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
ce2xog	How can a single speaker, such as earphones, produce highs and lows at the same time		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ety71vg", "ety1wbd" ], "text": [ "[This figure should help explain it.]( URL_1 ) A shows 4 waves each with different frequencies and C shows what you get when you combine those waves together. (Ignore B and D). A combination of different sound waves creates a single wave with a unique pat...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ce4tn9	Why do movies shot on 35mm today look more vibrant and high resolution than 30 years ago despite film technology not drastically changing in that time?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "etymvv3", "etze29o" ], "text": [ "The same is also true for audio, but the ability to capture video data has outpaced the ability to process that data and display it. In the case of video, 35mm film has a roughly 11880 x 7322 resolution in an ideal scenario. With film in excellent shape a...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ce5jk3	Why do TV video clips from the 90s and 2000s look so low quality?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "etywf47" ], "text": [ "Video has progressed this far...... We went from 240p to 480p then 720 and 1080 Now we are close to commercial 2k and 4k standard video format. Just that's it's currently minimum industry standard to stay at least 720" ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls": [ [...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ce7bqo	Can someone explain to me how Powerline Adapters(Networking) work in terms of sending data packets over an electrical line? It confuses me that there is no data interference when the powerlines are already occupied with 110v. Thanks	thanks	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "etzmqdp" ], "text": [ "The power lines have 110v but it is at a steady, relatively slow frequency. The data transmission is done just by wobbling the steady wall power frequency slightly, something within the normal margin of error for power delivery but also recognizable by the right hardwar...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ceat72	How do the grooves in records actually make sound?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu10m1m" ], "text": [ "When they're recorded, a needle cuts into the wax at various depths based on the amount of vibration caused by the original sound. Then when they're played back, it works in reverse: as the needle passes through the grooves and moves up and down over the contours of the...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cebfx2	what is the main differences between air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu1823g" ], "text": [ "There are a lot of differences, and a lot of similarities based on the missiles in question. The one largely Universal difference is in Explosive Yield. Air to air missiles tend to pack less explosives, because aircraft take less force to destroy than a reinforced bunke...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cegjqc	Why does CGI in recent movies not seem as realistic/detailed as Avatar (2009) with recent developments in filmmaking and computer animation?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu2hhnc", "eu2cuph", "eu2ib7o", "eu2jk0k", "eu2kwk0" ], "text": [ "I think part of it was that almost every bit of every scene in Avatar was CG, so there wasn't as much of a chance for anything to be obviously out of place. When there's just one CG element in the scene, it can...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ceh3qz	how do media agencies quickly find video clips in all of the media that’s been recorded over the last few decades?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu2h76g" ], "text": [ "They have metadata for all the clips in their libraries. They search the metadata and then look at the matching clips. So, they're not searching \"all the video clips\" but rather \"all the clips they have\". After that, it's all Google/YouTube." ], "score": [ 8...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cei83g	How does clicking a box actually confirm that you're not a robot?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu2pe7x" ], "text": [ "It looks at how you click it. If you instantly move the mouse to the location and click it then it can be suspicious of it being a program instead of a user with a mouse. If the movements are suspicious then it makes you go through a special type of captcha, an identifi...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cemhl3	How does the https transfer the key to decrypt the data without compromising the contents of said data?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu3snt8" ], "text": [ "If data could be encrypted with a paint colour, then... If I wanted to send you encrypted data, first I would send you some random colour paint. Next, you and I would independently choose a second secret random colour paint (both different) and mix it with the first col...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cenl5r	What's the difference between mechanised, motorised and computerised?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu3sk0a" ], "text": [ "If something is \"mechanized\" it utilizes a mechanical advantage. Things like levers, gears, screws, etc. Motorized means that it incorporates some sort of motor...electric, internal combustion, whatever. Typically means that it is also mechanized. Computerized things ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cesulz	How does radar blocking technology work and are there more advanced systems which can get around those hardware systems?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu4ofop" ], "text": [ "Radar relies on a signal bouncing off the target and returning to the radar dish. If you can deflect or absorb the signal instead of reflecting it, you're effectively radar invisible. Modern stealth aircraft rely on a combination of the two - angular surfaces to deflect...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ceuqrz	Why is it common practice for music streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora to have an overlapping catalogue but video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are seemingly all done through exclusive contracts?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu51fvn" ], "text": [ "Music companies (the record companies and artists) get paid on a per use basis. Each time a song is played, they get paid. Thats how the pay works. So the goal is to get your music in as many places as people could possibly listen to it, to rack up maximum plays. From a...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ceuvi4	How can bronze hold an edge, but brass can't?	Both are alloys that harden soft copper, and bronze's sustained edge heralded Bronze Age weapons. 1. How does the addition of tin to copper permit an edge, but zinc to copper doesn't? 2. Pure copper blades were known in the ancient past, such as Otzi the Iceman's ax. But are those much better than a brass blade might h...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu52sbc", "eu53k1k" ], "text": [ "Brass can hold an edge but not very well. Brass is a softer, more malleable metal than bronze so any edge won't keep as long. It also oxidizes more easily, forming the green-blue patina associated with it. The oxidation will ruin the edge much like how ru...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cev5k2	How do treadmills and other machines track your hearts BPM by those silver things on the handle?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu596a4", "eu59ir6" ], "text": [ "The basic concept to be aware of here is what makes the heart beat. Our heartbeat is driven by an electrical signal generated by a small group of cells (sometimes called pacemaker cells) located within our heart. The electric pulse generated by this group...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cex0ju	How 64bit OS run 32bit programs?	Hey, How is it possible for 64bit OS to run 32bit programs? Didn't they compiled in different ways? If not does 64bit programs work for 32bit OS as well? If so what are the differences at all then? Thanks.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu5j18q" ], "text": [ "64 Bit mainly refers to the size of the memory bus on the motherboard. If a system has a 64 bit memory bus then it can address memory spaces that are much much bigger than 32-bit systems. It also means the internal registers in the CPU are 64 bits wide. That means the C...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cexq60	Why did it take the entirety of human history to even figure out how electricity works, but then only 200 years to get to where we are now?	It seems really insane that humans existed for about 100,000 years making very slow advancements over that time, until about 200 years ago when we managed to create things like batteries and dynamos. Then in .2% of our entire history as a species we went from hand cranked dynamos to controlling the entire world with ma...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu5rkr7", "eu5tnqp", "eu5tzyo" ], "text": [ "So I think where you want to look is the age of Enlightenment as the beginning of the rapid development of change. A big part of what drove scientific progress was the printing press, being able to reliably pass information across time and ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cey2td	How does one computer use another computer's IP address to find and talk to it?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu5snx0", "eu5zhm0" ], "text": [ "You are very much on track with your post office analogy. I am going to focus on public IPs only and ignore private or internal IPs for this explanation, although the process is similar. For the most part, the internet is just a large group of independent...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ceyjv1	If cellphones can record and stream in 4k quality in the palm of their hand, why do news cameramen use heavy multi-thousand dollar equipment to stream in 720p to their local stations?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu5uf1p", "eu5vhjb", "eu5ulrq" ], "text": [ "Well, that equipment might include zoom lenses (which your cell phone probably doesn't have), and it will also have a much larger lens so it will work better in low light conditions. Additionally, literally being heavier helps. A heavy came...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cf55fv	Why do old movies and videos have this sorta staticky sound in the background and modern ones don’t?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu7hgh3" ], "text": [ "A lot of reasons: Old movies had the soundtrack imprinted on the film, it was analogue and intrinsically noisy - like cassettes, the same was true of video. Also copying the film to make a new print or change the format would introduce more noise. To deal with that Cine...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cf64vc	During the PS1 era, one of the upsides the N64 had that the PS1 didn't was that cartridges had no loading times as opposed to CD's which had more capacity but had to load all the data. Why do now the cartridges on the Switch, for example, have to make use of loading screens?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu7o5ic", "eu7obr4", "eu81us0" ], "text": [ "Back then, the ROM storage on the cart was about as fast as the RAM in the console. So there wasn't really a need to load data, because it was already readily accessible by the CPU. Since then CPU and RAM speeds have increased significantly...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cf89tq	How the hell do Deep Fakes work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu80roq", "eu8clmc", "eu80h0d", "eu8eqta", "eu84es7", "eu80hqa" ], "text": [ "Honestly, I know it's probably against the rules of ELI5, but I would recommend Corridor's Crew video on their Keanu Reeves deepfake to fully understand everything that's behind this. In short, y...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfbnnz	Is 5g dangerous or is just fearmongering?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu8sh9a", "eu8y25h", "eu8y8q1", "eu8rvqi" ], "text": [ "Radiation, in terms of biological effects, can be broken into two main categories: ionizing and non-ionizing. Ionizing radiation is bad as it can strip electrons from atoms and molecules, breaking apart molecules and generall...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfcqb0	What is a core and thread in a CPU, and what exactly do they do?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu92b5m", "eu902v6" ], "text": [ "Imagine you are working in a restaurant, let's say a burger joint. A thread corresponds to a specific task, in our example we'll say there are the tasks: \\`make patty\\` \\`assemble burger\\` \\`fry fries\\` and \\`serve customer\\`. A thread is doing on...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfd4yc	What is an algorithm? What makes it difficult to define?	I've heard and read multiple definitions of what an algorithm actually is. Often prefixed with "It's difficult to define but [...]". So I'm genuinely curious as to what an algorithm actually is and why it's difficult to define. Thank you.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu933kt", "eu93ml6" ], "text": [ "It's not really that difficult. It's a series of steps needed to do something. Long division could be called an algorithm.", "An algorithm is only difficult to define if the task it is solving is complex. Right? Let’s define some _preconditions_. Ther...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cffedb	How the heck does 3D printing actually work? Can you print using different materials (metal, wood, etc)?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu9jl77", "eu9lvau" ], "text": [ "Little pieces of material are fused together. It only works for fusable materials like plastic or metal. Wood is cellular life, a completely different sort of thing.", "3D printing takes a model and makes thin slices of it, called layers. Think of it ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfg0sx	how exactly do one way glass work, and how can you see from a tilted glass in a car but can't see from the outside?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eu9o2ut" ], "text": [ "It's just a matter of refraction and reflection. \"One-way glass\" is just normal glass, but usually a little thicker to provide more chance for light to bounce. But basically one side is in dark and the other room is in light. Just like it's hard to see into a house du...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfh85o	how do calculators actually work?	Like the title says I’m just curious how tf calculators work.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eua1p8i", "eua6nmx" ], "text": [ "Calculators are complicated circuits operating in binary. Binary is a way of counting using only two numbers, 1/0: 0000,0001,0010,0011... For simple operations the calculator utilizes a so called full adder: a circuit that compares 3 inputs to two outputs...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfmg9x	How do the manufacturing companies ensure that the insides of the food packaging packets are thoroughly cleaned ?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eub1zhp" ], "text": [ "Depends on the package, but there is usually some sort of cleansing step right before filling and sealing. Take bottles for instance. On the bottling line I worked at a brewery, empty bottles first entered a sanitizing machine that flipped them upside down and blasted t...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfn4gq	why can a high speed 4g signal reach me anywhere but wifi has trouble reaching me in the next room?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eub29wv" ], "text": [ "There are 2 factors to consider. First is your surroundings. Radio waves, like a 4g signal or wifi are just electromagnetic radiation, like light. They pass through some things well, but are blocked by others. Having multiple walls, or a big HVAC unit, or a metal buildi...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cft1l9	How is it possible that games like Spore (the one where you make creatures ect.) are able to have full animations for things that you only just made.	i can use the same parts on a creature and have them look wildly different yet it still has a decent animation for its actions.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eucez3u", "eucaogb" ], "text": [ "The big buzz word at the time was \"procedural generation\", which is a [commonly asked about topic here]( URL_0 ). TL;DR: you program in a set of instructions that the game will use to make decisions. It's easy to explain this in building how a world loo...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfu2pv	why don’t companies do their sensitive work on computers that are not connected to the internet, and therefore unhackable?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eud11lo", "eucrkzd", "eucifmt", "eud2pwh", "eucjz51", "euctio4", "eud765r", "euda88f" ], "text": [ "They do. But then you lose all the advantages of having networked computers. It slows things down. Now if you need information from another department, you have to g...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfvgpy	How do apps or websites that have offerwalls know that you installed and ran an app on your device or completed the offer?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euct4h8", "eucti1p" ], "text": [ "There’s usually account information associated, either with you or the app. When apps run, they can register details on your computer or device, and, of course, “call home.” Some token or tag will be shared. It’s really that simple.", "this is a prett...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfwkdi	How did Super Mario Bros on the NES look blocky, have no detail, and lack a bunch of features; yet Super Mario Bros 3, also on the NES, with the same hardware, have a fully fledged world map, Siginificantly higher quality sprites, and more content? While on the same cartridge?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eud0js7", "eudgc6l", "eudr55l", "eudlm15", "eudjtm6", "eudltr8" ], "text": [ "Memory hardware inside of cartridges advanced precipitously in the five years between the release of Super Mario Bros. & Super Mario Bros. 3. The limitations on the quality of graphics were almos...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfwswc	What is Usenet? And how does it work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eud2ea7", "eudeyz4", "eudli88" ], "text": [ "A collection of forums (called newsgroups) that was bit like really old version of Reddit. It's a bit hierarchical, so groups kind of contained other groups - so One called \"alt.subculture\" might have a sub group called \"alt.subculture.p...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfxkgf	How does Wifi actually work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eud8732" ], "text": [ "It's a radio modem. It uses radio waves. It interprets the signal sent/received over the radio waves as data. The radio waves in question are what's called \"non-ionising\". They can't do you any damage. If they could, you'd be dead already from a million other things, ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfysdi	How do websites like YouTube store billions of hours of videos in various qualities for years, while still allowing people to access and watch the videos at any moment?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eudegi9", "eudgdto" ], "text": [ "> I’m picturing a huge room with hard drives everywhere with all of the videos on them but I’m sure that’s not right lol. Nope, that's pretty much it; it's called a ['data center.']( URL_0 )", "Data centers, and we can’t build them fast enough. They p...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cfyv01	In computer science, how do packets get lost in the first place?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eudeuzh" ], "text": [ "Many ways including: 1. Packet filtering due to policy rules 2. Routing errors causing loops resulting in the time to live TTL expiring 3. Link errors causing corrupt frames that can not be self repaired 4. Queue buffers getting full on routers 5. Software errors on rou...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cg08jh	Why can’t we predict earthquakes at all?	My understanding is that Earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates under the Earth’s surface colliding. They say we never know when they are going to happen. Why isn’t it possible to create a device that can track the movement of tectonic plates and know if they are on course to collide?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eudorfs" ], "text": [ "The plates aren't in constant motion and you can't just see a collision coming. They are pressed against each other and stuck there for long periods as pressure builds up. The force pushing the plates has to overcome the friction of the two plates rubbing together. Even...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cg0yay	Why do TV manufacturers turn on the "Soap Opera Effect", or motion smoothing, by default?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eudxg37" ], "text": [ "Because they use it in the advertisement, and a certain percent of consumers are too dumb to enable it. Because it’s more likely people who care will seek out disabling it, and people who don’t know any better will get mad if they don’t know how to use it. Just like how...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cg1463	With mobile processors becoming smaller and more efficient, why aren't we using them in laptops? Especially Chromebooks would perform well I'd think.		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eudwul2" ], "text": [ "The first thing is that the processors are pretty different. Laptops and \"normal\" computers use x86 processors and mobile devices use ARM processors. Think of this as that they speak different languages, and can not understand each other. You can write a program for x...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cg3c53	How does oxygen work in submarines when underwater?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eueag98", "eueak98" ], "text": [ "Depends on the submarine. Non-nuclear submarines have a snorkel they use to pull in air for their primary engine. If they want to submerge completely they typically switch to an electric engine and typically the batteries used to run this will last shorte...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cg3w7w	How cartoons that are handdrawn (Not Flash animated on computers) are made and then put on TV	I know animation is based on showing similar frames in a rapid succession. But how do you get this on Tv in a manner that fluently occupies the entire screen?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eueg9lb" ], "text": [ "The animator draws out each frame of the character on each paper using a special lightboard table. The drawing table usually has a circular hole in the middle for the light under a plate of glass. This enables the animator to draw consistent motion when drawing over his...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cg6w4b	does using internet/wifi use up SSD's write cycle, if not what aspects of it does? Does viewing images/videos (not downloading them) use up these cycle?	Thank you all for your helpful replies,	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euf65pm" ], "text": [ "Yes, data is written to your drive when using the internet. That said SSDs life expectancy is longer than you might think so using one normally should last for the life of the PC with little trouble (5 years or so). Also, some SSDs, like Samsung, have a utility which pa...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cg890o	Why does nuclear fusion create so much energy, and why can't use it (yet?) to produce electricity?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eufb73n", "eufb6f7" ], "text": [ "TLDR: Current generation reactors don't produce enough energy to be self-sustaining, ie they use more power than they produce. Nuclear fusion reactions release a lot of energy for a small amount of mass. That makes fusing hydrogen much more energetic than...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cg921s	How do powerline adaptors (allows you to connect to the internet via a power outlet) work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eufgmwc", "eufm8l0" ], "text": [ "Power lines are just like any other wire, and devices can communicate over higher frequencies than the AC power (50 or 60Hz depending where you live) which is its originally intended use. It’s kind of the same concept as DSL, where plain telephone service...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgcuff	How do we keep in contact with spacecraft such as Voyager 2 that are at the very edge of our solar system?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eug7kgu", "eug7jci", "eug7sx8" ], "text": [ "With very big dishes on Earth, and very sensitive receivers that can find the tiny signal. Fun fact: the Voyagers' radio transmitters are 20 Watt -- which is the same power as the bulb in your refrigerator. So we're effectively looking for ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgdk02	What stops battery technology progressing faster?	Always hearing about some great idea someone had but we still seem to be iterating on Lithium Ion so I’m curious, what are the biggest problems?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eugb79r" ], "text": [ "It is just really difficult to hold large amounts of energy reliably, cheaply and safely (all of which are required for consumer electronics). Higher capacity batteries exist in labs, but very often they fail on one of those three dimensions: - They are susceptible to t...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgik8k	How do the different wireless networks do not collide with each other and decrease their intensity or increase it according to the case?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euhi82b", "euhnwjg" ], "text": [ "Actually they do collide. I'm case of WiFi in your house, it use 2,4 or 5 GHz signals. But it doesn't use exactly 2,4 or 5 GHz but rather a slightly different frequency, like 2,389 or 4,997. With that the network \"trys\" to avoid to use the exact same fr...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgj5is	Why are laptop screens so hard to clean compared to smartphone screens? They seem to use some sort of coating that leaves nearly impossible to clean stains where as on a phone they just wipe off, why is that?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eui2dfe", "euhx6hv" ], "text": [ "Touchscreens usually have an oleophobic coating on the surface. Phone screens are designed specifically for touch input interaction. Smartphones and laptops with touchscreens have an oleophobic coating on the glass which repels oils and allows for easier ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgjozl	Can you make a brand new internet, like it would be completely empty with no data, no website no anything?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euhvebr", "euhtj9q" ], "text": [ "You certainly can. And in fact this is exactly what happens if you plug some computers into a router but don't connect that router to the public Internet — you just created your own tiny private Internet.", "Yes. And you'll have to keep it from connec...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgl8yw	How was 16-bit music created on different consoles?	I know that classic consoles like the Megadrive and Super Nintendo used different methods for creating music, but I've always been confused about the differences. A lot of my friends also refer to them as MIDI, which I know is incorrect but I'm not exactly sure why. My understanding only goes so far, but I'm deeply int...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eui9k3c" ], "text": [ "For those of us in the United States, the “Megadrive” is what the rest of the world (except South Korea, where it's the “Super Aladdin Boy”) calls Sega's “Genesis” console. Carry on." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgrjwf	What is the academic reasoning behind believing we live in a simulation?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euk3hp8", "euk3n30" ], "text": [ "IMHO, (layman here) is that there is not a \"belief\" that we live in a simulation. It is a philosophical position that we cannot rule out by our reasoning that we are not living in a simulation. There is nothing we know of (by observation or reasoning) t...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgs5gp	How does fiber-optic internet work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eukc3u0" ], "text": [ "We are next door neighbours and I have a red laser pointer. Whenever I bake cookies I want to invite you over to eat them. So I shine the red laser pointer at your house. You have a blue laser pointer. If you are busy and can’t come over to eat the bookies, you can shin...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgtpnq	How does the open refrigerator at the store with cheese, butter, etc. not spoil the food, but our refrigerators at home need to be closed?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euky77f", "eukxm8l", "eukxvi4", "eulcfl4", "eumed7c" ], "text": [ "Fluid dynamics! The refrigerators at a store rely on something called \"laminar flow.\" There are fans at the top of the fridge that blow air along a straight path where all particles are moving in straight lin...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cgy25n	Why do speakers get blown out when you play them too loud?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eume0kp", "eunxz5c" ], "text": [ "The voice coil in a speaker is an electromagnet, it vibrates back and forth against a permenant magnet. The voice coil can overheat due to too much power being sent to it. Or damage from moving too far forward/back.", "Beside the coil burnout discusse...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ch2reh	What is code and why is a lot of it in 0’s and 1’s?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euoclns", "euoam0e", "euoadhi" ], "text": [ "This is a really complicated question, but I'll try to answer it as briefly as I can. Your computer is very much a kind of electrical machine, that manipulates the voltages of different wires, and is designed to preform calculations on thos...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ch3i76	Why do Composite signals look so good on CRT's but utterly horrible on modern LCD's of the same size?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euon7h5" ], "text": [ "Because w/o having pixels, a CRT display isn't able to produce images as sharp as the ones shown by the LCD. The CRT smoothes the image and hides out some of the image defects, if there are. The pixels you can notice by looking closely to a CRT are just a regular patter...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ch3mf4	How do just a few satellites give the precise location of a million of connected devices at the same time?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euonpzm", "euotxfu", "euoofav", "eups0vr" ], "text": [ "Each GPS satellite just broadcasts where they are, and what time their clock says. That signal can be picked up by any number of devices that have line of sight to the satellite. The devices can then determine their position ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ch44x3	How does this image have lines from the TV on it that change depending on zoom?	This image is taken of a screen playing GTA V, and I realize that effect shows up when someone takes a picture of a screen, but I don't know what they actually are or why they change depending on how zoomed in I am. Here is the image. URL_0	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eup22b5" ], "text": [ "It is called a [\"Moire pattern\"]( URL_0 ) and it happens when two regular patterns don't sync up leading to patches of interference. This is very common when taking pictures of digital displays as the pixel grid of the display is unlikely to match up with the pixel gr...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ch5k3b	how do ads load on bad service but normal content doesn’t?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euplngk" ], "text": [ "Youtube (through Google) have many, many servers across multiple regions of the world to store their data. Very popular content may be hosted on multiple servers to constantly have it closer to the viewer, and on faster servers. Less popular, more normal content will no...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ch5tzd	How do those Heart Rate Monitors on phones that don't have built in sensors work by using only flash and the camera?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eupomzv", "eupotfc" ], "text": [ "The flash lights up your finger, the camera detects any changes to how brightly lit your finger is. During a beat there’s a little more blood in the vessels of the finger, so it blocks a little more light. The camera can see these small variations in brig...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ch8ska	Why does a 1080p Nintendo Switch look great on a 4k TV, but a game in 1080p on a 4k computer monitor look so pixelated and bad?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euqjy8g" ], "text": [ "As people have said, distance, but there is another factor. 4K computer monitors are really only designed to display a 4K signal well. When you send a lower resolution signal, they use very basic techniques to upscale the image and this looks bad. 4K tv's on the other h...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cheuo7	Why can’t phones and computers charge almost instantly when you plug them in, instead taking 2-3 hours?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eusdhop" ], "text": [ "Electricity is stored in batteries as chemicals held in two different containers separated by a filter-y thing. Letting electrons flow from one to the other through your phone (for example) is how it discharges. Forcing the chemical reaction to go backwards is how it re...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chgnm5	Why does WiFi in a house or office still suck in an age where we can have a drone transmit a WiFi HD video signal from a mile away?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eusz3f7" ], "text": [ "I wouldn't say WiFi really sucks. It all depends on the setup you have: if you have a sufficient number of access points (antennas), or if the ones you have are strong enough. Your house plays a big role in this as well, thicker walls means a bigger loss in signal stren...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chhfvo	Why shouldn't I mix old and new batteries or batteries of different types (disposables with rechargeables)?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eut6g6y", "eutp1v3", "euu4j9s", "euuq8zv", "euuy6r5" ], "text": [ "Different batteries have different voltages. And you don't want to try recharging a non-rechargeable cell. Rechargable batteries generally have a voltage of 1.2 volts, compared to heavy duty or alkaline cells w...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chlrq8	With the millions (or billions) of barcodes in the world and more being added daily, how are they all unique?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euurrxv", "euuxkfo", "euuxv8m", "euuzb7p", "euuvjr3", "euuyska", "euv4kf0", "euv7s52", "euv1w8r", "euus3el", "euv7u5h", "euvabl7" ], "text": [ "Barcodes are actually just a font what represent the numbers that are normally printed just below it. The...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chlz9m	Why does using an ad blocker cause the youtuber not to earn ad revenue? How does youtube know that ads are being blocked?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euuvb2c" ], "text": [ "I'm not sure which method YouTube uses. But one common method of measuring ad displays is looking at how often an ad image is displayed. When you see an ad on a website, it means the image for that ad has been downloaded to your computer to display it in your browser. T...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chmtkr	Why is it that when we take a picture of the sun or moon with our phones it never really looks like we see it with our naked eye.	This morning a big beautiful dark red sunrise over the lake. Then i snap a picture and its a blurred red dot.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euv867d", "euvb0en" ], "text": [ "Dynamic range. Your eye can resolve a candle a mile away at night, or the sun shining on white walls at noon, basically at the same time. Phone cameras are more limited, and tend to adjust for the brightest object in the field of view. That tends to darke...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chok2v	How private is texting?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euw4oud", "euvwtuu" ], "text": [ "If you're in the secrets-keeping business, they are not private at all, and virtually public information. Cell Phone Companies can easily see in plain text who you're texting and what you're saying at any time. It's a relatively open secret that most prov...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chpnak	Images contain location data - how does this work? Is this applicable to all image files, including things like screenshots?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euw59lx", "euw5k57" ], "text": [ "Image file formats, such as JPEG, contain a special section for textual notes to be attached to the file. Exif is a notable one. URL_0", "The file containing the image doesn't just contain the picture data (colors of each pixel), but can also contain ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chprja	How exactly do things like Google home and Alexa work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euw65rp", "euxexjk" ], "text": [ "The machine constantly listens for the trigger word. Once it hears that, it records the next few seconds of sound and sends them over the Internet to a server, for analysis and response.", "I actually know the guy who \"invented\" Alexa. There is a de...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chqv2g	Why are some money sharing services such as Venmo able to deposit money into a bank account virtually instantaneously while other services such as PayPal take multiple business days to do the same?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euwmlyw", "euwwkzs", "euwr76t" ], "text": [ "Venmo deposited basically by using your debit card in reverse. Those transactions happen nearly instantaneously. The paypal transfers are done through ACH (basically an electronic check) and since those are done in a few daily batches rathe...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chs1yn	How do solar panels work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eux2uko", "eux21o7" ], "text": [ "Solar panels are two layers of semiconductors, one laced with a substance with fewer electrons (+) and one laced with a substance with more electrons (-). When light passes through the layers, it knocks an electron lose, causing it to jump up from the neg...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chtt6p	what is data mining?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euxpx4d", "euxrwno" ], "text": [ "I can think of three possible interpretations for your question: 1. People trying to figure out the details of software, especially games. 2. People trying to find trends or details in statistics. 3. \"Mining\" cryptocurrencies. ___ Assuming the first one...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chu7jm	How is television broadcast	This one is for my mum, who has almost zero understanding of how technology works, But she dosn't understand how a thing can be recorded, sent by an antenna, and then turned into a picture on the end. Thanks in advance all!	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euxzxzc" ], "text": [ "Disclaimer, im not an TV expert by any means so someone else may be able to correct me on some places, but i believe this is how things work in a nutshell The signal is like using Morse code at a fixed frequency, or if we want to use sound, a pitch. Let say we can only ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
chyurq	How do game/movie studios store and archive projects?	Like, say a game is no longer being made for some reason. I assume they archive it in some way for future reference and just to have a master copy of a project. Is it as simple as a .zip file on a server somewhere?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "euzoeu8", "euzqmij" ], "text": [ "The best information we have is from games that have been discontinued and then years later there is a project to restore the development of the game or movie in order to make a new release. And the archiving process varies wildly between companies and pr...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ci1din	What is that "blurry effect" seen in photographs when an object like a car or a train moves quickly?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev0hjr3" ], "text": [ "There are many multiple things but the simplest way to explain it would be with exposure time. That's the time the film or light sensors collect light. Since most cameras are digital lets stick to to that. So for however long the exposure time is the sensors collect the...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ci4lq6	Why do downloads in some websites start "in a couple of seconds"?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev1e1j2", "ev1dtz8" ], "text": [ "Usually it's so they can control the flow of traffic to and from their server so the site doesn't crash from too many connections at the same time.", "Generally landing pages like that either have some other kind of information on them, or they have a...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ci68e7	How do people like firefighters/exterminators determine the “origin” of a fire/infestation?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev24kfo" ], "text": [ "Firefighter since 2008 here. Most places don't burn to the ground with nothing but ashes left. Finding the origin consists of viewing how far along things burn and understanding a fires normal path. Fire burns up and out, with a goal of getting more air to feed itself. ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ci8ih7	Why are there so many different internet browser and can I make my own?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev2fdee", "ev2g0tg", "ev2siml" ], "text": [ "So, there are two different aspects of an internet browser: the user interface and general usage, and the browser \"engine\" which does the transforming of a webpage to a more computer friendly structure. There are only 3 main engines now: ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cie1zo	FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS: what’s the difference, why does it matter, and why does the size of the drive limit formatting choices?	I had a great idea to buy a 256 gb usb drive (that’s bigger than my bare bones computer’s internal storage!). I put all my tv shows and movies and music on it so excited to just plug it into my tv and enjoy. And then the formatting wars started and I’m so confused. Somebody shine a light on me.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev49959" ], "text": [ "Tl;Dr: they are the same but allow slightly different maximum sizes for hard drive partitions. Full spiel: all memory is kept in paired bits of hexadecimal code. This code is the arranged into a grid, or table. A part of this table is the address table/lookup table (the...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cif01p	how does hacking work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev4oh3t", "ev4rx2k" ], "text": [ "It depends what you mean by hacking. But there are various ways that someone can do it. For example, it's very easy to send an email which appears to come from, well, whoever you want. So I could send you (and millions of other people, cos I buy a list of...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cii1du	why a BIOS update is so much slower than copying a 16MB file	.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev5xilg" ], "text": [ "The bios isn't just stored on disk. It's stored in a special kind of memory that retains its data even when the power goes off. This memory requires special instructions to update, and it's usually updated one word at a time, rather than in blocks via direct memory cont...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cii85f	why is the color green the only one that is used to edit backgrounds/things in movies? Why can't other colors be used?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev5ud2h", "ev5tcn4", "ev6547r", "ev5teg3", "ev5teck", "ev6l1ap" ], "text": [ "When more movies were shot on film, they used to use blue more commonly. This process is called \"keying\" and it involved a chemical treatment to the film to remove that specific color. The gree...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ciij3i	How does the police obtain the position of a call without the phone having location turned on?	I know this is possible and is also less accurate than GPS positioning, but am not really sure how it works. My guess would be that they get the info from the provider who calculates the position based on the caller's proximity to their antennas. Also, why is it less accurate?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev5xm1h", "ev5yoln" ], "text": [ "They use the signal strength of your phone between multiple phone masts and that helps them narrow bit down. Its also instant you don't need to keep someone on then line", "Every phone pings to it's nearest tower while on call, they'll select 3 towers...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cim25i	Why does putting your tongue on a 9V battery hurt, but not when you touch the poles with your fingers?	I have touched tons of batteries throughout my life, like I expect most people have, but I have never received a shock. However, when you put your tongue on the poles of a battery, it gives you an electric shock. Even if I wet my fingers, I can't produce the same effect. Whenever I attempt to get this answered by readi...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev7aifd" ], "text": [ "The saliva on your tongue is a much better conductor than the dead skin cells on your finger; even if you make them wet, dead skin cells. The tongue also has more sense cells per unit area than almost any other part of the body." ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_url...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cim8yg	If computers simply take in a given input and give out a specific output, why is it that sometimes something will work or not work if you simply try again?	E.g. I was just watching an embedded video, and when I clicked enlarge, it froze and crashed. But when I refreshed the page and tried it again, the video worked. Why did it crash in the first place, and why did it then work upon retrying, even though theoretically, nothing should have changed between attempt 1 and atte...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev7d89n", "ev7jmkw" ], "text": [ "A lot changed between the first and second attempt. Imagine trying to drink tea and finding out it's too warm. You wait 20 minutes, try again and find out it's now ready to drink. Theoretically, you could say that you did the same thing on try 1 and 2, an...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cirpdn	How does a solid state drive work, physically and in terms of memory, compared to a hard disk drive, and what happens to both when you delete/overwrite files?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev8s2w0", "ev8zb59" ], "text": [ "Hard disks are composed of spinning disks that can be magnetized or de-magnetized in order to store data. To read or write on a certain part of the disk, the target region of the disk must sit below the read-write head. This part of the disk is then eithe...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
citpld	Why does using different codecs for an mp4 file often make it incompatible for some software to use (Premiere).		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev94pt6" ], "text": [ "Container vs Codec: Every video consists essentially of still images played at a frame rate. Each image consists of pixels. Each pixel consists of 3 colors. Each color takes up a byte at least. This is a lot of data. File sizes for videos would normally be massive if no...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ciuh16	how do ICBM travel such long distance in short amount of time? Can they be intercepted?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev982fo", "ev9b735", "ev98c3f", "ev9qgtj" ], "text": [ "It's a warhead strapped on a rocket. Rockets go fast. If you can identify and properly track the rocket, sure. You'll need a rocket that can go faster than your enemy's.", "Because an ICBM is a just a rocket and rockets g...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ciwoas	How do you decide the design and shape of a product especially if it's new? And who decides it?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "ev9mq7g" ], "text": [ "Most products go through a lot of design steps before they are put into public It usually start with concept artwork, schematics & CAD design then once that is refined a prototype is made Prototypes can be expensive to manufacture so you usually want to limit the quanti...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ciyw69	How do they do a print run for a magazine and know what the right sort of paper is?	Given that my only graphic design experience was learning about Adobe InDesign, this relates more to the printing process. [ (I've only ever dealt with graphic design side, so that's probably why). For example, if you had a magazine at 204mm height x 280mm width, that had a glossy cover but paper that wasn't glossy i...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eva1hyu" ], "text": [ "Magazines are typically done on offset presses, using standard sheet sizes. The type of paper printed on is specified by the customer, generally proofed before a full production run. Matte vs. Glossy is often a varnish applied on top after printing is done, before it go...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
ciz0yx	Why do cable internet providers offer such asymmetrical speeds compared to their fiber counterparts? E.G. Their upload speeds are so much slower than their download speeds.		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "eva27gn", "evaqucy" ], "text": [ "There is almost always a bigger need for downloading information than there is for uploading it, and the cables that cable internet travels over are more limited than fiber optic. So, cable and DSL companies prioritize download speeds by using more channe...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cj131z	What’s the importance of restarting your computer after updating an application/program on a computer?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "evafwn4", "evafllg", "evafxl1" ], "text": [ "Computers run on sets of instructions telling it how to run all the parts of the computer and build an interface so you can use those parts. Say you're following a recipe for a cake. Then you finish the cake and someone comes along with a b...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cj20mp	why is a chip on a credit card considered ‘safer’ than swiping the magnetic strip?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "evam62a", "evb88yq", "evap26k", "evapvrd", "evawl9q", "evam0if", "evav4bg", "evaxxao", "evaq19h", "evazt1m", "evb44x0", "evat59g", "evaxd60", "evbi2me", "evb5wwp", "evax7gh", "evaykz5", "evbh45e", "evaycyd", "evayaq2" ], ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cj25gy	WHAT is the Fortnite World Cup? How do you win? Why is it a big deal? (F45 asking, be nice)		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "evamu3s", "evan7xb" ], "text": [ "Fortnite is a very popular videogame. The Fortnite World Cup is the World Championship for that videogame. Why is it a big deal? The prize pool for that World Championship is about $30,000,000 and many people want to win a portion of this.", "You play...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cj3rpj	How do some cars have a birds eye view of of the car when they’re parking?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "evay0ha" ], "text": [ "The car has cameras in the front, rear, and in the two side mirrors. Those images are stitched together (kind of the same way that your phone creates a panorama) to give a kind of 360° view of the car's surroundings. That image is then displayed in such a way that it lo...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cj4p93	How does the Game Genie work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "evb5ci9" ], "text": [ "The Game Genie and Game Shark peripherals were special cartridges that sat between the system and the game cartridge. This lets it read and modify memory in any way it wants. The special codes you put into it contain the memory address and the action to perform. It can ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
cj8ort	How can someone make a fraudulent transaction just by knowing my Debit Card Number and CVV?	ELI5 : Generally, every transaction that I perform using my card needs me to either enter the PIN code or a Password/OTP(in case of online payments). So, I was wondering why it's general practice to keep the debit card number secret. PS : I get that obtaining the card number and the CVV is the first step for a fraudste...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "evbruk2", "evbvpgr", "evbruea", "evbs35e" ], "text": [ "i didn't need any Pin or anything to add my credit card to amazon, they might get suspicious if the name on the adress is not the same, but that's easy to change.", "In the United States, you can run a credit card using j...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.