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how are dictionaries, indexes, phone books, or other word lists organized in chinese? there is no "alphabetical order," right? | Each character has what's called a *radical*. It's a sort of sub-character, usually the top-most or left-most part; most of them are somewhat squashed versions of simple or common characters like person, sun, moon, and so on. It's also the first part of the whole character that you write. There are about ~~a hundred an... | [
"Chinese character dictionaries often allow users to locate entries in several ways. Many Chinese, Japanese, and Korean dictionaries of Chinese characters list characters in radical order: characters are grouped together by radical, and radicals containing fewer strokes come before radicals containing more strokes ... |
why is it more complicated to land on mars than on the moon or titan? | One big reason is the atmosphere.
With the moon, there is (for all intents and purposes) no atmosphere so you only need rockets to slow down and land.
On Titan, you have a very thick atmosphere, so you can forgo rockets and use a heat shield + parachute instead.
Mars is the worst of both worlds. The atmosphere is t... | [
"Both moons are tidally locked, always presenting the same face towards Mars. Since Phobos orbits Mars faster than the planet itself rotates, tidal forces are slowly but steadily decreasing its orbital radius. At some point in the future, when it approaches Mars closely enough (see Roche limit), Phobos will be brok... |
how teleportation is theoretically possible. if a person wishes to be teleported, do they essentially commit suicide in favour of the 'teleported' replica? | It isn't possible. There is no known mechanism in physics by which you can instantly move from one spot to another spot. | [
"Teleportation is a class I impossibility, in that it does not violate the laws of physics, and could possibly exist on the time scale of a century. In 1988, researchers first teleported information at the quantum level. As of 2018 information can be teleported from Atom A to Atom B, for example. But this is nothin... |
NADH movement through the cytoplasm? | As far as we know, it's just random diffusion, though the cytosol is more viscous than pure water, so it's a little slower in a cell. There hasn't been a whole lot of work on diffusion of small molecules, but [here's one from the 1980s](_URL_0_) where they found that the rate of diffusion depends a lot on the condition... | [
"NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) catalyzes the transfer of electrons from NADH to ubiquinone (coenzyme Q) in the first step of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, resulting in the translocation of protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane. NDUFAF4 encodes a complex I assembly factor that is import... |
the difference between the words "serentipity" and "chance" | "Serendipity" meas that something good happened randomly.
"Chance" means that something happened randomly, without implying anything about whether it was good or bad. | [
"The word \"Serendipity\" is frequently understood as simply \"a happy accident\", but Horace Walpole used the word 'serendipity' to refer to a certain kind of happy accident: the kind that can only be exploited by a \"sagacious\" or clever person. Thus Dunbar and Fugelsang talk about, not just luck or chance in sc... |
how does a state as blue as massachusetts elect a republican governor? | The incumbent governor seems to be pretty moderate. His big issues seem to be about runnng the state efficiently, promoting job growth, and keeping the state budget balanced. No talk of the typical divisive republican issues (abortion, gay rights, guns, immigration, etc.).
He’s got a 70% approval rating in a state wit... | [
"BULLET::::- Republicans are elected to many traditionally \"blue\" states in gubernatorial races. Republican candidates are elected in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Illinois. Additionally, Republican candidates are re-elected in the traditionally \"blue\" states Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, and Maine.\n",
"However,... |
why are people so interested in celebrities? (anthropological, psychological, and sociological explanations welcome) | It's an attempt to expand our social group, or Monkeysphere.
We both "know" Arnold Schwarzenegger. An unknown person is brought into our group.
C & P from David Wong's [Cracked article](_URL_0_). The cracked article is a ELI5 of [Dunbar's Number.](_URL_1_)
The Monkeysphere is the group of people who each of us, using ... | [
"However, a great many celebrities are clearly not \"intellectual\" achievers nor notable for any cognitive or analytic powers, e.g. Kim Kardashian, professional sports figures or other athletes. While they may through sheer exposure become involved in causes or controversies (as Paris Hilton did in the US presiden... |
What is the most far away Viking raid we know off? | Well, in the East Coast of Canada we have the L'Anse aux Meadows archaeological site in Newfoundland. It dates to around the year 1000. Unfortunately, I haven't ever seen any written records of raids from the native communities of Eastern Canada since the native groups there did not keep written records; but enough v... | [
"During the reign of King Beorhtric of Wessex (786–802) three ships of \"Northmen\" landed at Portland Bay in Dorset. The local reeve mistook the Vikings for merchants and directed them to the nearby royal estate, but the visitors killed him and his men. The earliest recorded planned Viking raid, on 6 January 793, ... |
why don't i sound loud to myself when other people tell me i'm yelling? | Really? I find myself "loud enough" but most of my colleagues says I am quiet. I wish I could sound louder than I am... | [
"BULLET::::- \"Yelling:\" When people yell, raise their voices, or talk in a mean tone, they fuel their own anger. Many are unaware when they start to raise their voices. People should ask others to respond when the volume is rising and thank them.\n",
"I'm caught off-guard, like, what the hell just happened?...T... |
Has there been enough time for intelligent life to evolve on Earth twice? | Yes. There's been plenty of time for intelligence to evolve, though we are the first large-scale technic species to inhabit Earth it would be impossible to definitively deny any intelligence evolved before us.
That, of course, begs the question "what is intelligence," and we don't really have an answer for that. We... | [
"While life on Earth is regarded to have spawned relatively early in the planet's history, the evolution from multicellular to intelligent organisms took around 800 million years. Civilizations on Earth have existed for about 12,000 years and radio communication reaching space has existed for less than 100 years. R... |
Conceptually speaking, what does it mean when you take a number to a power that is not a rational number? | Exponentiation of irrational numbers (either the base or exponent) cannot be defined in terms of repeated multiplication. It makes no sense to talk about multiplying something *e* times. We first accept that we have already defined how to raise a positive integer to a rational power. Then we use the least upper bound p... | [
"In mathematics, a power of 10 is any of the integer powers of the number ten; in other words, ten multiplied by itself a certain number of times (when the power is a positive integer). By definition, the number one is a power (the zeroth power) of ten. The first few non-negative powers of ten are:\n",
"The ratio... |
why can i not take a good photo of the night sky? | Those good pictures of the sky you see are taken with cameras on tripods set to long exposure. The exposure on a camera is how long the shutter stays open to light light onto the film or digital sensor. In the daytime or with good lighting, the shutter only needs to open for a fraction of a second in order to let enoug... | [
"Night photography includes photographing subjects that are lit primarily by starlight. Directly taking images of night sky is also a part of astrophotography. Like other photography, it can be used for the pursuit of science and/or leisure. Subjects include nocturnal animals. In many cases starlight photography ma... |
does a rape kit test for rape in the past few days or does it confirm sex in the past few days? | A rape kit would basically confirm a sexual act has happened though any bruising or other signs of force would be documented. There are swabs for the lips, cheeks, thighs, vagina, anus, and buttocks to collect any fluids that are there. Blood is collected to test for evidence of drugging. They take the clothes and hair... | [
"Testing at the time of the initial exam does not typically have forensic value if patients are sexually active and have an STI since it could have been acquired prior to the assault. Rape shield laws protect the person who was raped and who has positive test results. These laws prevent having such evidence used ag... |
how do stop motion animators animate someone jumping? | Techniques vary, but a support perpendicular to the viewing plane behind the character jumping can provide support without being visible. | [
"To create basic stop motion animations, the software controls a digital camera. Additional hardware add-ons can be connected for controlling lighting and camera movement. The software allows the user to manipulate the camera and the scene, and then to combine the frames into a sequence of animated frames. Animator... |
with the recent passing of the world's last *male* northern white rhino, how will efforts to revive the species continue? | Most likely as CRISP-R gene sequencing advances more this will allow them to remove and replace the southern white rhino DNA and would allow them to make a complete northern white rhino... they have made significant progress in wanting to bring back the woolly mammoth and even calm with in the next year or so will have... | [
"A \"Last Chance to See\" special called \"Return of the Rhino\" was broadcast on BBC Two on 31 October 2010. The programme followed four of the last remaining northern white rhinos as they were transferred from Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a protected reserve in Kenya, in a last... |
Is it more probable that life sprang up in one event or in multiple events through history? Could new life still be appearing on earth? | It's possible, but they're strong evidence that all life that we know of on Earth has a common ancestor, due to a near-identical genetic code and the homology of structures such as the ribosome. | [
"Countering this argument is that there is no evidence for abiogenesis occurring more than once on the Earth—that is, all terrestrial life stems from a common origin. If abiogenesis were more common it would be speculated to have occurred more than once on the Earth. Scientists have searched for this by looking for... |
how is fifa going to allow qatar to host the world cup in 2022 when drinking alcohol in public is illegal? | FIFA basically becomes the law when it's in town. | [
"Hassan Abdulla al Thawadi, chief executive of the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid, said the Muslim state would also permit alcohol consumption during the event. Specific fan-zones will be established where alcohol can be bought. Although expatriates may purchase alcohol and certain businesses may sell alcohol with a perm... |
why would someone getting fired be ok with signing a resignation letter? | For the employer, they don't have to pay unemployment. For the fired person, they don't have to say they were fired from their last job for a reason. It's a face-saving measure. | [
"Cameron determined that the mere fact that an employee had resigned because his work had become intolerable was not enough to make it a constructive dismissal. The critical circumstances had to have been of the employer's making; in addition, the employer had to be to blame, culpably responsible in some way, for t... |
why is bologna pronounced baloney? | Because it's not.
_URL_0_ | [
"Rag bologna is a long stick, or \"chub\", of high-fat bologna traditionally sold wrapped in a cloth rag. The recipe has a higher content of filler than that of regular bologna. Milk solids, flour, cereal, and spices are added during processing, and the roll of bologna is bathed in lactic acid before being coated i... |
Is Dijkstra's algorithm used in nature by plants or animals? | I'm not clear what exactly you mean. Dijkstra's algorithm solves the single-source shortest path problem for graphs. When specifically would a plant need to solve this problem?
Also, there is no way (that I am aware of) of determining if this is the algorithm that a life form is using. Other algorithms exist that solv... | [
"Bicarpellatae is an artificial group used in the identification of plants based on Bentham and Hooker's classification system. George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker published an excellent classification in three volumes in between 1862 and 1883. As a natural system of classification, it does not show evolutionar... |
is there any way a soldier can disobey orders on moral grounds? | Sort of!
Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice failure to obey a lawful order is a criminal offense. If the order is unlawful, there is no need to comply, and there is possibly a duty to challenge the order.
However legal and moral are not always the same thing. | [
"U.S. military law requires obedience only to lawful orders. Disobedience to unlawful orders (see Superior orders) is the obligation of every member of the U.S. military, a principle established by the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials following World War II and reaffirmed in the aftermath of the My Lai Massacre during th... |
Why isn't ejaculation after penetration instantaneous? | The female body makes changes to the reproductive tract during sexual intercourse to maximize chances of conception, and these take time to occur.
The male body also undergoes continuous changes during sexual intercourse, which ultimately lead to ejaculation.
[Female] (_URL_0_) and [male arousal] (_URL_1_), respecti... | [
"Ejaculation usually begins during the first or second contraction of orgasm. For most men, the first ejection of semen occurs during the second contraction, while the second is typically the largest expelling 40% or more of total semen discharge. After this peak, the magnitude of semen the penis emits diminishes a... |
Is there a type of star that emits only UVA light? | Stars emit [black-body radiation](_URL_0_) corresponding with their temperature, which is essentially a distribution of frequencies (and colors) centered around a mean which is determined by their temperature. No matter how hot the star is, there is still going to be some portion of their spectrum emitting in the visi... | [
"A-type stars are young (typically few hundred million years old) and many emit infrared (IR) radiation beyond what would be expected from the star alone. This IR excess is attributable to dust emission from a debris disk where planets form.\n",
"A-type stars are among the more common naked eye stars, and are whi... |
Resources on the planned invasion of Japan during World War II | So here's one common misconception in your statement: it was never a question of invasion versus atomic bombs. It was atomic bombs and, if no surrender followed, invasion. The invasion was still in the works when the bombs were dropped, it was still planned. It didn't get un-planned until after surrender. The people pl... | [
"Japan's geography made this invasion plan obvious to the Japanese; they were able to predict the Allied invasion plans accurately and thus adjust their defensive plan, Operation \"Ketsugō\", accordingly. The Japanese planned an all-out defense of Kyūshū, with little left in reserve for any subsequent defense opera... |
How does an UN inspector collect and verify evidence of a Chemical Attack? | For Sarin, the inspectors will check the blood samples of the victims for [IMPA](_URL_0_).
This is detected in Blood samples of potential victims.
With recent advancements in testing techniques, tests can be run as late as 20 days to detect IMPA.
[Source](_URL_1_) | [
"In case of allegation of use of chemical weapons or the prohibited production, a fact-finding inspection can be employed according to the convention. None of those activities have taken place, although the OPCW contributed to investigations of alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria as part of a United Nations mi... |
when peeing are we relaxing a muscle or are we pushing it out? | Both. You have sphincter muscles that pinch the urethra (pee tube) shut, containing urine in the bladder. When you pee, bladder muscles contract, forcing urine out. The combination of relaxing sphincter muscles and contracting bladder muscles is how you pee. | [
"Medication has not been found to help reduce or prevent muscle cramping. To prevent or treat, athletes are recommended to stretch, stop movement and rest, massaging the area that is cramping, or drink fluids. Stretching helps to calm down spindles by lengthening the muscle fibers and increase firing duration to sl... |
Individuals on a plane or ship are referred to as "souls" (e.g., "82 souls on board"). When/how did this convention begin? | That terminology is used by the bible, so it's thousands of years old. Whether that sort of language has been used continuously since then I couldn't say. | [
"In the Boston figure, dated 1420–50, nine \"souls\" are seen, in two rows, with a king and bishop in the centre of the top row, distinguishable by their crown and mitre. The napkin is not held by God, whose two hands are raised in a blessing gesture; it seems tied around the souls and to rest on God's lap. Male an... |
Why are invasive species able to eat unfamiliar things, but their possible predators aren't? | Not all species are invasive in all new environments; only those which *happen* to be able to exploit that environment, and don't *happen* to have any predators/competitors/etc capable of significantly limiting their expansion, will successfully invade and flourish. | [
"According to biology, invasive species are non-native animals that are introduced to a region or area outside of their usual habitat. Invasive species can either be introduced intentionally (if they have a beneficial purpose) or non-intentionally.\n",
"Overabundant predators are considered harmful to local biodi... |
How did the different knightly orders cope with the modernising world? (with the Teutonic knights and the Hospitallers surviving long after their crusading times were over) | Henry Sire recently published a book called *The Knights of Malta: A Modern Resurrection* about just this topic (for the Knights Hospitaller, at least).
A brief background: The Knights Hospitaller staged a centuries-long retreat from the Holy Land, ending up in Cyprus (as the Knights of Cyprus) and Rhodes (ditto), be... | [
"The Knights Hospitaller were a medieval order dedicated to the care and protection of pilgrims, and tending the sick and infirm, including the crusaders in their quest to return the Holy Land to the Christian world. A Europe-wide order, they became extremely large and wealthy landowners thanks to the patronage of ... |
why does african americans are seen more likely to vote for democrats than republicans? | In the 1960s, the Democrats pushed a bunch of laws to try and make racial equality happen. This drove all the old white racists out of the party. The Republican party then picked up all these old white racists, because it turns out that's a lot of voters. | [
"Since the late 20th century, most white conservatives have shifted from the Democratic to the Republican Party, which is reflected in county voting in presidential elections. African Americans have generally supported Democratic presidential candidates in that period, since the national party supported their regai... |
Why do batteries use the elements they use? And it's possible to make better batteries than the ones we have today? | Lithium is light (low mass per atom) and can make strong bonds (store much energy per atom). There are not many atoms that combine these properties. Making a full battery is a much more complex task, of course, you also want it to live long, to charge and (if required) discharge fast, to be safe, and so on. If you comb... | [
"For children in the age range 10−13, batteries are used to illustrate the connection between chemistry and electricity as well as to deepen the circuit concept for electricity. The fact that different chemical elements such as copper and zinc are used can be placed in the larger context that the elements do not di... |
How did PT Boats in WWII cross from the US to the Pacific or Atlantic theaters? | In short, they didnt!
They were loaded as cargo onto larger vessels and transported that way. And in general they would only be transported in groups, ideally an entire squadron at a time as they were meant to act in concert as a coherent tactical unit to be of real military value.
For instance the Motor Torpedo Boa... | [
"During World War II United States naval forces employed fast wooden PT boats in the South Pacific in a number of roles in addition to the originally envisioned one of torpedo attack. PT boats performed reconnaissance, ferry, courier, search & rescue as well as attack and smoke screening duties. They took part in f... |
Over time, do rivers/creeks dig into the earth's surface(I.e. the Grand Canyon) or do they only grow wider? | > Over time, do rivers/creeks dig into the earth's surface(I.e. the Grand Canyon)
I believe that you have answered your own question. | [
"Geologically transverse valleys frequently form a water gap where, during the course of earth history, the erosion of a river or large stream cuts a path through a mountain or hill range that stands tectonically at right angles to it.\n",
"An early and obvious theory was that the canyons present today were carve... |
How would life for the average Frenchman in Toulouse, Montpellier or Lyon have differed from one in Paris, Reims or Metz under German occupation in WW2? | You don't mention it as a factor - is it a coincidence that you have named three cities that were in Vichy France against three that were under direct occupation? | [
"For the poor of Paris, life was very different. They were crowded into tall, narrow, five- or six-story high buildings that lined the winding streets on the Île de la Cité and other medieval quarters of the city. Crime in the dark streets was a serious problem. Metal lanterns were hung in the streets, and Colbert ... |
why do so many warships and container ships have a large bulge at the bow below the waterline? | If you're referring to [this](_URL_1_) its called a [Bulbous Bow](_URL_0_) and is there to reduce the drag on the ship and therefore improve its top speed and fuel efficiency.
Normally the bow will create a set of waves as it pushes through the water, but adding the bulge in front creates a second set of waves. If yo... | [
"Essentially, the bulge is a compartmentalized, below the waterline sponson isolated from the ship's internal volume. It is part air-filled, and part free-flooding. In theory, a torpedo strike will rupture and flood the bulge's outer air-filled component while the inner water-filled part dissipates the shock and ab... |
How does music get transmitted from our phones to our speakers via Bluetooth or the auxiliary cord? | How speakers work:
As it turns out, moving charges (electrical current) generate complimentary magnetic fields. When you coil a wire around a magnet and vary the current through it, you can move the magnet. Speakers make sound by varying the electrical current flowing around a magnet that is attached to a drum-type mec... | [
"2.4 gigahertz Bluetooth connectivity is the most recent innovation in wireless interfacing for hearing instruments to audio sources such as TV streamers or Bluetooth enabled mobile phones. Current hearing aids generally do not stream directly via Bluetooth but rather do so through a secondary streaming device (usu... |
why aren't you allowed have contact with an organ donor for years after the transplant? | I'm actually in the middle of all my tests to donate one of my organs, so I had this conversation somewhat recently with my coordinator.
It depends on the particular hospital and program you are using, but you absolutely can have contact between donor and recipient if both agree to it. The initial contact is organize... | [
"Transplant professionals involving in the process of organ trafficking, in some cases, fail to pay attention or recognize the possible illegal source of the organs. The tacit agreement of silence between patients and transplant professionals keeps doctors at a safe distance to find out the legality of the organ so... |
the flame challenge by alan alda: answer the question – “what is a flame?” – in a way that an 11-year-old would find intelligible and maybe even fun. | [Feynman did a pretty good job](_URL_0_) | [
"A flame (from Latin \"flamma\") is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic reaction taking place in a thin zone. Very hot flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density to be considered plasma.\n",
"Flamer is a spinning, circular, fire-shooting ene... |
why do i sneeze everytime i walk outside, but have no known allergies? | it is called a Photic Sneeze Reflex. It affects 18-35 percent. it is an uncontrollable reaction to bright things such as the sun when you walk outside. | [
"There is much debate about the true cause and mechanism of the sneezing fits brought about by the photic sneeze reflex. Sneezing occurs in response to irritation in the nasal cavity, which results in an afferent nerve fiber signal propagating through the ophthalmic and maxillary branches of the trigeminal nerve to... |
attention: your science questions can be explained by scientists and scientist wannabes in the ask science subreddit. | But will they explain it like you're 5? | [
"Brief Answers to the Big Questions is a popular-science book written by physicist Stephen Hawking, and published by Hodder & Stoughton (Hardcover) and Bantam Books (Paperback) on 16 October 2018. The book examines some of the universe greatest mysteries, and promotes the view that science is very important in help... |
What prevented European countries like Russia, Spain, or Denmark from developing major automobile industries like GB, France, Germany, Italy, etc? | Spain produces [more cars](_URL_0_) per year than the UK and France and Russia only slightly less than the UK and well more than Italy. SEAT sells more cares than any British marque. So your criteria for having a 'major automobile industry' are pretty unclear.
Moreover, it's not obvious that _nationalities_ have much ... | [
"Belgium was the first country to develop a proper industry in continental Europe and was the second in the world (after the United Kingdom). In Germany, France, Austria, Bohemia and Scandinavian countries a real modern industrialisation started only in 1840s. In Poland, Slovakia, Hungary after 1880 and in Baltics,... |
Why did Malcom X hate JFK? | Okay, so just a little bit of background before I get into the specifics of the JFK/Malcolm X relationship. Malcolm X wasn't aligned with the Civil Rights Movement, was extremely anti-integration, and didn't advocate a nonviolent approach to civil rights; instead, he was of the opinion that cooperation with white Ameri... | [
"JFK is the clone of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. JFK is the stereotypical popular high school jock. He is arrogant, competitive, lecherous, vain and at times dimwitted. He initially antagonized Abe and Gandhi but he later befriends them by the end of the series. However, JFK an... |
What is the evolutionary reason for happiness? | You can probably trace it back to endorphins. It's obvious why these feel-good chemicals would be released eating or sex, which serve obvious biological functions. But they also get released when we're in pain or at a fight-or-flight response, because the boost to morale helps the ability to survive the dangerous situa... | [
"BULLET::::- Happiness is universal. All humans tend to assess how much they like the life they live and conditions for happiness are quite similar. Yet there is some cultural variation in beliefs about happiness. Happiness draws on gratification of universal needs, rather than on meeting culturally relative wants.... |
how does a military vessel like a destroyer fail to detect a cargo ship heading their way? | They are supposed to have multiple people on watch at all times watching the radar, radio, AIS as well as look out the windows. So people are questioning how this can happen to four different ships in the last few months. One clue is that all ships were under the same command which would make the admirals involved a bi... | [
"Synthetic Aperture sidescan radars can be used to detect the location and heading of ships from their wake patterns. These are detectable from orbit. When a ship moves through a seaway it throws up a cloud of spray which can be detected by radar.\n",
"In order to comply with International Regulations for Prevent... |
Jurassic Park Related Inquiry | So you're basically asking if the reason dinosaurs were so large is due to genetics or environment. Obviously it's both, but you want to know if one explains more of the heritability than the other. The honest answer is that we can't know for sure unless we conduct a case control study on these beasts. | [
"\"Jurassic Park\" is based on the novel and film of the same name. Following a computer system failure, paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant and others become trapped at an island theme park, known as Jurassic Park, that is populated with dinosaurs.\n",
"Jurassic Park is a 1990 science fiction novel written by Michael ... |
I have a question about toast... | A quick bit of research indicates that carbon has a fairly low specific heat capacity. This, combined with the fact a lot of the initial material may have burned off leaving only a small area/mass in contact with your finger, may explain the lack of energy transfer and thus why it didn't feel hot. This is speculation I... | [
"The word \"toast\", which means \"sliced bread singed by heat\", derives from the Latin \"torrere\", \"to burn\". The first reference to toast in print is in a recipe for Oyle Soppys (flavoured onions stewed in a gallon of stale beer and a pint of oil) that dates from 1430. In the 1400s and 1500s, toast was discar... |
why can't towns create their own internet networks? | They can. Its just expensive, and requires a town budget spending that needs to be approved.
The term is municipal network. | [
"Local networks can provide significant access to software and information even without utilizing an internet connection, for example through use of the Wikipedia CD Selection or the eGranary Digital Library.\n",
"By joining the network, cities commit to collaborate and develop partnerships with a view to promoti... |
How do the Mars rovers, like Curiosity, deal with the problem of radiation? | Radiation on the surface of Mars is not worse than that on space.
Regarding solar radiation, [the atmosphere of Mars has an equivalent thickness of 18 g/cm^2 ](_URL_0_), so given the relatively low energy of solar particles that's not bad at all. The problem is the radiation of [galactic cosmic rays (GCR)](_URL_1_), w... | [
"BULLET::::- Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD): This instrument was the first of ten MSL instruments to be turned on. Both en route and on the planet's surface, it will characterize the broad spectrum of radiation encountered in the Martian environment. Turned on after launch, it recorded several radiation spikes... |
why don't we replace income tax with sales tax? | A sales tax is inherently regressive. A family that makes very little money and spends it mostly on necessities would be hit much harder than a rich family because their percentage of income spent on any "semi-luxury" good would be *much* higher than the percentage of income that a rich person would spend. Let's say th... | [
"Because the rate of a sales tax does not change based on a person's income or wealth, sales taxes are generally considered regressive. However, it has been suggested that any regressive effect of a sales tax could be mitigated, e.g., by excluding rent, or by exempting \"necessary\" items, such as food, clothing an... |
why don't more animals just take the night shift and eat other animals when they are sleeping? | hence most daytime small animals find a secure burrow to sleep. or they band together as a pack and some sleep while others nap. | [
"It is common for animals (even those like hummingbirds that have high energy needs) to forage for food until satiated, and then spend most of their time doing nothing, or at least nothing in particular. They seek to \"satisfice\" their needs rather than obtaining an optimal diet or habitat. Even diurnal animals, w... |
How does the DNA replication machinery know when it has already replicated a chromosome? | Cyclins are a type of protein closely related to telling our cell when to start the DNA synthesis phase of the cell cycle and regulating it. More specifically Cyclin E promotes/initiates the assembly of protein complexes that actually do the replicating. Then another type of Cyclin called Cyclin A comes in, and serves ... | [
"Before replication, one chromosome is composed of one DNA molecule. Following replication, each chromosome is composed of two DNA molecules; in other words, DNA replication itself increases the amount of DNA but does \"not\" (yet) increase the number of chromosomes. The two identical copies—each forming one half o... |
what causes the physical sensation of genital stimulation? | Nerves aren't so specialized by location physiologically. It's mostly how they are interpreted in the brain. Crossed wiring nuerologically is actually pretty common. | [
"Some women report achieving an orgasm from nipple stimulation, but this is rare. Research suggests that the orgasms are genital orgasms, and may also be directly linked to \"the genital area of the brain\". In these cases, it seems that sensation from the nipples travels to the same part of the brain as sensations... |
How was ethnicity defined 1000 years ago? | My idea about ethnogenesis in the Early Middle Ages/Roman period is that is a very fluid concept, applicable according to the circumstances. That is, if you wanted to apply for membership of the Hunnic people for whatever reason, you could just state that you recognised Atilla as your overlord, whatever your parent's b... | [
"The term \"ethnic group\" was first recorded in 1935 and entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1972. Depending on the context that is used, the term nationality may either be used synonymously with ethnicity, or synonymously with citizenship (in a sovereign state). The process that results in the emergence of a... |
How do ancient Indian sources describe the Greek invaders that came with Alexander’s campaign? | The invasion of the Indus Valley (modern Pakistan) by Alexander the Great remains a divisive topic, no thanks to the modern parallels drawn between the British Raj and nationalism that can complicate matters, but also how little information we have about the Greek presence in Ancient India.
As far as it appears, there... | [
"The Indian campaign of Alexander the Great began in 326BCE. After conquering the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, the Macedonian king (and now the great king of the Persian Empire), Alexander, launched a campaign into the Indian subcontinent in present-day Pakistan, part of which formed the easternmost territories of ... |
how the notion of "a god/gods" came around | Depends on who you ask. People with strong religious conviction believe it happened and something like the bible is essentially a history book. People who don't have religious beliefs tend to view it as a means of explaining what we don't know, or as a way to incite civil behavior by promising heavenly rewards for be... | [
"Monotheists refer to their gods using names prescribed by their respective religions, with some of these names referring to certain cultural ideas about their god's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten, pre... |
What is the exact difference between genotype and karyotype? | Genotype typically refers to something arising from the DNA sequence. Karyotype specifically looks at the numbers of chromosomes in a cell, sizes of chromosomes, and position of the centromeres for example. Wikipedia will give you a decent background to karyotyping. | [
"One's genotype differs subtly from one's genomic sequence, because it refers to how an individual \"differs\" or is specialized within a group of individuals or a species. So, typically, one refers to an individual's genotype with regard to a particular gene of interest and the combination of alleles the individua... |
why do i have to dial 1? | On a regular phone, as soon as you push a button that number is sent through the phone line to your phone provider. Once you've hit 7 numbers, an attempt is made to connect to that phone number using your current area code. By dialing 1 first, you're teling your provider "Hey, I'm gonna add an area code to this number,... | [
"Dial-up access is a connection to the Internet through a phone line, creating a semi-permanent link to the Internet. Operating on a single channel, it monopolizes the phone line and is the slowest method of accessing the Internet. Dial-up is often the only form of Internet access available in rural areas because i... |
when i lick my skin and smell it, why does it smell sort of like bleu cheese? | Bacteria on your tongue. Go brush your teeth. | [
"The characteristic flavor of blue cheeses tends to be sharp and salty. The smell of this food is due to both the mold and types of bacteria encouraged to grow on the cheese: for example, the bacterium \"Brevibacterium linens\" is responsible for the smell of many blue cheeses, as well as foot odor and other human ... |
how is it that we put salt in ice cream machines to make the ice colder, but we also put salt on our sidewalks and streets to melt the ice? | Because you're not making the ice colder in the ice cream machine. In both cases your goal is to make liquid water colder, but the reasons for wanting colder liquid water are different.
In the case of the ice cream maker, there's always at least a thin layer of liquid between the cream container and the solid ice, ... | [
"Hand-cranked machines' ice and salt mixture must be replenished to make a new batch of ice cream. Usually, rock salt is used. The salt causes the ice to melt and lowers the temperature in the process, below fresh water freezing, but the water does not freeze due to the salt content. The sub-freezing temperature he... |
is someone that is prosecuted by the government and ultimately found innocent automatically due any compensation for time spent incarcerated and resources spent on defense? | Since this is a legal question you have to specify a jurisdiction. It is certainly not the case in all jurisdictions. In other words, in some locations, you can be screwed. | [
"Justice Stevens' final refuge in his cost-benefit analysis is a familiar one: There is a risk that an innocent person might be convicted and sentenced to death—though not a risk that Justice Stevens can quantify, because he lacks a single example of a person executed for a crime he did not commit in the current Am... |
The "second" is the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom... How did we discover this? | A day is the time span between two sun rises. An hour is a twentyfourth of a day. A minute is a sixtieth of an hour. A second is a sixtieth of a minute. That's how it was measured before. Obviously this is not exactly an accurate way of measuring time (it starts with each day being slightly shorter/longer than the one ... | [
"In 1967–68, during the 13th CGPM (Resolution 1), the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) redefined a second as … the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133 atom.\n",
"Eventually, this d... |
Why do so many breakfast dishes across so many cultures have dessert like features while lunch and dinner dishes do not. | I guess the question to that question is: do they? There aren't actually a lot of consistent features to breakfast cross-culturally, and those features that are common are usually more about how easy the food is to prepare than how it tastes. Certainly Western breakfasts, particularly American breakfasts, do tend towar... | [
"Breakfast and lunch differ little in Dutch cuisine and both consist of bread with a wide variety of cold cuts, cheeses and sweet toppings; such as \"hagelslag\", \"vlokken\", \"muisjes\", \"\", chocolate spread, treacle (a thick, dark brown sugar syrup called \"stroop\"), apple butter and peanut butter.\n",
"The... |
Media Mondays: Zulu (film) Expert Commentary | Zulu is actually a very interesting example of the dangers of changing details in historical media for dramatic or character purposes. One of the major characters in the film, Private Henry Hook, is depicted as a coward and a shirker. When we're first introduced to him in the film, he's pretending to be ill so that he ... | [
"Zulu is a 1964 British epic war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War. It depicts 150 British soldiers, many of whom were sick and wounded patients in a field hospital, who successfully held off a force of 4,000 Zulu warriors. T... |
totality of a solar eclipse | As for why the duration is decrease, it is because the Sun is slowly expanding in size and Moon is actually moving away from the Earth. 5 hundred million years from now, total eclipses will no longer be possible. | [
"A total solar eclipse occurred on October 3, 1986. It was a hybrid event (normally, an eclipse which is annular for most of its duration, but with totality either at the beginning, end or at sometime during the eclipse) that did not officially satisfy the definition of totality. Totality occurred for a very short ... |
how do copyright laws work? how heavily are they enforced? | Copyright law is the idea that when people make creative content, they and they alone can decide who profits from it for a limited time. Generally, this means that if you want to use content from something with copyright, ask first or be prepared for a lawsuit. However, there is something called Fair Use in the Unite... | [
"In a number of countries, copyright law provides for compulsory licenses of copyrighted works for specific uses. In many cases the remuneration or royalties received for a copyrighted work under compulsory license are specified by local law, but may also be subject to negotiation. Compulsory licensing may be estab... |
why does the middle of ice get all milky/cloudy? | Near the surface of the ice, dissolved gasses are able to be forced out as the water freezes. Further down, the gasses are forced out of solution as it freezes and are trapped. This is also why slowly freezing ice makes it clearer than quickly. | [
"During winter, the ice sheet takes on a strikingly clear blue/green color. During summer, the top layer of ice melts leaving pockets of air in the ice that makes it look white. Positioned in the Arctic, the Greenland ice sheet is especially vulnerable to global warming. Arctic climate is now rapidly warming.\n",
... |
whats the point of the joke where people are wearing those rubber horse mask | It just looks weird. The point is to get noticed. I do find that funny, even that President Obama shook hands with one of those guys. It is just surreal humor. It's OK if you don't find it funny. | [
"The Rubberbandits are comedy rappers and producers from Limerick who perform anonymously in costume. Having started off making prank phone calls, they ventured into hip hop in 2008. They have supported Ice Cube and Alabama 3. Their track \"Bags of Glue\" became an underground hit in 2008. Another track, \"Up Da Ra... |
When Pangea existed, was it made up of many Tectonic plates together, or one big Tectonic plate that broke up to create many? | Pangea was composed of multiple, preexisting plates. These [paleogeographic maps](_URL_0_) should help give you a better idea of what the world looked like before Pangea came to be.
Just remember that these maps are in no way perfect and some aspects are more well established than others. Because plates are consta... | [
"During the Late Triassic, Pangea began to be torn apart when a three-pronged fissure grew between Africa, South America, and North America. Rifting began as magma welled up through the weakness in the crust, creating a volcanic rift zone. Volcanic eruptions spewed ash and volcanic debris across the landscape as th... |
Are all potential games of solitaire winnable? | It's funny you should ask, since someone recently asked a related question. Anyways, no. About 8.5% of solitaire games are unwinnable, _URL_0_ for more info. | [
"A solitaire game is a form of puzzle, though the enjoyment of solitaire games are as much in the playing as in the eventual solving of the puzzle. A well designed solitaire game attempts to immerse the player in the subject matter, forcing him to make decisions of the same kind made by his historical counterparts ... |
what is the chance of finding life in the universe | 100%, we have already found life in the universe... us. But I'm guessing you are asking life outside of Earth, which in impossible to calculate. We only know that life exists here, but we haven't looked anywhere else. So you have a sample size of 1, you can't draw all that many conclusions from that. | [
"The astroecology results above suggest that humans can expand life in the galaxy through space travel or directed panspermia. The amounts of possible life that can be established in the galaxy, as projected by astroecology, are immense. These projections are based on information about 15 billion past years since t... |
a lot of us nutrition labels list grams of carbohydrates, and then underneath that, grams of sugar and fiber. a lot of the time, grams of sugar + grams of fiber does not equal grams of carbohydrates. why the discrepancy? | Starches are not explicitly labeled but are the missing key. Sugars are 'simple carbs', starches are 'complex carbs'. Both are energy sources with 4 calories per gram. | [
"In 2011 the Chinese Ministry of Health released the National Food Safety Standard for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB 28050-2011). The core nutrients that must be on a label are: protein, fat, carbohydrate and sodium. Energy is noted in kJ. And all values must be per 100g/100ml.,\n",
"In 2016, the FD... |
You live in an arctic igloo (with electricity). Will a refrigerator still be able to keep things at 40 degrees Fahrenheit? | I don't know where these other answers are coming from.
Modern fridges have a complex mechanism to lower the interior temperature (that works better the colder the fridge's environment) and a different, very simple mechanism to briefly heat the interior to prevent frost buildup. I guess it might be possible to jigger... | [
"The refrigerator uses three substances: ammonia, hydrogen gas, and water. The cycle is closed, with all hydrogen, water and ammonia collected and endlessly reused. The system is pressurized to the pressure where the boiling point of ammonia is higher than the temperature of the condenser coil (the coil which trans... |
Why is water a liquid and not a gas at room temperature? | Hydrogen (H2) and Oxygen (O2), are non polar compounds, meaning that they don't have a partially positive and partially negative end. Since they don't have this polarity, they aren't attracted strongly to other molecules and at room temperature they have too much energy to bond to one another. Water on the other hand, ... | [
"For example, water has a critical temperature of , which is the highest temperature at which liquid water can exist. In the atmosphere at ordinary temperatures, therefore, gaseous water (known as water vapor) will condense into a liquid if its partial pressure is increased sufficiently.\n",
"Pure substances that... |
why aren't there zip lock bags in cereal boxes? | Zip lock bags cost a few cents more to produce and those few cents would make no difference in sales. You might like having it but you arent boycotting them for not having it and you wont change your buying habits to get it, so it would be silly to waste money providing it to you. | [
"Unlike the vast majority of breakfast cereals, Corn Pops in the USA had been packaged in a foil-lined bag until the mid-2010s. This helped to prevent the Pops from going stale and from secreting a sticky substance that caused the corn pops to stick together (a problem caused by the method by which the cereal is pr... |
Why do we feel sleepy or tired when we are in a depressed state or mood? | I think the honest answer is that from a neurochemical perspective, nobody knows. Depression is still incredibly poorly understood. It's very possible that depressive states coincide with some sort of neurotransmitter imbalance that causes that tired feeling, but we just can't say for sure yet.
From a psychological pe... | [
"A depressed mood is common during illnesses, such as influenza. It has been argued that this is an evolved mechanism that assists the individual in recovering by limiting his/her physical activity. The occurrence of low-level depression during the winter months, or seasonal affective disorder, may have been adapti... |
why can my hands sometimes type (or "remember") words correctly that i'm having trouble thinking about the spelling of? | Muscle memory, as you type the word more and more you remember more accurately where you need to position your fingers on the keyboard to press the correct letter. | [
"BULLET::::- Lexical and structural agraphia are caused by damage to the orthographic memory; these individuals cannot visualize the spelling of a word, though they do retain the ability to sound them out. This impaired spelling memory can imply the loss or degradation of the knowledge or just an inability to effic... |
Could someone tell me what these are? (link in comments) | They are extra track pieces. If the tank threw its track, broke a track, or otherwise need an extra piece or two, the crew could remove the track and put it on in the field (theoretically). But the pieces also increased the armor protection of the tank, because any round going through the side armor first has to go thr... | [
"The word \"Cheburashka\" is also used in a figurative sense to name objects that somehow resemble the creature (such as an An-72 aircraft which, when seen from the front, resembles the character's head) or are just as pleasing as it is (e.g. a colloquial name for a small bottle of lemonade – from the brand name \"... |
what causes sleepy boners? | There's not really a proven point for this, but there are two main theories:
From an evolutionary standpoint, men are more sexually aroused when they first wake up. This is from the early days of human existence when the men would go and hunt right away. The reason for this is in case the men died while hunting, they ... | [
"Disrupted sleep patterns are characteristic of Smith–Magenis syndrome, typically beginning early in life. Affected people may be very sleepy during the day, but have trouble falling asleep and awaken several times each night, due to an inverted circadian rhythm of melatonin.\n",
"Sleep hollow is a possible medic... |
Why do objects make a sound when they are broken? What is causing the emission of the sound? | You hear sound when *rigid*\* objects are *suddenly* broken. Cut butter or rubber and you don't hear any sound, even if you cut quickly. Similarly, cut glass very slowly with a knife and you don't hear anything (cut, not scrape). When you suddenly break an object, right before breaking, the molecules close to the fract... | [
"The sound can be created when two rough surfaces in an organism's body come into contact—for example, in osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis when the cartilage around joints erodes and the surfaces in the joint grind against one another, or when the two fractured surfaces of the broken bones rub together. Crepi... |
have storm systems gotten generally larger in recent years? what is taking place to generate more overall mass? | Tropical storms are powered by low-pressure, moist zones in the ocean. The Sun warms the water, and as the water evaporates and heats up the air, the pressure drops in that area, and that warm wet air rises up into the upper atmosphere. Obviously, this happens all over the ocean but currents can pull warmer water int... | [
"Size plays an important role in modulating damage caused by a storm. All else equal, a larger storm will impact a larger area for a longer period of time. Additionally, a larger near-surface wind field can generate higher storm surge due to the combination of longer wind fetch, longer duration, and enhanced wave s... |
why does every post, no matter what it is, get so many downvotes on reddit? | That's because of [vote fuzzing](_URL_0_). It's a way for reddit to conceal the true number of votes a post has received, in order to hamper spam bots. The number of votes on a very popular post is different from what the page says, but the ratio of upvotes to downvotes is accurate. | [
"BULLET::::- Upvote/Downvote: Up and down votes were essentially user ratings on a given yak. For a post to become popular it had to receive more upvotes than downvotes, at which time it displayed a positive number next to it. If votes on a post reached a value of -5, it was permanently deleted.\n",
"Reddit, star... |
How do historians and economists differ in their approach to economic history? | I will try to tackle this question with you but I will have to tell you in advance that I find it very difficult to articulate an answer in a foreign language here. This is a problem that originates from our understanding of disciplines, complexity and history of ideas and I am used to writing about political economics... | [
"There is a school of thought among economic historians that splits economic history—the study of how economic phenomena evolved in the past—from historical economics—testing the generality of economic theory using historical episodes. US economic historian Charles P. Kindleberger explained this position in his 199... |
why are pepsi/coke bottles shaped different in other countries? | Each brand has to adapt to the region its being sold to.
FYI its not only the shapes and the marketing that are being changed , the flavor is being tuned as well.
As an example , I can tell you from my own experience that in Thailand Sprite is less sweet than in other places.
Its all about marketing and adaptation to ... | [
"Mexican Coca-Cola is sold in a thick or glass bottle, which some have described in contrast to the more common plastic American Coca-Cola bottles as being \"more elegant, with a pleasingly nostalgic shape\". Formerly, Coca-Cola was widely available in refundable and non-refundable glass bottles of various sizes in... |
why is it that food has to be refrigerated to keep it from germs, but if our body catches a cold it gets germs? | When our bodies get cold, our immune systems get weaker. So cold viruses have a better chance of infecting us (especially when everyone around you is sick). As for food, bacteria tends to breed best between 40-140°F (5-60°C). So it's best to keep food below 40°F | [
"Techniques that help prevent food borne illness in the kitchen are hand washing, rinsing produce, preventing cross-contamination, proper storage, and maintaining cooking temperatures. In general, freezing or refrigerating prevents virtually all bacteria from growing, and heating food sufficiently kills parasites, ... |
obscene startup valuations | On an actuarial basis, companies are typically valued at 1.5-5x revenue. A billion dollar company likely makes a quarter to a half billion in revenues. Keep in mind, even small startups need $1-10million to get off the ground these days, and it's not uncommon for a connected entrepreneur to dump $50-100 million of vent... | [
"Investors can derive a final valuation from these methods and the amount of capital they offer for a percentage of equity within a company becomes the final valuation for a startup. Competitor financials and past transactions also play an important part when providing a basis for valuing a startup and finding a co... |
When the Romans adopted another group's deities how did it work? Were the deities officially brought in to the Roman pantheon? | You might be thinking of the evocatio, or the official calling away of a foreign deity to Rome. One of the most famous examples is after Rome’s sack of Veii.
> When all human wealth had been carried away from Veii, they then began to remove the offerings to their gods and the gods themselves, but more after the mann... | [
"The Romans, identifying themselves as common heirs to a very similar civilization, identified Greek deities with similar figures in the Etruscan-Roman tradition, though without usually copying cult practices. (For details, see Interpretatio graeca.) Syncretic gods of the Hellenistic period found also wide favor in... |
why are we not allowed to say the whistleblower's name online? | Because people are crazy, and the whistleblower doesn't deserve to have his (or his family's) life threatened for doing what he thought was right. Also, it's entirely possible the leaked name isn't the whistleblower, in which case, the wrong person might have his life threatened (not that it's okay even if it's the ri... | [
"In the United States, the Truth in Domain Names Act of 2003, in combination with the PROTECT Act of 2003, forbids the use of a misleading domain name with the intention of attracting Internet users into visiting Internet pornography sites.\n",
"In 2003, the Truth in Domain Names Act was passed to address concern... |
How did the people of your specialty/time keep themselves clean and attractive? What were their usual beauty regimes? | Ancient Egyptians would wear a [cone](_URL_0_) of scented wax or grease on their heads. In the Egyptian heat, it would melt and flow down their heads, shoulders, and arms giving them a pleasant scent and making their skin glisten. | [
"During the Heian period, beauty was widely considered an important part of what made one a \"good\" person. In cosmetic terms, aristocratic men and women powdered their faces and blackened their teeth, the latter termed \"ohaguro\". The male courtly ideal included a faint mustache and thin goatee, while women's mo... |
Was toast a popular food choice before the invention of the modern toaster? | My current research is on the history of wheat, flour, and bread.
I haven't seen many specific references to "toast"; certainly people ate a wide variety of baked goods, some of them specifically served hot. The basic loaf in Britain before 1836 (when the Assize of Bread was repealed) was the "quartern loaf," a four-p... | [
"BULLET::::- The toaster is typically a small electric kitchen appliance designed to toast multiple types of bread products such as sliced bread, bagels, and English muffins. Although not the first to invent the toaster, the pop-up toaster was invented by Charles Strite in 1919, consisting of a variable timer and s... |
how do so many people seem to naturally have good/odourless breath? | Personally I think it's the food you eat. If I eat very low sugar 'natural' food products like porridge, bread, rice etc one day the next morning my breath is odourless, whereas if I ate dairy, or sugary food like chocolate and ice cream I'm more likely to have bad breath. I think it's because with the sugary food you'... | [
"One quarter of the people seeking professional advice on bad breath have an exaggerated concern of having bad breath, known as \"halitophobia\", delusional halitosis, or as a manifestation of olfactory reference syndrome. They are sure that they have bad breath, although many have not asked anyone for an objective... |
how can or why would someone consider themselves being transgender without being pre-op or post-op? | I'm no expert - but surely it's possible for someone who was born a man to feel like a woman, to chose to live her life as a woman, dress like a woman, and identify as a woman, but not want to undergo major surgery? And vice versa.
All surgery is risky. I would imagine (but maybe I'm wrong - everyone is different) tha... | [
"Transgender people experience a mismatch between their gender identity or gender expression, and their assigned sex. Transgender people are sometimes called \"transsexual\" if they desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another.\n",
"Many of the transgender people who assisted with the \"To Be W... |
What was the fighting in the Great Lakes area during the War of 1812 like? | This is a very big question, but I can give some generalities to start, and if you'd like to follow up with more specific questions I'd love to respond.
The Great Lakes basically covered the entirety of the northwestern frontier of the war, and were fought over, back and forth, between British and American forces for ... | [
"The Battle of Lake Erie exhibit covers a thematic background, featuring information about the issues behind the War of 1812, size differences between the American, British, and Canadian forces, Uniforms, and why Erie, Pennsylvania was chosen for building the American Great Lakes fleet.\n",
"The Battle of Big San... |
What effect does rain have on how sound travels? | Well when it rains it's more humid, so with all the extra water in the air sound should travel faster. I'm not 100% sure how this translates in proportion to the change in temp (cold front or warm front) but I'd imagine the temperature shift would have a higher impact. So if it's a cold front air would get even more de... | [
"Sound movement through the atmosphere is affected by wind shear, which can bend the wave front, causing sounds to be heard where they normally would not, or vice versa. Strong vertical wind shear within the troposphere also inhibits tropical cyclone development, but helps to organize individual thunderstorms into ... |
how is electricity generated? can we ever "run out" of electricity? | Super ELI5 version is this:
Rotate a conducting material in a magnetic field, and electric current will flow through it.
The magnetic field is created with magnets, which are "infinite". So the only question is where to get the force to rotate the electrical conductor.
And the answer to that question is, damn near e... | [
"Electricity is most often generated at a power station by electromechanical generators, primarily driven by heat engines fueled by chemical combustion or nuclear fission but also by other means such as the kinetic energy of flowing water and wind. There are many other technologies that can be and are used to gener... |
why does my brain feel "fuzzy" when i'm sick? | Your body is utilising resources to fight off the infection of foreign agents in your system. Higher processes are not top priority in this case, which makes certain patterns of thought (particularly reasoning) incredibly hard to do. | [
"Symptoms are common, but vague and non-specific for the condition. The most common are feeling tired, \"brain fog\" (short-term memory problems, difficulty concentrating), gastrointestinal problems, headaches, and muscle pain.\n",
"BULLET::::- The reports about memory loss, forgetfulness, and confusion span all ... |
why it was necessary or even desirable for facebook to float (ipo) | Basically the SEC forced them to do it. People with large holdings have been trading shares of Facebook on secondary markets for a while now as more VC firms/ hedge funds wanted to have their name associated with Facebook. This trading is legal if the company is worth less than a certain amount (5 million I believe, th... | [
"The Facebook IPO brought inevitable comparisons with other technology company offerings. Some investors expressed keen interest in Facebook because they felt they had missed out on the massive gains Google saw in the wake of its IPO. LinkedIn stock, meanwhile, had doubled on its first day.\n",
"The IPO impacted ... |
why do some people have 'wet' earwax while others have 'dry' earwax? | Ooh, I know this! First off, it's genetic. It's one of the rare traits that's decided by a single gene (this is called a Mendelian Trait). This particular gene is located on chromosome 16, and in this gene if one particular slot contains the amino acid glycene, your earwax will be wet. If the slot contains arginine, yo... | [
"There are two distinct genetically determined types of earwax: the wet type, which is dominant, and the dry type, which is recessive. While East Asians and Native Americans are more likely to have the dry type of cerumen (gray and flaky), African and European people are more likely to have the wet type (honey-brow... |
When I burn my toast, does the burnt portion have a similar chemical composition to charcoal? | Yes, actually. Both wood and bread are largely made of carbohydrates, which are made from carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. When you convert a carbohydrate to charcoal, it looses the oxygen and hydrogen and becomes largely carbon. This process is just starting on your burnt toast. | [
"Charcoal may be used as a source of carbon in chemical reactions. One example of this is the production of carbon disulphide through the reaction of sulfur vapors with hot charcoal. In that case the wood should be charred at high temperature to reduce the residual amounts of hydrogen and oxygen that lead to side r... |
what actually happens when an electronic bank transfer is made? | Physical money never needs to move if you dont sort it in the first place.
Lets say you are holding 5 dollar bills each for 3 friends. You put all 15 dollars in your wallet. One friend comes and says “actually make 3 of my dollars go to (other friend)’s set.”
Does the money need to move from your wallet, or do you ... | [
"Unlike a cheque, the funds from an e-Transfer are not frozen in the recipient's account. An e-Transfer cannot bounce, as the funds are guaranteed, having been debited from the sender's account immediately upon initiating the transfer. As long as both sender and recipient bank are participating institutions, the fu... |
Is the endemic ethnic conflict/civil war in Myanmar (Burma) really the result of imperialism? What were ethnic relations in the region like before the British stomped in? | This is old, but in Southeast Asia, long before the arrival of European Colonialists, there was low-land/high-land conflict. The lowland viewed itself as representative of "civilization", which literate cities supported by wet rice agriculture. The highlands were very often out of the control of the lowland states, a... | [
"Civil war broke out in Burma soon after it gained independence in 1948. The causes of the conflict were largely a legacy of British colonial rule and can be best summed up by what Martin Smith calls the \"dilemmas of unity in a land of diversity.\" First, up until 1937, British Burma was not administered as a sepa... |
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