabia) also had a lot of cultural exchange over the last millennium.
I have heard that Go is representative of... | [
"Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on a checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The game is played by millions of people worldwide. Chess is believed to be derived from the Indian game chaturanga sometime before the 7th century. Chaturanga is also the likely ancestor of the Eastern s... |
when muslims want sharia, what does that mean? does it mean that everyone, even non muslims should abide by those rules as well? | Yes, that's what it means.
Christians and Jews are specifically given the right to pay a tax, so long as they demonstrate that they are subservient to Islamic authorities, and are exempt from some of the prohibitions imposed on Muslims, but those exemptions are mostly religious proscriptions. The Christians and Jews p... | [
"Muslims believe \"sharia\" is God's law, but they differ as to what exactly it entails. Modernists, traditionalists and fundamentalists all hold different views of sharia, as do adherents to different schools of Islamic thought and scholarship. Different countries, societies and cultures have varying interpretatio... |
why doesn't earth spiral closer and closer to the sun due to the sun's gravity? | Because the Earth has enough velocity (that is, kinetic energy) to keep from falling into the sun.
**WARNING: BUCKET ON A STRING ANALOGY APPROACHETH**
So you've got your bucket on a string, swinging around you. Gravity wants to pull it towards the Earth, but it's literally standing straight out from you, perpendi... | [
"The Earth, among other planets, orbits the Sun because the Sun exerts a gravitational pull that acts as a centripetal force, holding the Earth to it, which would otherwise go shooting off into space. If the Sun's pull is considered an action, then Earth simultaneously exerts a reaction as a gravitational pull on t... |
why are humans not tired anymore shortly after contact with water on their bodies, for example in the shower after waking up in the morning or splashing water in their faces? | It's an instinct thing. Our body's associate water on our face with one of two immediate hazards. One rain and foul weather. And two being in a large body of water and being at risk of drowning. Our body places priority on not dying and thus we are kept alert | [
"Besides, those with cold and wet \"Mizaj\" should not sleep much as long sleep would increase wetness in the body. People with phlegmatic temperament should cut down on food items cold and wet temperament to sleep shorter and get up easily and not having trouble waking up. They had better wake up once or twice dur... |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.