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gdo86r
Purpose of TCP connections
There are 7 messages in total sent between the client and server, just to reliably send 1 packet of data. What is the use of each of these messages? Are they all necessary?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpik0co" ], "text": [ "Instead of looking at sending 1 packet look at how it works if you send hundreds or thousands of packet in a network where packets randomly can be dropped. There is not 7 packet of extra stuff if you send a lot of packets. There is packet to set up the connection and to...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gdohkq
Does an Ethernet cord take from the same bandwidth "pool" as WiFi?
I'm trying to set up good internet for my family here during the quarantine, and I understand the modem but the router and bandwidth have got me pretty confused. Let's say for example my family has a 300mbps internet plan and I buy an "AC2400" router. 1) Let's say my ethernet cord is connected to the router and giving ...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpij8jo", "fpil5rp" ], "text": [ "That 2400 mbps refers to communications going to/from the router to any wifi clients. All clients, both wired and wireless, can't exceed the 300 mbps up/down speed *combined* for communications to the outside world.", "All of your internet will still ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gdpk6h
Why can a TV display different resolutions and still look crisp and clear, but on a monitor anything other than native looks terrible?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpjd231" ], "text": [ "Most TVs nowadays have all sorts of fun features that increase the output quality that your normal LCD panel doesn't. One big one I see in my house every day: My LCD on my laptop is 60Hz (it redraws the screen 60 times a second) The TV in my living room, however, is 120...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gdpnhr
How does storage on phones and computers actually work, and why is there a limit?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpirw8a", "fpirla4" ], "text": [ "Modern phones and computers use \"Solid State\" storage. It works basically by charging super tiny parts (called floating gate transistors) in the solid state drive. These parts hold a charge, and the drive scans to see if the parts are charged (0) or not...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gdqbrl
Why is it not recommended to have 2 antivirus programs running at the same time?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpiv89l", "fpjc21e", "fpivcm4", "fpjn3f5", "fpj2gjy", "fpja0sp" ], "text": [ "Antivirus 1 checks something. Antivirus 2 sees Antivirus 1 is doing something and checks it. Antivirus 1 sees Antivirus 2 is doing something and checks it. Repeat. Both Antivirus 1 and 2 are invo...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gdw81s
how come a pc needs a big stick of ram to fit 8gb but a phone can have the same amount in a much much smaller space.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpjtjvo", "fpju6mw" ], "text": [ "1. The (larger) PC RAM is generally cheaper to produce 2. Physically larger RAM has larger surface area and is therefore easier to cool 3. The smaller RAM such as found in phones generally has to be soldered directly to the motherboard, and so is not repl...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gdwqjy
Why is Gain Staging used in Electronic Dance Music?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpjzbg1", "fpkd0kz" ], "text": [ "Gain staging is a fundamental part of every type of audio recording and playback. Basically, imagine your audio signal is water through a hose. Next, imagine there is a spigot (gain control) every 50 feet, and you can’t turn them up too much or the hose w...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gdyt1q
how does a search engine search the entire internet in a couple of seconds?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpk828v", "fpk8dw9", "fpk8348", "fpk8j5b" ], "text": [ "It doesn’t. It searches an optimized index that the search engine company has carefully built over a long time. Instead of driving around the neighborhood making a list of all the businesses, it just looks in the phone book."...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gdz9oy
Why do old jazz recordings sound better than other records that have been released later on?
It seems to me as if most jazz records of the 50's and 60's sound way better in recording quality than most of the other music at that time (e.g. blues, country, rock, etc.) or even later on. Why is that?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpkns8c", "fpkbzig", "fpkuzyh", "fpkq594" ], "text": [ "**Why do they sound better than most of the other music at that time?** Jazz music, including its crooner singers and big bands, was some of the most popular mainstream music at the time. As a result, they had more budget and...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ge1ppa
How do computers understand programming languages?
So I just got into learning JavaScript, and I wanted to know how complex commands are translated into the binary that computers use. Also, how do computers know that a certain string of ons and offs from their transistors mean a certain command, even abstract ones like loops and logic?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpkpv4i", "fpkufjq", "fpkwc7r", "fpkr7q8" ], "text": [ "ELI5 that concept is challenging. But essentially the Javascript you're writing gets interpreted into another few languages before actually becoming binary code. Binary code is a representation of what is actually occurring i...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ge2suu
How does an EMP actually work and how can it affect people with pacemakers?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpkwc7n", "fpkya57" ], "text": [ "An EMP causes currents in the electronic circuits it contacts. Pacemakers are very sensitive, because of how they are hooked to the body, and so messing up the circuitry could be bad.", "An EMP device / bomb will create a sudden electromagnetic pulse....
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ge3aob
Why does pluto appear red/white in fairly recent photo's, while in a picture of 2003 it seems yellow/green, and in a picture of 1996 it appears grey?
I can't post a picture here, so it's slightly hard to describe. I just saw a picture of pluto in these different years, and the colors change so much! I've got two theories: 1. Is this because the first camera could only do black and white, the second one could only do yellow and green and the newest one can do a ton o...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpl0wth" ], "text": [ "You're comparing very, very different things. The red/white image was taken from right next to Pluto with a camera that flew all the way out there on the New Horizons spacecraft. It's a B/W detector with color filters that allow it to make full color, properly corrected...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ge8jg5
What do 7,500 people do for Airbnb?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpm5k6l", "fpmz9cq" ], "text": [ "Web devs, business, corporate, legal team, customer support, marketing, etc. For multiple countries around the world", "So many people speculating here. You can find their actual org charts and hiring breakdown pre-IPO here: [ URL_0 ]( URL_0 ) One thi...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ge8tqh
Why did it used to take so long for a film to come out on video or dvd after it stopped being played in cinemas.
I read it was the rise of bootleg copies of films that made the film studios release them quicker to video but I remember it could be up to a year between a film being in the cinema and then coming out to buy but I never could understand why.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fplz35z", "fpm2zak" ], "text": [ "Windows. There's a preset window between the last theatrical release and either PVOD or streaming services. It used to be over 90 days but the studios have been shortening it little by little and now it can be between 45-90 days. Cinemas have a fast high ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ge9986
When you search something on Google and it shows a sample in the results page, how do you locate that when you follow the link?
Oftentimes I'll go to that page and it's either a mile-long text or a PDF and I have no idea where the needed portion is.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpm2cz8" ], "text": [ "I just use ctrl-F with what I saw in the preview of the page, but yeah there has to be a better way." ], "score": [ 5 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
geaq1p
How does holding the power button down tell a phone to turn on when it's off?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpmc4rr" ], "text": [ "Computers these days are never fully \"off\". The screen is off and the operating system isn't doing anything, but as long as there's still power there's a closer-to-the-metal operating system that basically just keeps the clock ticking and listens for you to hit the on...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gedwxn
5G: generation or frequency/bandwidth?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpmvel0" ], "text": [ "5G does use different frequencies. That's the kernel of truth behind the hype. There's nothing to worry about, though. The frequencies are non-ionizing radiation, so they're safe." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
geejv7
What happens when we remove a USB stick unsafely?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpmzmkc", "fpmz9qz", "fpnspyg" ], "text": [ "You risk interrupting an operation in the middle. Think of say, yanking somebody's notebook from them without asking. Maybe they were already done with it, so nothing happens. Or maybe they were in the middle of rewriting everything, in whi...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gefhp6
How are older pictures colorized?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpn59of", "fpn9i50" ], "text": [ "There are some algorithms/AIs that can do this, but usually it's done through hours and hours of work, by hand, in Photoshop or equivalent. [Here]( URL_0 ) is an example.", "Research can tell what color certain items and articles of clothing would lik...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
geh75x
What does hardware-based platform mean in programming?
How does hardware based platform work and how does it differ from platforms that are independent from the underlying hardware like Java?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpnhc1x" ], "text": [ "It means the program you are creating is targeting a specific piece of hardware, and won't work on anything else \\*. For example if you're making a PS4 game, that game will only work on a PS4. If you want to make it work on Xbox, you have to replace some of the code wi...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gephlb
Why is there a lot of talk about Apple moving to ARM chips and therefore software having to be re-written/updated. Why do apps care if it’s an Intel chip or ARM?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpote0x", "fpost3p", "fpp7czq", "fpoz1zw" ], "text": [ "the instruction sets of x86 and ARM are different. imagine if you had a cookbook in English but your user speaks Japanese.", "Imagine you're in the business of custom modding motorbikes, but suddenly all your customers ha...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
geqxyq
When/Why are cookies necessary?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpp1kn9", "fpp17y4", "fpp21nm" ], "text": [ "The Good: I know that it helps remember your settings and your login. So for example on reddit, it keeps you logged in. I think for reddit, though, settings are kept with user profiles rather than with cookies? The Kind of Bad: Cookies are ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gev7wi
Server racks, is one rack on the shelf sort of like one individual computer?
* Can that one rack (or is the rack the container and each computer is a blade?) be disconnected from the shelf and plugged into a monitor and keyboard? * for each individual rack on the shelf, can it only handle one user? Or could one CPU handle one user per core or is it even multiple users per core? * in the instanc...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fppsl9x" ], "text": [ "A server isn't all that different from any other ordinary computer or laptop. A \"rack\" is just a standardized shape and size to allow multiple devices to fit in a known measured amount of space and mount up to the rack's frame. A \"rack\" is (typically) 19 inches wide...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gevcxd
Why on computers if you highlight text and then push caps lock it doesn't turn the highlighted text into uppercase, but if you highlight something and click delete, it deletes it??
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpptdau" ], "text": [ "Caps lock works on the next value you put in, delete on the previous. Protip: shift + F3 does do what you want. Convert lowercase to uppercase." ], "score": [ 12 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gevv01
What is Roko’s Basilisk in the simplest terms possible?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpq84ph" ], "text": [ "\"Roko's Basilisk\" is the name applied to a thought experiment suggested by a user who posted on a particular message board using the name Roko. This experiment is notorious because it imagines a hypothetical future which could imperil the thinker merely by knowing abo...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gew22f
What causes Wifi signals to fluctuate (ex. Strong to weak signal)?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpq07lo" ], "text": [ "WiFi signals reflect (at least partially) off lots of surfaces inside buildings. These reflections bouncing around can interfere with each other, in some places they add constructively and others they cancel out. Since the wavelength of WiFi is somewhere around 10cm, th...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gewrer
if network TV can be broadcast over the air for free, then why cant WiFi be a tv channel (so it’ll be universally available and free)?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpq21t2" ], "text": [ "TV broadcasts are the same no matter who is receiving them (assuming they are in range), and one directional (the viewer isn't sending a signal to the transmitting towers). The same is not true for internet connections" ], "score": [ 11 ], "text_urls": [ ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gf1bb3
- Why do cellphones that are very small seem to have specs that rival much larger PCs?
I'm not saying top end PCs, but a lot of cell phones seem to have incredible specs in such a small package, 8gb ram and processors at around 3ghz?, in such a tiny device? How is that possible? The only thing I don't think they have is Graphics cards, is there a difference in 8GB of cell phone RAM and 8 GB of PC RAM? Or...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpr1eh8", "fpqyien" ], "text": [ "The ram is roughly the same as in a PC, but mobile processors are far less powerful. The GHz of a processor just tells you the cycles per second, but not how much work is done by each cycle. Imagine you've got a kid with a spoon and a bloke with a shovel,...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gf2ku4
How do touch screens know the difference between your skin and any other object?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpr28h8" ], "text": [ "Anything that conducts electricity can be used as an input for touch screen (so the screen never really knows if it's your skin or another metal) When you wear gloves, you are not able to usr me it because gloves are not conductor" ], "score": [ 5 ], "text_u...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gf514s
How does bluetooth work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fprkpy5" ], "text": [ "Imagine a cord between two devices, but rather than a cord, it's radio waves constantly being emitted by a chip inside. These radio waves have a relatively short distance, as opposed to, say, the radio waves you're emitting while making a call of some kind, but still th...
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[ "url" ]
gf5qv3
Why can’t my laptop microphone pick up the sound coming from my laptop speakers?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fprj22w", "fprlgn9", "fprixv5" ], "text": [ "There could be a few reasons for it. Most likely is that the laptop is programmed so it knows what audio it is outputting and can isolate and remove it from what the microphone is picking up. Another possible factor would be the type of mic...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gf9ef5
why are printers so needlessly confusing and cryptic?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpsmlow", "fps74ag", "fpsh918" ], "text": [ "I strongly suggest you do a cost analysis. It actually turns out MOST people would save more money by using a print service than they would owning their own printer. It's not financially worth it even for the occasional \"quick print\". Bea...
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[ "url" ]
gfcntk
How do movies and live videos switch between camera angles while maintaining the audio perfectly?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpsqiaf", "fpsw33y" ], "text": [ "I'm not sure I understand your question. The audio is entirely separate from from the cameras, it's not recorded at/by the cameras. So changing cameras won't affect it.", "* For live videos it's easy: * Everything is captured by a mic. * The mic is to...
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[ "url" ]
gffob9
How does a RAID 5 file storage system use less space than mirroring?
If I have four disks and I'm using RAID 1 (mirroring), I can only store two disks worth of data, because of the other two backup disks. This makes intuitive sense. If I have four disks RAID 5, I can store three disks worth of data, and yet still be able to restore all lost data if one of the drives fails. How can the s...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fptpwj8", "fpt9xra" ], "text": [ "> How can the system restore any failed drive without having enough space to store all data in duplicate? Short answer: it plays Sudoku. Imagine having a table with 4 columns containing numbers and an arbitrary number of rows, and the sum of each row is c...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gfgm3c
people are saying Tik Tok is a Chinese data mining operation
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpth8te", "fptgcjy", "fpticdp" ], "text": [ "Can't speak to the consequences, only the rumors. Note, what follows is conjecture and common sense. Because access to information about the inner workings of the Chinese government is pretty much impossible one has to extrapolate from what...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gflh7y
how does electricity actually power things
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpucckv" ], "text": [ "One common metaphor that's used is that a wire is like a hose, and a full battery is kind of like a full tank of water on the top of your house. A battery has potential energy in the form of a charge difference (one pole has more electrons than the other, and they want ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gfn41p
What happens if you don't turn airplane mode on?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpunfdo" ], "text": [ "Cellphones get their connectivity through their access to cell phone towers. Like all forms of technology, connecting requires power. When you’re relatively close to a cellphone tower, your device uses relatively less power, than being far away from a cell phone tower. ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gfreuy
why the handling of OSs is easier on a PC than on a phone.
ELI5 why is booting, installing, replacing and testing operating systems on a PC or laptop so much easier and safer than on a smartphone? Why is bricking so prone to phones while I have never really heard of laptops or desktops becoming useless due to any incorrect handling of the boot process?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpv85yk", "fpva9lp" ], "text": [ "Long story short: when you replace the software in the phone, you ALSO replace the software that helps with uploading and starting up new software. The software that does that in a computer, the BIOS, is also extremely delicate when you have to replace it...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gfurl7
Why chipset based graphics discontinued?
In olden days before the core series from Intel, motherboards used to have small graphics chipset on it. Rather than being integrated on the cpu. Why was this discontinued? Current gen mainstream AMD cpus do not have processor based graphics like the Intel ones do. (the G series parts come very late and technically are...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpvuexg", "fpvrpdh", "fpvu8u2" ], "text": [ "There was a move to consolidate features from various chips on the board into the CPU Originally motherboards hosted the CPU, Northbridge(Memory Access, high speed ports, and iGPU), and a Southbridge(Slow access ports like PCI and USB) As t...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gfvkqe
In what way does crypto "money" differ conceptually from the virtual money in one's bank account?
The virtual money in this case (an online statement) doesn't actually exist, it's just a value system used by the bank to be translated into hard cash if ever you have to make a withdrawal. But that virtual currency isn't a thing in reality, even if on the backend it might have its own funky way of working in the finan...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpwcl2t" ], "text": [ "Money is broken down into two types, fiat and commodity. Commodity money has some sort of commonly applied purpose, and that common purpose makes the money inherently useful and valuable. The idiom \"you aren't worth your salt\" comes from the Roman army. Rome had so ma...
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[ "url" ]
gfwrji
how does the autofocus work in a DSLR camera?
I know it's something related to the camera changing the focal length until it obtains the sharpest image but does it know which one is the sharpest image?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpw5cfa", "fpx61a6" ], "text": [ "It evaluates the sharpness by edge detection. It finds the line that divides the highest brightness and color change, then changes the focus to create the sharpest, most abrupt change across the line. They get more sophisticated by testing several areas a...
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[ "url" ]
gfycfe
why are soap operas so obviously soap operas?
to clarify, what im asking is why do you always know? i cant figure it out. even with no volume, you can tell. and if you actually watch for a minute, the acting is really not bad, objectively speaking. many actors started on soaps. is it a very particular camera equipment, or shooting technique?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpwg03a", "fpwe1yi", "fpwesja" ], "text": [ "Soap operas are produced very quickly and very cheaply; this has been part of their process for decades and has given rise to a lot of tricks that give them their distinctive look. The two biggest ones are filming technique and lighting. Be...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gg0xk7
How can you dial the emergency numbers without a sim card? How does it work actually without network too ?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpwtre2" ], "text": [ "Well, it doesn't work without network. Its a regulatory requirement that if the phone can see or be seen by any cell network (of the same technology, GSM, 4G whatever) it HAS to always be able to make an emergency call. All cell phones have the potential to contact any ...
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[ "url" ]
gg3z0p
Shouldn't we be putting HEPA filters on every air conditioner and heater? Don't HEPA filters take viruses out of the air?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpxcmi9", "fpxe0dn" ], "text": [ "The problem is not the virus lingering in the air, it’s people sneezing and people breathing in the aerosol, or people sneezing, the snot going onto surfaces and people touching the surface and then their mouths", "HEPA filters take damn near *everyth...
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[ "url" ]
gg4nn7
Why metallic notebooks vibrate when you touch them while charging?
Don't know if its really a vibration, but when I move my finger/hand over the metallic surface i feel like a vibration/buzzing, while it disappears when i find an sticker or label.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpximrf" ], "text": [ "The laptop is not grounded properly and is coupling some mains electricity through you to the floor. If you unplug it you won't notice it anymore. Its harmless though at such a low current." ], "score": [ 5 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gg4ssr
How does collision detection worin in video games
How do you get data like coordinates and convert them to a true/false of intersecting something else?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpxlehp", "fpxl8lw" ], "text": [ "First you have to define a boundary which interaction with counts as a collision. This is usually not the model itself since the model is very complex, made up of lots of small, moving faces. The collision box is often very simplistic, sometimes just that...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gg7p2s
Why isn't everything in compressed/smaller file?
From my understanding, ZIP files are much smaller than regular files and are compressed. There are probably other forms of file compression too. Why aren't these a standard if they save space/are smaller?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpyaa2b", "fpy2flm", "fpy3l0o", "fpy2ztv" ], "text": [ "Compression is extremely common in application file formats. For example, Microsoft .docx and .xlsx files are actually ZIP archives. Image formats like .jpeg, .png, .gif, are all compressed; [.jpeg uses lossy compression]( UR...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gg8vlk
Why do ads show up for things I’ve only talked about and not searched for online?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpyc9hz", "fpyj2p4", "fpyis7i", "fpyn5r4", "fpydlqf", "fpydxe1", "fpztv7g", "fpzj44e", "fpyf1bk", "fpyubzb" ], "text": [ "Pattern analysis. You search for other things and a computer with alot of data figures out that the type of person who searches for the...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
gg9ove
Are GPS systems that track speed in vehicles (MPH) inaccurate if a person is going up a hill?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpygyzs", "fpyifsc" ], "text": [ "No road has that kind of slope bro. Max vould be about 15°. But I think it takes the elevation into account. After all the satellites are not right above you", "Short answer - yes. Most GPS systems do not account for your angle and will only tell you ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ggc013
How did Flour become a Thing?
I see modern agricultural grasses as worth harvesting because they are humongous and planted next to each other in fields. And we have the whole grinding them into flour thing. Did cavemen go around stripping the seeds off of what I imagine as similar to what modern-day prairie grass grows? What did they do if they had...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fpzaguh" ], "text": [ "There are actually groups of apes and primates which does use stone tools to smash open different kinds of seeds and roots to get to its nutritious insides, thereby making flour. However even though flour was used throughout all human history most grains was boiled and ...
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[ "url" ]
gge2pm
What is fracking? Why is it so dangerous?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq016p4", "fq0009e", "fpzy5x7" ], "text": [ "Drilling for oil and natural gas is mostly vertical. You poke a hole straight down into an oil or gas pocket and bring it to the surface. Because the stuff at the bottom is under pressure from all the stuff above it, it flows upward. You ca...
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[ "url" ]
ggf6wh
How can completing captchas help Google train data models, when they have to know what the solutions to the captchas are in the first place?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq0ec7i", "fq0g9vv", "fq0ltnr" ], "text": [ "They don't know. In every captcha there are multiple responses to be provided and they only know some of them. If the one's they're sure about are all correct then they will let you through with whatever answer you selected for what remains...
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ggfyuu
How do non-English speaking programmers write code?
Are there translations for popular languages or do they simply memorize what the English words do (like print, for, loop, etc.)
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq0kb3c", "fq0mc6v", "fq2pssk", "fq2wrjr" ], "text": [ "We code in English using the English keywords but it's common to see things such as method names declared using a mix of words in two languages: E.g. English and Portuguese: * 'getContaCliente' instead of 'getClientAccount'. ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ggguj5
How do they "up-scale" animated films?
I've seen several examples of animated films (like Disney films) that have been up-scaled for better graphics, but the concept doesn't really make sense to me.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq0tja2" ], "text": [ "even animated films were still filmed on film. film is already upscale. the downscaled version is what you know of in VHS or DVD form" ], "score": [ 9 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
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gggzbx
Why do non-touchscreens have that tiny rippling effect when you apply pressure on them?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq14m32" ], "text": [ "They're made from a technology called liquid crystals (that's the LC in LCD). Each individual crystal is very tiny and there are thousands of them arranged in a flat layer to make up the screen. These are arranged in front of colored lights and they can be energized so ...
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ggkvq2
what’s the “Gutenberg parenthesis”?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq2c4wd", "fq2gfyl" ], "text": [ "So for all of human history storytelling was basically ephemeral. That is I would say it to you you would say it to your friend your friend would say it to the next person and so on. If you've ever played telephone you know what the refining and retelling...
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gglln8
How do Cloud Storage services like Google Drive make sure your data is safe from a server fail?
I'd imagine that the consequences of a data fail would be catastrophic. How does Google keep our files safe?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq20gw4" ], "text": [ "The same way most stuff is protected. Multiple copies at different locations. Your data is generally backed up more than once, so that if one fails it doesn’t matter, you still have the other one." ], "score": [ 7 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
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[ "url" ]
ggm1ng
How would mail in ballots lead to voter fraud?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq2d66j", "fq2idlg", "fq271gb", "fq2dgh7", "fq27v6y" ], "text": [ "We have mail-in voting in my primary. Today I received ballots for 6 people, only two of which actually live here. I guess the other people used to live here. While it's a crime and I'm certainly not doing this...
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ggn0xs
Why do car manufacturers not design cars with an upgrade path for features which are quickly outdated, eg, GPS, in-car entertainment?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq2ikwc", "fq2r0pi", "fq3kywx", "fq3a9qp" ], "text": [ "Because they want you to buy a new car if you just updated a few parts you less likely too.", "My 2016 Kia was able to be updated to have Apple CarPlay. That was a game changer. The built in GPS basically never needs to b...
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ggu4rr
What do prevents a hacker or a malintented employee to create virtual money out of nothing in bank databases?
How does this technology works and how do we know people or banks aren't just creating money without government approval?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq4u2nz", "fq4tmxf" ], "text": [ "Double-entry system of accounting. If money is added to one account, it's subtracted from another account. Now, an \"account\" is a broad term.", "Any big leap in an account value is bound to set off a flag in the system and send an alert to the banks...
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ggubr5
Why are most old laptop chargers proprietary
I know that a a few newer laptops use usb-c, but most laptops over 5 years old have some weird proprietary connecter, why was this?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq4sxn8" ], "text": [ "The primary reason is royalties. When companies use tech developed by someone else, such as a specific connector, they have to pay royalties to use it. Often developing your own is far cheaper than paying those royalties." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ ...
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ggx4tv
How is kindle’s screen different from other screens?
Is it possible for monitors and phones to have a screen like that?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq59yo0", "fq5e82v" ], "text": [ "Kindles use an e-ink display as opposed to the more common LCD or OLED displays found on cell phones. An e-ink pixel doesn't require power to stay in its current state (light or dark). Power is only used to change state from one to the other. So it only u...
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ggxu9h
Where and how does my "deleted" storage go?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq5cqz7" ], "text": [ "Everything on your storage is, ultimately, stored as 1s and 0s that are somehow marked on whatever storage medium you're using (the exact way depends on what type of storage, but it isn't really relevant right now). The device has to keep track of what spaces in memory ...
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ggzi0l
How do people take photos of galaxies with 50 hours of exposure? How is it possible to aim at the same spot while earth is doing more that 2 rotations in that time?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq5l1wt", "fq66xac", "fq6l4vr", "fq7t7e0" ], "text": [ "Hi :-) The stated hours are the combined time of multiple exposures, often during multiple nights. Via software you can then \"stack\" multiple images, increasing details, reducing noise.", "Combined exposure during multi...
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[ "url" ]
gh2zyz
Where do the telecommunication companies get their internet?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq629ha", "fq63u7c" ], "text": [ "They *are* the internet. They link up to other telecom companies via expensive cables owned by one or both companies, so you can send messages from your computer, through your ISP, through the other ISP, to *their* subscribers' computers. That's it, that'...
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gh3tpq
What are Datacenters
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq68b1f" ], "text": [ "A place where lots of computer equipment is placed. Looks something [like this]( URL_1 ). They can be [huge]( URL_0 ), housing millions of dollars worth of equipment. Each of those towers is called a \"[rack]( URL_2 )\", and it contains hardware stacked on top of each o...
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ghbzvr
How different parts of a PC work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq7ws6i" ], "text": [ "Do you want this ELI5? or \"ELI I'm building a computer and actually need to know what components do\" for that go to /r/techsupport" ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ghmoue
OData and Rest APIs
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq9mn2g" ], "text": [ "For an example, let's say you have a database of books you want to make available over an API. If you GET /books, you get a listing of all the books. If you POST a book, a new book is added to the database and you get back its book ID. If you GET /books/ < id > , you ge...
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ghnp2v
How do YouTube to Mp3 converters work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fq9q9m6" ], "text": [ "YouTube and any other streaming service send down videos in a series of chunks that are seamlessly played together. An application can take these chunks, staple them together, take only the audio portion, and give you an MP3 as a result." ], "score": [ 3 ], ...
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ghr2fi
How do cores, i5s/i7s/i9s, different GHz, and 16/32 GB of memory affect a computer performance when working together?
I want to get a new computer because I’m an educator and I’d like to start designing a website, making video content, writing long documents, photoshop, and other content creation. I’m looking at a MacBook but the research on how all of the cpus work with cores work with ghz speed work with different memory sizes is ma...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqaa9vb", "fqahu4f" ], "text": [ "Ok so the cores are part of the cpu. The cpu is, as the name says, the central processing unit. It processes tasks. But to process those tasks, the cpu often needs data to work on. But accessing data from the harddrive is slow. So the data that is needed ...
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ghwg0z
Why do VR games need so much more power to run?
One thing that's throwing me for a loop is that VR games run at fairly normal resolutions. For instance, the oculus rift S only has a 1440p screen, it's the same 2560x1440p resolution. A GTX 1070 or higher can run most games at that resolution at 90fps or above. So with worse lighting quality what makes these games so ...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqbecgj", "fqbg37f" ], "text": [ "To achieve an authentic 3D effect, VR games need to render two separate images for every frame, one for each eye. So straight off the bat you need nearly double the horsepower for the same resolution on a single monitor. Also there is a lot of extra posit...
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gi0qqm
What is CPU hyperthreading/multithreading and how does it benefit me?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqc34uz", "fqbxn0g", "fqbypwn" ], "text": [ "Someone commented this awhile ago and it stuck in my head. Hyperthreading is just like giving a worker 2 conveyor belts to complete said task instead of waiting on materials coming down one conveyor belt and just standing there waiting for ...
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gi1nch
why does having a long story before a recipe help websites get better search engine results?
Whenever I'm looking for recipes online there is invariable a long story about the author's family and which family members like this dish and which ones do not. I'm sure I'm not the only person who thinks this is vey uninteresting and just wants to get to the cookie recipe but I've heard that doing this gives websites...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqc521e", "fqcm5bi", "fqcpzhj", "fqc31c0", "fqcorj4", "fqdjai2", "fqdat25", "fqd7sc1", "fqcxz6g", "fqcpmr8", "fqco6hn", "fqdfh4o" ], "text": [ "Another aspect of this search engine optimization is simply content depth and key word frequency. The exa...
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gi3bbm
if I skipped an update and waited for another one, does the 2nd update's file size become bigger?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqcchcr" ], "text": [ "It depends on the type of download. Some downloads will re-download the entire game (rare nowadays, but common in “electron” apps like Discord and Twitch) Most downloads will only install what has been changed since the current version. This means, yes, the file size co...
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gi67oy
How are Bitcoins 'mined'?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqcutvg" ], "text": [ "In a Blockchain, transactions are stored in blocks and chained together. The chain is created by the last block in a chain containing a hash of the previous. A hash is basically a small number/string of characters created based on an input. The string is created by a ha...
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gicxsk
How does registering a domain work? Why does it cost money to register an unused domain, is there a big database of domains owned by one company?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqdwwt7", "fqe51j2" ], "text": [ "You're not buying the domain from someone. You're paying for the service of publishing your domain to maintain the record and push to thousands of dns servers worldwide.", "At a super high level: The entire internet is controlled by one organization -...
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gid50c
how does a mouse sensor work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqdukxf" ], "text": [ "Modern mouse sensors are actually pretty basic. An optical mouse is basically a red LED, which bounces light off a surface and into a CMOS sensor (not to be confused with a CMOS inside a computer) This CMOS is basically a camera. It takes the image and compares it to th...
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gidq6z
What’s the difference between a wifi extender and mesh network?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqdywuw", "fqe4wmm" ], "text": [ "Typically, a WiFi repeater is pretty dumb and just repeats everything. A mesh WiFi network is intelligent in only rebroadcasting what needs to be rebroadcast in order to extend the reach. In addition, Mesh networks can be managed in a single interface, wh...
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gie7z3
How come when you are watching cable television and the show you are watching is about to come back on you sometimes see a split second of a cutoff commercial?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqe19bi", "fqf2w1y", "fqf2v5f", "fqfepup", "fqf9bj7", "fqfvj6b", "fqf8skw", "fqgo952" ], "text": [ "Different TV stations show their own commercials for local stuff, like the local news channels, other shows they air, or local events to give some examples. But the ...
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gifa1x
How was graphic design done for something like a board game or a book cover before modern computer software was available?
I suppose I'm referring to things that don't look like they were just hand drawn. For example, take Monopoly boards from the 1950s or 60s. How did they design and reproduce the symbols when they didn't have digital scanning and things of that nature?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqe8i2x", "fqeb0qc" ], "text": [ "With moveable type. It was invented by Gutenberg, in 1450. Before that, it was wood block and engraving. Everything has only been digital in the past 20 years or so.", "Chances are you haven't seen something that was hand-drafted rather than hand-draw...
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giier1
How do NASA scientists know that a spacecraft is completely air sealed before it goes into space?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqeqekl", "fqf51rg", "fqf77xw", "fqeqblx", "fqfwqqn", "fqfwiot" ], "text": [ "The same way we test any other pressure sealed system, raging from big tankers to tanks, to the gas pipe systems. Every valve and opening is sealed, then we pressurise the system, if the pressure...
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gilajy
Is there an eventual limit to how fast we can wirelessly move data? If so, what is that limit?
Obviously wired connections will always be faster than wireless, but is there hard limit to moving stuff wirelessly? Not attached to equipment, but in relation to how fast the signals can move through the air / how much they can carry through the air? I don't know any better wording. Sorry!
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqf8wul", "fqf9xpw", "fqf92zy" ], "text": [ "The maximum speed anything can move in this universe is the speed of light, which is electro-magnetic radiation. Information via wireless communication is transmitted in this format. So, the speed of light. If you're asking about *bandwidth...
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gin5wm
Why does ‘turn it off and on again’ work so often with electronics?
Seems to be the go-to response to tech issues to the extent where it’s used as a joke response to any issue. From a programming perspective it shouldn’t help as nothing algorithmically changes, so what is physically happening?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqfl568" ], "text": [ "Programs rely on what the state of the system is, especially the data stored in short term memory (RAM mostly) to operate correctly. If that state is screwed up somehow, the easiest fix is to reset everything to a default state. Imagine closing your eyes and walking fro...
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ginmwy
Why is there such a fuss going on right now with 5g cell service? How does 5g work and what are it's benefits/drawbacks?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqfnxsx", "fqfo77r", "fqfnz1b", "fqfpli5" ], "text": [ "5G is the newest \"update\" to the service we currently get on our cell phones. It's faster (almost 10x as fast in some places) and covers a wider area. That being said, it has not yet been perfected and dropped signals are c...
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ginpjk
Why do so many people say older tools (30+ years old) are much better made and higher quality than modern tools?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqfok7q", "fqfoozf", "fqgmcvz" ], "text": [ "Survivorship bias. The 30 year old tools have already held up 30 years while the new tools haven't had a chance to be proven for decades yet. Also kindly forgetting all the tools that broke on them even back then; the ones that are still in...
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giofyz
How do airplanes fly in tight formation with no roads or lanes?
I saw the Blue Angels today. Aside from practice, how do they manage to communicate and fly with such precision?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqftcje", "fqfsye1", "fqgfnzj" ], "text": [ "As much as it seems there would be computers involved assisting them, it’s mostly visual reference and tons of practice.", "They can see each other. Their motion is relative to each other, not relative to the ground. There is a huge amo...
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giqw4z
When we pay for internet, is that because there is a limited amount of it? Or because it is intangible, couldn’t we all use it for free if companies let us, without any problems?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqg8mj1", "fqg8yh5", "fqgf2d5" ], "text": [ "When you pay for internet you are paying for all the cabel satellites servers etc. That your service provider uses to connect you to the internet. It is expensive to upkeep all of that infrastructure, thous the customer gets charged.", ...
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gircua
what did Sputnik 1 the first satellite launch into space actually do?
I'm just wondering what sputnik's function was was it just a test to show that something could be launched into earth orbit or did it have weather instruments on it or something like that
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqgbsmz", "fqgrsig" ], "text": [ "Mostly just showed that it could be launched into orbit. It transmitted radio signals that were used to analyze inonsphere it traveled through. The signal also changed if temperature or pressure was outside certain parameters, so you could say it 'measure...
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girm0a
So what exactly does 4G/5G mean?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqge9i8" ], "text": [ "It's the \"generation\" of mobile networks. 1G was just your regular call network. 2G added basic data (text) capability. 3G was when we got mobile browsers and such. 4G just gave us faster data, and 5G is faster yet." ], "score": [ 17 ], "text_urls": [ ...
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gisuh3
How is Nintendo Switch emulation already so smooth when systems like N64 and Saturn still have issues?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqgnks8", "fqhau7i", "fqhi4bp", "fqhlxz6" ], "text": [ "The switch uses a pretty well documented SoC (Tegra X1), the operating system is FreeBSD based and borrows some components from Android, and the OS also shares code with the 3dS system software. So there are a lot of knowns t...
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gitvp9
How do weapons "lock-on" to aircraft and vice versa how do aircraft "know" they are being "locked-on"?
I've always taken it for granted in movies and videogames but it just baffles me how long it's been around for.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqgtikz", "fqgq6fw", "fqgtvoi" ], "text": [ "Locking-on is the computer telling the pilot \"hey, there's a thing here I can tell apart from empty air, it doesn't go away and I can keep finding it.\" How it's telling it's doing this depends on how the missile is being guided. Not every...
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giuamz
How do Phones vibrate? What is the mechanism behind it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqguax5", "fqgs6nm", "fqh2qm1" ], "text": [ "There's a tiny motor about the size of a flattened pea that spins a little weight. The weight is off-center so it causes vibrations. Some more expensive phones have a solenoid, which doesn't spin but moves back and forth. These vibrations a...
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gix6k3
-how can a phone keep things in ram even when it has been restarted?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqh6o6v", "fqhfu0m", "fqh74fw" ], "text": [ "It's not. It has to read it from its non-volatile storage (your flash drive) or, less likely, over the network. Your phone has no non-volatile RAM.", "I think I know why you asked the question. Did you restart your phone and notice that...
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[ "url" ]
gixi1i
Why only sunlight can charge solar panels?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqh83f7", "fqhbeaa", "fqh8iko" ], "text": [ "Other light can charge solar cells. However, using the giant free source of light in the sky is the only light source that makes sense for electricity generation.", "Ok, I have PhD level experience in solar panels. Let me reduce this to...
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[ "url" ]
gixonm
how does your phone figure out how full your battery is?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqh9rrl", "fqhix74", "fqhno4u" ], "text": [ "Hi :-) All batteries have a nominal voltage, but the voltage changes depending on how full the battery is (and depending on the load). So your 4.2 volt phone battery will have 4.2V at full charge, and cuts off at 3.3V (as discharging it fur...
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[ "url" ]
giydgt
What's the significance of weight distribution when racing?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqhdark" ], "text": [ "The center of weight in a car is directly related to how it behaves when pushed to the limit. The further forward it is the more understeer you get and the further back it is the more oversteer you get. Having more weight on your drive tyres increases grip during accele...
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gizpjh
Why is phonecall audio still low quality, despite the fact we can stream much higher quality audio via the internet?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqhlzyo" ], "text": [ "Because a significant portion of the phone network is still running on the POTS, or Plain Old Telephone System. That is, still the straight up no computers involved wires relays super basic system that's been around since the late 19th century. No doubt any call from a ...
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gj1ctl
How did we settle on 16:9 as the default aspect ratio for most screens?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqhup71" ], "text": [ "There used to be a bunch of arbitrary aspect ratio used around the world. 4:3 for TV, 15:9 (European Flat), 1.85:1 (American Flat), 2.2:1 (70mm film). If you overlaid all the old arbitrary ratios, you could put a 16:9 rectangle around them so that all of them could be 1...
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gj2bei
- Why software has to be rewritten or updated for the Apple next gen macbook featuring ARM processor?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqhzl7i", "fqi06qu", "fqi0wga" ], "text": [ "Different processor architectures have different instruction sets. If you think of it as a worker and software as a manual for doing a job a worker that speaks English needs a different manual from a worker that speaks Spanish. Also it's mu...
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gj3jv5
How does the OnePlus camera see through plastic?
URL_0
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fqi8s9y" ], "text": [ "It sees infrared, and that box is made of infrared transparent plastic, which is probably used because that device has a remote control that goes with it." ], "score": [ 5 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]