q_id stringlengths 6 6 | title stringlengths 4 294 | selftext stringlengths 0 2.48k | category stringclasses 1
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9mvfga | Why is it better to charge a modern smartphone from 20% to 80% even if it implies more charges rather than the old way(let it drop to 0 and then full charge)? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7hnddi"
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"text": [
"It's not. This is one of those ongoing myths that for some reason won't die. Modern smartphone batteries have no issues at all regarding charging or battery strength that, and all of these \"only charge to X%\" is complete nonsense."
],
"score": [
6
],
"text... | [
"url"
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9mvueh | How can robocalls use YOUR cellphone number. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7hr8h1"
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"text": [
"The plain old telephone system (POTS) is plain and old. It was built long long before we cared about security There's nothing in the system right now to enforce that a number shows up as itself. Many robodialers just report a different number when connecting to the netw... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9my98g | What exactly are firewalls in terms of computer security? How do they work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Easiest way to explain it is its basically like a filter that lets certain predetermined computers and programs pass and blocks others",
"Conceptualize internet traffic as road traffic in the form of trucks... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9mz35u | how, with modern technology, can you still have a call show up as "unknown" with no number? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7ico10",
"e7ieol8"
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"text": [
"[Because hiding from caller IDs is a specific function built into the phone system.]( URL_0 )",
"A private number means the number was blocked with intent. If it comes from a carrier that does not provide caller id it will show as unknown."
],
"sc... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9mzfj7 | California Proposition 65 Mess. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7ihkal",
"e7ihtym"
],
"text": [
"A company can get in trouble for not informing consumers of any presence of a chemical that could be considered toxic or carcinogenic. It sounds reasonable at first, but the issue is these chemicals are dangerous in high concentrations - not the concentra... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9mznp8 | Why do washing machines have windows? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7ih6su",
"e7ikcc4"
],
"text": [
"I’ve only seen doors on front loaders and a few very high end ones with those special wash baskets on top. Front loaders do for a very good reason, so you can make sure it has drained before you open the door.",
"If you're supplying a laundromat, it m... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9n1swp | What did people use home PCs for in the 70s and early 80s? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7iyh6o",
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"text": [
"We got our first home computer in 1981. I was in junior high, so I used it for games, and word processing for homework -- papers and such. My dad used a spreadsheet program for some things, and I also used it to learn how to program on it. ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9n1tsp | Why can games like Fortnite run well on mobile devices, while not being able to run on home computers with similar or better specifications? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7iyo1p"
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"text": [
"disclaimer: I haven't played fortnite, on any device. ~~so 720p on mobile isn't the same as on a tv. It's describing the density of pixels and not the total amount. That's already a huge difference that mobile can take advantage of.~~ Also mobile might use lower quality... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9n5w21 | How do photographers take pictures of lightning? | I'd assume there is some kind of sensor that triggers the shutter but even then it seems like the lightning would flash too quickly. On the other hand maybe something to do with exposure? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7jvdtm",
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"text": [
"It's exposure. Done correctly with a tripod, you do a long exposure and cross your fingers. At least , that's how I did it back when I was still doing photography",
"Long exposures. The shutter will be open for 30 seconds or more every ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9n6bpr | How do wireless phone chargers work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7jyzik",
"e7k7pw2"
],
"text": [
"The charger base makes a varying electromagnetic field. A coil in the phone, or plugged into the phone, absorbs this electrical energy and produces voltage. The phone's battery charging circuit uses this voltage to fill up the battery.",
"When electri... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9n7w2b | Would it be easier to colonize Venus? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7kaa9g",
"e7kac4m"
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"text": [
"The probes we have landed on Venus's surface last less than an hour. The pressure and temperature are so high the probes melt. Pressure **ninety times as much as Earth** with temperatures of 470 degrees C/878 degrees F. Cooling is not the only issue, it's... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9n9wbk | why does Google Crome use so much RAM? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7kqe4x",
"e7kuh15"
],
"text": [
"Largely speed optimizations. A program that wished to have minimal memory usage that drew a web page (one that had two overlapping images for example) would download the two images, calculate what the overlapping images should look like, and draw the web ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9naeyb | why are mobile companies removing headphone jacks from smartphones nowadays ? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"e7kqfvf",
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"text": [
"Headphone/3.5mm jacks are currently the thickest part of a lot of smartphones, so it basically serves as a hard limit for how thin you can make a phone. Remove the headphone jack and replace it w... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nam7f | Why do electronic cigarettes use Glycerine/PG instead of just using water? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7ks1os"
],
"text": [
"Have you ever tried inhaling water? It doesn't do very good things to you. Additionally PG and VG are very good and carrying flavour."
],
"score": [
6
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
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"url"
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9ncboz | What is the subtle difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7l6lf9",
"e7l6i2g",
"e7lkflx"
],
"text": [
"The WWWeb is really (if you want to get technical) only talking about web pages and websites. But the Internet is the platform overwhich the Web is delivered. Like Netflix - you use a website to browse netflix in your computer browser... bu... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ncqyy | Why is using the wrong fuel killing an engine? | Let's say i put diesel in a gasoline engnine. both fuels explode and propell a piston. why is the one damaging while the other one is fine? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7lbr5l",
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"e7m3hws",
"e7lgs83"
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"text": [
"A small amount of diesel in the tank of a petrol engine is not a problem. The will preform worse as it is harder to ignite. A large amount of diesel will result in fuel that the engine can't ignite so it will not work and you... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9nefib | Why does a computer take longer to copy a file than to move it? Shouldn't it be the same since it's all data anyway? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7lnup3",
"e7lnzjc"
],
"text": [
"The reason is that moving a file is just changing the index location. This is not true when moving to another partition. Where's copying is a true read/store (to memory)/write data. Typically moving is always faster, unless you move to another partition. ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nf9jn | how do astronauts navigate in space? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7lux1i",
"e7lvbgl"
],
"text": [
"Well first, the magnetic field of the Earth extends far out into space, but that's just an aside. There are many more ways to navigate than just using a compass. Most spacecraft navigate using some combination of inertial guidance, star sighting, tracking... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nj99n | How does an app like Measure on the iPhone work | My guess is something to do with cameras and focal points and then maybe triangles and some maths | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7mpq9o"
],
"text": [
"Im sorry, but it never works for me, so I’m gonna have to say it doesn’t. It actually uses apple’s augmented reality kit. It finds a bunch of points in the space and tracks them as the phone moves."
],
"score": [
11
],
"text_urls": [
[]
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} | [
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9njezu | If camera lenses are round, how does the image or video differ in landscape or portrait modes? Shouldn’t the lens capture the same image dimensions however it’s rotated? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7mot84"
],
"text": [
"It's not the lense that captures the image, it's the cameras image sensor. The shape of that sensor usually is 4:3 (like old TV's). For different shapes the camera/phone digitally crops the image."
],
"score": [
4
],
"text_urls": [
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} | [
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9njnel | Why did old cameras record and old TV's displayed images in a more square ish shape, and now the modern ones record/display images a lot more in a rectangular shape? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7mrfx2",
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],
"text": [
"As stated before, a more squarish shape is more natural due to how lenses work. The film ratio of 4:3 was chosen because of the area of the film available for the image after the sprockets are put in. When TV was popularized, it chose the s... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9njsf1 | Why is there still a mirror in a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera? | I fully understand, why you'd need a mirror in the analog world. But why are there DSLR cameras having a mirror, too? Is there some advantage to it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7mvvig",
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"e7mtqj2"
],
"text": [
"It's so the viewfinder can optically provide the user with a true view of the image being taken, as opposed to electronically.",
"To expand on what other have said. & #x200B; **Part 1** & nbsp; Prior to the current genera... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9nnqdf | Why are the chips in debit cards a thing? | I've always heard they're "more secure" and "faster payment", but half the time the chip readers at stores I go to are down or take three times as long as just swiping. And I dont understand how it increases security? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"e7o86h0",
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"text": [
"When you swipe the magnetic stripe on your card, the exact same information is transmitted each time, including a static security code. If someone copies this information, they can... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9no5pv | How do computers store information? And why is there an integer limit in computing? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7nx34x",
"e7nr47r",
"e7nsdez"
],
"text": [
"You don't need to know binary to understand this. You do need to understand two things, though: 1. Digits. Each number requires a certain number of digits. 545 requires 3 digits. 384271 requires 6 digits. Yes, computers use a different numb... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9npdmy | Why is it when a radio has heavy static just walking close to it can make the signal stronger? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7o0hf4"
],
"text": [
"Because you can act like an antenna for the radio. Try holding the antenna and moving your arms around. Or you could be blocking a source of noise that is interfering with the radio signal."
],
"score": [
8
],
"text_urls": [
[]
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} | [
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] | [
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9nrd2v | How does an iron lung work? | I was reading up about polio and read that many children ended up in iron lungs to allow them to breath "normally". What exactly does the iron lung do to allow the patient to breath normally? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7ohgve",
"e7oh15w",
"e7owbu5"
],
"text": [
"Your head is outside an airtight seal in the iron lung, so only the rest of your body is inside (generally, though at least your chest) & #x200B; The iron lung alters the air pressure in the chamber. If the force of the air pressure in the ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9nrer9 | How do old songs like Message in a Bottle or TV shows like Friends get remastered when the equipment itself was used during the time it was recorded or filmed? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7ogpon"
],
"text": [
"The studio recording equipment, eg reel to reel tape and studio cameras make a much higher quality first generation copy of the source material. It's the mixing process and delivery formats that suck. Digitize the source material and re edit using modern equipment, you ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nso43 | How does this faster than light camera work? | They built a camera that records a single photon of light. How does this work? Why couldn't they do it before? URL_0 | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7oq0zp",
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"text": [
"What is special about this camera is its shutter. First of all the shutter speeds can be set to extremely short times. This is done usi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9nvjxs | Why do magnets "die" after a while of being used? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7pl49r",
"e7ps16h"
],
"text": [
"Imagine the atoms in a magnet as little arrows. When manufacturing magnets, all of the arrows are arranged In one direction. This is done because it makes the arrows useful. ⬅️⬅️ ⬅️⬅️ These arrows don't like to all go in the same, linear direction. This i... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nw4oe | Why are Disneyworlds 3D "movies" so much better than movie theaters imax3D and RealD? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7pey77"
],
"text": [
"Normal movies are shot to be viewed in both 2D and 3D, this results in some compromises and relatively limited usage of 3D Disney knows that the movie will only be shown in 3D in that specific venue so they can specifically cater it to 3D and where the audience will be ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nwk7j | How does a button click captcha work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7pi0z6",
"e7pi1sa"
],
"text": [
"You mean reCaptcha? It tracks mouse movements from right before the button is pressed. Humans move the mouse unevenly and somewhat erratically, while bots move the mouse very smoothly.",
"Clicking a recapatcha2 box takes information about the user's m... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nwmca | How exactly was DNA used to catch the Golden State Killer? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7pjang"
],
"text": [
"DNA is a great tool in forensic analysis of crimes but is useless in identifying you if your DNA does not already exist in some form of database that police have access to. Having the best possible DNA sample available doesn't matter if there's no match for it in the da... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nx6mj | Why do objects in old cartoons that the characters interact with have distinctly different textures, colours, brightness, saturation, etc. than the background? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7pnivo",
"e7pnln0"
],
"text": [
"Because they're drawn separately on different cels. In old cartoons, a background cel would be drawn and colored, and the foreground cels, containing everything that moves and is interacted with, are drawn and colored separately as well. The cells were st... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nxasa | how do vinyl records work | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7pqflp"
],
"text": [
"A vinyl record has a single groove running in a spiral from the inside to the outside of the disc. That groove looks smooth to the unaided eye but if you look closely enough you'd be able to see that it's actually jagged, with the interior walls moving side to side and ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ny7tl | What do the specs on my PC mean? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7pwdme",
"e7q023d"
],
"text": [
"> HP Pavilion Desktop, 590-p0066 Just the name > Intel® Core¿ i5-8400 The name of the CPU (the \"engine\" of the PC). Tells you about how powerful it will be on most applications (i5 8400 is pretty decent and good enough for even the newest PC games) > 12... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9nziye | Why printers are so consistently troublesome to use? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7q80mn",
"e7q8c9n"
],
"text": [
"Their failure rate is lower than you think, it's just that you don't think twice about it until it does fail. So it feels like it fails whenever you want it to work. Also, let's think about the internals of a printer. Lot of moving parts and a fairly comp... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9o1xxa | What is NAT and why does it make playing with friends a pain in the butt on consoles? | What's the point of it? It's some kind of safety measure all I know. Rainbow Six: Siege had it awhile ago and it was impossible to play with friends with different NAT types. Ubisoft then removed it and you could play with friends no matter what's their NAT type. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7qqnf3",
"e7qr1do",
"e7qpzai",
"e7qyce4"
],
"text": [
"Every computer that connects directly to the internet has an address, kind of like your house has an address. When your computer talks to another computer it gets the other computer’s address and sends data there and includes... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9o330k | What does it mean to "train" an artifical intelligence? How are they "taught" or "self-educating"? What exactly happens when they "learn"? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7qyyci",
"e7qyclq",
"e7qzf9z",
"e7rg2e9"
],
"text": [
"For example when you want to train an AI to learn to decide if there is a kitten in the picture. You have a neural net that in the beginning doesn’t know anything so you give it multiple pictures of different cats with differ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9o4vq0 | Why do some programs, after downloading or changing a setting, need a restart? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7reoe3"
],
"text": [
"When a program starts it stores a load of information on your computers memory, that makes it more efficient than constantly reading from the program files. When there is an update, the code of the program changes and some of the configuration as well, this means the me... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9o5uke | Printers are known for being horrible, breaking down randomly and having many errors. In this day where every piece of technology is getting better and better, why are printers still so bad? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7rmrqt",
"e7rn8ie"
],
"text": [
"In defense of the poor printers, most do a pretty good job in a high-abuse environment. Printers have some very hot parts, think a hot light bulb. They have some staticy parts, think scruffling across a carpet in dry weather amd touching a door knob, they... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9o6gcz | How can a bunch of text characters crash a PS4? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7rrmgw"
],
"text": [
"Crashes typically happen when a program is caused to enter a state which is unexpected by the programmers, resulting in incorrect behavior such as infinite loops or the attempt to execute instructions which cannot be performed. In the case of a message causing a system ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9o7yq5 | how would a cell phone react in space? | Would you be able to take a selfie? Would they be able to capture audio? Would internet work at all? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7s58sr",
"e7s3vlw"
],
"text": [
"It wouldn't have signal but it would do all of the non-phone tasks just fine though it would overheat after a while. You're a wee bit out of range of cell towers being at least 100 km up, but there is WiFi on the ISS. It's super slow but its WiFi nonethel... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9o871q | Why don’t they make paper straws the same way they make paper cups? Would seem to solve the issue of them getting soggy. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7s7ntw",
"e7s6up8"
],
"text": [
"Unlike the cups which the liquid only touches the coated waxy surface, the straws would have to be coated on the inside, outside, tip, and the seam. I imagine this would be harder to do and make them rather expensive.",
"I would imagine paper straws w... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9o8ecu | What’s so special about the UNREAL ENGINE? There are so many video games that seemingly are powered by UNREAL. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7s9zgl",
"e7sa2tu",
"e7sl6u8",
"e7sqq62"
],
"text": [
"It's an engine with a lot of features already built in, instead of having to make one of your own (which is very expensive). IIRC, the makers of the Unreal engine offer a deal where they just take a cut of your profits as pay... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9o8lwe | What is Raspberry Pi and what can you do with it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7s9h83",
"e7s9hag"
],
"text": [
"At it's simplest, it's a inexpensive and weak computer (with an ARM CPU) with the essentials and a few general purpose pins that can be controlled/read through software. As for uses, it's up to one's imagination.",
"It's a simple computer. If you need... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9o97wg | How is it that Google became a much more popular search engine compared to URL_0 , altavista or even yahoo when they basically do the same function? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7sfiks",
"e7sfode",
"e7sh8hp",
"e7sfmhq",
"e7sg7v5",
"e7six6p",
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"text": [
"Google got much better results. The older ones, back then, often didn't do so well and you had to try a few times with different terms to get what you wanted. It too... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9oc9yu | How does 3D Printing work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7szz2e",
"e7t1vvc",
"e7sy87w",
"e7sy8s7",
"e7t1mto"
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"text": [
"Many common machines (called FDM) are basically a glorified hot glue gun on robot arm, or lays plastic down and moves around while it cools. Then there are many other 3d printing techniques, but this is the mos... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9od8pq | How does electronic data storage work? | When I speak of data storage, I'm referring to anything that is used for storage purposes. For example, what differentiates the methods of storage between credit cards, CDs, cassette tape, USB drives, etc? I have always been curious about this kind of technology that we take for granted, as I was never taught how it wo... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7t7k0l"
],
"text": [
"The history of computer data storage is long and super interesting. Lots of people have had lots of interesting ideas about how to convert some observed physical phenomenon (like magnetism) into something that a computer can use. Some of the early computer were even des... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9odfuv | Cars have an “idle speed” where the engine still runs even without pressing the gas. What happens when you’re pressing the brake and completely still? How is the engine not harmed since it’s still running? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7t6yzq",
"e7t6iuj",
"e7tqmei",
"e7t7ciw",
"e7t6wu5",
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],
"text": [
"Automatic transmissions have a fluid coupling between the engine and transmission that allows the engine to run at low RPM without transmitting much torque to the transmission. Imagine a propelle... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9oea7m | Cubesort | How does cubesort work? I was reading about other sorting algorithms when I came across Cubesort, and I can't wrap my head around it. I know how other sorting algorithms such as Quicksort, Radix sort and Mergesort work. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7ul26b",
"e7uui8t"
],
"text": [
"A standard balanced binary search tree (let’s say of numbers) has a root node (avalue at the very top of the tree that should be directly in the middle of our sorted data) with two branches. You compare your key to the root and go from there if it’s highe... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9of2wt | What is the difference between OLED and QLED technology? Which is better? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7tkijg",
"e7tr023",
"e7tpb63",
"e7ts4xm"
],
"text": [
"Okay, so OLED is a major update to traditional backlighting systems, in a similar vein as plasma TVs. They are called “self emissive” pixels which basically beans that each pixel creates its own light and color. So when the s... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ohbsb | What are APIs and why are they useful? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7u8733",
"e7u2arc"
],
"text": [
"An API (Application Programming Interface) is a *standardized, documented* interface that allows one computer application to \"talk\" to another computer application. Others in the thread have given similar definitions, but they've missed the most importa... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9olkci | How does binary code translate into, for example, a 4k movie? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7uyrm4",
"e7uxiwe"
],
"text": [
"Binary code is just numbers. Only instead of counting: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... you count: 0, 1, 10, 11, 100, 101. Both are exactly the same thing, just represented differently. Then, a movie is just a set of images. For a 4K movie you have 3840 columns by 216... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9omr9m | How do television networks know how many people tuned in to watch a specific show at a certain time? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7v3zqi",
"e7v4006",
"e7v682z",
"e7v6piz"
],
"text": [
"They often have a number of people who fill in viewing diaries in return for a small payment. Extrapolation to the whole population, similar to opinion polls, gives the total audience. Other methods use recording boxes to wor... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9on7ss | Why does microwaving a pastry only take 15 seconds to get it piping hot but really watery things like soup can take several minutes? | I thought microwaves agitate water, so it would seem to me that the higher the water content the faster it heats. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7v6owy"
],
"text": [
"Q=mcp(deltaT). Thats equation for heat transfer. Water has a really high heat capacity (cp) and can be pretty dense (high m). It makes the amount of energy required to raise the temperature pretty high. So it does heat up water specifically, its just pretty energy inten... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9oqlrs | Why do a lot of spacecraft use gold foil? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7vxhxg",
"e7vzuft",
"e7wzned"
],
"text": [
"Because it is almost optimal for everything from heat transfer to electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance and shielding from radiation. Just about any of those uses it is amazing at.",
"Actually, they aren’t: URL_0 At least not al... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ose3d | Discord is ad free and only has a 5$ optional subscription fee. How do they afford to service their close to 100 million users? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7wd3x2",
"e7wcxfj",
"e7wfsiv",
"e7wgh0o",
"e7wga40"
],
"text": [
"Investors. Right now Discord is not bringing in a profit and they are losing money. Investors in the company are giving them money to continue to operate until they can figure out a path to profitability. This ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9osm8p | Why do pixels on certain digital devices like old calculators cast a shadow? | I've just noticed how the black pixels on monochromatic, non-backlit screens like digital radios and calculators cast a shadow on the screen itself, how is that happening? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7welqe"
],
"text": [
"i believe the device you're referring to is a LCD liquid crystal display. basically its a clear liquid that turns solid and opaque with the applicaation of a minor electric current. so that opaque segement is actually blocking light, casting a shadow on the reflector be... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9otphs | Why does CGI cost so much money? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7wnqkf"
],
"text": [
"because it takes forever and a lot of training to use the animation programs. it takes animator hours to create a short sequence sequence, then it can take hours to render that sequence."
],
"score": [
4
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ou3ub | Why does in private browsing let you view more articles on a website that restricts you to a certain amount of free articles per month when you've gone past the limit of free articles? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7wrekj"
],
"text": [
"Before I answer this, let’s first answer the question how websites know you’ve read a certain amount of articles in the first place. They do this through a method called caching. In simple terms, it is somewhat of a temporary storage in your computer so when you visit t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9owfhq | How do our eyes have such big dynamic range and why cant we replicate camera's with the same range? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7x8uey",
"e7xdvzh",
"e7x8sxz"
],
"text": [
"Our eyes are not just looking at the scene, it is assessing what to focus on at any given nanosecond. So a picture attempts to force a perspective that \"hey, look at the beauty of this evening sky, or the awesomeness of the football game\"... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9oygb9 | How do the bakery's cut hot dog buns when they are still all stuck together to the other hot dog buns in the package? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7xmygv"
],
"text": [
"Hot dog buns are usually 4 across. THey are cut with three knives, so you end up with this pattern of bun sides cut uncut, uncut cut, cut uncut, uncut cut The side buns are cut normally the middle gets cut with a pointy flat spike that goes all the way through and cuts ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9p00p7 | connecting 2 computers with usb | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7y0ou9",
"e7xybrx",
"e7y0sjw"
],
"text": [
"USB is based on a host/client relation. The computer or host side (A side of the cable) contains the more complex hardware needed to manage one or more USB devices and coordinate the sending of data so that messages don't overlap and interf... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9p3yo8 | Why do electronic devices, after having a technical difficulty, usually fix themselves after you turn them off and then on again? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7yxo73",
"e7yuwnm",
"e7z5ekt",
"e7yy77z",
"e7zh94o"
],
"text": [
"Computers rarely make mistakes. Humans make them all the time. Sometimes humans make mistakes when writing a program for a computer and the computer has no way of clearing that mistake. Depending on the device ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9p6rjw | Why aren't state sponsored cyber attacks considered an act of war? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e7zi13h",
"e7zib4v",
"e7zj2gt",
"e7zirys",
"e7zkl77"
],
"text": [
"Basically, everyone's doing it. & #x200B; If one nation suddenly decided it's tanks on the lawn time, then everyone else would have the same excuse - You can't claim the moral high ground when proof is released... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pbd5x | How do machines record sound? | I’m not sure how this happens, and it would be very nice to know. Only thing I thought it could be is remembering the movement of the sound waves hitting it... but it’s a shot in the dark and I can’t find it online. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e80ekio",
"e80nd56"
],
"text": [
"The short, simple answer is that you use something that vibrates easily when sound hits it and attach a sensor to that. Like old ribbon microphones, the ribbon vibrates with sound waves passing over it, and you attach a bit of circuitry to it that can mea... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9pcl9n | How do photographs actually work? | Like how can we “print light rays” like this is so confusing and most sites confuse me even more Sorry for some weird grammar, English isn’t my native language | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e80p8gr",
"e80pi01"
],
"text": [
"Certain silver containing chemicals react to light by turning from clear to black (transitions lenses use the same reaction to darken in light). These chemicals are the basis of film photography. Black and white was earliest and more simplified so let's s... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9peai2 | Botnets, what are they? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e812zrg"
],
"text": [
"Essentially, a botnet is a group of \"enslaved\" computers (for lack of a better word.) A malicious hacker would have created a trojan virus that has the ability to control the computer it has infested- giving the creator a chance to either further spread the trojan or ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pgbwg | How do they reenact concerts through projections? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e81l0qi"
],
"text": [
"Never mind, really high. Just realized the video is from 1995"
],
"score": [
37
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9piggq | How is deleting old emails good for the environment? | Edit: URL_0 | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e81y6r3",
"e822mwt"
],
"text": [
"I'm not sure that it is, particularly. In theory, deleting old emails frees up space on the server or the PC, so maybe the computers won't need to be upgraded so often if everyone keeps deleting old messages. But I'd imagine that the effect is minimal.",
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9pikvc | How do laser printers work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e81yqyt"
],
"text": [
"Laser printer toner is given a small negative electric charge inside the cartridge. Another component, the *charge roller,* applies a uniform negative electric charge to a photosensitive drum roller. Thus, the drum will repel toner, preventing it from adhering. This is ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pjd4n | What measures a write cycle on an SSD? | I know what it is in theory, but what I don’t know is how it’s measured. Is it a certain amount of gigabytes saved? A certain amount of time spent writing data onto the drive? I hope I’ve explained the question sufficiently to be answered. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e8256k5"
],
"text": [
"Flash consists of billions of transistors that store data by pushing electrons through to a floating gate. They're pushing them through an insulator which gets damaged each time and will break down eventually. The \"write cycles\" spec is how many times you can write to... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9pk6f2 | how glass and paper products are somehow better for the environment than plastic? | Is it simply just because they are biodegradable? I’m not doubting that plastic is horrible for the environment, but I’m kind of confused as to how paper or glass products is a better alternative when we have to cut down trees for paper and glass is heavier than plastic, meaning (possibly) higher transporting/fuel cost... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e829ncr",
"e82a570",
"e83fnip"
],
"text": [
"Glass can be easily recycled and so can paper. Paper also biodegrades readily, both are better long term than plastic/fossil fuel products including transport and production emissions. Plastic is just cheaper.",
"Glass is one of the few... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9pkzy6 | Difference between AED and manual defibrillator (I think that’s what it’s called.)? Do both reset incorrect heart rhythms or can either restart a flatline? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e82g3ki"
],
"text": [
"Both an AED and a hospital defibrillator cannot start a stopped heart. They shock the heart which causes it to stop beating and then it restarts naturally into a hopefully normal sinus rhythm. An AED detects the electrical activity of the heart and then determines if a ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pl2lg | How exactly does cruise control work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e82gvi1"
],
"text": [
"There's multiple ways for cruise control to work. The first way is outdated and only used on old cars that have a throttle cable. When you engage it, it turns on a motor that will hold the throttle valve in the desired position. As you go up/down hills, the motor will o... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pmh6t | Why are graphing calculators still huge and clunky when our smartphones can harness the internet to perform the same functionalities in 1/5 the physical size? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e82s4dp",
"e82s5u6"
],
"text": [
"Smart phones are also 5x as expensive, so that is the trade off here. Comparatively, a graphing calculator is a simplistic device using simplistic hardware and software to perform a narrow range of functions.",
"Because they haven't changed their fund... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pnyxz | What do bits and bytes look like and how are they moved around from computer to computer? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e835al1",
"e8337fc"
],
"text": [
"A bit is *physically* stored in a computer in a number of ways. On a hard disk, you have a platter, which is a nickel disk that spins at 7.5k RPM, and an electromagnet can change the pole of a surface region - so a bit is going to be a north or south pole... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pszzi | why can't you connect multiple wireless headphones to the same phone via bluetooth | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e842tkw",
"e846s59",
"e842cd1"
],
"text": [
"Because Bluetooth audio creates a 2 way connection to encrypt the information so that others can't listen in. To have two people listening at the same time, you would need to be able to create 2 separate Bluetooth audio signals each encrypt... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pwhf2 | Why is Wi-Fi slower than ethernet? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e84rtjz",
"e84scpd",
"e84rpma",
"e84zjd2",
"e84ursc"
],
"text": [
"Its the difference between drinking out of a bottle and out of a water fountain. Any non physical connection makes transfer harder to get the same amount of stuff.",
"You're trying to fill up a cup with wat... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pwo4g | Red Dead Redemption 2 releases in less than a week. The full 90+ GB game is installed on my hard drive. How are developers able to keep this content locked without someone finding a way to crack it open early? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e84tgxp"
],
"text": [
"Encryption is a wonderful thing. In the most basic terms there are mathematical operations which are easy to do in one direction but practically impossible to reverse. This allows messages, or in this case huge amounts of data, to be encoded in a form that cannot be mad... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9pxlcm | Why has non LTE service slowed down over the years? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e850ciq"
],
"text": [
"Re-allocation of frequencies. Each provider has a certain amount of spectrum at any given location, and it gets split up to be used by various technologies. LTE is both faster in general and more efficient, so as we reach a point where most people have LTE-capable phone... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9q1jme | why is copper used for heat sinks, and why are there no phone cases made out of copper that keep the phone cool? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e85xh7h",
"e85yvdp",
"e85xsru"
],
"text": [
"Because it conducts heat very well and would have the reverse effect in a hot car etc. so it would be counter intuitive",
"The main factor is copper is simply more expensive than aluminum, and copper serves no purpose better than alumin... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9q1njd | What does Temple OS do extremely efficiently compared to other operating systems like Windows, DOS and Linux? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e85zd1z",
"e85zd9m",
"e861ub5"
],
"text": [
"The main technical novelty of TempleOS was how tightly integrated Terry's \"HolyC\" language was in every part of it. The terminal was just a HolyC REPL, for instance. Basically, you did everything by writing HolyC, which was then interpret... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9q2eks | What are the differences between guitar pickups for electric guitars and acoustic guitars, including those which mean acoustic pickups need a battery as well as the amplifier? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e864ps0"
],
"text": [
"There's 2 types of pickups that I know of. The first one is the most common and uses an electromagnetic field to transpose string vibration to an electric signal that can be amplified. When the strings vibrates, it changes the electromagnetic field around the pickup. Th... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9q2wrd | If mobile processors are now (in some cases) overtaking laptop and desktop processors in terms of power why aren't they universally adopted into all laptops and you could make the battery last 10 times longer? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e867hge",
"e867qkz",
"e8675g1"
],
"text": [
"Your premise is wrong, mobile processors don't outperform desktop processors. Not by a long shot.",
"Are they, though? Short answer: No. Mobile processors are a long, long way behind laptop and desktop CPUs. Long answer: Laptop and desk... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9q5c3f | Why do some songs sound much louder/crisper than others on some music streaming services? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e86qwkx"
],
"text": [
"Before streaming services, music was mostly heard on the radio and on media like vinyl records, cassette tapes, and compact discs. Part of the process of producing music is a phase called \"mastering\" where the recorded songs are tweaked to sound the best on whatever f... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9q6pph | Intel's current naming scheme for their processors | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e8737ya"
],
"text": [
"Simply put they are indications of the tier in which Intel has positioned the processors. The higher the number the better the processor in general, so an i3 might have two processors while an i5 has four, or maybe an i3 and an i5 both have two processors while the i5 h... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9q70tg | How does the Shodan search engine work and how would one use it? | I do know the "internet of things" catchphrase and I understand it searches for devices connected to the internet. What I don't understand is how that works. I need an ELI5 for explanations like "it (Shodan) does query ports 80 and 443." | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e87vnv6"
],
"text": [
"The world now has a vast array of gadgets that are connected to the internet. To allow users to connect to the device, the device has to listen for incoming traffic. Ports like 80 and 443 are just designated entry points for internet traffic to flow with some restrictio... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9q989w | We have free Wifi on Trains, Ships, Buses, Metros etc. What makes it so difficult to have free Wifi on airplanes? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e87netb",
"e87uj3k",
"e87t6oo",
"e882ewf",
"e87tt21"
],
"text": [
"Demand plays a huge role: there is virtually no competition for data services in flight, so a airline can charge what they want. Most airline passengers who want/need the service could be willing to pay for it.... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9qaxu6 | Why do 1080p movies looks sharper than 1080p video games? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e8800wk",
"e881jfu"
],
"text": [
"Because the source material for a game is created from scratch then rendered by the game system. A movie is typically recorded in 4K or 8K then played back the lower resolution 1080p.",
"A movie is like here show these paintings A game is like here ar... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9qdx26 | Why do credit cards only start with 3, 4, 5 or 6? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e88g80a",
"e88huz3",
"e88ixz4"
],
"text": [
"This is just a guess but I think the first few numbers denote what credit card company it is (visa, MasterCard, Amex, etc).",
"The first 6 numbers of a payment card are called the [Issuer Identification Number or IIN]( URL_0 ). Each ins... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9qg4ve | How is a game optimized? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e88xnxm",
"e88xraz",
"e88yps2",
"e892mj2",
"e88z22d"
],
"text": [
"This happens with ANY software not just games. Developers write code sometimes that is ***easy*** to do, but doesn't *perform* very well. Often we do this because 1) we are not always sure of the best approach ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9qh54j | What does a PoE/Power-over-Ethernet switch do? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e895h75",
"e895uyp"
],
"text": [
"PoE means that the electricity required to power the device is sent over the Ethernet cable so you don't need to run an extension cord to wherever the device is in order to power it. This is especially useful for long-range wifi antennas that are in high-... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9qiake | How to add an image to a post | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e89k4gg",
"e89ei09"
],
"text": [
"Download the app imgur, make an account, make the image post, copy the link, then paste it your post",
"Questions like this are better in r/techsupport or r/reddit."
],
"score": [
5,
3
],
"text_urls": [
[],
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9qitmz | What causes long, straight lines in video recordings of bright lights like the ones in this video? | [ URL_0 ]( URL_0 ) & #x200B; At 3:25 | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e89lbkw"
],
"text": [
"Just too much brightness. In CCD sensors, when part of the sensor is overloaded, it bleeds over to the neighboring pixels. It's called [blooming]( URL_0 ) You can view the sensor as a bunch of water buckets that when they overflow, water flows into the neighboring ones.... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9qlcha | How can aliens listen to the golden record on Voyager 1 if they ever found it? | Assuming that someday they find it, how can they have the technology to play a record or understand it works? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e8a2oil",
"e8a310f",
"e8acivn"
],
"text": [
"The record comes along with the device intended to play it, as well as instructions that are decipherable as long as they understand basic scientific concepts (which, if they are a spacefaring civilization, they likely will).",
"Include... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9qlfzi | My FaceTime call is intercepting someone going about their business in their own home. How does that happen? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e8a46ft",
"e8a4hxs"
],
"text": [
"I've only had this happen a couple of times, but never with FaceTime since I'm an Android user. Regardless, it seemed that in my situation the cell providers technology glitches and switches and /or combines audio streams. In both of my cases, it switched... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9qlkbv | Why do TVs look worse from an angle? | Particularly LCD/LED TVs. The back-lighting and colors become distorted. Surprisingly, they still advertise 178 degrees viewing angles. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e8a8cec"
],
"text": [
"The structure of an LCD panel [isn't completely flat]( URL_0 ). This isn't an accurate analogy in terms of structure, it's just the principle. If you imagine an LCD super zoomed in, think of it as looking down at a cityscape, all skyscrapers and such. If you look down a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9qmsq9 | Does listening to music on full volume damage your ears if the sound is reduced by a loud ambient noise. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e8ab3ws",
"e8ab8oy",
"e8agweq",
"e8af1wt"
],
"text": [
"If someone sticks a pin in your butt and someone else cuts off your leg you still have a pin in your butt.",
"Yes, the amount of db from your headphones remain the same. The 'reduction' of sound is merely an illusion. If ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9qmta0 | What's wrong with Intel's 10nm? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e8abq77"
],
"text": [
"Semiconductor manufacturing is an industry full of secret techniques and skilled manufacturers. They are basing it on lithography which is using light to change the chemicals in a film of material creating a patterned mask that masks out where you want the next process ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
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