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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
eoq6fr | - What exactly is Nuclear Power? | ELI5 Where does it come from? How is it made? What is it used for? (I'm in Ontario and always thought my electricity came from water plants, hydro electricity) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"feecjbc",
"feecmqe"
],
"text": [
"Nuclear power is power produced by splitting atoms. Atoms of the heavy element Uranium, in particular. This process creates a lot of heat, which is used to boil water into steam, which powers a traditional electric power generator. The energy comes from E... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
eowr9c | Why is location data tracked by apps valuable to companies? Who buys this data and what do they do with it? Should we be worried about it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fefq6px",
"fefnsjk",
"feg8053",
"fefoamc",
"fefmegd"
],
"text": [
"Imagine you live on Safe Street. After work you walk through the backyard over to Danger Street to buy potato boomers for your elderly neighbor that are only at that particular bodega but hey you’re just that k... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eoz7hp | why do space shuttles take off vertically instead of on a runway like an airplane? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"feg2khd",
"feg2435",
"fegfdgq"
],
"text": [
"If you're asking why, as a new and improved shuttle, we don't do horizontal takeoff... Well, we're considering it. It presents several challenges that vertical takeoff does not. For one, rocket engines are really good at providing a *lot* o... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ep33z9 | How is footage recorded onto VHS? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fegpqxu",
"fehfuft",
"feh91wh",
"feheon4",
"fehx435",
"feh2hwz",
"fehloyb",
"fehf9al"
],
"text": [
"VHS isn't film. There is no picture on a strip of VHS. It's a magnetic tape that gets read and converted into a signal to create audio and video data. The pattern of... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ep4ji2 | Why is it still so difficult for many countries to produce nuclear weapons, even though the technology has been around for 80 years? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"feh097t",
"feh1xx6",
"fegzxpu"
],
"text": [
"It's not difficult for developed countries. If Germany wanted to develop nukes, they can do it without much of problems, they have the money, they have scientists, they have the technological-industrial base. The only issues are political a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ep5nqp | Crime shows always say “they hung up before we could trace the call”. What goes into tracing a call and how long does it actually take? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"feh8ln7",
"feh9wcm"
],
"text": [
"It's 100% Hollywood bullshit. It might have been true decades ago when phone calls were connected manually, but not since the electronic switches that we have since the 1970s.",
"This is a holdover from how telephones worked before the 1970s. Nowadays... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ep5ule | How do companies know their online data has been stolen? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fehdtjk",
"feh959x",
"fehdydy"
],
"text": [
"It depends on what was stolen and how it was done. In some cases it's as simple as somebody noticing some fishy logs, investigating what they see in the logs, seeing server and network activity that's not normal, tracking that abnormal acti... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ep6wta | Why do gifs take longer to load than most videos? | It seems whenever I come across a gif, it takes forever to load while I have no problem loading much longer, higher-quality videos | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fehhcr0",
"fehhj2r",
"fehjl6v"
],
"text": [
"Because they don't stream, you have to load the whole thing before you see any part of it. Also, if you are talking about animated gifs, they are typically bigger than an equivalent MPEG. This is because they use a simply form of compressio... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
ep9y5d | why it’s hard to make an existing game for a different OS | My favourite mobile game is currently only available for iOS and people have been asking why the android version is taking so long if the game already exists. Thanks for taking the time to help me with this! | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fei4ipf",
"fei46cs",
"feilks4"
],
"text": [
"Different operating systems have different ways for the software to interact with them, think of it like 'features' you can use while writing code. So even if your using the same programming language you will have to do things differently a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
epa1ms | Why do tech companies have greater freedom of contract when compared to other companies? | When it comes to tech companies, it seems you can put almost anything in the terms of use and privacy policy. When it comes to other companies (such as banks and insurance companies) there are certain rights they cannot have you waive. Why does that not exist with tech companies? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fei3hvl"
],
"text": [
"You're comparing two things you shouldn't be comparing. Banking, insurance, and other financial institutions specifically have lots and lots of government regulations placed on how they conduct business, what they must disclose, and how they operate. Tons of regulations... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
epb8gm | How come telescopes can see galaxies impossible distances away but they can't get razor sharp images of stuff on planets in our own solar system? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"feic4h2"
],
"text": [
"Galaxies are big. Really big. The Milky Way is ~100000 light years across. That's ~1x10^18 kms. The earth is 12000 kms across. To put it in scale, that's roughly like comparing the size of an atom to the size of the earth."
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
epi9kr | How does reverse image search work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fejmprd",
"fejmxfu"
],
"text": [
"Think of an image as a table of colours. For example, this is how the flag of Japan would be represented: 🇯🇵 White white white White red white White white white Now, count how many times each colour occurs in the table. Here, it would be: White = 8 Red ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
epifad | why does slow motion video need a specific setting? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fejj0ov",
"fejkk3g"
],
"text": [
"Video is made of of a bunch of photos played back typically at ~24 per second (24fps). When you're talking a slo-mo video it's recording 120-240+ fps. If you were to stretch out a regular 24fps video to be slo-mo it would be very choppy.",
"Let's say ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
epowoa | How does electricity get stored/saved? | How does electricity get stored/saved. I understand that it's supposedly runs around in a circuit untill it is released where needed. But is it the same on a large scale? I completely don't understand it | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fekrw3w",
"feks37b"
],
"text": [
"On a larger scale it's not. Most power is generated at power plants at the same rate (ish) that is being used. Now in the cases where it is, like with water reservoirs, the turbines in normal dams take energy from the water flowing through them. Since at ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
epperb | how does a thermal camera know the temperature of something far away without actually touching the object? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fekuv6v",
"fekvlg4"
],
"text": [
"Thermal cameras detect temperature by recognizing and capturing different levels of infrared light. This light is invisible to the naked eye, but can be felt as heat if the intensity is high enough. All objects emit some kind of infrared radiation, and it... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
epsenc | - Do nuclear weapons expire? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"felhgok",
"feljdl5",
"felfmnt"
],
"text": [
"Not just do the cores themselves degrade over time, the actual machinery in a nuclear missile will degrade rather quickly over time. The missiles also use particular types of fuel that is highly corrosive, so they can't be kept fueled all t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
epwv2b | How can computer security people determine whether election software has been tampered with or not? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fem9kfi",
"fem9a0q"
],
"text": [
"At its most simple, you can compare what are called Hashes. A Hash is essentially a giant number or hexcode that is the result of running a block of information, in this case computer code, through a specialized mathematical equation. Based on whats there... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
epwyvz | Why the recommendation is to store vinyl records on their side to prevent warping, as opposed to flat. | That logic has always seemed backwards in my head, but it must work or people wouldn't still do it. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fem9niz"
],
"text": [
"The vinyl is usually slightly thicker in the center than on the outside partially because of the label so the more you stack them up, the less support the ones higher up have on the outsides, so they will eventually sag down like a bowl especially if they get too warm. ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
epzgyk | What is a LAN party? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"femmrmd",
"femmimq",
"femmqzl"
],
"text": [
"In the old days of tech when you wanted to play multi-player games with friends you would connect your computers together with eithernet cables to do so, occasionally 10s or even hundreds of people would get together forming a LAN party (LA... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eq0ylz | - How do face masks keep out germs? | I see people on the subway with surgical type face masks on but I don’t get how they work. Do they filter out germs? I would think air could still get in through the sides, in most cases there is a gap where air could get in. What am I missing? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"femwf9h",
"femy45e",
"fengfvx"
],
"text": [
"I was under the impression people wearing face masks in public were typically a courtesy to keep their own germs from spreading to others. When you cough, you spit a little. That spit has germs in it that get on your hands, your clothes, an... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
eq6pup | Why can fnger print scanners and such correctly scan my fingerprint no matter how long ago it was since they copied it but my phone fingerprint scanner struggles if theres a slight bit of dust on my fingers | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"feo9oa2"
],
"text": [
"The grooves on your fingers remain the same over time, they don't change their positions, so no matter when you first had your finger print entered it will still always work, however dust, ink and other substance can make it look like the grooves stop in certain places ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eq7wh0 | Why did FTP replace other file transfer methods? What did it do better than ZMODEM, Kermit, and the like? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"feol9is",
"feonsej",
"feooda5",
"feot7d0",
"feoqvst"
],
"text": [
"You got the timeline wrong, FTP is from 1971, zmodem is from 1986 and kermit is from 1981. It's not that FTP replaced anything, FTP has always been the dominating thing and other protocols came and went.",
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eq8q1d | How do storage containers keep cookies crisp when they have air inside them? | How do containers like Tupperware stop cookies and crackers going soft since there's still air inside the containers with the food? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"feovdaf",
"fepeljs",
"fepehvf"
],
"text": [
"They go soft because they are absorbing moisture from the air. When out in the open, there's an infinite (for all intents and purposes) amount of moisture for them to absorb, but when closed in a container, they can only absorb the moisture... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
eq9y9a | How do scopes and sights on guns work? Wouldn’t you be firing higher than the barrel, making you inaccurate? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fep438c"
],
"text": [
"Yes, but at the same time, bullets fly in an arc. The scope is actually slightly pointed down in relation to the barrel, so it crosses the line of the bullet at two points. These are called the \"zero\" points. These are where the scope shows exactly where the bullet wi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eqanca | How do those water jugs with hot and cold dispensers heat and cool the water SO fast? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fep9z46",
"fepchqv"
],
"text": [
"They actually dont. They heat/cool a reservoir of water that you pull from. They can 'run out' of hot or cold water if there is a line.",
"They use Peltier elements for both cooling and heating. They are also used in mini-fridges. [ URL_0 ]( URL_1 )"
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eqdl4x | why is airplane mode necessary while flying in a plane | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fepxxj9",
"feq7xuj"
],
"text": [
"In the past the fear was that your phones radio signals could interfere with the aircrafts navigation, communication and other electrical systems. Nowadays not so much because we have learned how to prevent our instruments from being effected by the elect... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eqdlvh | How do television or radio stations know how many people are tuning into them? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fepxnah"
],
"text": [
"[Nielsen tv ratings]( URL_0 ) they have a sample of consumers who have a device installed that tracks what channels the sample is watching, how long it’s being watched and extrapolate it to the rest of the consumer population, if 2000 people in a certain area are watchi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eqgf6o | mvvm concept in software design - model view view model? | I literally studied computer science and don't understand this. I'm so frustrated. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fers39j"
],
"text": [
"You have an object which contains all your data (Model) . And a view which displays all your data. With normal mvc (model View controller) your object with data does not know when a value is changed in your view (E.g. You select your age, the object does not know you se... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
eqi08x | how does a cell phone know how much battery is left? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fesc1j6",
"fesar8r"
],
"text": [
"While the answer about battery voltage is correct, it’s incomplete. Modern phones are equipped with a “Gas Gauge” IC called a Coulomb Counter. It “counts” the amount of energy going into or out of the battery cell, so as to estimate the remaining charge. ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eqji5z | How do CPU transistors *physically* read data? | If I understand correctly, transistors act as a switch, as in open/close. I also understand that information is in binary code, meaning 0 and 1 (for those who don’t know, example: the letter “A” = 01100001) But from a physical standpoint, how do the *billions* of transistors know where to start when they receive inform... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fet2o8s",
"fetc5zq",
"fetcayk",
"fesym9a"
],
"text": [
"Not exactly an ELI5, but I did watch a great youtube series of a guy making an 8bit computer from basic logic gates, and it really helped me understand at a more basic level how computers work. Ben Eater on youtube, or URL_0 ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
eqjk6p | how do open air markets keep fish fresh? | I don’t live anywhere near a fresh fish market, but my sister sent me a video where they have the fish sitting out for sale in the open air. I always thaw frozen fish in my refrigerator and cook it immediately; how do fish mongers or sellers keep it fresh in the open air markets? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"feswu8m"
],
"text": [
"They have it on loads of ice in a special open topped unit that i think helps to keep it cool. Then they just try to shift all their stock on the same day"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
eqs5re | Why are other standards for data transfer used at all (HDMI, USB, SATA, etc), when Ethernet cables have higher bandwidth, are cheap, and can be 100s of meters long? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fewkm9u",
"fewk0kl",
"fewkozd",
"fewma92",
"fewmfah",
"fewknis",
"fewxsid",
"fexkt44",
"fewt7fa",
"fewma2m",
"feycc5p",
"fexw6n0",
"fexeiuc"
],
"text": [
"USB cabling and receptacle buses are cheaper than ethernet cables. USB has greater port de... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eqslfw | Real Time Ray Tracing and why it is so computationally intensive | Hello redditors, I understand that RTRT (lol) is very intensive due to actually calculating light ray paths and such, but I don't know "how" or more specifically which part of the rendering pipeline requires the most effort that makes it as hard as it is Can the reply also include what specific RT hardware does that is... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fewm33p"
],
"text": [
"Ray tracing isn't so much hardware as (just like other rendering), a mathematical way to turn a 3d scene into a 2d image. The computer has the numeric geometry of each object in the scene, and information about the lights etc. But it has to turn all those numbers into a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
eqtg1a | How are files compressed? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fex1gkq",
"fewyxi1"
],
"text": [
"Compression is essentially a TL;DR for data. It involves finding a more concise way of providing the same information. For example I can tell you to type 00001111000011110000111100001111000011110000111100001111000011110000111100001111... Imagine that goes... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
equ4hm | Why do batteries seem to "recharge" ever so slightly when not in use? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fexgb7o"
],
"text": [
"A battery is in simple terms, some metal that is involved in a chemical reaction which frees up electrons. This process causes the metal to corrode, serving as the chemical energy source of the battery. The specific vary by battery chemistry and layout, but the corrosio... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
equonm | When you open an image in notepad, why does it come out in seemingly infinite numbers of gibberish characters? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fexfc2e"
],
"text": [
"So you've probably already heard that data on your computer is stored as binary, a string of 1s and 0s, called bits Those bits have meaning to your computer, for instance, text can be encoded by bunching the bits into groups of 8 called a byte, like 01100111 That partic... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
er07l8 | Is it harmful in the long-term to charge my iPhone fast more often than slow? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fezufdl"
],
"text": [
"Most modern batteries have some circuitry that won't let it built up excess heat or degrade, phones all have this - so it will only ever charge at a safe rate The socket in your car may just be low amps. You could charge faster in your car by buying an adaptor"
],
"... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
er0jso | How does a CPU work compared to a GPU? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fezt1h0",
"fezwvts",
"fezuvuj"
],
"text": [
"CPUs are general purpose processors, capable of doing *anything* but not very efficiently. You can freely load software onto them and run that software, it supports multiple tiers of operation (separating the operating system like Windows f... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
er2pu1 | How can popular social media websites handle the large amount of network requests its users put on their application at once? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff0l42v"
],
"text": [
"If your device is the user, the website has many servers running it. And between you and those servers is something called a load balancer (often multiple machines, acting together), which help to balance the load. Let’s say a server can handle 10 requests at a time. Bu... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
er5hpe | What sort of technical, broadcasting setup is needed to bring us these NFL Championship game replays, from any angle, seconds after they happen? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff3qs47"
],
"text": [
"While the technology can be advanced, the concept is simple. It works with one camera, or 50, the only difference being you obviously need more people to work with more equipment. So how does it work? Well there's a replay machine. It records whatever is fed into it. Li... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
er6b5b | My ISP is having problems and my upload speed is really low, but my download is fine, so why are pages taking so long to load? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff1u0p7",
"ff22hif"
],
"text": [
"What's your upstream latency like? Half of 'loading a webpage' is requesting the webpage. If you've got high latency or packet loss on the request, it can take a while to reach the server. If you've then got high latency on the return trip too, that will ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
er6w9i | How does looking at technology (phones, laptops, TVs, etc.) strain your vision? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff247vg",
"ff1zuwm"
],
"text": [
"A couple issues here. For one, reading. This is true of anything. If you're reading books all day, the small print can be strain on your eyes. Believe it or not, no, you can't actually get away with looking at a book all the time. You need to go outside a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
er9fko | How a Pineapple router works? The hacker/intercept device? | I saw it on an episode of Silicon Valley. It's some type of middle man between the router and the users. All the youtube videos seemed a little too advanced for an ordinary non programer guy like me. So I have the extremely simple explanation of "It's a middle man" which tells me close to nothing and then advanced tech... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff2eibd",
"ff2efyu"
],
"text": [
"It pretty much scans the area for WiFi networks, then it can act like said wifi networks, to get WiFi devices to connect to it as a network it trusts. Once connected to the pineapple you can run explore or run man in the middle attacks (MITM). Hak5 has go... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
erbxl7 | How do subtitles end up with a linear drift? | Does that mean different files for the same movie / episode can play at different speeds? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff2repn",
"ff2yonf"
],
"text": [
"Yes, it does mean that. TV networks [frequently speed up shows by a few percent to fit in more ads]( URL_0 ), so it's entirely possible that there exist multiple files of the same video at slightly different speeds, giving them a slight linear subtitle mi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
erdlb0 | on old fashioned ships from the 1600s pirate times etc I’m guessing they had fires to keep warm how did they keep these safe and protect the wooden ship from burning? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff32n8s",
"ff3eviw",
"ff3ji6m",
"ff3jdn9",
"ff3zo6n"
],
"text": [
"In the age of sail, ship's cabins were poorly ventilated, and dozens (or even hundreds) of men would keep the cabin more than warm enough with their body heat alone when they were sleeping. When walking about t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ergj2g | In mobile data, does every smartphone connected to the tower get one frequency? Like I get 1836 MHZ, you get 1837 MHZ etc? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff3kuvo"
],
"text": [
"No, we share frequencies and take turns. In the old analog cellphone days, each conversation required two frequencies. One for talk and one for listen. With digital cell service, dozens of conversations can use the same frequency by breaking the digital audio up into pa... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
erja9t | How could Sputnik 1 be guided without a pilot or radio control? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff40z7a",
"ff42dd9"
],
"text": [
"They were going for orbit, not *nearly* as precise as our current ability to tweak orbital parameters. They basically got the 2nd Stage deployed correctly, lit it, then released Sputnik when the 2nd stage was spent. Both reached orbit and both degraded wi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
erjlb6 | Why do whetstones have to be wet? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff43sdu"
],
"text": [
"They don't have to be wet to work, but if you use them dry the pores in the stone will quickly clog up and it will fail to continue to sharpen, as well as destroy the stone. Using them dry will also damage the stone immediately, as the water or oil (depending on the typ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
erkeks | Why do smartphones ask us to hold the phone still while taking night mode shots? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff47zdh"
],
"text": [
"The nighttime mode takes multiple photos and uses them to build the final image using filtering software, when the camera moves, reduces the number of usable images and decreases the quality of the final image."
],
"score": [
5
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
erlhca | How do rocket launchers that have lock on capabilities know what to lock on to. Like, how do they know what's a vehicle and what isn't? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff4etnd"
],
"text": [
"Alot of missile Heads have infra-red cameras. {cameras that see heat} So they lock onto the heat signiture of the target. Engine is 98 degrees c it sees it it follows 98 degrees c give or take."
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ernysc | Why are CPUs Sold as Chips and GPUs sold as graphics cards? | In desktop PCs, basically all CPUs are just the chips which you can then place on the motherboard. GPUs are sold as graphics cards like the 2080 Ti. Why is this and what is the purpose? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff4yfnh",
"ff5kzp6"
],
"text": [
"There aren't many cpu makers, and motherboard companies follow cpu regulations/data sheets when drafting their designs. They also incorporate some rarely changing standards, like ddrX ram slots, pcie connections and the like. But pci express slots are the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
erofom | Why is account security how it is? | What advantage is there to having to have passwords of a certain length with requirements for upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters? Wouldn't that just reduce the number of passwords that have to be tried? For example, if it has an 8 character minimum hackers can skip all 1-7 character combinatio... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff507nj",
"ff5bikn"
],
"text": [
"* The number of 8 character passwords is larger than the total number of passwords 1-7 characters long, by a factor of 100. * Requiring additional character sets increases the potential complexity of passwords. If you only use numbers and letters, that's ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
erpsdi | How does flying low keep you off the radar? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff58xug",
"ff5ei91",
"ff5l0e3"
],
"text": [
"When using radar to find flying objects, you are limited by what is known as line of sight. This means that you cannot see through obstructions, such as the terrain. The lowest point your radar signal is restricted to is the horizon from wh... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
erq0xg | How TV Networks find specific clips of things that happened decades ago? | I was just watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and they showed a couple of old clips with contradictory statements by Alan Dershowitz, just seconds of videos from decades ago. Everytime I see something like that I wonder: How TV Networks catalog all these clips in order to find them when they're useful for thei... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff5ao92",
"ff5gwya",
"ff5arcz",
"ff5xy8u"
],
"text": [
"Most major news organizations have vast archives of video clips of broadcasts/major news events that companies can subscribe to and go through to grab clips from. And in the case of cable shows like The Daily Show/The Colbert... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
errq6m | Why do the latest Playstation and Xbox consoles always release close to each other? | Especially in the last 2 generations: Xbox 360: 22 Nov 2005, PS3: 11 Nov 2005 Xbox One: 22 Nov 2013, PS4: 15 Nov 2013 and of course, the new Xbox Series X and PS5 are also going to release later this year, most likely. But why? Is there something preventing either of them from releasing their product say, a year before... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff5j4ex",
"ff5j56t",
"ff5iyue",
"ff5rdtv"
],
"text": [
"The attention gathered from the constant console wars will surely boost sales. Get people talking, get them debating (or in console wars case, get them insulting and fighting) and then boom.. ..stonks for days",
"Big risk... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
ervyt6 | why are electric vehicles EV better for the environment than gas combustion engines GCE? | My professor asked if they’re really better, then he rhetorically asked if we knew how the batteries were made. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff67xja",
"ff6ar8d",
"ff6c6p7",
"ff6jybi",
"ff6ap0n",
"ff68ghl"
],
"text": [
"A few things: * The efficiency of the fuel-to-mileage is much higher because power plants get efficiencies of scale, and electric driving provides for regenerative breaking. * The batteries thems... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
es36b3 | why depth of field effect in video games is not used to increase game performance by rendering the out of focus parts at lower resolution? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff7i8h4",
"ff7i70v",
"ff7k4ek"
],
"text": [
"Blurring parts of the image is actually going to be even more demanding on the graphics card. Instead most games DO in fact switch to lower quality versions of objects and terrain at long distances since they're too small and too few pixels... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
es3p6l | What actually happens when an album is "mastered"? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff7m9na",
"ff7qd1e"
],
"text": [
"Mixing is making instruments sound good together. Mastering is making songs sound good together. And sound good on different systems (radio, headphones, low quality speakers). As for the tools used, it's also EQs, limiters, compressors, etc.",
"It's b... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
es4dwk | How did the Greeks measure the circumference of the earth? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff7q2oz"
],
"text": [
"To quote Dr Farnsworth \"I'm afraid we will have to use.... MATH!\" Eratosthenes stuck a pole in the ground during the summer solstice (when the sun is directly over head). It was known that at the equator during the solstice the sun was directly over head so a pole in ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
es781s | What is data mining and how is it being used? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff8df8z"
],
"text": [
"Data mining is when someone tries to find answers to questions by looking at a whole bunch of information and finding patterns or interesting facts. This is really hard work which makes it expensive. So most data mining is done to make money, or for police work, or spyi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
esalz3 | As computers have both a microphone and speakers, how does it avoid triggering a feedback loop when both are in use? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff8sfzj",
"ffa22om",
"ff8qs89",
"ff9fb07",
"ff9rfsi"
],
"text": [
"Firstly, they put the microphones a reasonable distance from the speakers. And, secondly, they use various techniques to reduce this feedback. Sometimes they design directional microphones, but they require spa... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
esbsyp | Why do some game need restarting after changing graphic/display settings and others dont? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ff902to",
"ff8y4xk",
"ff9enj1",
"ff9pyw3",
"ffa5wv1",
"ff9use9",
"ff9u59t"
],
"text": [
"Some games are like pizzas. If you want more or less stuff on it, that's simple, just take them out or add new stuff. But if at the middle of making the pizza the customer says \"t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
esiqrb | Why broadcast cameras are still so huge after all these years of technological advancement. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffa7w1f",
"ffabqhf",
"ffachs4",
"ffaezxi"
],
"text": [
"[This vid]( URL_0 ) came out recently on just this topic.",
"It's not the cameras, but the lenses. Cameras nowadays are pretty small, yet the lenses required for broadcast level work need to have such capacities that make... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
esjpgi | how do noise cancelling headphones make loud sounds less damaging without actually blocking the sound physically? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffafswn",
"ffag1vo"
],
"text": [
"You ever been swimming and create a wave that moves toward your friend, but your friend made a wave that headed towards you, and they just kinda met in the middle but neither of you really got splashed? Sound is a wave which travels through a medium. Nois... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eskgsy | Is making glass just as easy as heating up sand and that’s it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffajbqb"
],
"text": [
"No, for one it has to be a fairly pure type of sand, additionally you generally need to add something that makes the sand have a lower melting point such as sodium or potassium carbonate. In general it is actually a really complicated and difficult process, if you want ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
esnnq2 | LED. Fog lights, flood lights, spot lights, car lights. What’s the difference if they all produced the same lumens? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffb4ebf"
],
"text": [
"Mainly distance and beam pattern. Your fog lights can be just as bright but generally are angled lower and meant to for short range, but have a very uniform pattern. Mostly your low beams (though high beams as well) are to reach longer distances with a distinct hot spot... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
essm0k | How is it possible to make only emergency calls when you have no signal on your phone? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffbv4e8"
],
"text": [
"Your cell phone most likely has the physical capability to connect and communicate on cellular networks other than the one you are subscribed to. In normal situations, those towers don't want to talk to a non-customer. However in an emergency situation, they are legally... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
esujqh | What causes the color fluctuation in older (90’s) videos? (Link inside) | So I was browsing YouTube and came across an older video and noticed the color fluctuating a lot. What causes this? [Link]( URL_0 ) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffcegic",
"ffc7ck2",
"ffcmvf9"
],
"text": [
"Image is stored in VHS tapes not as a bunch of red green and blue pixels, but as analog luminance and chrominance. By now you must have read somewhere about how there are other ways to represent color. Chrominance would be Hue and Saturatio... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
et2v44 | How in the world do gps applications (like google maps) have all the street names? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffdto7r",
"ffdulze"
],
"text": [
"Basically yeah, someone input all the street names and locations. Although, the GPS companies and google maps will have it mostly automated, but most countries have large government departments dedicated to mapping out the streets, land sections, assignin... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
et3w5r | When DVD first came out I remember watching them and thinking how amazing the quality of the picture was. Now if I watch an old DVD I find it so hard to watch because it just looks so bad. Why is that? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffe6r6a",
"ffe01o2",
"ffe04zg",
"ffe5zhd"
],
"text": [
"One thing people are not mentioning is that we used to watch dvds on tiny low res TVs - now we watch them blown up on huge HD displays and the faults are evident.",
"Because what we consider \"normal\" changes over time. ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
et8ven | How does 3D modeling work in video games? | I know from a very basic standpoint that game devs create a model for a character/object, but how exactly do they keep consistency? Do they use that same exact model for all cutscenes, different angles, different depth distances etc? As in if a model of a character was a mile away, could you theoretically walk all the ... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffetlbh",
"fff55ho",
"ffex2fh"
],
"text": [
"You could use the same model in all of those cases. But for performance reasons most games don't. It doesn't matter what angle you're looking at the character. That's the point of 3D models, you can look at them from any angle. Unlike 2D sp... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
et8yyp | Why does compressing an image or GIF create noise in previously-solid areas? Surely that requires MORE information to be stored? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffexnzy",
"ffevpm1"
],
"text": [
"GIFs aren't really designed for photos. The noise added is because of the conversion to 256 colours. And you're right. It does often require more information be stored. The format is best for hand drawn images. JPEG is a little different. It doesn't store... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
etc1wy | Why do video game discs need to install while cartridges don't? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fffccsb",
"fffd192"
],
"text": [
"The access time of a CD is, compared to flash ROM memory (the cartridge) actually very slow. And much slower than hard drive. And modern game access requires multiple accesses to multiple files in perhaps a non sequential order, so reducing the # of read ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
etf8vo | How does a device, that is not connected to a network, update on its own without internet access? | Example: The Nintendo ds lite. Backstory: as a kid I had a microSD that I loaded all of my games onto to save space and keep from losing them. Years later they no longer worked and after doing research I found that the device had “updated” and I couldn’t use that microSD without reformatting it and re-downloading the g... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fffxy84",
"fffxwjq"
],
"text": [
"Older consoles used to use the games them selves to update. If you buy a newer game and your device firmware is not compatible, the actual game cartridge would have a firmware new enough to play the game.",
"The DS Lites have their own integrated wifi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
etfls9 | How does the 3D data in Google and Apple Maps get compiled? | Is there just one method? Is it fully automatic or does it require human supervising? Does it work the same for all types of surfaces? (e.g. Buildings, trees, hills) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffg0it9"
],
"text": [
"it's automatic. when the satelites orbit the earth, they fly slightly different courses on different orbits. using the difference in photos between two or 3 orbits, algorithms can infer height data. [Here's]( URL_0 ) an interesting read about it"
],
"score": [
4... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
etgnrf | How is a country able to “Shut off” the internet? Is there a switch? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffg7yes",
"ffg83p4",
"ffgdq36"
],
"text": [
"The government will instruct ISPs to disconnect or null route the internet coming into the nation. Basically they disconnect the fiber optics coming into the country. More likely they change the routing so that traffic coming in/out of the ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
etj2w3 | Why are satellites put into "graveyard" orbits instead of being de-orbited entirely? | ELI5: Why are satellites put into "graveyard" orbits instead of being de-orbited entirely? [DirecTV rushes to dispose of satellite that might explode ]( URL_0 ) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffgoimx",
"ffgqjc4"
],
"text": [
"A graveyard orbit is used when the change in velocity required to perform a de-orbit maneuver is too large. De-orbiting a geostationary satellite requires about 100 times more delta-v than shifting it to a graveyard orbit.",
"Most satellites that get ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
etjiw8 | Why does Spacex land it's used boosters on a drone ship in the sea and not on land? Why take the risk of the booster toppling over or the whole mission getting scrubbed due to choppy seas? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffgrmkt",
"ffgs9xp",
"ffgt4b7",
"ffgxika"
],
"text": [
"Rockets have to go stupendously fast to get their payload going, and they have to do it while tipping sideways. That means, when the Falcon stages separate, you're going sideways, away from your launch pad, at a fairly good c... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
etm9et | When movie characters do that thing where they pull back the hammer on a handgun (to show the other character they're super-serious), does that mean the gun was essentially unloaded before they did that? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffhg8i7",
"ffha0gj",
"ffhbe5f"
],
"text": [
"**Short version**: Probably not for most guns **Long version**: Depends on the gun, how the hammer was cocked and the condition of the gun before they cocked it, but most of the time it's probably just making some threats/noise and not chan... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
etqfkh | How are phones hacked? | I understand how computers are hacked but how are phones hacked? As I would think it would be pretty difficult, for example Apple intentionally block access to the system files of the iPhone to prevent malicious activity but somehow Jeff Bezos's phone was hacked? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffhxoht",
"ffi4tbr",
"ffim8jj"
],
"text": [
"Phones are just smaller computers. Most run a version of Linux/Unix and have the same flaws as other versions of those systems. In the case of Bezos, there are lots of uncertainties, but it's possible that Saudi has access to a previously u... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
ett7xq | Why are the old 35mm film negatives I found not getting ruined in light? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffiecy3",
"ffien7e",
"ffie5yy",
"ffir652"
],
"text": [
"When you develop the film in a lab, you use chemicals that bring out the picture then use another chemical that fixes the image. Once the film has been developed and fixed, it's perfectly safe to shine light on it. In fact, t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eu26mz | Why hacking is a recurrent problem on games like CS:GO and PUBG, while other games, such as Rocket League, have basically no hacks at all? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffk27ca",
"ffk4lh4"
],
"text": [
"Because how could a program help you play rocket league? Help you come up with strategies of where to go and what to do? You can’t hack a game where the computer can’t play as well as humans.",
"All of it comes down to the framework of the games, both... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eu39wr | Is overcharging still something people are worried about in 2020? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffkcthl"
],
"text": [
"Don’t worry. Apple will do all the overcharging you could ever need— on the price of their products."
],
"score": [
9
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eu61tv | How does a computer file become corrupted? | Like you have a game and everything is working fine but then after starting it up another time some files are corrupted. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fflocqc",
"ffmqbtc",
"ffme8ew"
],
"text": [
"This could habe two possibilities. Crappy coding or faulty hardware. If the coding has some bug, than it can happen that while the file is being saved, some process related to it crashes. Then the file has not all of the needed content as i... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
eu7096 | How can Apple put 8.5 billion transistors in a 10*10 millimeters chip? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffm9xx9",
"ffm5l9u",
"ffms9xg"
],
"text": [
"in the 50's, an engineer at Texas Instruments named Jack Kilby discovered that you could build a transistor directly onto a semiconductor surface without needing to individually build discrete parts and wire them together. This was the firs... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eu7ch5 | Why is the black light called "black", when it is actually blue/purple? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffm6lba"
],
"text": [
"Because it isn't *really* purple. It just bleeds into the visible spectrum at the blue end. The majority of the light given off is ultraviolet. This kind of light is invisible, with only a small amount of visible blue light coming from the bulb, giving an impression of ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eue2rt | What's the difference between all the different units to measure electricity related like, Amps, Volts, Watts, Joules and any others I missed? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffom9az"
],
"text": [
"Amps is the rate of electricity flowing, its actually a measure of the quantity (a coulomb) of electrons flowing in a second. Volts is a measure of the force pushing these electrons. Ohms is a measure of the resistance an object has to electricity flowing through it. It... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eueth9 | What does it mean for a fabric to be pre-shrunk? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffor8c3",
"ffor23r"
],
"text": [
"Some fabrics like cotton shrink in the dryer. So, some manufacturers shrink the fabric before making the apparel.",
"They basically prewashed it, so when you wash it, you dont have to worry about shrinkage. I usually buy a size larger than what I shou... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eumel7 | What does it mean when a gamer refers to the metas of a game or the meta in a game? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffq714u",
"ffq61x6"
],
"text": [
"“Meta” isn’t an acronym. “Meta” is stuff that is self-referential I first came across it in computing - back when I learned about HTML at the start of the web in the early 90’s (but I found out it’s older than that - see Wikipedia entry at end of comment)... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
eunta3 | What does bandwidth means and its use in torrents? | Hi, when I download torrents the utorrent app offers me bandwidth (small, medium, high). I assume high means it will download faster but what does that mean and why does it download faster. Also, why would I ever use the other options if this one is the fastest. In short, what does bandwidth means, why does it matter a... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffqdxvf"
],
"text": [
"Bandwidth can be thought of like a road that information travels along. Lets say your bandwidth has ten lanes, normally 2 of those will be for uploading and 8 for download (most people download way more than they upload). Basically your torrent program is saying “okay, ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
euqp7y | Why is IP geolocation not exact? Why does an ip tracker or ip lookup website show a place a bit distant from my street? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffqxyoq",
"ffqy607"
],
"text": [
"IP geolocation works the same way someone could guess your location from your phone number. Different area codes and prefices are assigned to different regions (or at least they use to before cell phones messed things up), and if you knew the pattern you ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
euvx7m | Why does speeding up audio raise the pitch? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffrtbl9"
],
"text": [
"Sound is a wave. The pitch is determined by the wave's frequency - how quickly it oscillates. The faster it oscillates, the higher the pitch. Speeding up the sound causes the wave to oscillate faster, so the pitch goes up."
],
"score": [
11
],
"text_urls": [... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
euw4nd | How does wireless battery charging work? Like for cellphones | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffrudo0",
"ffs3gjy",
"ffs1riz"
],
"text": [
"Basically the charger panel is taking electricity from the wall and projecting it out at s magnetic wave. The phone the has a component that converts the magnetic field into electric current which goes back into the phone. There a lot more ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
euw9xi | How do applications use anything more then 100% CPU | I see all these applications using 350% CPU sometimes but how is that possible? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffrvo8c",
"ffrzhb2",
"ffsfvvh"
],
"text": [
"Think of a CPU as a single worker in an office. Originally most computers just had that one worker but these days modern computers are have more workers in cubicles (like modern offices). Each worker can work independently, but if a program... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
euy5hk | Why do fast chargers take so much longer to complete a full charge? | I've had several phones with fast charging. They're amazing. You can charge your phone over 60% in 40 minutes. But why do they slow down so much when it comes to bring a phone to full charge? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffs7aqt"
],
"text": [
"Basically when charging a battery electricity is forcing ions from one side of the battery to the other. When a battery is low there's lots of empty space to shove those ions and the flow over easily. When it's closer to full the space is filled up and the new ions have... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
ev2q77 | why is ram so fast? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fft1deg",
"fft2brg"
],
"text": [
"No moving parts. Unlike a common harddrive you don't have to wait for data to be physically retrieved.",
"RAM is designed and connected differently. The design trades off guarantees your hard drive makes (correctness, stability) for speed. This is pos... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ev3n9b | Why do watch heart rate sensors, such as the Apple Watch, still read a heart rate when it’s not on a wrist and why is it seemingly random? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fft4d21"
],
"text": [
"The way these sensors work is that they shine a light into your wrist and measures the color of the light returning. As your blood pressure pulses for each heart beat the tiny capilary blood vessels in your skin will expand slightly making your skin more red. This is us... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ev41gr | Why does "slowmode" in video converters yield a better quality result than "fastmode" despite being the same resolution? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fft5xkb"
],
"text": [
"Because video compression is lossy, though it typically doesn't change the resolution. What it changes is the contents. The encoder tries to figure out what parts of the image you'd miss the least, and whether there's any data it can reuse. For instance modern encoders ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ev6o38 | what's the difference between threads and cores in a CPU | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffttoxm",
"fftnyz6"
],
"text": [
"A thread is a task, a core is a worker. Hyperthreading is where you have multiple tasks prepared at all times for one core so that they can switch between them faster. Hyperthreading doesn't make the core complete single tasks any faster, but it can reduc... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
evd4su | Bank voice id for verification vs google assistant voice detection | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ffuz0w7"
],
"text": [
"You're misunderstanding Google's feature. The Google assistant is supposed to respond to \"Hey Google\" or \"OK Google\" from anyone, but certain queries will be customized for you if it recognizes your voice. For example, if you say \"OK Google, what's my schedule tomo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.