q_id stringlengths 6 6 | title stringlengths 4 294 | selftext stringlengths 0 2.48k | category stringclasses 1
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ds4xqd | Why is there still a delay in broadcasting on the news while people are being interviewed? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Because broadcast quality video from a remote location is usually done via satellite, which is a 45,000 mile round trip. Have you ever tried to setup a video-conference with 5 people? 90% of the time something is fucked up and you have to dial in again, o... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ds5e7s | Why do paper back and hard back cover books exist? Why not just one type of book? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Hardcovers are much more durable than paperbacks. This is why you see school textbooks with hard covers, and, say, practice workbooks with paper ones. Hardcovers are supposed to last for years and years, at the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ds6z97 | How do targeted ads cross unconnected devices? | Can someone please explain how ads on my personal cell phone match with something I purchased for work on a work computer? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"What do you mean my targeted? “Dan, it’s been a while, so here’s 25% off at Home Depot” indicates you have a cookie sync situation going on, in some way, as others have suggested. “Here’s 25% off at Home Depot” when you happen to be a guy who is DIY-y is ... | [
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ds7leg | how was the sextant used in navigation how does it work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"f6nqsj5"
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"text": [
"It is used to measure the angle between the horizon and some consistent celestial body. For example, it can be used to measure the angle of the sun to the horizon at noon. By knowing the angle of the sun for that time of year at various latitudes, you could use that mea... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ds8168 | why does the quality of a picture seem to get worse when something is screenshot? And continue to get worse as others do the same and share it. Shouldn't it stay the same since its quality is good when the first screenshot was taken? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6nvetj",
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"text": [
"It’s because of compression. Compression reduces the size of an image at the expense of some quality. Each time someone edits and image, it gets compressed again, resulting in blemishes known as compression artifacts. This type of compression is known as ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ds9fto | How does waving my phone in figure 8's calibrate the GPS/compass? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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],
"text": [
"The phone compares the data from its accelerometer to the data from its compass. When the accelerometer says the phone has changed direction by ninety degrees, the compass should say the same thing. The figure eight produces a smooth change... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dsc8dm | How do ISPs limit speed? | Do they just give you x MiB and then wait with transmitting more until the second has passed? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6ol6pa"
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"text": [
"Think of your internet connection like a garden hose. Your speed is how much water is flowing. The ISPs control the valve at the other end, and by closing or opening that valve they can control your internet speed. On the technical side they have a device the limits how... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dsiuid | Can WiFi be used for nefarious reasons? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Yes. They can log when your cell connects or disconnects from the WiFi, they can also monitor your network traffic to an extent....they can't see everything you do but they can see any DNS requests you send, which means they know which websites you browse... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dsjncr | Why are we evolving technologies at such a fast pace now a days, when contrasted to the thousands and thousands of years it took humans to move on from stone tools? | Is it just like a big domino effect? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"A lot of answers missing the point here. Technological advancement isn't magic, where the more that has been invented, the more will be invented. The driving force is the availability and spread of information.... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dsjtfy | How do large area WLAN networks work? | For example the WLAN in a Uni or in a convention center. Are there like 50 routers with the same Login data? How does your phone know to switch to a different WLAN source? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6prozf"
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"text": [
"exactly like you suggested. There are a lot of Access Points (not routers) that broadcast the same network (ESSID), with the same security settings. Every Access Point has a unique ID (BSSID), which a client also sees. So your PC or phone or whatever notices that the sa... | [
"url"
] | [
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dsjz4a | Why are RGB values out of 255? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"f6puln4"
],
"text": [
"These values are (or at least used to be) stored as 8 bit integers. That is, they are sequences of 1's or 0's that are 8 digits long. There are 2^8 or 256 such sequences. These then correspond to a value from 0-255.",
"That's how many n... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dsl45o | How did our species manage to go 100,000+ years without ready access to clean water and/or sanitizers/soap etc.? | When I go camping it's already a nightmare having to bring extra hand sanitizer, wet-wipes etc. And that's with modern amenities like water bottles handy, lighter to make a fire (to boil, sterilize water) etc. As a germaphobe I'm always paranoid about washing my hands. Wouldn't our germs have nearly constantly wiped ou... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"f6q567r",
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],
"text": [
"*Our* germs barely make us sick. Almost all of them are known as the \"common cold\". The diseases that kill communities - influenza, plague, cholera - all come from other animals. *Domestic* animals. Which we didn't have unt... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dso5qn | Why are we building brand new electric vehicles instead of fitting existing vehicles with solar or electric power? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6qmzn3",
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"text": [
"The cost to retrofit a combustion vehicle is too high. You’d have to buy the solar cells the batteries move the engine and all it’s various components. So forth and so on Then you’d have to connect all the new stuff and stuff it for safety",
"The batt... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dsorhe | Wouldn't it be more efficient for an electric vehicle to utilize a conventional transmission, as opposed to running direct drive? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6qr0q0",
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],
"text": [
"Every transmission system has losses, the one with the least losses is direct drive. Since electric motors have high torque at low revs a gearbox is unnecessary.",
"Yes, but not by much. [This]( URL_0 ) is what the efficiency map of an ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dsoyml | how does a yeti cooler keep things colder for longer than other coolers? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6qtet9"
],
"text": [
"It doesn't. There are several good YouTube videos out there if people testing them. And in general while they are really good coolers they do about the same as a good igloo cooler at 1/4 the price. So if you buy Yeti stuff you are paying for the name."
],
"score": [... | [
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dspc0i | how do web crawling servers work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6qv5r4"
],
"text": [
"This is a very broad question but the basic idea is that you create a program to download web pages. Once a page is downloaded the program can do whatever sort of analysis you want with it. Strictly speaking you could give a crawler a predefined list of links but it's u... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dsr303 | What is the difference (in terms of music format) between a wireless headphone vs. a wired one? The information that they receive is the same? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6r77ep",
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],
"text": [
"Well it's not the same. A wired connection can transfer data more efficiently and quickly than a wireless one. To make up for this, a wireless headphone has to have that data compressed before receiving it. That compression degrades the quality of the mus... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dstvmq | How do phone batteries and things like headphones stop charging when they are full and not just explodes as some phone's like the Samsung. Never really understood the reasoning behind that. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6rlxdc"
],
"text": [
"there is an extra circuit on the charging module to measure the amount on energy stored in the battery. whenever a specific value is reaches, the control circuit reduces/stops the electrical pass through. like a bouncer who controls the entry of a nightclub and decides ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dstz5d | How are windows made | My friends car window got smashed and 99% of the pieces are little 1x1mm square glass , is glass made up of small pieces or is this just a strange coincidence? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6rmu0h",
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],
"text": [
"This is called tempered glass: [ URL_0 ]( URL_1 ) It is produced by rapidly cooling glass during production to give it different tension on the surface and the inside of the glass, it's made to shatter just like this instead of forming big sharp edges tha... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dsu77t | How are there brain scans that show brains that have mental disorders, yet there’s no way to “prove” we have mental disorders? | I just saw a Photo of different brain scans and some of the brains are of proper with OCD, schizophrenia, etc However, I’ve seen multiple posts saying that we’ll never be able to “prove” anyone has a mental disorder and we go based off of what people are saying and just believe them when they say they have depression o... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6rpu30",
"f6rnd7b",
"f6sxu6j"
],
"text": [
"These images that you're referring to are not diagnostic of mental disorders. They seem compelling, and very sciency, but there are no reliable biological tests for schizophrenia, OCD, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, etc., ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dsxejw | Why don’t photographers always use the fastest shutter speed? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6scsnn",
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],
"text": [
"Because the shorter the exposure the darker the image. If i use a fast shutter speed like 450/1 i crank my ISO up. But if i have too high ISO (light sensitivity) more and more digital \"noise\" appears.",
"... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dszxuq | how does camera capture rate change depending on the amount of light being let in? | If you have seen the video of the ruler being flicked in the shade vs the sunlight that's where my question stems from. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6t4l23"
],
"text": [
"It's about shutter speed, or its set to auto. If it's shutter speed the difference is the amount of motion blur. The longer the shutter speed, the more light, the more blur. If it's set to auto the camera automatically switched to a higher capture rate because: If you h... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dt0y4o | how does a Fitbit measure and record sleep? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"it guesses. it knows how much you're moving around, because moving around moves it. it can track your heart rate pretty accurately. it uses the combin... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dt2eqb | How do players and computers read CD's and DVD's? | I'm just wondering physically how is it possible? Why is it that if I wanna pick one song from the CD the player 'knows' where the song I want is? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6u93ol",
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],
"text": [
"Nobody answering the question OP asked. A CD, or any optical media is made up of a continuous spiral of 1s and 0s represented as reflective flats, and non reflective pits. At the beginning of the disk is a table of contents of sorts. It tells the system w... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dt3axn | How do scales that are capable of measuring incredibly tiny amounts of things actually work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"f6uceyq",
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"f6ufh8z",
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"text": [
"I believe that most scales contain a piece of metal with a precise thickness/strength (called a load cell). Placing an item on the scale bends that piece of metal *very* slightly. By measuring how much the meta... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dt3v8k | Why Li-ion batteries have reduced capacity over the usage cycles. | With so much in advances in technology why have we not been able to make batteries that retain the maximum capacity. Is it theoretically possible in future? Given global shift towards clean energy, wouldn't in time of century or so there would be massive 'Battery graveyards'. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6uiizp"
],
"text": [
"Due to lack of comments so far, here is my amateur understanding. Li-ion, and almost all other rechargeable batteries, use chemical processes to store charged molecules in the battery liquid. When a current runs through it the molecules discharge and become neutral. Whe... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dt8v3i | How is a scammer able to spoof a phone number so that even the exchange points are unable to know the real number a call is originating from? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6vbcbg"
],
"text": [
"Spoofing is fairly easy to do with some easily obtainable equipment that a nefarious user has no problem obtaining and setting up. The current, and long in place phone system is not built to explicitly prevent this, as its pretty old. In the current system, the system i... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtareb | How can computer parts like a graphics cards get updates to get faster when they are still the same hardware? And why are there soo regular? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6vmqzc",
"f6vmgdh"
],
"text": [
"The same way you can get where you are going faster by using better directions, even though the car is the same. Devices like graphic cards have software called *device drivers* that communicate between it and the rest of the computer. Updating those driv... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtb3z0 | which is more deadly, direct or alternating current? | I’m in the middle of ‘AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War’ by Tom McNichol which is very interesting. Proponents of each form of consumer electrical power had different claims. But which was right, scientifically? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6vsm1o"
],
"text": [
"Despite what the others here have said, my training has always been the opposite AC holds while DC throws. Most people will never come in contact with DC voltages high enough to make a difference. Because Edison was and always will be a fucking moron. But if you were to... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dtdtaq | What is the difference in audio over different wireless transmission methods (Bluetooth, Wifi, Radio, Phone, etc.)? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6w4959",
"f6w0olk"
],
"text": [
"* One of the specific uses of Bluetooth is to transport digital audio, so it has several data compression schemes that alter the audio as it moves from the source device to the listening device. * WiFi is just a data transport. It doesn't alter the audio ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dteqsn | why does the wifi drop when in certain situations. Like the way you sit or direction you are facing | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6w7wmb",
"f6wfo5s",
"f6w4wkg"
],
"text": [
"Your body attenuates (reduces) WiFi signal strength. Depending on where the WiFi signal is coming from, your body would be in between the phone and the signal thus reducing it. The position of the WiFi antenna location within the phone can ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dthuhm | How do contactless payments through a phone work without service or WiFi? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6wnsgi"
],
"text": [
"Your phone creates a \"virtual card\" of sorts. Your normal card is just a collection of data like serial numbers, account number etc that tells the card reader how to withdraw money. Your phone simply creates similar card, that effectively functions same way. Your card... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtkzn4 | Web Servers | From what I have read throughout the last couple weeks trying to understand this, it seems that when you go to a web page like Youtube or Reddit, you are essentially just accessing the files found on what is basically a computer Youtube or Reddit administrate. Is this correct? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6x7qoo",
"f6xj5s2"
],
"text": [
"Yes the role of a server is to store and distribute things such as data or images or whatever you want Édit: a server is nothing different from your basic computer it’s just not used the same way",
"Not quite. Servers like Reddit have to **generate** ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dtps62 | After dialling a phone call, why does the dial out ring you hear before a person picks up often differ in tone and frequency? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6y8yn1"
],
"text": [
"Remember, the phone system is ancient. The electronics that generate the ring signal you hear when you call a phone number is not the same as the electronics that generate the ring signal that the person you are calling hears. For example, one might be Sprint, the other... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtq3ao | Why are electronic payments universally trusted, but electronic voting largely viewed as a crazy idea? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6y4axe",
"f6y4xns"
],
"text": [
"Its not trusted. That's why banks have massive fraud departments. Why you're given a free credit report yearly in America and everyone stresses protecting your identity",
"Divergent goals and requirements. With electronic payments, you record \"Alice ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtqc62 | How Did Humanity First Make Bronze? | I just watched a cool video from HTME that got me thinking. How did the bronze age come before things like paper, wheels, written language, etc? I don't understand how people would've thought to mix and melt some random ores. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6y6g6o",
"f6ztei6",
"f7047eb"
],
"text": [
"The first bronzes were made not with tin, but with [arsenic]( URL_0 ). Arsenic occurs naturally near some copper ores, and preserved bodies from that era such as Otzi have significant arsenic contamination. If fire is your main transformati... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dtue2n | Is it possible to permanently shut down the entire internet? Maybe like an internet kill switch or is it too complex than that to explain. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6ytkk7",
"f6ytvmx",
"f6ytl01",
"f6yu05g"
],
"text": [
"Not easily. The internet is a bit like a road network. If you close one road people will go around it by using another road.",
"The Internet is pretty much a network of smaller country networks, so it would be almost impo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtvb3g | Why do game makers use fake textures instead of pictures of real life objects? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6yyjjb",
"f6z46ow"
],
"text": [
"Game textures often do come from pictures of real objects. But mapping a photo to a texture for a 3D object isn't always easy, so it takes a lot of work to make it look right. A photo only show the object from one point of view. Even when it's for a mostl... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtvnm2 | What part of the eye does an eye scanner scan and register? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6zt3ma"
],
"text": [
"^(typically the iris-- which is the colored bit around the pupil. there are lots of ridges and variabilities in the surface which makes it unique to the person like a fingerprint.)"
],
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dtwy4i | How come lots of online services still subscribe you to their newsletters though you didn’t tick the option to do so when signing up? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6z8lyd"
],
"text": [
"Most of the times the \"receive our special offers and newsletters\" box is already checked automatically and you have to uncheck it before accepting. Just pay close attention when agreeing to services theres always tricks in place to get subscribers."
],
"score": [... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtxk4q | if UV light and infrared lights are invisible to eye, why we see blue light in uv light torch or red light in infrared lamps used in certain physiotherapy?? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6zd3da",
"f6zd0kw"
],
"text": [
"Sources of light rarely, if ever spit out a single pure wavelength. LEDs get the closest and have the narrowest output, and using special equipment you can filter out light you don't want to get a very narrow band. But for the most part, all lights are go... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtyb2r | Modeling plasticity | I know that our artificial neural networks have been inspired by our brain One of the mechanisms that I know that occurs in our brain is plasticity where our neurons are forming new connections. This enables learning. I know that our neurons can also break off existing connections - pruning. I am interested in comparin... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f70psaj"
],
"text": [
"This is going to be a tough eli5 but I'll give it my best shot! & #x200B; Neural networks are loosely based on biological neurons, but not exactly. They weren't modeled to fit exactly, and we actually don't want this. For example, our memories fade over time, which is n... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dtz1v2 | In terms of computer's RAM(SSD, HDD) - what is a cache and how does it work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f6zw1fl",
"f70zd9w",
"f7162wb",
"f6zylfz"
],
"text": [
"One of the basic rules of computing is that performance costs money. We know how to build faster hdd's and memory, but it is often cost prohibitive to do so. But with some clever engineering we can use a small amount of expen... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dtzr9l | how does crack in games works and why? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f706u0w"
],
"text": [
"A game crack is disabling of the copy protection. So what you do is change the game program so when if for example check with steam if you own the game you add some code that fake a response from steam and say that you own the game. So cracking a game is examining the p... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
du0dcp | Why do monitors appear in negative colors when you look at them from a lower angle? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f70ksq0"
],
"text": [
"You mean LCD monitors? That's because of light polarization. I am no expert but in general it works like this: there are simple LEDs behind, in front of them is a layer of liquid crystals, and in front of that layer is a polarizing film filter. The liquid crystals polar... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
du1g2d | How processing power increases? | At the very basis, it's all binary and electrical signals, so what has allowed processing power to increase so drastically? Is it the hardware that improves? Number of transistors? Is it programmers' abilities to manage the binary in different ways? I'd like to know! Computers and code have always fascinated me so much... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f70yzn4",
"f7183oy"
],
"text": [
"Most of the things you mentioned, plus more. But the biggest driver over the last half-century or so has been making transistors smaller. This allows more of them to be put on a chip, and makes the circuitry faster (up to a point). As we've been able to p... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
du639s | How does power-cycling a router fix connection issues? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7292jn",
"f73illp"
],
"text": [
"Sometimes things just get out of sync or there’s a bug that causes the router/modem to lock up. Power cycling forces a start from a known state.",
"Sometimes the ISP (internet service provider) wants to get an IP address freed but the router does not ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
du6rsi | What makes electronics break when water gets in them? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f72ehra",
"f72dqju"
],
"text": [
"Unless it is absolutely pure distilled water, water conducts electricity. Most electronic devices have many different uninsulated components close to each other. Water causes a short circuit between these components, effectively causing electricity to flo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
duag3a | When we switch off a phone and switch it back on after say 5 hours, the clock has automatically set according to the time, how is this possible? If it didnt have power how did it have memory? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7329e7",
"f731v4c",
"f732zme"
],
"text": [
"Like computers, cell phone have a Real Time Clock RTC. Even when turned off, there is a tiny amount of power used to count the seconds/milliseconds. When you turn it back on, the network also provides timestamps to the device to synchronize... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
duaj2k | How do people make mods for games? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f73hc0z",
"f733hb9",
"f73f3fj"
],
"text": [
"There are in general three *types* of games in regards to modding. Some games encourage modding to the extent of releasing developer tools, giving players proper access to the game and makes modding about as easy as it would be for proper d... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dub3v5 | In cartoons/animations, objects that are about to move are coloured differently, usually are brighter. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f73fk7i",
"f73ycwh",
"f73qr9l"
],
"text": [
"Because the artists would draw the background (like, a beach with towels and umbrellas and maybe some buildings). That background doesn't change. Next, they draw the non-fixed objects (characters or things that have to move, like an umbrell... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dufmsl | How are laptop components (web cams, microphones etc.) so, relatively, easily exploited and hacked? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f759pvq"
],
"text": [
"It's not the components that are hacked, but they are usually the final target. A system needs to be compromised first in order to access the components. So basically the system itself is hacked by some means with the intention to retrieve data, and perhaps record audio... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dufsik | What makes the TV do the clicking/crackling noise when you switch it on? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f75cku9",
"f75bh4f"
],
"text": [
"Most likely relay switches. When the TV is turned off or on, these mechanical switches will open or close some of the unit's more high powered circuits and produce an audible click in the process. As for the crackling, I didn't know modern TVs crackled (m... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dukdvb | How does a device keep the correct time even after being without power and without any internet connection or signal? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f76qkw9",
"f76r425"
],
"text": [
"Most devices have a capacitor or small battery to maintain the settings and real time clock. Very little power is required to maintain the energy to power a chip.",
"Many electronic devices keep a separately powered circuit to maintain an internal clo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dukkeb | How does Google maps know if a road is closed or traffic is slow? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f76ryrb",
"f76ry5a"
],
"text": [
"Google does a lot of tracking on user's phones, and they also own Waze. Between those data sources, and others, they know when multiple users are moving more slowly than usual on a given road, or if no users are on a given road. they're also connected to ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dum7wf | How Exactly Are Smartphones Designed For Planned Obsolescence? In Terms of Hardware. | I get that with software, companies could just stop supporting old phones with new software, and possibly slow them down, but how are phones manufactured for Planned Obsolescence? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f778ftv",
"f772ul8"
],
"text": [
"\"Planned Obsolescence\" is a poorly misunderstood term. Many people seem to think it refers to evil corporations trying to milk the public by having their products self-destruct in some fashion. In reality, it's reflective of the fact that when you engin... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dumksr | Why does pushing an earbud into your ear make the music significantly more quiet? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7779i2",
"f7773mx"
],
"text": [
"You're probably pushing it at an angle that causes the speaker to partially push against the wall of your ear canal, muffling the sound",
"My guess is that you're restricting the available space and/or air pressure for your eardrum and/or the speaker ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dupvrl | How do cultures without electricity store their crops to prevent winter starvation? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f77o9of",
"f77lx1b"
],
"text": [
"Grains and legumes (beans, peas, lentils etc) can be stored for years in a dry place. They just need to be turned over occasionally. In a wet climate, they would use rooms or vessels that were raised up from the floor, so that moisture can't get up. Veget... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dutino | If the Hindenburg disaster hadn't turned public opinion against airships, would they have been an efficient form of air transportation or were they mostly novelty? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7844ts",
"f784ipc",
"f784s2e"
],
"text": [
"Probably not. If not the Hindenburg it would be something else in the future. If they just naturally swapped to helium without a disaster they’d just deplete global helium supplies faster. Currently we’re getting close to the point where it... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
duu9j4 | how does a phone stylus work? | How does a phone stylus still register on a screen when something like an eraser, which feels somewhat similar, doesn't? What allows some materials to register on a screen, and others not to register? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f78df5r"
],
"text": [
"Touch screens generally work due to \"capacitance\". That is the ability for a material/object to store an electrical charge. The human body is reasonably good at this, due mainly to containing a large amount of water. Water molecules are [slightly more positive on one ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
duuzbp | Why does battery powered electronics (such as a remote or an electrical toothbrush) lose power as the battery is weakened and not work at full power till the battery is dead? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f78eed9",
"f78cxga"
],
"text": [
"A battery's voltage decreases as it is drained of energy. Think of voltage (electrical potential) as water pressure. You hang up a bucket of water and open a hole on the bottom to shower. The water pressure at the start is strong from the weight of water ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
duwd6d | How did people begin to disprove the geocentric model? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f78pxz7",
"f798t9f"
],
"text": [
"Early evidence: the visible planets follow bizzare paths across the sky that are difficult to explain with the Earth at the center. Mercury and Venus never leave the Sun's proximity, the others lazily wander through the sky on multi-year cycles that confo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
duxbow | Why is salt mined when there's a bunch of it available in the ocean? | I'm sure its harder than mining, but how and why? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f78z3jz",
"f78yk1z",
"f78ytpk",
"f78ze8s"
],
"text": [
"Sea salt takes a lot of space and time to produce. You have to be able to flood huge fields and then you have to wait for evaporation to remove the water and leave the salt behind. So basically you need a hot, dry country, a ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
duzkw2 | what’s actually meant when an album is re-released as “remastered” | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f79kxl2",
"f79nntr"
],
"text": [
"the mastering and perfecting of audio has come along way in recent years, so they revisit old classic albums and tune the tracks and EQ them give a more expansive sound quality.",
"**During the process of mixing and mastering an album, each sonic qual... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dv0nol | Where are backdoors /security flaws from ? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f79vazs",
"f7a6ndq",
"f7azrm4",
"f7a8cet"
],
"text": [
"Backdoors and Security Flaws are ways to circumnavigate normal digital security or access permissions to get access to data that you shouldn't have direct access to. The difference is backdoors are intentionally created or le... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dv20hs | Why does a laptop say it's at 6-8% charge, and then it dies, but when it's at a higher charge, going from 60% to 59% takes a while? | EDIT: Wow, I did not expect this to gain so much traction. Thank you to everyone who responded with such helpful insights. I certainly do understand this now! | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7a4mlk",
"f7a4sto",
"f7a4pp8",
"f7adfbz",
"f7afmod",
"f7ae1j4",
"f7afayu",
"f7afccq",
"f7aeaxk",
"f7akucw",
"f7aebal",
"f7aohmq",
"f7alizx",
"f7apj7y"
],
"text": [
"Most laptops shut down long before they reach an empty battery, mostly to p... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dv3yee | Why many android devices with more CPU's, clock speed & much higher amount of RAM are still superseded by Apple chipsets with far less? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7agnbo"
],
"text": [
"Well, first. Apple is a monster when it comes to SOCs and has been for years; the idea that Android features better CPUs isn't really accurate. URL_0 URL_1 specifically this, benchmarks aren't everything but they're a good baseline. Secondly, Android is doing a shit loa... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dv526l | SSDs /single/dual core/quad core | In this buying guide, there are multiple SSDs with single, dual and quadcore configurations? I cant find an appropriate explanation for it? [ URL_1 ]( URL_0 ) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7as37k"
],
"text": [
"You're connecting unrelated things. \"cores\" are an unrelated concept to SSDs. Cores are a technical spec of CPUs (you can google for info since your base question is off anyways). SSD's are storage devices and there is no concept of \"cores\" on these in any possible ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dv6yun | How do wireless non-battery pens (for Wacom & Gaomon tablets) always work and never need to be charged? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7b0igv"
],
"text": [
"All the good stuff happens on the tablet. The pen though does have reactive electronics thats powered thru the tip. The tablet emits a electric field and the receiver in the pen picks up that minute power and does simple logic and retransmission"
],
"score": [
1... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dv96n0 | How does an old rotary phone work and how does it register the numbers you put in? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7b96pf",
"f7b9hfy"
],
"text": [
"Rotary phones don't use the tone based dialing that more modern phones use. They use what's called pulse dialing. Essentially an electrical pulse is sent down the line every time a number is \"passed\" on the rotary dial. So if you wanted to dial 9 for ex... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dvc59u | why do speakers from smartphones sound terrible while earbuds can sound good with much more bass? | Whenever I listen to music using my phone's speakers, the quality is terrible and has no bass at all however when I listen using earbuds the sound is much more clear and has a lot more bass. Why is this? Is it because earbuds work in a sealed environment? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7bublt"
],
"text": [
"an earbud only has a tiny volume of air between itself and your eardrum. It has almost as direct a connection to your eardrum as it's possible to have, so it can move it easily, right down to low frequency rich full bass. A phone speaker is sending its sound (which are ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dvguu3 | What prevents computers to pretend to be other IP addresses? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7clzv3"
],
"text": [
"It won't work. If I send a packet that says my IP address is 1.2.3.4, which I totally can do, then when the server computes my answer, it's going to send it back to 1.2.3.4. Since that not me, it's going to end up at some computer that's going to say \"I didn't want thi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dvkhzv | how do they make keyboards for languages like traditional chinese, which has over 3000 individual characters? ive seen mandarin typewriters, and theyre pretty cool, but how do laptop keyboards work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7d9rjy",
"f7dnbg6"
],
"text": [
"Other than pinyin, which romanized the pronunciation of the character. There is also the wubi system which codifies the sequence of strokes of the writing of the character. To put it into English sense, the letters a-z are typically treated as atomic elem... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dvl88i | With deepfake voices now sounding almost indistinguishable from human voices, why do computer voices (TTS, Google Maps, etc) still sound like garbage? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7dd1fl",
"f7dd7cr"
],
"text": [
"Because they're not deep-fake voices. They're deliberately kept out of the uncanny valley by remaining obviously computerized. That way, nobody gets weirded out by an almost human voice.",
"There are a couple of factors at play. First off, think of th... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dvmvxj | Why is broken glass not recyclable when in the recycling process, it is crushed into cullet? | I have just watched this video: [The smashing story of recycling Glass.]( URL_0 ) Normal bottles and jars are still crushed into cullets. I've read that broken glass is not recyclable. Some sites claim the strength of broken glass is reduced ([A confusing article]( URL_1 )). Many say it's dangerous for workers. Providi... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7dnkua",
"f7dnlty",
"f7do46a"
],
"text": [
"Short answer, it is. Long answer, it is recyclable, just people don't want to touch it. Picking through recyclables(cardboard, glass, metal, cans, boxes, bathwater) is difficult and time consuming. The material it self is reformed through t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dvq28s | How are products registered into a stores "inventory"? | How do stores register all products that enter them? Like when a grocery store receives a pallet of a certain product, how do they register all of the products in the pallet into their system so that they aren't confused with similar products bought elsewhere? Say like if you have a soda with you into a store that you'... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7e1yaj",
"f7e3ygj"
],
"text": [
"Stores usually have a computer system that keeps track of how many items they have in their possession; when something is scanned at checkout, the scan subtracts one from the system. There is nothing on or in a soda that tells you whether or not it \"belo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dvuhb6 | Why do speakers in a very cold car project a different quality of sound? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7ertq4"
],
"text": [
"You got it exactly right. The sound is created by deformations in the speaker cone. If it's extremely cold the material stiffens up."
],
"score": [
11
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dvumqz | How come when your phone dies, you can constantly turn it on and itll show you a logo and then turn off again? Is there another aspect to battery that powers basic function? If so, how long can you go until your phone is completely dead? | I can explain further if needed. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7esac4"
],
"text": [
"If the battery is run completely dead, it can't be recharged. The phone manufacturer knows this, and programs the phone to shut off before it gets ruined. When you restart it without recharging it first, it takes a little time for the circuitry to detect this and shut o... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dvvisg | What exactly are my cable modem and router doing in the minute after being reset? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7eyori",
"f7f6m9p"
],
"text": [
"Booting. They both run some form of linux. And, frankly, neither will have many hampsters under the hood CPU wise for computing power (you don't need a massive CPU for essentially packet shovelling), so booting up - even a stripped down embedded version l... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dvwuxm | How does a speaker produce multiple sounds at the same time? Do they just play the average tones of all information given at a time? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7f7oj1",
"f7fkav8"
],
"text": [
"Take a look at [this picture]( URL_0 ). When playing a 100 Hz tone, the membrane of the speaker would move as indicated by the upper waveform, and when playing a 500 Hz tone, it would move as indicated by the waveform in the middle. Now if you want to pla... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dvyekt | Movies have conditioned some of us to think that cars, airplanes, jet engines, blowtorches - basically anything that runs on fuel, can explode. If so, why are 'explosions' quite rare (only occur in case of severe accidents). How are machines designed to be safe from exploding? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7fjqjj"
],
"text": [
"> Movies have conditioned some of us to think that cars, (...) can explode The Mythbusters tested this by repeatedly shooting a gas tank with incendiary (iirc) rounds. They were able to light the contents on fire, but the rate of combustion was limited to how fast air c... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dvyxnm | How does a USB hub work? | How do they manage to combine 4 or 6 USB signals into one USB cable? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7fltb8"
],
"text": [
"USB is a packet based communications bus. To send data between the devices the data is gathered into a suitable packet of data and then transmitted over the wires. When the packet have been sent the device will switch over to listening for incoming packets from the othe... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dw03c4 | Bandwidth speed tests (ie speedtestdotnet)--how do they work? Does it measure total bandwidth including what's being used or only the free bandwidth? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7fttl5"
],
"text": [
"They just download (and uploads files as fast as they can and measures how long it takes on a millisecond-by-millisecond basis, wait for the speeds to settle in, and report what they're seeing. Generally the bottleneck will be your modem but ISPs with problems may see o... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dw0xmr | When a phone is on speaker, why can't the person on the other line hear themselves? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7fzose"
],
"text": [
"There is a special circuit that takes the input from the local side and filters it out of the incoming audio to prevent feedback and echo from just such a thing. It is called \"Acoustic Echo Cancellation\" or AEC."
],
"score": [
18
],
"text_urls": [
[]
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dw3211 | How does a digital projector work? | I understand that old style projectors would go frame by frame at a high speed with a magnifier and a bulb, but how does a digital projector work differently? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7gcv11"
],
"text": [
"There is a bulb, of sometimes 3 bulbs, and a modulator and 3 color filters. Some modulators are LCDs that absorb light to make a pixel darker. Other modulators are micromirrors that reflect away light to make a pixel darker."
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dw33my | how do streaming music services know what music to recommend to me? If I like song “x”, how does it know I might also like “y”? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7gckgq",
"f7gg68e"
],
"text": [
"They collect data on what everyone listens to. If the people who listen to X also listen to Y, they calculate X and Y go together.",
"My recommendations usually never make sense. Because you like “Thy Art is Murder” maybe you’ll like “Poppy”"
],
"... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dw3fj9 | What is the silicon lottery (jackpot) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7gfec0"
],
"text": [
"Computer hardware is so extremely small and delicate that no one even tries to make it perfectly right. Every chip past a certain complexity is broken in one way or another, but that is fine and every design is made to have parts of the chip that can run too slow or too... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dw5j2r | How are night sky pictures with nebulas and lots of stars taken? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7gr77d",
"f7gr6si"
],
"text": [
"A dark clear sky, Tripod, Long exposure time up to a min, and photo editors like Adobe Photoshop. Use URL_0 to find the least amount of light pollution. Tripod to eliminate shake. Long exposure to allow enough light to come in. Photo editor to enhance you... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dw7n53 | What kept us from creating the USB-C we have today 10/20 years ago? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7h16oc"
],
"text": [
"There have been lots of improvements in transfer rates in a number of areas. The issue with high data rates was that if you sent data too fast then the individual bits you sent down the line would interfere with each other and end up just a blur on the receiving end of ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dw8ytk | Color grading is an essential part of digital filmmaking nowadays, but how did people “color grade” film in the pre-digital era? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7h97c1"
],
"text": [
"They didnt. They just made sure the lights on set (as in, physical lights) and colors etc that actors wear matched well together. It was a lot of effort to ensure all the lights, colors etc matched the mood well. Fun film fact: Adams family (yes, the black and white ori... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dw92ne | You know those times when you enter your password in a website, it tells you it's wrong and asks that you reset it, but tells you that you cannot use your old password as your new password? What's all the confusion? | I design computer software, but I do not have experience working with databases or online forms, so this confuses me a lot. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7h9osw"
],
"text": [
"The confusion is that you entered your current password incorrectly, but then either entered it correctly when changing a password, or used a password that was even older that gets rejected."
],
"score": [
13
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dwfysj | How come old Gameboys looked great in direct sunlight but modern screens are unusable in bright conditions? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7ivfgr",
"f7iw3bn"
],
"text": [
"Old gameboy did not use back lighting and they were designed for the light to be provided externally. Modern screens use backlighting and are designed for the light to come internally. As a result excessive external light will cause glare on newer devices... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dwgtlo | Why doesn’t NATO or the UN control/deploy a Global Positioning System | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7j3kyl"
],
"text": [
"NATO has no real need for a separate system, as there's not too many plausible scenarios in which they don't have access to the US system. The UN isn't something that can really do something like that. When the UN has things like peacekeeping forces, they're really just... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dwhn8w | why do some games tie physics to framerate? why does going over 60fps cause some games to bug out? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7jdene"
],
"text": [
"So the core of games tends to be an infinite loop that checks for changes to the game-state; so every \"frame\" you get is typically one loop of the game loop, and in each loop it does things like detecting collision and updating the position of things based on new inpu... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dwm1s9 | How do scientists shoot the neutron, I know how they colldct them, but how do they shoot them? Is it electromagnetic or something? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7k9boe",
"f7k8tv6",
"f7k6d2u",
"f7k9i5f"
],
"text": [
"Neutrons are largely unaffected by electromagnetic forces, and cannot be accelerated directly like protons or electrons. There are two main ways to \"shoot\" neutrons. You can take a radioactive element that decays by emittin... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dwmcta | why would laptops and phones interact differently with a speaker? | My roommate brought home a Bose bluetooth speaker for the living room. Both of our laptops need to be up close to the speaker or else the music (via YouTube and Spotify) skips. And yet, both of our phones can stream just fine from across the room. Why would this be? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7ka8l4"
],
"text": [
"It'd just be the strengths of the devices' Bluetooth adapters. The laptops were likely designed with the intention of only using Bluetooth for mice, headphones, etc. that would all be used in relatively close proximity, whereas phones are more likely to be used further ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
dwojzj | In Stranger Things S3, how did Dustin and Suzie manage to sing a song over CB when if one is transmitting, that it cannot hear the other? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"f7khwn0"
],
"text": [
"Plot magic. I've heard that that kind of tech was possible in the '80s, but it's extremely unlikely they would have had access to it. The writers/directer must have thought it was just too cool to not include."
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
dwqm52 | the difference between a front vs top load washer | I've read a few tech reviews that seem biased and paid, so I want facts the differences between the two. I am gathering that all front load washers are HE; is this a by-product of design or an intentional design? It mentions that they clean more; how so, and is this inferred or actually proven that they clean better? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Front load washers are by design HE; they don’t need to fill the whole drum with water to soak your clothes and the clothes actually move inside, as opposed to “oscillating” in place while the wa... | [
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dwra3m | what is electromagnetically induced transparency? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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dwtcwk | How is there so much carbon in the air? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Carbon is put into the air through a whole variety of processes. We pay a lot of attention to carbon produced through combustion - e.g. the CO2 from cars, power plants and industry. These increase the levels of Co2 in the atmosphere significantly, but it's not the only ... | [
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