Split (1)

train · 14k rows

q_id stringlengths 6 6	title stringlengths 4 294	selftext stringlengths 0 2.48k	category stringclasses 1 value	subreddit stringclasses 1 value	answers dict	title_urls listlengths 1 1	selftext_urls listlengths 1 1
ehc5k4	How did NYC come to depend on steam so much?	What are the origins of New York City and their usage of steam power? Are there other examples of cities that rely on steam as heavily as NYC?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fci641n", "fcig9fn" ], "text": [ "Steam was thee power-that-be during the late 1800's. And so was when the beginnings of both heating of building space and for domestic hot water of a large areas like in N.Y. Later on, the heat from steam could also be used for absorption type systems for...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ehgi8x	Why can’t we digitally store our memories and see a visual representation of some sorts?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcj5cjy", "fcjcnu6" ], "text": [ "Science hasnt really caught up to that. We dont really know exactly where and how memories are stored. If we did we would be able to cure dementia. I've often wanted something similar but yeah until we understand the brain it wont happen.", "The brain...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ehh3xx	How does an MRI work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcjcbc2" ], "text": [ "The machine makes an energy field inside it. Within that field, the tiny building blocks that make up your body get \"excited\". These excited blocks realease the energy in a different form that is measured by detectors. The noises you hear are the machine changing the ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ehjt5s	why does cold weather drain a phone battery?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcjpc43" ], "text": [ "Because you're relying on a chemical reaction to take place in order create a flow of electrons in a battery. Cold slows down chemical reactions in the same way it slows down food from rotting when you put it in the fridge. Your battery isn't draining faster in the cold...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ehktyw	How are communication companies able to provide us internet? Where do they get internet from and how do the speeds and volume caps work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcjtzk7", "fck7kc4" ], "text": [ "Internet is just a network. Your computer is a part of the internet. Every device is part of it. Your ISP just connects you to all of the other people on their network, and then they connect their network to the networks run by other ISPs. Now everyone ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
eho7v0	Why do computers have to restart to finish installing an update or software?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fckgoco" ], "text": [ "Imagine if someone tried to change your shoes at the same time while you're standing. You would probably fall down, because you need your feet to stand. For this to work, you have to sit down and wait for the person to change your shoes for you, then stand up. Likewise,...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
eht93g	How do the camera operators at darts tournaments know where to point to	I've been watching the Darts World Championship for the first time this year and I'm wondering how the camera operators always know where to pan to and zoom in even before the competitors are throwing their darts	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcle4s3", "fclwyog" ], "text": [ "There's a bunch of cameras set up at different angles, and a guy sitting behind a bunch of screens watching it all and telling which camera to do what, based on his/her knowledge and experience. Or there's more than one person.", "When trying to go 'o...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ehv4pb	What causes television/computer screens to look so bad when recorded with a camera? Shouldn't it look closer to what we see?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fclrezz" ], "text": [ "It's called the moiré pattern. Basically, you might have known that a TV screen is a grid of dots (pixels), each pixel is made of 3 primary color dots. The digital camera also captures a grid of dots. Now when you try to map your TV's grid to your camera's grid, it almo...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ehw5zz	How do people program/teach random algorithms to actually be random?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fclx78o", "fclycd4", "fcm43bd" ], "text": [ "Algorithms are not at their roots random. They are predictable because an algorithm is just following a sequence of steps and following steps exactly doesn't result in random behaviour. That said, algorithms can start with unknowable inform...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ehwx0t	How are videos of animation and video games able to be displayed at 60 FPS on YouTube when the original material was never 60 FPS to begin with?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcm2uzi" ], "text": [ "You can change the framerate of a video by duplication framer or even buy create new frames as an interpolation of two frames. I interpolation is to attempt to calculate what the middle frame should have been by detection of how stuff moves etc. It is a bit like if you ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ehxi2b	How do the score updates from sports app get sent?	Is there someone in the stadium watching the game and updating it super fast? I'll often get alerts before it happens on TV. They have so much information on each play and I want to know how they get it all.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcm6of4" ], "text": [ "It's pretty much just people being paid to watch the game and record everything that happens. Sports statistics are pretty big business. Companies that do this sell their data to TV networks, oddsmakers and even the teams themselves, each with their own uses for the dat...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ehy13m	Why is RAID 5 considered unsafe for larger arrays		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcm9oka", "fcmc2vr" ], "text": [ "RAID 5 means you can have a drive failure without losing everything because you have an extra drive's worth of data across the rest of the drives. BUT if you lose two drives at the same time, you lose everything. Even if you replace a drive, if you lose a...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ei407y	why is cleaning my computer of junk files the proper way painfully slow but using a 3rd party "cleaner" app way faster?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcnc8q6", "fcnb6kn", "fcn7k56", "fcn7ofg", "fcnkkr1", "fcnbkk9", "fcnbw5u", "fcnun6z" ], "text": [ "Oh man, here we go with bad analogies. Ccleaner is like wiping down the surfaces in your house, taking out the trash, and sweeping up. It'll get the extra junk out, ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ei6vyy	what is the Kernel in an operating system?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "fcnt4fx", "fcoy5cc", "fco8jvv" ], "text": [ "The kernel has full access to all physical system resources ( i.e cpu, memory, network card, disk ) Applications have to go through the kernel by making ‘system calls’ in order to request an allocation of resources, to access or to make cha...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
alx64y	How did people from earlier times get clean drinking water without our modern methods?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efhnsjh", "efhnknr" ], "text": [ "The simplest response: booze! Back then, there was a very poor to limited understanding of water quality leading to illness. There would not have been attempts to purify the water, since it was not understood that this needed to be done to have potable wa...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
alya6v	Why are records read from the outside in, and CDs/DVDs read from the inside out? Why did it change?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efhxl30" ], "text": [ "Audio files stored on CDs sort of made it somewhat standard for cds to read inside out. Although seemingly rare, Cds did not come in standard sizes and data is sort of stamped in so you could use the same stamp for several sizes of CD. Circumference of a circle gets lar...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
alz5f6	How are televisions in showroom in perfect sync ?	Upto 30+ televisions in showroom display the same video in perfect synchronisation. How do they do it ? Do they use a special device which can give output to so many monitors in Full HD ? Asking this cause even my Surface Book with best specs can't power more than 2-3 monitors.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efi3sci" ], "text": [ "There is a huge difference between having multiple monitors on a computer with different output on each like if you use a computer compared to duplicate a signal to multiple display. There are HDMI splitter boxes that take the input from one cable and send out the same ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
alzgnm	why smart phone producers are not able to make phone battery last longer than 3 days?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efi4ri4", "efi4x1s" ], "text": [ "They can, it just would be a very large battery and few consumers want a very thick/large phone.", "Current Lithium ion batteries that can fit in a extra large phone are usually 3,000-4,000 mAh, 1. We need to develop new technologies, we have one that...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
am0a7c	In the Speed Racer movie, T180's are racecars with wheels that can spin independently, like a shopping cart. Would it be possible to build such a car in real life?	The wheels can spin 180 degrees, to allow for maximum control during a race. T180's can also go up to 400 MPH, however I am only focusing on the possibility of such a steering system. An excellent example of a T180's wheels at work: URL_0 As you can see, the wheels are used to steer the car in a certain direction, in o...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efia7eo", "eficyng", "efiaikb" ], "text": [ "If each wheel has its own electric motor, sure, why not?", "It's certainly possible - but not in a car going anywhere near 400 MPH. First, just consider the insane forces acting on the wheels when you're cornering at such speed. Take a ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
am1p69	How did medieval era people cut their toenails when there were no nail-cutters?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efilppa", "efion6v" ], "text": [ "People used knives to \"peel\" their nails shorter. Or just let them break from physical labour.", "Nail grooming as a practice goes back to at least the ancient Romans, although for most of history, this only applied to those of high socioeconomic st...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
am3p6c	How did my 1980's watch maintain more accurate time than my digital clock from today?	When I was younger, I would set my watch to the shortwave time broadcasting station. The drift over months seemed minuscule. Now, I have digital clocks that seem to shift minutes in months. Other smart watches I use seem to loose seconds in a week, if not synchronized. Why are the new clocks much less accurate?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efj3wbo", "efjcppx" ], "text": [ "The watch was meant to be accurate and was made with higher-quality materials, especially by the standards of the time... not only “better” ones but ones more suitable for keeping accurate time. Many electronics have ring or relaxation oscillator circui...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
am4bvs	If we can produce phone screens that are 6" in diameter with a full HD resolution, whats stopping us from making 16K TVs?	Thinking about it, it's probably cost and graphical capabilities of hardware, but are there other factors?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efj6s4u", "efj6szk", "efj7vpy", "efj75rr", "efj8aef", "efja8df", "efjck1f" ], "text": [ "Nothing is stopping us. Theres just no market value. Even 4k is limited by content creators actually making their products 4k in resolution, most of the market for media consumptio...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
am6e3q	How do phone mics filter audio based on source (like YouTube vs me talking using the loudspeaker)	My girlfriend and I video call each other every day (long distance fml). When I have her on speaker and also have a YouTube video playing on my phone at the same time, she can hear everything I say but nothing from the YouTube video. While this is perfect for me, how does the phone do it? Is it software specific becaus...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efjpw8u" ], "text": [ "Assuming you're playing the YouTube video on the same phone you're using for the video call, it's relatively easy: the phone knows what sound it's outputting from the speakers, so it can simply subtract that sound from what it's receiving through the microphone before s...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
am80sh	Why is it so hard for game consoles to include backwards compatibility?	More specifically, I just saw an article on a new Sony patent for the PS4 processor to emulate older hardware - I originally thought this was just a software issue but I guess older software is sensitive to the actual hardware running it as well?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efk2f64", "efk2bju", "efke6t6", "efkdib2", "efkcl98", "efk1to1", "efkel64", "efkdgnt", "efkd7qu", "efkdoym", "efkqa6b", "efkeits", "efkcn7j", "efkexjg", "efl4n8e", "efkhrpu", "efki3f8" ], "text": [ "So, there are many different t...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
am8pwf	Why is it that we can’t superduper charge our batteries with a super «shock» like one of those heart rescue thingies and it’ll be full?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efk6llm", "efk6ex3", "efk7hp3", "efkc4f6" ], "text": [ "Because you charge a battery by triggering a chemical reaction with an electrical current as the energy source. High voltage or amperage will just cause it to heat up too quickly and explode/catch fire. Kind of like if you fi...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ambl2m	How are those laser-pointer temperature guages able to take a temperature by hitting something with a laser?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efkt49b" ], "text": [ "They use infrared sensors, since heat (or thermal energy) falls within the infrared spectrum. The sensor can interpret differences in heat just like we can determine differences in the brightness of visible light with our eyes. The laser is just there for aiming, they h...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amevz6	LED lights	Why do LED lights flicker on slow-motion cameras - like around sports grounds? I sort of get that they turn on and off really quickly, faster than we can see, but why do they do that?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eflghuj", "eflida3" ], "text": [ "LED is short for light emitting diode. A diode is an electronics component which allows electric current to pass through it in one direction but not the other. Stadium lights are generally hooked up to the alternating current electricity grid of the area ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amhyqe	How do dollar store nightlights and small electronics convert 110V to usable energy for a small led?	Sorry if this is the wrong sub but im curious to add to my personal projects but how do they do it so cheaply?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efm8gii" ], "text": [ "Think of how small an iPhone charger cube is and then remember that while 120V AC is going in, it's only outputting 5 volts DC. Instead of a bulky transformer to step the voltage down, it uses various solid state discrete components and minimal ICs to get the desired vo...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amiw8a	Why are most one-time password codes five to six digits?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efm99bu" ], "text": [ "More than that is hard to remember and retype. Since it's one-time-only there isn't much brute force risk." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amjntq	How do Binoculars work	I recently wanted to buy some binoculars. How do they work and how much do they zoom in on an Image. In case i want to recognise somebody from 200m away	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efmfc80", "efmhqdc" ], "text": [ "Common binoculars are about 7X or 8X, so a person at 200m would look like they were 25m - 30m away. Except that binoculars can't compensate for atmospheric distortion. You know that heat-wave shimmering look you see on a summer highway? There will be that...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amjsuw	How come my computer has no problem rendering modern games at 60fps+ but it might take hours to render a single frame of a 3d model in Blender/Maya or other modeling software		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efmgbfp" ], "text": [ "The models used in those programs are much more complex, for one. Second, the algorithms used to render those scenes are much more complex. They take into account things like reflecting light and such. The more reflections you take into account, the more processing has ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amk76m	Heavy gravity chambers	Hey guys, So I know that humans can operate in micro gravity and indeed zero gravity in space etc. But does the reverse exist? I was thinking of when Goku trains in that heavy gravity chamber, where he cranks up the gravity to build resistance. I know that pilots, astronauts, racers etc can temporarily experience momen...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efmiv4v" ], "text": [ "You can use centrifugal force to simulate gravity, and get up to several times the normal force of gravity. The problem is that to generate enough force you have to get something spinning pretty fast." ], "score": [ 6 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amkmm5	The video effect that happens when you miss/lose a packet in online streaming...	Have you ever had that moment when you are streaming a video, the frame doesn't change but gets masked onto the movements in the next frames? Like once scene fails to update to the next, but the movements from the next scene get applies to it? What is the name of this phenomenon? And which encoding methods are suscepti...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efmmygf" ], "text": [ "This is due to the use of video compression and key frames, which is basically all kinds of encoding methods which I am aware of. The general idea is that there are complete frames which are stored periodically (called \"key frames\") and then subsequent frames are deri...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amkpj3	Why do wireless printers have so many more problems compared to other, seamless technologies?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efmq20r", "efmppcr" ], "text": [ "Printers have always been problematic as a technology because of how they are sold. Most printers are sold right at cost or slightly above with printer companies trying to make profit on the ink, which is why ink is so expensive. Why this matters is that ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amksnn	Why is it difficult to make destructible environments in games?	I heard that it is difficult when making destructible environments in games but what makes it so difficult?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efmo24j" ], "text": [ "Once an item or items break into pieces each of those pieces needs its physics calculated independently. It’s not hard to make destructible environments it’s just hard to make them look good and perform well on a variety of machines." ], "score": [ 13 ], "te...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amkxro	How video game developers make the “computer” players and how they make them different skill levels.		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efmso4m", "efmsglb", "efn8r7q", "efmrf9l" ], "text": [ "A video game is a simulation. You have a list of objects and you update those objects at an interval. Each object has multiple scripts attached to it and each script runs when the game updates. They basically look at what the...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amls6h	How did they resize photos before computers	Before computers, how did they resize photos to be bigger than they originally were? Like taking a small negative from a camera and enlarging it to be almost poster size. Or taking a drawing and resizing it to fit a book cover or album cover.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efmwb1n", "efn5ucs", "efnehqj", "efn5ox0", "efnb2oq", "efn6cf7", "efn7qqf", "efnaz25", "efn7sgi", "efn65nt", "efn7xj8", "efn8qzc" ], "text": [ "A photo enlarger beamed a high powered light through a negative or slide onto photo paper. Raising or low...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ammeek	How can a password not containing numbers or special characters be considered weak?	If I can pick ANY combination of characters for my password, isn’t a combination containing only letters equally hard to guess as one that doesn’t?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efn14zb", "efn18j5", "efn1wno" ], "text": [ "Unless you're using a randomly generated chain of letters, most password cracking software have functions built in to use the most commonly used words in passwords. If you set a limit to the length of the password (say 20 characters), you g...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amnvfy	How water damages electronics		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efnc274", "efnc6id" ], "text": [ "Most electronics are delicate circuits which rely on specific amounts of electricity running between certain components. Water allows electricity to bridge gaps and flow into areas it isn't designed to go, overloading and breaking components of the circui...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amoumi	Online Refunds	ELI5: How can online stores give refunds to debit/credit cards, when (in the EU anyway) they are not allowed to retain card details. As far as I knew, online stores must use a third party encrypted card handling service, that stores your card details, takes the payment and gives it to the online store you're paying. Li...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efnkgpo" ], "text": [ "The same processing entity that handled the initial card transaction is the one that issues the refund. The merchant (online store) doesn't need the card details - they can initiate a refund through the payment processor with a transaction ID or other unique identifiers...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amqbw9	Why are plane windows so small?	Why are they all (roughly) the same size? Is there no way to make them larger, so the passengers would have a better view? I can imagine it being less efficient energy-wise but that doesn’t quite explain why I’ve never seen even one plane with slightly larger windows then all the others.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efnsebm", "efnuzzq", "efohixb" ], "text": [ "It's less a matter of energy and more a matter of structural integrity. Aircraft have to deal with very uneven pressures: as you go up it drops quite a bit outside, but for people to not-die you have to keep it high enough inside. Every one...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amsabq	What is Conway's Game of Life, and how is it linked to the Hacker community?	I don't really understand the point of this "game," or why the Glider shape is a popular tattoo design for hackers. & #x200B; Is this actually a game, or is it just a script that you're supposed to observe the results of?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efoaary" ], "text": [ "It is an example of a complex system that derived from very simple rules. You are right, it is more of a simulation rather than a game as such." ], "score": [ 7 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amsca9	If music CDs are burned with the opening tracks towards the center, how are open-world video game discs burned?	Like Fallout 4, for example. You can walk anywhere, do anything, talk to anyone, at any time. How is that all rendered onto the disc when it’s not exactly chronological? EDIT: thank you everybody! I appreciate you all taking the time and I learned a lot from all of your answers! I read through each and every one.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efo8ykz", "efpby96", "efoandh", "efogqfi", "efo7k9u", "efo96t4", "efo85m4", "efo92d5", "efp85fc", "efpgc81", "efpds4w", "efpb8tf", "efpcglr", "efpejpq", "efos973", "efplg03", "efpikje", "efokeqj" ], "text": [ "Ignoring the ha...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amscb4	how do video games know they are a pirated copy	Some games have anti-piracy measures, for example Serious Sam will summon an invincible pink monster on pirated versions or Spyro will delete savegames. How do games know that, assuming the pirated versions are bit_by_bit copies?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efo72uu", "efofkf5" ], "text": [ "From /u/rsb_david \"The below items are three ways in which games/studios can and do track if a game copy is pirated or not. 1. A studio will release a pirated copy on common locations and have modified code to either send a packet to a remote server or j...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amspk6	How did album covers were printed in the 70s, 80s?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efoalfw" ], "text": [ "Art is painted. Art is then photographed. Enlarger is used to rephotograph the picture at the correct size. Printing plate(s) is made from the negative. Offset press is used to print the artwork onto cardboard. Cardboard is folded and glued to become the album cover." ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amtg9t	VGA vs. HDMI vs. DisplayPort	Like, why do people think that DisplayPort will become the standard for PC, instead of the "old" HDMI?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efoftu5" ], "text": [ "It’s mostly just gamers who say this. In reality both HDMI and DisplayPort are quite good, and the differences in trade offs can be small in many cases, not relevant in others, and niche for a special case. For gamers, DisplayPort can support multiple monitors from a si...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amv9ba	Why could retro cartridge-based games not save player data without a battery backup? Why do modern cartridge-based systems not let you do this as well?	I assume with retro systems there was some kinda tech limitation. But if the game data could be saved on the cartridge why could a small rewriteable section of the cart not allow player data to be saved on it that wouldn't require a battery? I know batteries are used to hold data in volatile memory on things like cartr...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efoswzi", "efot2r2" ], "text": [ "Technology like the Non-volatile memory in SDcards didn't exist yet, or at least not in a commercially viable form. If the classic NES was made today the system would contain either a hard drive, an SDcard slot, or a portion of non-volatile memory on the ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amvenn	Signal. How does WiFi and mobile data pass through walls?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efotzkb", "efovbmn" ], "text": [ "Glass is solid, but transparent to light. Walls are solid but transparent to radio signals.", "This has to do with how a given material reacts to electromagnetic radiation: In the case of normal walls, there aren't many free electrons, so the electrom...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amw6ei	What are the sounds you hear when connecting on a dial-up modem?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efp1997", "efp1uxt" ], "text": [ "It is called the handshake. There are still used in technology but we seldom hear them any more. After a connection is made. The devices negotiate what protocol parameters, speed, error correct and compression will be used. URL_0", "It is called a han...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amwnmg	How does the Nikon P900 zoom so far - like all the way to the moon - whilst still not being bigger than a 200m+ lens...?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efp7c7s" ], "text": [ "That 200mm lens you're referring to is for 35mm film (36mm wide image) format. The p900 is a 1/2.3 inch format (6.17mm wide image). The smaller format means lenses can be smaller." ], "score": [ 12 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
amx6xu	CPU cores and threads	What are CPU cores and threads and what do they do?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efp8ucz", "efp8z8v" ], "text": [ "Traditionally CPUs were fundamentally limited to only doing one thing at a time, it could do those things very quickly, but only 1 at a time. This meant that every program on your PC, including the operating system, had to share time on the CPU. Often sit...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
an05mg	is there any way to gather up the 'rubbish' floating around the orbit around the earth?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efpst7z", "efpxzjf" ], "text": [ "This is an area of active research. The issue is that most of the rubbish in orbit is fragments of satellites, specifically three different satellites. And it is going too fast to be captured by something physical like a net. So you need some other way to...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
an23nz	Why do older PC games require to put Disc 2 on your PC while playing?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efq4ag1", "efq50s8" ], "text": [ "Because older games would not fit on a single disc, and when you installed games you didn't install everything, some stuff remained on discs - both for performance's sake, and as an extra drm-like measure. When you are asked to put disc 2, its because you...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
an4vj4	Why can't we use neuroimaging technologies like MRI for the diagnosis of mental disorders, like depression?	I worded this question mostly in reference to MRI; could other technologies like PET, CT, MRI with contrast be useful in diagnosing mental disorders?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efqqruj" ], "text": [ "A diagnostic test is only useful if it can reliably distinguish between people who have the condition and people who don't. For almost all mental conditions, there's no information that can be gained from neuroimaging that does this. There are some differences you can f...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
an4w3u	How do wireless charge pads charge your phone battery?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efqq943" ], "text": [ "The concept is called \"electrical induction\". A current in a conductor creates a magnetic field around it (you probably made an electromagnet in school with a coil around a nail) and in turn a changing magnetic field creates a current in nearby conductors. This is how...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
an5quf	What process does a rape kit use to tell if someone has been raped or not?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efqw9bo", "efqxkod", "efqxlm8" ], "text": [ "No, the kit can not measure consent. The kit looks for evidence of trauma and genetic material. The victim is the one who alleges facts regarding consent and then it is up to the investigators to build a case against the accused and up to t...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
an6u0n	whats the differents between resolution, aspect ratio, and megapixels?	Difference****	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efr4pxv" ], "text": [ "Resolution is the number of pixels of the width and height. EG, 1920x1080 is 1920 pixels across, 1080 pixels tall. The aspect ratio is the ratio of those pixels. So, a widescreen format of 16:9 has 16 pixels width for every 9 pixels height. Megapixel is just a way to ha...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
an7pnv	Why do most cell-phones have a higher resolution screen than most above average monitors and TV's?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efrcw0j" ], "text": [ "Because you look at your phone from a lot closer. That's where resolution matters and why a TV you sit 4-8 feet from doesn't need a higher resolution." ], "score": [ 12 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anany8	How did people in the late 1800s calculate temperature with such precision?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efryyhg", "efrz421" ], "text": [ "Mercury and alcohol thermometers haven't changed in centuries. Mind the freezing and boiling point of water and you can space your degrees from there whether you're using Fahrenheit or celsius", "Thermometers. The mercury thermometer was invented in 1...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anc8yk	when does the data from your phone get consumed. Eg. I’m scrolling reddit, when is the data used. Is it used when I first load into the app or when I’m scrolling looking at the posts. Or does it use the data when it is buffering and loading?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efsacl6", "efsaeay", "efsajvj" ], "text": [ "(working in app development) It's a combination and differs from app to app. Normally the app will preloaded as much text as possible - just because it's very little data compared to images and video. Something like reddit, will ask the ser...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ancy11	Where did the cracking noise go when someone receives a text message?	I remember ~5-10 years ago when someone on Skype, or in my house, received a text message my headphones would be all weird and brr-brr-brrr-krrrrr. It was the classic "Someone's got a text message!" - Somehow that stopped and I started to think about it, and I can't really tell how it went away, and also not really *wh...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efse177", "efsfj9d", "efsfjhl" ], "text": [ "That noise was a phenomenon known as 'interference' which occurs when radio waves interact with eachother and end up distorting their respective signals. Advancements in technology have mitigated this effect but it can still be observed, pe...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ane81k	Why is it bad when people aren't concerned about the government / companies tracking them online?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efsn4la", "efsmlcr", "efst8z4", "efsm8ct", "eft0e4a", "efsmh1o", "efsy4hy" ], "text": [ "The “I have nothing to hide” argument implies only guilty people have something to hide, but privacy is not about being guilty or innocent, and privacy is not about hiding things, ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anf5s9	why did dial up modems need to make noise? Why couldn’t they silently send their signals through phone lines?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efstkgr", "efsu0ww", "efstou9" ], "text": [ "After the connection is established, they would go silent. And they could be configured to be completely silent. But the nice thing about having the noise at the beginning was that you could tell when the connection had been established. Th...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
angtuo	Why do touchscreens and trackpads work with 'organic' materials (fingers, bananas, etc) but don't work with the majority 'inorganic' materials (metals, plastic, etc.)?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eft7g0v" ], "text": [ "Touchscreens work by detecting capacitance of whatever is near enough the sensors. They're calibrated to respond only to the values that are expected from human skin. The other organic stuff just happens to have similar enough capacitance to human skin. Metals and commo...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anjpst	the magnetic North Pole is moving south at a faster pace than usual. What does this mean for our civilization and where is it going?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eftukry" ], "text": [ "The magnetic north and south poles aren't what you think. It's more like a bunch of small poles that line up to make one big magnet. The magnetic north amd south poles have actually swapped places numerous times in the earth's history. Other than accurate navigation, th...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ankbbn	Why do todays cell phones still use horrible .3gp (potato cam) format to transmit video?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eftyuqt" ], "text": [ "because the link is very low bitrate. Higher quality video uses more bandwidth that is not available over mms. MMS is a different application than say 4g which is data only" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ankpf5	Movies	So back in the day before DVDs, how was audio played during movies. Was it on the film? How did audio work in movie theaters?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efu1u41", "efu2b4y" ], "text": [ "The sound was recorded along the edge of the film using light and dark areas. URL_0", "In theatres, when the first talkies came out they had separate reels that had sync dots encoded on them so the projectionist could keep the two lined up. Eventually...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anl980	How does a rice cooker know that the rice inside is cooked and automatically stops?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efu6gwc", "efvgoos" ], "text": [ "Water boils at 212 degrees. The steam dissipates and takes the heat with it. It's difficult to get it hotter under normal conditions. There is a temperature sensor in the rice cooker that monitors the temp at the bottom of the cooker bowl and when it star...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ano37f	What exactly is happening when a computer starts getting file corruptions to the point where it's doomed towards total failure?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efuua1h" ], "text": [ "Generally, in a HDD, it's due to mechanical failure. The drive is structured by its smallest units of storage called sectors, when it experiences a mechanical error in one of those sectors, the sector is beyond repair and referred to as a bad sector. The bad sectors are...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anokpf	how does ISO, shutterspeed and if you shoot raw/large jpeg/etc affect your photos?	My mind doesn't wanna grasp the answers I've been trying to research and watch videos but I still cannot get it.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efux28h" ], "text": [ "I'm not a photographer but I do understand these concepts enough to explain them to a 5 year old :) ISO is the sensitivity of the light sensor. Lower number means it is less sensitive, higher is more sensitive. This also affects the quality of the image. Shutterspeed is...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anr40s	What's the difference between CS (Computer Science), CIS (Computer Information Science, and IT (Information Technology?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efvj3lf", "efvdzq5", "efvv66k", "efvf6xz", "efvd1hf", "efvtp3k", "efvou1b", "efvsj2d", "efvn6r3", "efvncm1", "efvu4kd", "efvx7ki", "efvd4tt", "efvof8a", "efwfe8o", "efvt1rd", "efvtwi6", "efw74gf", "efw0loa", "efvsz56", "e...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anry4s	Why is the "Federal Universal Service Charge" on my AT & T bill so different per line? One line its $1.09 and the next line its $19.20?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efvkcue" ], "text": [ "Looking at your bill, you should see that the line with the higher fee is the line your carrier bills your plan to, if your other lines are sharing. The fee is a percentage of the bill so different bills cause different fees." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls":...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anshs3	How is data encoded/transported as light in fiber optic wires?	To my understand this is only uses for internet and some surgical equipment. But I do get that fiber optic is fast because it uses light, but how do we encode 1s and 0s as light? Or am I understanding this wrong?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efvn052" ], "text": [ "Well that was quick! Thanks. I totally didn’t realize of an on/off system. I was thinking you use different colors of light." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anth7n	Why aren't there more tidal power stations		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efvx8m1", "efvz6j4" ], "text": [ "> tidal energy has traditionally suffered from relatively high cost and limited availability of sites with sufficiently high tidal ranges or flow velocities, thus constricting its total availability. [ URL_1 ]( URL_0 )", "Salt water is really damaging...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anu7rz	If humans can only hear as low as 15 Hz, then why do some headphones go down to 5 Hz?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efw6hxs" ], "text": [ "First, even though the headphones might claim they reach down to 5 Hz, they won't be very effective at those frequencies. So, the useful frequency range will almost certainly be smaller than what's on the package. Second, you can feel very low frequencies even if you do...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
anv6b1	How do thought controlled prosthetic limbs work?	This specific article/video has shocked me in particular: URL_0 This prosthetic arm is not even close to the woman, yet she controls it with her thoughts somehow, and it even sends her information back (feeling). Just how?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efwa0f5", "efwhbh8" ], "text": [ "This isn't \"thought control\" this is nerve remapping. Essentially it's just useing the wiring of the flesh and blood arm to control the prosthetic. Essentially they relocated this ladies nerves and programmed the prosthetic arms to react to her nerve im...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
any5hb	How exactly do stethoscopes work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efwz9jg" ], "text": [ "The end of the stephoscope captures the sound vibrations and bounces them through the tubes until they reach the other end, which you put to your ears. It's effectively the same as putting your ear on someone's body, but more comfortable for both of you and less intrusi...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ao3se6	Why does film footage from the 60's often look much better than footage from the 80's given that technology should have advanced?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efxya3l", "efxyiut", "efy1yes" ], "text": [ "Home cameras didn't really exist in the 60s, so practically all the footage you see from before the late 70s was shot professionally or semi-professionally with fairly expensive equipment that used very high resolution film. By the 80s, hom...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ao4c9g	What is neural network and how is it different from A.I	I'm truly sorry if this is a stupid question. Edit : Thank you very much guys. You all make it simpler for me to understand	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efy1ro1", "efy1u2f", "efy3x2a" ], "text": [ "It's not a stupid question. A neural network is a form of artificial intelligence. To explain it simply a neural net is an attempt to replicate the structure of a brain with neurons and connections between them that get weaker or stronger a...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ao527j	Besides shape, what is the difference between different media cables such as Ethernet, HDMI, USB and others?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efybvwp" ], "text": [ "An interesting facet of these cables is how they deal with \"cross-talk\". Since you have a bunch of wires all carrying a current, and all conductors are antenna, and a current moving through a conductor produces an electromagnetic field, a signal on one wire might get ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ao7kc7	Why does some electronic equipment (smart tv’s, consoles, computers etc) respond so slowly when they are first turned on?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efysiip", "efywq3q", "efyxom8" ], "text": [ "They have a lot of things to load into memory and process (startup processes, kernal modules, etc) Think of it like eating breakfast. It takes a while to get to the eating part because you have stuff to do prior like cooking, getting the di...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ao8jl1	On some game platforms, it's possible to start playing the game midway through downloading it. How is that possible? Shouldn't you need all the files for the game to work?	Besides, if you don't need the rest to start playing, why bother having the rest in the first place? P.S: The game platform I first witnessed this fact was Origin, a friend of mine said it happens in GOG as well but I'm not sure	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efyzrjc", "efyzvpu", "efz0nou" ], "text": [ "The game will load the stuff it needs to run first like the game engine and the first few maps, leaving textures, models and maps that appear later in the game until last.", "This is a common feature (see also: Steam, PSN, Blizzard laun...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ao9ael	How do “Sleep tanks” work?	So recently, an article came out that the [New England Patriots have sleep tanks]( URL_0 ) at Gilette stadium which can simulate 4-5 hours of sleep in just 45 minutes. How does this work? Does our body truly act like it received 4-5 hours or is it all mental?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efz5sbi", "efz7o57", "efzr4hl", "efzmc4y", "efzoq6u", "eg01a1u" ], "text": [ "Welcome to the 70s... again. Deprivation tanks are basically just soundproof, light proof bathtubs filled with body temperature water and a shit ton of Epsom salts. The water gets super dense, me...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ao9n8o	How do smart phones not over heat?	I know that ARM architecture is different than your average x86 processor found in computers. But given that modern smartphones have comparable clock speeds to your low end x86 based laptops and desktops, and given that there's a lot less room for heat dispersion, I'm just curious as to why there is no need for an acti...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efz8ijk", "efzpee6", "efzoz12" ], "text": [ "It's the same method how anything else doesn't overheat. As you use your phone, it heats up, and when it hits a predetermined point, it artificially limits your performance until the temperature drops back below the point - rinse and repeat...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aobi39	How do self driving cars recognize stop signs?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efzscwj", "efzn6xp", "efzpa09" ], "text": [ "Have you ever those reCaptcha tests that ask you to select the squares with street signs in them? They are used to help teach self driving cars how to identify what is and isn't a street sign. Edit: CPG Grey does a video about it - URL_0", ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aoc1yp	How does fast charging work? And why does it sometimes fast charge first try and other times it needs to be replugged in?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efztgs1" ], "text": [ "So, to start, we have to consider the usual standard: USB 2.0 is designed to provide a potential difference of five volts at a current of 500 milliamps. That's not an awful lot of power in the scheme of things, and that translates to taking a long time to charge. Enter ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aoclg9	Why can my phone last so long on 1%?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "efzww17" ], "text": [ "The phone doesn’t actually know the exact amount of battery life left in the charge, it just estimates the best it can. The phone reaches ‘0%’ when there is not enough power left in the battery to sustain the applications/background applications/operating system." ], ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aods2v	Why do countries even bother blocking websites if people can easily bypass and access them?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg04w2g", "eg04vub", "eg06m2m", "eg0g0ez" ], "text": [ "Because : 1. Most politicians don't have any idea about IT topics such as VPNs and proxies. 2. Blocking websites does prevent average users, children and people who aren't technically savvy from accessing them 3. It allows th...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aodxk1	Why do services like Discord and Skype sound so much better than actually making a phone call?	If I'm using my mobile data on my phone to call on Discord, why is the sound quality so much clearer than a regular phone call? Surely we've come far enough to like, make it sound better?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg05wb0", "eg05z27", "eg0flf7" ], "text": [ "Because voicecalls use smaller bitrate. Skype and discord calls also lags hellalot more than regular calls. Regular calls rarely ever lags as long as your reception is a ok.", "When you make a standard cellphone call, it gets routed fro...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aogbx1	What determines when people can/can't use cartoon/movie footage on YouTube?	Like if I were to upload part of an episode of Spongebob on my account, it would probably get claimed by Viacom and the video would be gutted or something But what about channels where showing the movie clip is necessary? Channels like Film Theory or something (idk, first example that came to mind) need to be able to s...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg0ki10" ], "text": [ "If you’re discussing a movie or a TV show and you sporadically show short clips as part of your commentary, it falls under “Free Use.” As long as the content and true subject of the video is your commentary and not the movie or TV show itself, you are legally allowed to...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aognpa	Can astronauts use their cell phones to make calls or text? What about the internet? Isn’t all that information going from a cell tower, to a satellite? If so, wouldn’t they get better service?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg0nrb4", "eg18uny", "eg0ny0p", "eg14l3n", "eg0nxvk", "eg167v5", "eg1046t", "eg1dgtv", "eg1cbzt", "eg0rxry", "eg1edmq", "eg0mxig", "eg17uok", "eg1ronk", "eg1dyjk", "eg19etu" ], "text": [ "> Can astronauts use their cell phones to mak...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aoh6wn	How do those companies like Invisalign and Smile Direct Club fix teeth in 6 months when it took me 2 years with braces?	There has to be something severely negative about these companies or the results. Braces and moving teeth takes time from what I've been told so how can they promise a 6-month timeline for results?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg0s9gq", "eg16dce" ], "text": [ "Those times don’t apply to everybody with every tooth-related issue. Braces are often used for more severe misalignments which are obvious when the patient is just a kid. The teeth that still haven’t been corrected by that time usually have less-severe is...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aojp6t	How do computers make color images black and white?	What is it doing to the rgb values to determine what shade to put there?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg1bjo8" ], "text": [ "Let's say that on a scale from 0 to 255 that the RGB values of a pixel are: * Red = 128 * Green = 64 * Blue = 255 Average those three values together and you get 149. So, the black and white value of the pixel would be 149/255." ], "score": [ 10 ], "text_url...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aojzv0	Discord	can someone explain discord to me and how it works? I want to find others to play xbox games with	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg1ex4r", "eg1lppx" ], "text": [ "Discord is a semi-private hosting service for chatting. Each server is like a subreddit, where there are mods and rules and purposes. Anyone can made a server. If you're trying to find people to play games with you'll want to find a server with that purpo...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aok7jb	How can some game services (Origin for my case) allow you to play games mid-way through download, before it's complete?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg1fwah", "eg1g1oq" ], "text": [ "Most of what makes a modern game so huge is the assets, especially graphical ones like character models and maps. So if they have it ordered in such a way where the base game code downloads, along with the assets needed for the first couple levels or so, ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aolo8m	How does a camera's shutter sync with plane propellars?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg1s6jg" ], "text": [ "Usually entirely by chance... And it's less of a \"shutter\" and more of a frame rate. If the propeller spins exactly 30 times in a second, and your camera (and screen!) show things at 1 frames per second, it will appear as if the propeller (or wheel, or any other spinn...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aolpyo	Does playing music on an iPhone with the volume off drain the battery?	Assuming the music is already downloaded and the screen is off.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg1sgr5" ], "text": [ "Well yes. This is because whatever app you are using to play music, wether is be Spotify or Apple Music or just the normal built in music player it is still running. Even if no audio is coming out, the app is still playing it." ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls"...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aoog9w	Why is the audio quality so bad on a lot of TV shows and movies from the 70's and 80's?	It seems like it's more recent that TV shows and movies have decent audio in the recordings, but music recordings seem to sound good no matter the era. A lot of people say that early Jazz has some of the best recording quality. But, going back to an 80's TV show, it sounds like things are being spoken into a tin can. W...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg2g2ax" ], "text": [ "Some of the early TV shows were only recorded on video tape. The quality was limited to the resolution and contrast of the era. Not good. Sound should have been reasonably good, but it would never be mistaken for high fidelity. Other shows with higher budget were shot o...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aopjbm	What are the clean-cut pros and cons of HBM vs GDDR Memory in graphics cards?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg2q1o8" ], "text": [ "HBR has higher bandwidth, meaning it is faster to access. It's also more power efficient per for the same performance. However it's more expensive, for the time being." ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
aoqpg0	How does the physical film from cinema cameras get transferred to computers for editing?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eg2v27l" ], "text": [ "Very few movies these days are actually shot on film, they're mostly digital from the start. But for the few that are shot on traditional reel, the film is fed through a digital scanner which itself is a projector with a lens kit that focuses the image onto a CMOS or CC...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]

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