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abe04x
Chromatic Aberration
I know that the term is used generally when it comes to photography. It has something to do with colors reaching the same focal point on a lens, anddd......I don't get it. I'm an artist, and someone I follow who makes comics has been using color fringing on purpose. Another viewer commented that it was a nice effect, b...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eczkp35" ], "text": [ "So, a lens bends light, right? Well, it turns out that not all wavelengths of light get bent the same amount. The red light gets bent a different amount from the blue light. Depending on the geometry and composition of the lens this will be more or less noticeable. But,...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abgdob
how are filed deleted on computers? Where does it go?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed01x23" ], "text": [ "When you delete a file, it’s not really “deleted.” It stays where it is. What happens is your computer declares the space used by that file as “available.” To actually “remove” the “deleted” file, you will need to overwrite that part of the disk. That can happen natural...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abhjti
Why do Unicode emoji depend on the platform instead of the font which is used?
Why does their look depend on the platform used (as depicted [here]( URL_0 )) instead of the font? For example, if a certain font is used on character "A", its look does not depend on the platform on which you see it.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed0bdjl", "ed0e2rq" ], "text": [ "As part of the Unicode set, emojis can be made part of a font. A complete font (with emojis and stuff) can be huge, so most systems probably store only one complete font and allow you to change only part of it.", "You are correct in assuming it depend...
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[ "url" ]
abj0jz
How are broken bones in non-castable areas fixed?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed0nqxd", "ed0p037", "ed23iv8" ], "text": [ "Well, if you break the neck of the femur, they drill a hole and install a screw bracket through the femur and into the head of the femur to hold it in place while it fuses back together. You can't put weight on that leg for 6-8 weeks. Then ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ablhhu
How exactly does GPS work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed16cug" ], "text": [ "It actually doesn't get your location. You only have a receiver. You don't send anything to GPS. It's like radio; you can only listen. Instead, you receive the coordinates of 3 satelites, and another one to get the correct time. From that, you can triangulate your locat...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ablopy
Console Exclusives
Why do developers make console exclusives? Wouldn't it make more sense to release to all platforms and go after a wider audience rather than create artificial scarcity (for lack of a better term)?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed18lht" ], "text": [ "Usually console exclusives are made as part of a deal with the console itself, with Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft giving consideration (like Dev kits, commercial space, or money) in exchange for the full or limited exclusivity of the game. Sometimes, it's because of the ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abmohd
What advantages does the QWERTY key setup have over an alphabetical order setup that makes QWERTY the superior choice for North American keyboards?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed1gt32" ], "text": [ "When the typewriter was invented, it used a metal bar to hold the character alphabets and the other end of the bar was attached to a linkage carrying a carriage with the coated ink. When a key was struck, it would emboss its character on the paper placed beneath the car...
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abnbmg
Why over the past 15 years, the typical CPU clock speed still remains around 2.8 to 3.2 GHz?
I know you can overclock the CPU to 5.0GHz, but I am not really talking about that. Desktop CPU clock speed has increased from 1mhz to 2.8ghz over the past 40 years. But has remained at 2.8 to 3.2 average over the past 15 years... Why not increase it along with other factors as well? What makes 3.0Ghz so perfect? And i...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed1ms0h", "ed1mebt", "ed1vkw0", "ed1n4tx", "ed1vrxp", "ed2j5h4", "ed1lt6w" ], "text": [ "We're starting to run into some hard limitations of CPU manufacturing. The faster the clock speed, the more heat the chip will generate. If we push the clock speeds much higher tha...
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[ "url" ]
abndl1
How is data transferred from spacecrafts or satellites to Earth, particularly at such great distances?
With news of the New Horizons spacecraft bring millions of miles away from Earth, yet transmitting data and photos relatively quickly (with in tens of minutes), how does data travel from such a existence so quickly and reliably? How are we able to communicate with the equipment without the data being lost, losing signa...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed1m234", "ed1mgzn" ], "text": [ "By radio, and then big receivers on the ground to listen, and send back messages. There's basically nothing between the spacecraft and earth, space is big huge empty place, so with proper receiving equipment, its fairly mundane to do radio communication f...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abt2uz
IS IOT(Internet of things) related to Computer science?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed2pojx" ], "text": [ "Umm...kinda? Internet of things is the idea of connecting small devices to the internet that normally wouldn't have an internet connection. For example, smart light bulbs are an IoT device. All of these things require some programming which is in the domain of Computer ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abudzh
How much $ do bands get when we stream a song X number of times? When we have the option of downloading a song, like on Amazon Prime and playing offline, do they still know the # of plays when you go back online?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed339e1" ], "text": [ "You can find tables from various years the spell out what the streaming service pays per play out to each artist (with spotify it goes up when you have more plays - a way to placate the star performers who draw the most subscribers AND have the biggest legal budgets, bu...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abv6d4
How does New Horizon send pictures back to Earth from 4 billion miles away?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed3564k" ], "text": [ "Radio waves. They travel at the speed of light. So from there, it takes a few hours to get back to us. There's nothing obstructing radio waves all the way back to Earth. It's a straight line (as opposed to terrestrial radio which is hampered by mountains and the curvatu...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abvfac
Why do four-wheel drive trucks operate in rear-wheel drive instead of front-wheel drive when 4x4 is disengaged?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed381ma", "ed3f7n3", "ed3a660" ], "text": [ "The standard driveline setup for a common transfer case has the rear axle (back to wheels) as the main output because it's already inline. The front axle is usually engaged via a chain in somewhat of the same process as a gear on a bicycle....
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[ "url" ]
abw9gc
How do scratches on DVDs screw up the playback?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed3e5oy" ], "text": [ "Data is read from the dvd using light. A scratch can mean that the light is reflected from the disc in a different way and meaning the receiver can not receive the data." ], "score": [ 6 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
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abwdud
Why does a serrated knife work better to cut bread than a “flat/normal” bladed knife?
I know from experience it works better, just always wondered why.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed3ew8e", "ed3ewlt", "ed3f4cs" ], "text": [ "The teeth concentrate a lot of force on a tiny area, poking through the outer surface or getting between tiny protrusions. Once in, they cause a \"ripping\" action which gets the cut started.", "The sawing from a serrated knife keeps it...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abwl6g
How does my car know that I am tired?
I ask because our car recently gave a warning, when my wife had been driving for 5 minutes. My "you look tired" comment didn't land well. So my question is what metrics the car is monitoring to see if the driver is tired?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed3gyy4", "ed43gr6", "ed3grx4" ], "text": [ "It depends on the car but this is usually done by monitoring the steering angle, steering torque, and position in the lane as compared to baseline measurements. Basically she probably seemed to be weaving around and not making the steering ...
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[ "url" ]
abwrzl
What causes a PSU that blows up to also sometimes take other PC parts with it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed3igyb" ], "text": [ "The PSU is the \"power supply unit\", so when it \"blows up\" you could have transient voltages making it to the motherboard, hard drives, etc. The job of the PSU is to convert 120 V or 220 V AC to the 5V and 12V DC that the computer parts use. When the PSU gets shorted...
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[ "url" ]
aby3wq
Why did the burning of “The Library of Alexandria” set us back technologically?
I’ve seen here recently a few posts and comments stating that humanity was set back a few hundred years in terms of technology with the burning of The Library. It’s peaked my interest as to why? Why would the burning of an ancient library set us back so far in the future.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed3x7t9", "ed3vskv", "ed3t54x", "ed3t9fy" ], "text": [ "It didn't set anyone back technologically. There were no secret weapons or forbidden knowledge hidden there. The value of the library was that it was a central hub of learning. There was so many rare and unique books there th...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abyii1
What is RDS protocol and how does it apply to car radios that display a readout of the station/song/program?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed47ozm" ], "text": [ "RDS - Radio Data System. It is a signal that is carried by station's transmission in what's called a \"subcarrier\". That subcarrier is outside the frequency range that the music is carried on. On the RDS signal, stations will often broadcast the title/artist for the cu...
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abza5f
Why is sound for TV and movies barely audible for dialog and eat drum exploding for music and action?
Nowadays I can't watch TV or movies without the remote in my hand to raise and lower the volume between scenes. I eventually turned on subtitles full time so I could read dialog so the explosion in the next scene doesn't scare the neighbors. I'd assume during editing, someone watched their show or movie and decided thi...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed46lz4", "ed44ce3", "ed4394d" ], "text": [ "[Dynamic Range.]( URL_0 ) The idea is that the sound is more \"realistic\" if it is louder when it should be loud, and soft when it should be soft. When an explosion is not much louder than a whisper, that is called [\"compressed\" ]( URL_0...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abzvse
How do candles work as an IR sensor bar for a Wii?
As the titles says, how do candles work as a substitute for the ir sensor bar for the Wii? I've heard that a TON of people says it works, but if it actually isn't bullshit, and it does work as substitute, how does it work, since technically TV remotes work on IR?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed4834p" ], "text": [ "Unlike what the name implies, the \"sensor bar\" isn't actually a sensor. It's just two IR sources spaced some distance apart. Any other pair of IR sources, such as a pair of flames could be used instead of the sensor bar. This is sort of the opposite of a TV remote. In...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
abzzlk
How, with all sorts of radio waves and the like around us all the time, are we safe from negative effects from this?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed48tn3" ], "text": [ "Mostly because the waves have very low energy, too low to damage you. If I drop a facial tissue on your head it doesn't injure you, right? How about if I drop it, remove it, and drop it again? How about if I do it 1000 times? Doesn't matter — it's just too weak to hurt ...
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ac0c0c
How do developers of games and movies create directional audio so that you are able to tell if a sound is coming from in front of, or behind you when using a headset that just has a speaker in your left ear and a speaker in your right ear, and similarly with vertical sound?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed4f4ss" ], "text": [ "I work in the field, specifically on these kinds of systems. Wall of text incoming. The most basic method is called panning. It usually as one knob controlling direction by altering the level of the signal in each channel. Something to the left will have a higher volume...
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ac1oji
why do online or open world games tend to more “buggy” than other genres of games?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed4lwx8", "ed4lxjn", "ed4m4cs" ], "text": [ "Cause you can't account for free will, who would have guessed johnny fuckbag was going to jump into the corner of this wall for a week until he finds a glitch. Also most devs don't pay for for an adequate amount of people to find bugs and p...
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[ "url" ]
ac1vl1
How was the cartoon "SPLAT" sound effect made?
I've never heard anything in real life make that "ploik" sound that cartoons use for a "splat" sound effect, and I'm pretty sure the sound predates computers. So in that case, what physical object(s) is(were) used to make that sound?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed4o5xg", "ed4o35j", "ed5xieg" ], "text": [ "It depends on the splat. Food is used a lot for that in foley art. Canned dog food, jello, anything gushy, really, dropped from a height. Water or something more viscous can be added for layering or composite sounds.", "Foley artists ma...
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ac23sw
How do these images work?
URL_0 I see these pictures a lot online and I don’t understand why the “hidden” image is only easily seen when shaking your head, and I also don’t understand how people make these pictures.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed4qrt0" ], "text": [ "I think it's to do with our perception of shape overriding our perception of color. Your brain locks in on the long black lines and ignores the color tinting of the lines as a distraction to be filtered out. As for creation, again just a guess, but it's some trick with ...
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ac24os
How does NASA retrieve images from spacecrafts like New Horizons that are four billion miles away?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed4pcgh", "ed4pbxs", "ed4plb1" ], "text": [ "The spacecraft sends the picture via radio waves back to Earth. We receive the signal using large satellite dishes.", "Light. It might take hours or days or longer to reach us, but it's still the fastest thing in the universe. It takes ...
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[ "url" ]
ac2l8k
Why does more seeds = faster download speeds?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed4sofj", "ed4snxf", "ed4sy3o" ], "text": [ "For many (most?) people, their internet connection tends to have faster download speeds than upload. There might also be limits on how much of a users connection can be used to upload content to avoid killing their connection for other uses...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ac336p
Challenges of having wireless electricity.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed4xnw8", "ed4vrpg" ], "text": [ "Consider how the area of the surface of a sphere changes as the radius increases: A sphere with a radius of 1 meter has a surface area of 12.56 square meters. A sphere with a radius of 2 meters has a surface area of 50.27 square meters. A sphere with a ra...
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[ "url" ]
ac3xmc
How can a projector project black onto something like a white wall?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed51eae" ], "text": [ "It doesn't \"project\" black onto the wall, it simply projects nothing there and it relies on your perception. Black becomes relative to white in the image, as the projector is brighter than the room ideally." ], "score": [ 9 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ac6vvc
How is using a password manager different from using the same master password for every service?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed5mlvd", "ed5mt4q", "ed5mtfr" ], "text": [ "Password managers often store you actual passwords locally on your computer. Dashlane does for sure. So if someone gets your dashlane password it does them no good unless they also break into your house. Edit: also some crappily designed we...
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[ "url" ]
ac7a0z
Why is this fossa gif so high quality
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed5pue7", "ed5pu49" ], "text": [ "First, it's not technically a GIF. It's a video clip so it doesn't have the GIF format limitations. Second, the cat's hair makes it look higher quality than it actually is. It looks like there's a lot of details but it's just because the bits of hair on i...
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ac80c9
How do hashing and password security work?
My user account was locked on one of my accounts at work. The agency unlocked the account remotely and, to make sure I didn't forget, they sent me my current password via email. Not a new password, my current one. I work at a bank and this is a credit reporting agency account. How do I explain to my boss that we should...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed5vppi", "ed5vkwz" ], "text": [ "This is absolutely a security risk but it might not be one that they have a lot of control over. Best practice is to store passwords using one-way encryption. That is, you can encrypt something but you can't decrypt it. The result of this one-way encrypti...
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[ "url" ]
ac8psa
How do you make clothes from plastic bottles?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed629t5" ], "text": [ "Interestingly enough, and I just learned this, a large number of bottles (specifically soda, water, etc) are made out of the very same material as polyester clothing. Take a look at the bottom of your water bottle. It likely says “PET” or “PETE”. That stands for polyeth...
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[ "url" ]
ac9efo
This image shows as an anime girl with a present, but changes to a gnome once I open it in a browser
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed684ei" ], "text": [ "If you visit URL_0 The app you use to view that picture will talk to the server at that address and request that file from it. However, when your browser makes the request, the server/website will also know what sort of browser and device you are using to access it. It ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acd1qw
How can gun sights indicate the bullet’s trajectory when it’s above the barrel?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed70oou" ], "text": [ "Gun sights have what is called a \"zero\". The zero is the range at which the bullet will hit where the sight is aimed. Closer than the zero a bullet will generally hit high, farther it will hit low. Most rifle and some pistols have adjustable sights that dial up and do...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acdsqw
How can the new Chinese object left on the moon send information to earth if its always pointing away from earth?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed75jzz" ], "text": [ "They launched a relay satellite past the moon that's orbiting a point in space out there that can receive a signal from the dark side and then transmit it to earth once it gets out from the backside" ], "score": [ 23 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acfjrs
How do locks and keys work when it comes down to uniqueness? Is every lock-key combination unique? Or could I get lucky and could I find another door or bike lock that matches my key?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed7jk2h", "ed7pr2y" ], "text": [ "Great minds think alike. I may have found yer answer, matey. Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELI5: Is each lock and key combination unique, or do I share the same house key as a bunch of other people? ]( URL_4 ) ^(_83 comme...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acg4x5
How do radios work?
I understand how energy travels in waves on a spectrum which includes visible light and like different frequencies of waves, radio waves being one small portion of the spectrum. But then how does a little box of plastic and metal take those radio waves and produce it into audible music?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed7oi15" ], "text": [ "In a radio, there is an antenna which acts as a conductor/receiver of Electromagnetic waves. This EM wave is then converted by the radio circuit and sends it to the transducer (speakers) and is able to output the sound contained in the EM wave." ], "score": [ 4 ...
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[ "url" ]
acjb09
why do some beverages come in bottles with small caps (like water and coke), while others (usually ice tea and energy drinks) have wider caps?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed8cp2v" ], "text": [ "Small caps are cheaper. Big caps let people sip and smell the drink more, that's better for tea. Big caps also move more drink so people can chug the energy drink." ], "score": [ 9 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ack98h
What does the Disk Defragmenter do?
And how does it increase performance of a computer?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed8juuf", "ed8klih", "ed8o2f6" ], "text": [ "Files can be split into small blocks when stored on a disk (to make it so that you can pack a big file in the hole left by many small files for examples). The defragmenter move this blocks together so that the computer can read files in one...
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[ "url" ]
acki2g
Why is it that if I have two televisions on the same station, there is almost always a delay between the two but if two radios are on the same station, they are always in sync with each other?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed8mwgr", "ed8oz2j" ], "text": [ "The Radiowaves are always arriving at the same time(given the Radios are next to each other) whereas the TVs mostly stream their Information through a network, and might have a different setting for the Buffer-Size.", "digital TVs run some computer co...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ackitc
Please explain WRAPPING in C#
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed8okmm" ], "text": [ "yell its not a hard concept like loops or variable. there is nothing in C# called a wrapper. its more of a technique or strategy. Basically imagine that there is a method that you want to use. Your going to write a program that uses that method dozens of time. As you wr...
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[ "url" ]
ackyy7
how do PC games work?
Each console typically has definite specs: X bytes RAM, Y CPU, Z GPU, etc. PCs can have any of hundreds of combinations of parts and operating systems. How is programming PC games different from programming console games? How do ports to or from PCs (for example, Arkham Asylum to PS3, Undertale to Switch) work? I'm to ...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed8qqzl", "ed8xuwz", "ed8s242", "ed9c0as" ], "text": [ "A game typically doesn't need to know exactly what hardware it's running on. If it wants to draw something on the screen it'll tell DirectX (for example) \"I want to draw a thing, here's what it looks like,\" and DirectX hand...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acmwka
why do camera flashes turn on for a second before turning off again and flashing for just a moment when the picture is taken?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed96snu" ], "text": [ "The extra light can help the camera to auto focus in advance of taking the picture, and also make people's irises contract to reduce red eye in the photo." ], "score": [ 10 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acogg3
why we as a species don't try to populate the oceans instead of keep looking for stuff on the outer space
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed9j2r3", "ed9jd9d" ], "text": [ "It is actually easier to build a space station than it is to build an underwater station. Pressure and the corrosive power of salt water is that big of a problem.", "Its an “all your eggs in one basket” type of thing that we are trying avoid. In theor...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acoxnl
Why is 110V the standard for electricity in the United States while in many other countries it's double (220V)?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed9ml7y" ], "text": [ "Great minds think alike. Yo ho ho! Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELI5: Why is there a difference in voltage between America and pretty much the rest of the world (240V vs 120V I believe) and what are the impacts of this in terms of ener...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acplhy
link is two screenshots of the same image just slightly zoomed in. Why do you get the expanding checkerboard pattern when taking a picture of a screen and how does it develop thru a screenshot?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed9rxz7" ], "text": [ "It's a Moiré pattern ( search Wikipedia for it). Your screen's pixels form a grid. The pixels of your camera form a grid. When you put two (or more) grids over each other imperfectly - be it two chain link fences or a photo of a screen - you get Moiré patterns" ], "...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acptow
How does the defrost lines on the rear window of my car work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ed9tsos", "ed9wpvn" ], "text": [ "They’re basically just very thin wires. Pass an electric current through them and they get hot. Presto, your window starts to heat up and defrost/deice.", "Every time energy changes form (or direction), some of it is lost to heat. This applies to elec...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acqm1k
Once we are able to 3d print records (vinyl) will it be digital or analog?
My 17 year old son just asked this question and I have no answer.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eda0ded", "eda1ke9", "eda0h10" ], "text": [ "Analog. There's nothing digital about the records themselves beyond the fact that a digital file was used to print the record. Which is a pretty inefficient and expensive way to make a record. It's no more digital than vinyl records produce...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acrnbw
How quickly nurses read ultrasounds
I've noticed in movies/irl that nurses/doctors tell suuuuuper fast what the sex of the baby from the ultrasound, whereas the pregnant person or even myself can't really decipher from just a photo. Is there some specific significant thing in an ultrasound that gives the babies sex away?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eda8ov9", "edac9bu" ], "text": [ "Basically they are looking for a penis. My mom always said they were looking for \"turtles with tails. \" If it looked like a turtle with a tail, it was a boy. If there was no tail=girl.", "They pick it up with practice, but some ultrasounds are easie...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acrzqc
What exactly is a mechanical keyboard, is it something different from the kind of keyboard on a laptop or the kind of peripheral laptop you get at Staples? Is there something better about it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edacmra", "edah51o" ], "text": [ "Mechanical keyboards are distinguished in contrast to \"membrane\" keyboards which use a flexible membrane to separate two layers of conductive material from touching with small \"bubbles\". When pressure is applied to the raised areas of the membrane it ...
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acuu19
How does WhatsApp compress videos so quickly? When done in software like Premiere Pro, it takes minutes, but WhatsApp does it in seconds.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edbackh" ], "text": [ "Poor quality/low bitrate = fast compression. If you don't care about saving all the info, compressing videos is easy." ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
acuypg
Why do certain bugs and glitches appear on seemingly random occations in some programs?
What I mean is that there should be a trigger for such events. And if faults in the codes can appear at complete random, why?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edb0dry" ], "text": [ "The dont appear at random, but after a series of events / when the game is brought inr a certain state that triggers the bug. Games and programs are made so complex these days, that its nearly impossible to test each and every permutation / state the game can be in" ]...
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[ "url" ]
acx5bt
When a new computer has its battery fully charged and is properly shut down, 2 weeks later the battery is at 0%. Where does all that energy go?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edbk2vz", "edbsuzj", "edbuqig" ], "text": [ "Many devices have need to utilize power even when it is completely shut off, things like the internal clock. These will continually drain the battery, though generally slower than your normal usage, until there is no power to be had. If you...
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acy3jr
Based on what kind of technology are hackers’ internet activity safe from national security and the government?
My question is based on the latest events with the Dark Overlord hacker team that still has a Twitter account that is “threatening” to release stolen documents. How are they not able to trace them/based on what kind of cryptic technology are they getting away with it? Another example is Anonymous.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edbsb9w" ], "text": [ "There are many ways to keep your internet actions safe. The first and most basic is a VPN, which encrypts all traffic between you and your destination so nobody can read it. Then you have TOR routers which break up your internet traffic and bounce it all around the worl...
[ "url" ]
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acznaz
The difference between functions, methods, objects, classes, and OOP languages.
I can't wrap my head around when to use which, or why they are used. Also, what makes an object oriented language different from the other type. How does it go about doing the above?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edc72p0" ], "text": [ "A *function* is a block of code which runs some commands and can be called on from elsewhere in the code. example: def function(): print \"I do something.\" # now we can call the function from other code, like this, and it will always print \"I do something\". function(...
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ad1cx7
If we have CGI that is so good that it looks almost indistinguishable from real life in films and television shows, why can't we have the same level of realism in video games?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edcmjg1", "edcmo7x", "eddjpn1" ], "text": [ "A single frame from a Dreamworks film can take days to finish rendering. A video game has to render 60 frames in a single second.", "Film and television have the advantage of having hours upon hours to render (do all the fine calculatio...
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ad2xny
Why is deep sea exploration so difficult? We have had the technology for a long time, has it reached some kind of plateau that scientists cant figure out?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edd4ubw", "edd4hgu", "eddvxv7" ], "text": [ "The difficult part is getting the funding. The engineering has been figured out for a long time, but no one has quite figured out how to finance non-military applications of it. Historically, exploration has been dependent upon either polit...
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ad32qb
What is the difference between a Blue Screen of Death on Windows and a Kernel Panic on Mac/Linux?
Further, what is the main reason these happen? And does a similar form of these shutdown errors occur on all computers, like smartphones?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edd6z80", "edeldcv" ], "text": [ "The kernel have the job of managing other tasks on the computer. If they fail, the kernel will kill them and maybe restart them. No biggie. But the kernel can't restart it self, so it just gives up. Most kernel error are (or used to be) crappy hardware dr...
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ad5vsy
Why is it that almost all cheap earphones happen to end up with only one ear bud working?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eddulb7", "eddwwza" ], "text": [ "Cables are cheap, so they wear out quickly, however it’s unlikely that both cables give out at the same time Keep using them, and if the first broke quickly, so will the other lol", "A few years ago my apple earbuds stopped working on one side within ...
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ad64x6
Why does an app require me to free up 200 mb worth of space when it is only a 12 mb app?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edeas6d", "eddxhia" ], "text": [ "The same reason you need a whole table to play a board game even though all the pieces can fit in a small box.", "In simple terms, the executable will be 12MB, when it is compiled (when the code to run the application is \"converted\" into a form your...
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[ "url" ]
ad7ovy
Why do only some nuclear explosions produce the stereotypical mushroom cloud?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edee0v8" ], "text": [ "The formation of a mushroom cloud is about the amount of energy released into the atmosphere. You can create a mushroom cloud from non-nuclear detonations as well, for example volcano. The same mushroom clouds are also generated on hot days where you have solar energy c...
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ad8ly4
How were films edited before Computers?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edem56y", "edg6wma" ], "text": [ "They would physically cut and re-tape the film. The phrase \"On the cutting room floor\" comes from this.", "Fun addendum to these answers: in the early days, editing was not considered an important part of the process; indeed, it was considered busyw...
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adc2v1
how are daily contact lenses made?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edfzakv" ], "text": [ "Contact lenses are injection molded like any other plastic product. They are made from a highly detailable PDMS material." ], "score": [ 5 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
adccib
If the amazon echo doesn’t start processing audio until you say “Alexa”, how does it know when you say it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edftddq", "edfoupu", "edfw05z", "edftoc9", "edftajx", "edfvdod", "edfxev8", "edfvd3f", "edfyujo", "edfy01q", "edfto2p", "edfxw6b", "edfzcyq", "edfwzjm", "edfwews" ], "text": [ "To put it as simply as possible, this is the process that ha...
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adco9s
Why do some greenscreens look painfully obvious and lower quality than others?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edfsjod", "edfrz99" ], "text": [ "A myriad of reasons ranging from a poor camera setup and staging/lighting of the green screen plates to limitations of the vfx software/compositor skills in pulling a decent key of the foreground object. There are relighting/edge blending issues that also...
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adfkh0
How is Betamax different from VHS?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edgm7am" ], "text": [ "Betamax had slightly better picture and sound. The main downside was that only Sony could make Betamax equipment so *everyone else in the industry* put their weight behind marketing VHS equipment, giving you more selection and lower prices. Lower prices won." ], "sc...
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adgdry
What Exactly Causes Phone Screens to Bleed Purple?
I dropped my phone recently and cracked my screen. I noticed afterwards a little bit of purple around the edges that slowly sort of seeped and bled into the rest of the screen almost like a liquid. I've heard of this happening (edit: and also understand that I need to get my screen replaced) but I've never understood w...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edgn9h4" ], "text": [ "Broken liquid crystals. you have an LCD or Liquid crystal display. Imagine a substance with some of the order of a solid and some of the fluidity of a liquid. What you have is a liquid crystal—a kind of halfway house in between. At any given moment, liquid crystals can ...
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adhakp
Is there a reason why all or most IP addresses begin with 192.168..?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edguh65", "edgwq4r", "edgue4i", "edgube5" ], "text": [ "192.168.x.x is part of the 'private' range of addresses set aside by the Internet masters (APNIC). Whilst these are valid addresses, they are specificically designed not to be transmitted across the wider Internet. There are ...
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[ "url" ]
adlt7g
Why do phone batteries degrade over time such that they go from 100% to 1% very quickly, but can continue to run at 1% for hours on end?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edi6bi1", "edi7rlw" ], "text": [ "Nearly anything that uses fuel has a \"reserve\", an amount below empty that's there in case you plan badly. Cars have the same thing with their fuel gages. You can get a fair amount of distance out of it when the gauge says E.", "The digital readout ...
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adm8dw
How is USB-C capable of transfering so much more data and power than previous versions of USB or other interfaces?
Are there simply more pins, more wires, and better shielding?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edic7rp" ], "text": [ "For the data, it's two part, but first, USB-C does not mean faster data, USB3 does, some USB-C cables are USB2 only. Anyways, the USB3 ones have the extra pins of the USB-C connector hooked up to superspeed wires, there are 4 pairs of superspeed wires, and they have tou...
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adsd92
How does Spotify know which types of music I might like?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edjtb3w", "edjt5wc" ], "text": [ "Simple answer, it tracks what music you listen to and is able to extrapolate what you like from the list of things you play. Longer answer, this is a study called semantic audio. It's all about taking objective measurements of a signal to create identifie...
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adu8ww
How were the maps made accurately before the technological advancement?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edk5ed3" ], "text": [ "They literally walk everywhere and charted what they saw. It took a massive amount of time, but it got the job done as accurately as they could have during that period." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
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adydi6
How does 'Incognito Mode' work for Google Chrome?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edl0flg", "edl0ckq" ], "text": [ "It's doesn't save anything on your computer. No cookies or history. It's only for porn basically. You will not be hidden on the web.", "Incognito mode does two things: 1. It creates a new browser session, which means it doesn't use any data from your ...
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adz40x
What is an atomic clock and how does it work?
I watched a short YouTube clip of someone explaining how GPS works (ELI5 style) and they mentioned atomic clocks in the satellites. He explained that since all the clocks are atomic they are all naturally synchronized. So what makes an atomic clock so accurate? How does it actually work mechanically?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edl8pjx", "edl9l7z" ], "text": [ "Clocks are just mechanical devices that utilize a consistently repeating pattern. A pendulum for example has a predictable repeating pattern, but those can go out of sync from things like bumps. Well, atoms oscillate. Its a type of angular momentum, as th...
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ae0c57
How is quicksaving in a game different from a normal save, and how does it work so much faster?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edlgbmu" ], "text": [ "Quicksave stores the save information in the system's working memory (RAM). Saves that take longer get saved to the system's permanent storage (HDD, SSD, SD card etc). & #x200B; That's why quicksaves tend to get lost when you reset the game or turn the device off." ],...
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ae218h
What is Optane Memory?
ELI5: While looking for a gaming PC I saw a Dell computer with 12 GB of RAM + 16 GB of "Optane Memory." What is that?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edlsvwp", "edlt0r8" ], "text": [ "A solid state drive used to cache a hard drive. At a software level, some files identified as frequently used, and/or some pending writes will be written to the SSD for quick access (and later written to the hard drive later for the latter).", "It's b...
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ae2br0
Google charges 10$ for 100gb of storage but offers TB’s of storage free in google photos how is this possible?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edlwd03" ], "text": [ "Google photos is actually a training set for their image recognition software. Having a virtually unlimited supply of photos means they can beat the socks off everyone else. You are doing them a favor." ], "score": [ 20 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
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ae2pcf
How do website servers work and how do you access data from it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edm2gx3", "edlzl0h" ], "text": [ "Web servers are just computers connected to the internet that have someone's (or, more likely, many peoples') website files on them. They have special software that sits and listens until other computers (like yours, for instance) ask for one of the websi...
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ae2qu7
Why do older "grindhouse" films have vertical green lines sometimes?
I'm watching "Lovely but Deadly", made in 1981, but with really bad film stock. This looks like classic grindhouse cinema. Bad editing, hair on the film, etc. This movie is about as well-preserved as your grandparents super 8 home movies. I noticed this with numerous films of the era. Why do sometimes I see vertical gr...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edme2mc" ], "text": [ "Vertcal lines on film are scratches on the surface of a film print. This can be due to the print running over some dirt, a stuck roller, or any stationary object in the film path. For this reason, areas handling film are usually well-maintained and very clean. On film s...
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ae40p7
Why did older game consoles only worked on channel 3 ?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edm8co7", "edm9skq", "edmpmmb" ], "text": [ "Great minds think alike. I've searched tha seven seas fer an answer. Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELIF: Why we had to turn to channel 3 in order to play video games? ]( URL_1 ) ^(_6 comments_) 1. [ELI5: Wh...
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ae48zq
What are the advantages and disadvantages of fixed and floating point calculations on computers?
Hello I know what fixed point and floating point values are. But I can simply not understand *at all* what advantages the one has to offer over the other. Thanks
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edma11s" ], "text": [ "Because some decimal numbers can be extremely long, i.e. pi. It's hard to represent that with fixed point arithmetic, and even tho it's impossible with floating-point, it's still better suited for it" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
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ae6djt
How does something like this really work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edmowvs", "edmocu8" ], "text": [ "A quick glance at that page suggests that it uses [ultraviolet germicidal irradiation]( URL_0 )(UVGI) to get rid of the germs. The way that works is pretty much the same way you get skin cancer. By blasting the germs with UV light, you're trying to disrup...
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ae6kip
Why do screenshots of screenshots of screenshots of something white sometimes have an off-white/ivory hue about them?
URL_0 Here is an example. It might be that the original was that colour but... I don't know, it's either a thing or it isn't. Thanks
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edmqp1j" ], "text": [ "I think it is a picture of the screen, not a screenshot. The camera got the white balance off resulting in the off white color." ], "score": [ 5 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ae7t7q
Carbon Capture
I know I have read in various places that technology exists to capture carbon from the air and break it down or reconfigure it in some other way, so if the major culprit of climate change seems to be excess carbon why aren’t we mass producing and utilizing this technology to try and help reverse things?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edn1n7q", "edn1c0z" ], "text": [ "Its expensive. Carbon capture is super useful for industrial processes where they put out tonnes and tonnes of carbon into the air as a waste product. And a bunch of those industries (like steel, cement, oil, etc.) are implementing those technologies. The...
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ae82cw
What are 4km/h bumpers as mentioned in the safety features of cars?
Tried to understand this concept on various sites but still could not get it. Can someone please explain it in a non-technical way?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edn3clr" ], "text": [ "Bumpers are the parts of the car on the far front and back that would first make contact if you run into something. They might be rated for 4 kilometers per hour because there should be no visual damage to the bumper after an impact at that speed or slower." ], "sco...
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aealbw
What is the most viable alternative to fossil fuel and why has it not already replaced conventional fuels?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ednq7qj" ], "text": [ "The answer to the first question isn't yet settled for grid-scale power generation. It looks like a combination of solar and wind are the best bets, but nuclear is still in the running. And there's always the possibility that workable fusion becomes a thing. But all of ...
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aed3re
How do people know which clocks are more accurate than others? How/why are atomic clocks more accurate?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edoauvc" ], "text": [ "The more slices you can make in an object the more precisely you can define any group of those pieces. In a mechanical clock we split time into turns of a gear, clicks of a ratchet etc. Then we define a minute to equal a specific number of those pieces. But because thos...
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aedv6c
air con in cars
Why does running you AC in your car use more fuel
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edog8ek", "edow7mz" ], "text": [ "Because it takes energy to drive a compressor to make the air conditioner work. Energy doesn't come from nowhere, so the fuel consumption is slightly increased.", "When you look at the engine in your car, you'll commonly see a bunch of pulleys and bel...
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aeedy6
how we are able to get radio signals from places billions of lightyears away
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edoqgjb", "edok94e", "edolt8i" ], "text": [ "First it is coming from an extremely strong source, and second we're using very large 70 meter dishes to gather them and low noise amplifiers cooled with liquid helium in order to detect them.", "Are you asking what the source of the ra...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
aeeen7
Fiber Optic Cables
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edomcds", "edotsyw", "edol271", "edoyalp", "edom1mg", "edoo0ew" ], "text": [ "You and me can see each other's bedroom windows and want to communicate so we invent some rules for how we're going to signal each other. If I display one flag, it means I'm awake, 2 means I'm in...
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aeeinf
DRM and DRM removal software. How does DRM work and isn’t there removal software that works for all services?
Edit: thank you for all the replies. It makes sense thinking of drm as a description instead of the “product”. Was kind of hoping there’d be one tool to crack them all so I wouldn’t have to buy 3 different softwares.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edonpn9", "edomsxx", "edp1xpc", "edp35l7", "edp704f", "edotboq", "edoz0ci" ], "text": [ "The problem with your question is that it's hard to explain such a large concept in layman's terms... Beyond that, DRM is so large that anything anyone says can likely have someone...
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aefy8t
in online games with the “report player” function (I.E. Fortnite, Overwatch, etc) how do the developers avoid spamming/ griefing?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edoy2hn" ], "text": [ "Clarification question: Do you mean how do they decide if a player was spamming/griefing? Or how do they prevent spamming/ griefing of the actual report system? In the first case: lots of systems like that sort users based on how many reports they have, and slowly work ...
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[ "url" ]
aeg27b
How are we able to detect to see Neutron Stars, when Neutrons are electrically neutral and you need something for light to interact with via electromagnetic force in order to see them?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edozc3k" ], "text": [ "Neutron stars, at least, when relatively young, are very, very hot, and are detectable in the infra-red, or even visible light. They can even be spinning so fast they produce strong radio signals that regularly pass over earth, and we detect them as pulsars. But, no, we...
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aehbkq
How is electricity divided into different components in an electrical device / sub-grids when required power from each component varies?
Take for example a monitor that takes power from the wall socket of 110V/13A AC (or 220V depending on where you are) but you dim the brightness and have a static image. I imagine the power consumption in this state is much lower than if you have the brightness cranked up to highest and other power consuming features wo...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edp7ihq" ], "text": [ "> If a resistor type is used, wouldn't the resistor heat up, and consume the otherwise unused power? Yes, it does. You can do this with low powered components like small LEDs, but dimming a large light bulb with a variable resistor (potentiometer) would be waste a lot o...
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aeiyyo
Dolby vs. THX
[Derived from this recently posted on r\funny]( URL_0 )
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edpl6vh", "edplzr5" ], "text": [ "Dolby Laboratories are a company that develop and license audio technologies - especially surround sound standards like 'Atmos' and 'Dolby Digital 5.1' that give content creators, consumer home theater manufacturers, and movie theaters a shared and agreed...
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aelmka
Why are two-way radios so short-range and unreliable when longer-range mobile phones are so cheap?
A pair of two-way radios that have a range of perhaps 5km is likely to set you back around £70 ($100), and the signal is usually noisy and poor-quality. A mobile phone, which has to transmit to and receive from the nearest tower (maybe 15km or more) can be bought for £10 including £10 top-up in a phone store, and gener...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edql3zp" ], "text": [ "Cheap hand-held radios you can buy without a license tend to use public frequencies, which means you're sharing radio waves with all sorts of things. There's also noise from electrical devices which is typically illegal but unenforced. Cellphones use private radio frequ...
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aemfe5
How does a helicopter fly forward, and not just up/down?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edqicur", "edqkvep", "edqqtw3" ], "text": [ "In order to fly forward, a helicopter will tilt slightly forward. Now that it is tilted forward some of the downward thrust will actually push it forward instead of just up.", "There is a plate attached to the control stick and another ...
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aemqzt
Why when you go to the dentist and get x-rays do you wear a lead vest on your chest, but nothing over your head?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "edqn9e7", "edqm2hz" ], "text": [ "X-rays don't do much of any damage to you. hundreds of xrays would do damage, that's why the dentist will go often into a protective room. Its like getting single pin prick on your skin to get a drop of blood for testing. That doesn't really hurt you. but...
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