q_id stringlengths 6 6 | title stringlengths 4 294 | selftext stringlengths 0 2.48k | category stringclasses 1
value | subreddit stringclasses 1
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
busrz5 | How does long-exposure photography work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eph1820"
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"text": [
"When the cameras shutter is open for a long time, two things happen. More light hits the sensor and motion is blurred since the sensor records all tho movement it seen in that time."
],
"score": [
3
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"text_urls": [
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} | [
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butitn | What is the difference between a "secure line" and a normal telephone line? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ephe98d",
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"epi23xb",
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],
"text": [
"A \"secure\" line has its audio scrambled so that a normal listener can't decipher what is being said. This used to take the form of analog modulation but now-a-days it could be as simple as encoding it into a ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
butttl | How did older films edit in the credits, specifically in actual footage? | Clarification: Actual footage meaning something that was filmed and not just black backgrounds. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ephhg6k",
"ephs285",
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],
"text": [
"Many techniques have been used over the years, but one of the oldest is to paint the credits on a clear sheet of plastic, then just put that on top of the existing footage.",
"To add on to what /u/FullMetalDove said, there's also the pr... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
buvmsp | When a game gets remastered do they completely rebuild it in a new engine or do they use the old game files and simply update the graphics? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epibehx",
"epj20g2",
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],
"text": [
"Former game developer here, & #x200B; There is the dream that they will repurpose as much material as possible. But consider an older game on an older, different platform was likely written specifically for that platform. Portability would ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
buvxjo | Why are 144hz monitors more popular than 120hz? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epig9pw",
"epid4uj",
"episfva"
],
"text": [
"It's a mix of display connection limitations and marketing. Before displayport and higher versions of HDMI, the display cable that could transfer the most data was Dual Link DVI. The initial 120 Hz refresh monitors were at 1080p resolution.... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
buwnwc | How are some animation movies so realistic? | Im talking about movies like "The adventures of Tintin" and "A christmas carol" by Disney. How are those movies so realistic? how are they made? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epizzx8"
],
"text": [
"I think it mostly comes down to the style of animation. Even as technology has improved over the years (look at the difference in animation quality between toy story 1 and 2 for example), certain styles \"look\" more realistic than others. This is on purpose. If you loo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
buxdg5 | - how do hearing aids work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epiztnz",
"epj2yam"
],
"text": [
"I am not an expert so would be happy to see an expert chime in, but I can speak as a user of hearing aids. I think cheaper hearing aid models do increase the volume of everything. This isn’t helpful as sounds can “blend” together for hearing-impaired indi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bv0ali | How do touch lamps work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epjvi5g"
],
"text": [
"They use something called capacitance. It has a wire attach to the outside of the lamp that has a small voltage applied to it which is basically trying to shove electrons into the metal. The metal can only hold so many electrons, but if you touch it, some of them leak i... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bv1ghd | How do police scanners work? | The police scanners that the public can use in their car to detect police nearby | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epk5dyx"
],
"text": [
"The term has a number of meanings. One meaning of 'police scanner' is just a radio that is tuned to the radio channels that the police use. You can hear their conversations. Another is a 'radar scanner', that listens for the signals given out by radar speed measurement ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bv1yhn | How are scientists able to discover so much about space/blcak holes when we have such limited access to it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epkamf6"
],
"text": [
"Observation and experimentation. We can't do anything with black holes, but we can do lots of stuff with light and solid matter of all sorts of different types. We do tons of experiments with what we have to learn all of its properties, and then we observe how it acts d... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bv2q7w | Why do arcade video games and flight simulators use mirrors to reflect the monitors instead of just letting you look at the monitor? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epkhtlb"
],
"text": [
"Talking about the old school arcade cabinets? CRT monitors are big, and deep. If they put the CRT upright at eye level the cabinet would be twice as deep. Laying it down facing up at a mirror is much more compact."
],
"score": [
15
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"text_urls": [
[]
... | [
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bv3evd | How are electronics made water resistant or waterproof, even when they have perforated or moveable parts (i.e. like a phone )? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epkv76r"
],
"text": [
"For total submersion you use parts that are sealed. The conductors of the connectors (charger, headphone jack) don't let water through. They use non corrosive metals like gold, which don't rust away when exposed to standing water. The phone itself is sealed using rubber... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bv3t62 | Nowadays we even have cellphones that record in 4k. Why do the TV stations still use that big cameras? (Professional video camera, aka television camera) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epkvttj",
"epkwg1x"
],
"text": [
"Depth of field, focusing ability, and visual detail. There is versatility in the larger versions. Have you noticed your cell phone camera takes _awful_ pictures of the moon, compared to what you see through your eyeball? Same type of thing. (Also — what p... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bv6cyz | How do relational databases work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epmdbjg",
"eplvwhv"
],
"text": [
"Let's say we're trying to maintain a family tree. We know about people. Every person has a name, a father, a mother, a date of birth, maybe a date of death, and maybe a list of addresses (birth place, places where they lived, burial site, etc.). Imagine w... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bv8fej | Why do some airplanes leave a white trail after them while others do not? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epmop9s",
"epml9c9",
"epmxk0b"
],
"text": [
"The same reason some mornings you can see your breath and other mornings you cannot. Just like you, airplanes exhaust hot, humid air as a result of burning fuel. When conditions are right in the surrounding air, that water condenses into ti... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bv9d67 | How do game designers program the characters to behave in different levels of difficulty? | e.g. A soldier shooting you faster on Veteran level but taking a bit to shoot you in Amateur. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epmypm1",
"epmy6i2"
],
"text": [
"As an example, in Bioshock the splicers, when they spot you for the first time, always miss their first shot by design. That way the player gets a moment to recognize and react to the threat before they actually take damage. Scaling up the difficulty for ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bvaczk | When you delete stuff from your phone (pictures, videos etc.) where does all that data go? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epn9qn3",
"epn93wz",
"epnk1wi"
],
"text": [
"Actually nowhere. Imagine storage as a bunch of words in a notebook. When you \"delete\" something you actually are just telling your computer (phone) that you don't care about the contents of the notebook anymore. You throw that notebook i... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvay7a | why is Australian internet so bad compared to the rest of the 1st world? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epnlx2b",
"epnix6k"
],
"text": [
"Depends on which internet you're talking about. Connecting from your Australian PC to an Austrailian Server should be first-world speeds. If you're connecting to a server outside the country, odds it's thousands of miles away, so it takes awhile for every... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvd2nq | What does "bottlenecking" means in computer stuff? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epo3zvl",
"epo8406",
"epo4693"
],
"text": [
"Think about running a relay race. One runner hands the baton off to another, and so on. Your slowest runner is the \"bottleneck\". No matter how fast the other runners run, the slowest runner will be the one that determines when you're fini... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvd844 | How does cloud computing work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epo6lz4"
],
"text": [
"\"There is no such thing as the Cloud, it's just someone elses server.\" Basically instead of having servers and equipment onsite for your business you can rent servers from a 3rd party. The term cloud refers to a concept in networking akin to 'black box', in that you k... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bveaaj | When media outlets say x amount of people watched a certain game, how do they calculate that number? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epoiio2"
],
"text": [
"They don't calculate it. Generally these estimates are from Nielsen, a company that specializes, among other things, in gathering TV viewership data. Nielsen has select households, called \"Nielsen Households\" which they gather viewership data from (and they get data i... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvfux3 | How does a capacitor work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epovrw5"
],
"text": [
"A capacitor is two conductors seperated by a thin insulator. The conductors are close enough to interact but not enough to transfer electricity. This allows charge to build up on one of the conductors. The charge can then be dissipated all at once by completing the circ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvi55r | How do people do extensive research? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eppc0qm",
"eppbwg2",
"eppd8mu"
],
"text": [
"It really depends what you’re trying to research. Finding out dinosaur facts vs inventing a new machine learning algorithm both require research, but they’d be approached in a massively different way. Wikipedia is great for the former, whil... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvig0h | Why can my laptop pick up my WiFi very well, but my phone, on the same desk, hardly connect at all? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epperz6",
"eppmbul"
],
"text": [
"I would only assume better hardware in the laptop given its increased form factor. Same reason you won't get a core i9 and 32gb ram in a smartphone. Edit - forgot to add phones are more power conscious so reduce performance of areas to prolong life.",
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bviuti | Why do some countries have differently shaped electrical outlets/adapters? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eppjchz"
],
"text": [
"Most countries developed their own standards when electricity started being used. Some were better than others, and some decided to take the better ideas and combine them. There would be a bit of protectionism involved as well. You don't want someone buying an American ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvk75u | LNG gas process? | Watched this video a couple times just need the process dumbed down please? URL_0 | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eppylpz"
],
"text": [
"Natural gas is formed under the earth from the remnants of plants. These gases are pumped from the earth but contain a lot of impurities. It goes to a complex process that removes the impurities and is then cooled to liquid form where it is transported for use."
],
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bvkmz6 | Lane Detection System: What kind of sorcery is this?! | Reposted because I forgot to tag the title. Ok, I'm going to jump right into this. My husband and I rented a car to make our family vacation trip from Texas to Florida. We were given a newer Toyota Camry, as we requested a car of similar size to our car, which happens to be a 2001 Toyota Camry. My mind was just blown b... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eppy8zj",
"eppyimo",
"eppyfc4"
],
"text": [
"The car has a camera and a computer. The camera takes a picture and the computer combs through it and rates each part the image looking for lines. If it's pretty sure that something is a line, it gives it a high score. If it isn't sure, it ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bvl0cj | How does an internet search work? Do they get slower for each new internet page created or are there mecanisms to avoid that? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epq5cmh",
"epq5a1d",
"epq6r8r"
],
"text": [
"The search engine couldn't search all websites each time someone puts in a search word. Instead, it creates a list of all words or phrases it finds on every webpage, and next to each word it writes down the links to every webpage containing... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvl1xj | How does an atomic clock work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epq54tr"
],
"text": [
"TL:DR Atoms vibrate regularly and this vibration is measured and converted into vibrations per second and thus seconds. First, think of what a clock actually is. A measure of a time period. On original pendulum clocks this time period was kept relatively constant by som... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvmfbr | How/Why is the animation in the Spongebob movies different from the TV show? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epqh0uq"
],
"text": [
"This happens with all cartoons that are made into movies if you watch The Simpsons Movie you'll also notice this it's mostly because they have a better budget, a bigger one.. to work with for a movie, because unlike television, the movie makes more money."
],
"score... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvmg12 | How did commanders effectively coordinate and move large armies before electricity? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epqhhs5",
"ept1kn4"
],
"text": [
"They used drums or horns or just yelled shit and the rest of the army would pass orders by also yelling shit. Or for armies that are spread out they would send messengers.",
"Well for starters, there's the chain of command. Much like armed forces stil... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvmz69 | How did people start measuring distance at sea where it's water all around? | Today I know we have the technology to position anything accurately within a few feet. But how would sailors in old times measure distance and have maps of the sea? Why is there a nautical mile and different from the land mile? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epqnbfh",
"epqzkw9",
"epqzeid"
],
"text": [
"Speed of ship and stars. Drop a buoy in the water from the front and count the time it takes to get to aft. That gives you the knots or speed. Do that every so often and navigate by stars. Wasn't accurate like gps but it worked well enough ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bvn8kr | Why is it so difficult for games to support a large amount of users on the screen? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epqsrbn",
"epqyjsw"
],
"text": [
"Because raw speed isn't everything. The latency between you and the server, the servers upload rate and the other players ping is important as is packet loss and the games engine may have limitations in displaying too many people causing it to chug and se... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvnzyy | Why do some large, multimillion dollar companies have so much trouble making a website that works well on mobile ? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epqzpqw",
"epr1fnv",
"epqzhte",
"epr153b",
"eprjh81"
],
"text": [
"There are a lot of potential aspects to this, but I'm a software developer who used to work for a giant digital agency making those multi-million dollar sites, and it is insane how much overhead and waste there... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvp3s7 | What’s inside those black boxes on circuit boards, and what’s happening inside when the machine is running? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eprj8lz",
"eprh1of",
"epsnvtb"
],
"text": [
"Here is a photo of the inside of one integrated circuit. URL_1 This is a very early integrated circuit from the 1950s, the ua741 operational amplifier. It is a purely analog circuit, which essentially is an amalgamation of about 25 transist... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvqehp | Before electrics, how did pipe organs work? | I'm aware of the manual bellows to provide air. But how was the keyboard "the manual" connected to the pipes? Modern organs use small electronic air valves at the base of each pipe. The electricity is diverted to the correct pipes by relays depending on which stops are pulled. Before electricity, wires or relays, how d... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eprntvp",
"eprojk0"
],
"text": [
"A *lot* of adjoined levers and pulley systems. Before the advent of electronic and digital systems everything was based on mechanical principles. Edit: [here is a YouTube video giving a rough explanation of a mechanical organs innards]( URL_0 )",
"It'... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bvqncj | Why are people complaining that the production of electric cars creates more pollution when driving them creates less in the long term? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eprqmp0",
"eprt23k",
"eprstv4"
],
"text": [
"Because everything can be twisted to suit your own agenda if you only present half the story.",
"Because large amounts of disinformation have been spread by people who stand to benefit from the status quo - a good example of this is [th... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvr2bi | the C computer language compiler was written in C. How did it get compiled if there was no C compiler until it was written? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eprydgr"
],
"text": [
"The first C compiler was written in B. That sounds like a joke, I know, but it's true. C was originally called \"NB\" for \"New B.\" Dennis Ritchie wrote up the history of C for his website at Bell Labs, which you can read here: URL_0"
],
"score": [
7
],
"te... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvrz27 | Why, after so many years, printers are still poorly designed and constantly run into problems? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eps52h3",
"eps5sph"
],
"text": [
"I suspect it's because the profit margins on printers are razor thin. It's the Gillette razor model - give away the printer and make money on ink/toner. But then these days the aftermarket ink/toner does a great job and yet the printer manufacturers have ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvwto6 | Why aren't iPhone viruses more common? What does Apple do that makes iPhones so secure virus-wise? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ept1teu"
],
"text": [
"They don't allow iPhone owners to modify and screw around with their products as much as Google does with Android. The devices are locked down more. Also, they have much stricter quality control requirements for their App Store. The Google Play store deletes harmful app... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bvy0p6 | Why don’t we see devices use B, C, and D batteries anymore? Or the square 9v ones? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eptbjfj",
"epte9i1",
"eptg5p6"
],
"text": [
"The energy density and maximum power output of lithium ion batteries, combined with their decreasing cost, makes the idea of using large sets of C/D batteries unattractive. Why have a massive pack of replaceable cells when for a little extr... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bw4hfo | Why aren’t commercial aircraft using electric engines? Aviation is a huge carbon emission source after all. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epv2k9h",
"epv2hs3",
"epv308b"
],
"text": [
"Batteries are heavy. An electric airliner isn't really an option. They also need to fly frequently, landing to deliver passengers then turning around to take off with more, and recharging an aircraft for ages also won't work.",
"The wei... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bw55fs | How is a food recipe scaled up for mass production on an assembly line? Is it possible to maintain or come close to the original recipe when it's changed to be manufactured at a factory? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epv8mh8",
"epvd9mk"
],
"text": [
"Absolutely. Cooking is a series of mechanical and chemical processes to turn raw material into a finished product. It can be made and packaged in an assembly-line style factory. Honestly, I'm wondering if there's something deeper about your question that ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bw68aw | How do restaurants charge your card for tips after having already run them? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epvguah"
],
"text": [
"When they run your card, they are preauthorizing a charge to your card for the minimum amount of your bill with zero tip. They get approval from the card issuer for the minimum amount, but the transaction is left open until they know what tip you left. When they see the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bw8qnv | How you can isolate the vocals on a song using the instrumental | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epvx031"
],
"text": [
"It depends on how the song is mixed, and it generally works better with tracks that are in mono rather than stereo. It’s to do with a thing called phase cancellation - exactly the same way noise cancelling headphones work. You play a sound, and at the same time you play... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bw9cuc | How does a store know I'm stealing something? | Edit: to clarify. I'm talking about these vertical things near the entrance, which set an alarm off if you bring something unpaid for close | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epw0nny",
"epw07xv"
],
"text": [
"I’m not sure if I can write enough words for ELI5: Sensors by the door don’t work for everything, it’s only certain high value items, such an item will have a little strip on them that the cashier passes over something several times to deactivate when you... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bw9gwf | How do speakers work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epw0ic1",
"epw0jw4"
],
"text": [
"I can totally see how this is confusing, it might help to think about a speaker as a reverse ear - they both have surfaces that move with the changing air pressure. Your ear has no problem hearing two different tones at once. The reason this works is the ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwbynb | Why are there many gpu manufacturers (zotac, Asus, msi...) but onlz 2 pc CPU manufacturers? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epwi7uy",
"epwhv2k"
],
"text": [
"They're graphics card manufacturers, not GPU manufacturers. For the GPU the two largest manufacturers are nVidia and AMD, it's pretty much like with CPU's. They develop and create the GPU. Third party graphics card manufacturers can then make a deal with ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwebpl | How do apps like Apple Maps and Google Maps know how much traffic is present on a road? and how do they calculate the destination times accordingly? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epwylfk",
"epx3tq6",
"epwz6gc",
"epwz3pe"
],
"text": [
"There are many ways. One such way is to buy anonymous data from cell phone companies who track how many of their users move from tower to tower and how quickly. Given the geometry of cell sites, they can tell which users are ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwhvc3 | How come your car's aircon needs topped up and recharged, but your fridge in your kitchen does not? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epxorlh"
],
"text": [
"Your fridge is a pretty well closed off system where all the joints can be firmly sealed, and then it never moves for 10-20 years. Your car has a lot more flexible hoses and seals because it has to move the refrigerant from a compressor somewhere in the engine bay to yo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwitm6 | How do polarized lenses work? | I noticed while driving with my polarized sunglasses that if I rotated my head on a vertical axis, it would get lighter, then go darker as I orient my head normally. How does that happen? And why does everything seem 'crisper' in them? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epxwfao"
],
"text": [
"Waves have a direction to them. Tldr:. Waves have a direction that they vibrate like up and down, or side to side. Polarized lenses essentially filter away one \"direction\" of the wave. It's easiest to imagine ocean waves, as they go up and down as they cruise along. I... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bwj9qw | What is the purpose of different processors on the same phone? | I looked into the Galaxy S10 series recently and I saw that the US version uses the Snapdragon 855 while the International version uses the Exynos chip and there is a difference between those two chips in terms of performance. What is the reason behind that? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epy0b79"
],
"text": [
"Samsung has a contract with Qualcomm to use their chips in the United States. Do some research on it as it's kinda interesting! They've been locked in with Qualcomm for a long time. Everywhere else samsung produces their own Exynos chip."
],
"score": [
8
],
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bwltei | How does telephones actually work? How can someone in other part of the world hear my voice or sounds through the telephone with almost no delay? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epygc6e",
"epyh6iq"
],
"text": [
"Old school telephones are little more than a couple of microphones and a couple of speakers connected by wire. The mouth piece of each telephone is a microphone. The microphone converts sound into an electrical signal, which can travel very quickly along ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwmv6x | How does Tesla Autopilot work? | I know it has something to do with sensors and software but not much else. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epylzm9",
"eq1pxc0"
],
"text": [
"It is as combination of a lane-keeping assitant, and radar guided cruise control (except it doesn't use radar, it uses cameras, I THINK). That's pretty much all it is. I know it doesn't like working when there are no white lines to define the lane. It has... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bwn1s6 | How is blurring added to photos and videos and how can be removed? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epymudm"
],
"text": [
"Natural blurring in photos and videos is from the focal point and depth of field. This cannot be removed. Blurring by software can be altered but will be different in case by case scenarios."
],
"score": [
5
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwnikc | In what situation would someone need 1.5TB RAM | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epypk2n",
"epyps2d"
],
"text": [
"High calculation applications. 3d design, animation, computational dynamics, physics simulations",
"Database servers love RAM. So all you need is a database with more then 1.5TB of data and you make your database faster by putting so much ram in the s... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwoi65 | Why do movements in video games look so overly "smooth"? | I noticed this again recently when I was watching [this cyberpunk 2077]( URL_0 ) trailer. What is the reason for this unrealistic "smoothness" in the characters' movements? Surely it should be possible to add more realistic jerky, abrupt elements? Are there techological limits or are the reasons for not doing that arti... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epzdtvi"
],
"text": [
"Former game dev here, & #x200B; There is actually a really big problem: the uncanny valley. In aesthetics, this refers to the degree of an object's resemblance to human appearance and your emotional response to it. In short, the closer we get to making something human, ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bwpr30 | how do Android phones get slower over the years? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epzbed5"
],
"text": [
"The phone do not get slower but is is the software that is updated and newer version in general have more feature and require higher performance/memory on the phone. New software and OS is designed to use You often add more and more software where som it it run in the b... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwt1sn | How do thermometers work and how do they calculate what "it feels like." | Checking my phone for the temperature, I see that its currently 91 degrees but it feels like 99. Got me wondering how thermometers work/how they came to be and how they calculate "what it feels like." | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq03h1h",
"eq03sx7",
"eq06sxy"
],
"text": [
"Thermometers often exploit the fact that materials expand/contract depending on temperature, and different materials do it at different rate. The \"feels like\" temperature is a mix of the real temperature and the humidity. Humidity decreas... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bwwcsn | why are some of the Waybackmachine snapshots links broken/missing? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq0xf0i"
],
"text": [
"There are many possible reasons. Maybe it was missed in the copy, or lost along the way to archiving. Some things have been removed through court orders or other legal actions. Maybe it was hosted on a different site, and that site had different robots instructions whic... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwwd2v | What are apertures, f-stops, How does depth of field work, and how does lens measurement factor into the equation? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq0wuxl"
],
"text": [
"An ideal lens focuses light from a single plane (called the focal plane) onto its sensor. However, that's not super useful, as we often want to take pictures of things that are thick. As it turns out, there is a region around the focal plane where the image is still wel... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwwsf1 | Can a phone call last forever (or at least until the phone itself deteriorates beyond function) if the phone stays plugged in to it's charger? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq13opd"
],
"text": [
"I'm not sure if this applies to mobile phone networks, but way back when in the dark ages of technology (mid-90s), we had a single local phone company competing with BT, the national supplier. As a way to try to grow quickly, they offered innovative special offers, amon... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwwwwk | How does a Minecraft computer work? | Like how does it have memory, and be able to run applications and and what sort of functions can they do and how? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq10vbk",
"eq1990g"
],
"text": [
"Minecraft has something called redstone, which is able to simulate most logic circuits and electrical circuits. So you could theoretically build anything electronic that doesn't include audio or video circuitry. (Although there are sound blocks, so there ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bwy7sk | Why is it hard for phone companies to supply unlimited high speed data? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq1f1h9",
"eq1dr84",
"eq1e6vt"
],
"text": [
"It’s not. They just like money. It’s the same reason the cable and internet companies are fighting to prevent cities from installing their own fiber optic lines, they want more money.",
"It’s not hard for them to do. They could give you... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bwzofa | How do ones and zeros make up complex computer programs???? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq1xsro",
"eq1u2e4",
"eq1swnr",
"eq1sz40",
"eq1v5zd",
"eq1wrva"
],
"text": [
"Like you're 5? I'm not sure I can pull that off, but I'll cover what I know and maybe that will help you. tl;dr: You build something basic to accomplish something basic. Then you put some basic t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bx55y0 | Why does the quality of GIFs, pics deteriorate with each repost? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq3g7b1"
],
"text": [
"If you simply copied the link to the original gif it would be fine. If you downloaded the original file and uploaded it to a service that doesn't apply any postprocessing it will be fine. But what typically happens is, when you upload the image to a hosting service, tha... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bx6t6w | How a laser can improve/correct someone's eyesight. | How does laser eye surgery actually work? Which part of the eye are they working on and how is a laser the tool of choice? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq3uypx",
"eq417po"
],
"text": [
"I've had lasik. Basically removes the top (bad) layer of your eye so you can see clearly again.",
"Your eye works kind of like a camera. It's got a lens system that focuses light onto the retina, the part of the eye that senses light. If the lens syst... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bx8p1w | what’s a reference monitor and what’s it for? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq4ext7"
],
"text": [
"Suppose the animator decides to make a character red. A specific red. Ferrari red. If some other monitor shows this color wrong as a cardinal red, it's very hard for a group to know who has the right color."
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bxc5wf | why do computers connect better to shoddy internet connections when phones and tablets don’t do well? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq56guj"
],
"text": [
"If you're talking about LAN connections then it will always be faster than a wireless connection as it is wired and transmits data without much interference. Even if you put wireless cards in your desktop or use laptops it will still be faster than phone using the same ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bxe4n2 | The purpose/use of the speculations of computers/laptops. | I've always just seen the most mainstream processors or the most popular graphics card to use but little do you know, I have no idea what their functions are and their purpose. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq5p0bj"
],
"text": [
"If you're talking about [speculative execution]( URL_1 ), its purpose is to speed up processors. Processors are actually doing many things at a time in a process called pipelining. A common analogy is [laundry]( URL_0 ) - if you're trying to do many loads of laundry in ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bxh56r | subnet mask in networking | Trying to understand what a subnet mask is in a networking crash course for work training. Please help 🙏🏼 | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq6mcnz",
"eq6xpvw"
],
"text": [
"An IP address describes 2 things: a network, and a specific host on that network. You can think of it like a first and last name, which describes a family and a specific person in that family. The subnet mask is like the space between the first and last n... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bxiwgq | What are hypersonic missiles ? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq72py5"
],
"text": [
"Missiles that travel faster than Mach 5. Supersonic is faster than the speed of sound up to Mach 5, then Hypersonic is above that."
],
"score": [
10
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bxj882 | How does the Turing test work, and why is it still debatable whether it has been passed or not? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq760jk",
"eq7brt1"
],
"text": [
"Simple. You are put in a room with a 2 keyboards and 2 screens. On one end there is a person, on the other, a programm. You ask both whatever questions you want, for how long you want. The person is not trying to trick you. If you can't figure out reliabl... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bxjgx0 | How did people construct wells before modern drilling and how dangerous was it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq78quh",
"eq7dczi",
"eq7nvfz",
"eq8acpp",
"eq8ucci"
],
"text": [
"Dig with a shovel. I've got an open well on my property that my great grandfather dug. He dug it with a shovel and shored up there walls with sandstone creek rocks as he went down. Some of the best water I've e... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bxjkxe | why do digital numbers bounce? | ELI5: When I’m chewing something crunchy, like Captain Crunch why do the numbers on my microwave bounce? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq79ovp",
"eq7a4mo",
"eq7heyl"
],
"text": [
"The numbers on the microwave aren't solidly lit, they blink really fast. They have a high enough refresh rate that you can't tell under normal circumstances. When you chew something crunchy, the crunching is shaking your head and making tha... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bxknyq | What is the CoC controvery in the Linux community? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq7si8v",
"eq7rmg5"
],
"text": [
"A touch of relevant history: A contributor on the Opal project made inflammatory remarks about trans people. A trans activist named Coraline Ada Ehmke caught wind and originally tried to get the contributor removed from the project; project leadership com... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bxlk9l | The Internet isn't a physical web of information, so what is it? | My Papaw asked me how the internet worked once, and I really couldn't give him a straight answer. This man believes the internet is a physical tangible web of information up in space that astronauts can just go to anytime they want. Please help me enlighten him! | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq7tpma",
"eq7twrf",
"eq8039r"
],
"text": [
"It's a network, connecting other networks, hence the name. Through these networks email and web page requests can be relayed from your personal computer to a server computer providing services you desire.",
"The internet is computers ta... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bxqio8 | When switching from one WiFi to another, how come it shuts off the internet while switching, and can’t pass it over without an interruption? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq91szo",
"eq93g3r"
],
"text": [
"That's because your device has to \"prep\" a lot of configurations such as encryption keys, protocols etc. Think of it as switching the battery in your car, you first gotta unplug it, check which wire goes well, reassure you did it correctly and then proc... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bxsl8p | What is white noise? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eq9doq7",
"eq9ei3l"
],
"text": [
"Radios have an \"automatic gain control\" (AGC). When the reception is weak, the circuit that deals with the radio frequencies turns up it's amplification to try and get the best signal it can so it can then extract what actual audio it can. When the gain... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bxz9xx | Why do some recent films from the 2000s need to go through a remaster process into higher resolutions like 4K? Aren't the original source files already at their native resolution, especially if they were filmed digitally? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqas3gf",
"eqb1a18",
"eqbogvo",
"eqb6s5b",
"eqbpmsk",
"eqbsgoj",
"eqbyf5o",
"eqboy8w",
"eqbciop"
],
"text": [
"No, there was still a lot of film used in the 2000s. Even so, digitization for HD (1080) is very different from digitization for 4K (2160) because dif... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bxzv8a | Noise canceling headphones works by picking up sound and playing the reversing the sound wave. But how does this happen in real-time? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqayn35",
"eqaz6vs"
],
"text": [
"Well in electrical terms all you have to do is flip the signal so positive values are negative and vice-versa. This can literally be done by wiring a mic the 'wrong' way round. Of course headsets do use a little chip for this to also apply some processing... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
by1n4o | How are rain chances calculated? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqbq8gm"
],
"text": [
"Its a historical comparison. The weather man says \"50% chance of rain\" he means \"half the time the conditions (temp, humidity, etc) are like this, it rains\"."
],
"score": [
4
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
by2xtv | Did old films really looked that bad back when filmed or it's just because it's deterioration over time? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqc50lm",
"eqcaz2r"
],
"text": [
"Depending on which version of an old film you saw, it could have even looked worse back then. A lot of the versions you see now have been remastered.",
"TL;DR - The quality of a film negative itself has gotten better over time in addition to our abili... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
by9da4 | when a 2.40:1 movie was cropped to 4:3 for old TV screens, you could see more in the top and bottom of a shot then when it was in 2.40:1. Why? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqfbfgb"
],
"text": [
"You're describing films that were shot in \"matted\" style. The original standard aspect ratio of most films was about 4:3 (technically 1.37:1) until TV came along. TVs adopted Hollywood's 4:3 ratio, but to combat the competition Hollywood began producing films in wides... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
by9yz6 | ACPI and UEFI. What are they and why do computers needs them? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqf2f2s"
],
"text": [
"So, ACPI and UEFI are two separate things, so we'll handle them separately. * ACPI (*Advanced Configuration and Power Interface*) provides an open standard whereby the operating system and hardware components can talk to each other; ACPI advertises the hardware and its ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bydwlk | Why is 5G exceptionally faster than 4G/3G ? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqgja67"
],
"text": [
"It isn't. If you go to 5G and have much better speeds, then that's only because you were getting slower 4G than you could have been. 4G networks can, in ideal situations, deliver speeds up to about half a gigabit. You probably don't get anywhere near that! I know I don'... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
byg17y | How does computer memory work? | When you physically save a file, like a photo or a word document, how is it physically saved? Where is that document physically? I believe there are two modern memory devices, HDD and SDD, but how do they work? How can a Hard Disk Drive be ‘scratched’ the right way to save my essays? And when I save a file to a flash d... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqha4v1"
],
"text": [
"What you're talking about is called disk or storage. Memory is a different part of the computer, also called RAM. With a traditional disk drive (HDD \\ Hard Disk Drive) there is a spinning metal disk that is given magnetic charges that represent ones and zeros. Those on... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bygz7v | Why are RGB LEDs bad at producing purple (and nearby variants)? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqhw23r"
],
"text": [
"Are they? RGB can represent millions of colours, purple too"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
byhvqq | How does Google Stadia or other gaming streaming services work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqhqtes"
],
"text": [
"The game, is run normally on a machine in one of Google's (or whoever's) data-center. Your computer sends it your inputs (so controller/mouse movements and button presses) which are fed into the game. The server then sends you the video stream of the game, just like you... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
byi0mg | Helicopter Spinning Blades | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqhqeuy"
],
"text": [
"They match the frames per second the camera captures at. So every 'photo' the camera takes is close to matching the speed of the rotor."
],
"score": [
5
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
byich5 | Why do Live-streams usually have such a high quality when Video Calls are often low resolution and stutter-y? | Aren’t they essentially the same technology? A video and audio feed being streamed to another location? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqhvdkw",
"eqhzf3m",
"eqikam7",
"eqimubn",
"eqivsib"
],
"text": [
"At the most basic level, live streamers tend to have higher quality cameras, as well as higher bandwidth upload speeds. This means more, higher quality data can be sent.",
"Couple reasons.. 1. Live streams ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
byifft | What determines the "computing power" of CPU cores? Why is an ARM core generally considered less "powerful" than an x86 core? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqhx8rd",
"eqi1zjs"
],
"text": [
"This is a very complex question if I get in depth on the engineering decisions that make them different, but without that, it becomes oversimplified. Heat. Think of phones as ultra small computers. Unless you want a fan in your phone, they depend on passi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
byih0c | What is preventing us from effectively storing energy harnessed by windmills and solar panels? | Here in Denmark, we frequently have to sell excess power gathered by especially windmills at very low prices to neighbouring countries, because we are not really able to store it anywhere. Is this a matter of the sheer amount of energy that has to be stored or are there other variables involved? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqhxka3",
"eqhxkpb"
],
"text": [
"You have to turn the energy in potential energy and then later release it to get electricity again. This is always a process that involves some losses. You can improve the efficiency a bit, but you will always have some loss. There are many ways you can s... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
byj3um | Why do some games (e.g. Minecraft) need a launcher instead of directly launching the game ? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqi3pz1"
],
"text": [
"There are at least a few reasons. The launchers that many games have now allow the game to check for updates when you open the launcher. It also allows for in game stores and advertising. There are probably many technical reasons as well, but this is why a lot of compan... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bykcy7 | How can cell phones send signals such long distances? | Massive cell towers and powerful broadcasting equipment are required to get the signal to your phone, so why isn't it required to get the signal from your phone to the towers? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqiju55",
"eqiloy4"
],
"text": [
"The big cell towers are there to provide broad geographic coverage and handle thousands of calls at once. The size and power is not related to communicating with one phone but thousands. The receiving antennas in the cell towers are able to pick up your w... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bykf3z | How does Alexa read so naturally from a book, with proper inflection, etc.? | I asked Alexa to read from a book in my kindle library, and I was surprised that "she" read so naturally. I was kind of expecting a more monotone, computer-sounding voice-- it's a pleasant female voice, of course, but I wasn't expecting so much natural expression, for example, rising at the end when the sentence was a ... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqil9g9",
"eqj2crv"
],
"text": [
"I'm not an expert on AI either, but I believe that Alexa can train herself to get better. Same goes with Siri, Google, and other assistants. Millions of users talk to them every day, and by listening to the users, they can recognize speech patterns, and e... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bykq8m | How do noise canceling headphones... Cancel noise? Could they be "upgraded" to silence concerts? Gun shots? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqipvnn",
"eqityr5",
"eqiveda"
],
"text": [
"Okay so sound is a wave. Noise cancellation works by listening to the waves on the background and then outputting the opposite wave to cancel it out. Think of sound as waves in a tub, you can stop them if you do a \"counter wave\" movement ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bymtet | Why does 5GHZ seem to be the ceiling for conventional desktop overclocking? | I know that overclockers can push CPUs s further than that, but ~5GHZ seems to be the clockspeed today's CPUs max out on since 2011. Why is that? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqji4dw",
"eqjho4q",
"eqjozd4",
"eqksgvn",
"eqjip30",
"eqke8yd",
"eqlu4dq"
],
"text": [
"CPU speed is limited by time of transmission and heat. The electrical signal has to be transmitted through microscopic wires in a chip. Though the theoretical limit is the speed of... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bynhgp | How does stretch tape stick to itself when pressure is applied to it, but not feel sticky to the touch? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqka98d",
"eqkvt2p",
"eqmd7qa"
],
"text": [
"It’s kind of like Velcro but instead of hooks and loops that stick together, there are little folds/grooves that fit in together which will hold the sides of tape together.",
"It seems there are several types of tape referred to as stre... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
byqe9y | What is the point of the machine (clapperboard) that starts a film? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eqketj4",
"eqkeov8",
"eqkf9dp",
"eqkj9gf"
],
"text": [
"It’s used by movie editors/producers to synchronize the audio and video. In the old days, it would have the scene/take numbers on it, too. You could synchronize your video to your audio by listening to and looking at the clap... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
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