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kkbe2g
- Why are 5G speeds worse than LTE when industry has been praising how fast we’d be surfing with it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh1jdlu" ], "text": [ "Because its not really fully developed yet... the u.s. and china have been in a race to both develop it peoperly... naturally since we havent been able to the cell peoviders released a \"5g\" network that doesnt really work at the same speeds... in short... your 5G sign...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
kkfvz7
How are PCs better for gaming than specifically designed gaming consoles?
I don't really play games all that much but a couple of friends have said things to me recently about games being much better on PC than on PS5 or Xbox one. Seems sort of counterintuitive to me that the device specifically designed for playing games on is worse for playing games than a computer that has gaming as one o...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh27jnu", "gh2c246", "gh27k68", "gh2i6vl", "gh27msx", "gh29519" ], "text": [ "Simply put, computers are just considerably more powerful. Gaming computers tend to cost more than a console so they can use more expensive parts. Something like the PlayStation 5 will continue t...
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[ "url" ]
kkgadi
What does "pushing" and "pulling" film in a 35mm analog film camera do?
I've been taking photos with a 35mm camera for a bit now, and I've been trying to wrap my head around this to no avail. What exactly does it do? Is there a noticeable difference in the outcome of the photos? Is it all for experimental purposes?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh29mp8" ], "text": [ "if you understand digital photography, it's like shooting to the left or shooting to the right. you purposely underexpose or overexpose when shooting and then you either push or pull it to correct the exposure when developing the film by modifying the length of time in ...
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kkiweg
How can 2 different CPU’s of the same model have different overclock potentials even though they have the same architecture?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh2lja9", "gh2p8ru" ], "text": [ "There are very slight variations between chips, both a benefit and a detriment to the way they're produced. Obviously every chip that makes it into a package has probably tested to be able to run at the rating on the box with no problems. Those that fail ...
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[ "url" ]
kkr4yz
how does services like Soundhound identify music so quickly with such limited information?
I can understand recognizing lyrics quickly with voice recognition, but how do these things figure out instrumental music, or music based off of a person just humming something? With the huge amount of songs out there, this seems impossible and incredible to me.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh472ki" ], "text": [ "There a quite a few factors going into this miracle of technology. Without going into detail, such feats in music recognition are due to the incredible amount of effort that has been put into signal processing sciences over the last century. And also a bit of Big Data. ...
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[ "url" ]
kkul1m
why do modern vr headsets need powerful pcs to run videogames?
The games seem to have the same graphics quality as consoles and I can probably rotate a my L stick as fast as a headset, so what am i missing?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh4j730", "gh4jqa5", "gh4is5n", "gh4iyfs" ], "text": [ "Modern vr headsets have 2 different screens in them(one for each eye) so thats already double the processing requirements in terms of graphics alone. Also, steady and higher framerates are needed to not only help visuals but ...
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kl2m7b
what is clocking and overclocking I’m so confused
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh6fuz2" ], "text": [ "Clocking isn't really a thing, but overclocking is a method of increasing your computer's speed. Basically, the part of the computer that does the thinking is limited to a certain speed and voltage to prevent errors and damage, but mainly overheating. So, some people li...
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kl5qi9
Why does the phone camera's quality look good, but the photo taken is worse?
I noticed this phenomenon in a couple of Androids and even some iPhones that the camera looks really good when you're not shooting anything, and it's just staying still. However, the photo captured looks significantly worse than the pre-shoot camera's quality. Even when you set the camera on timer and place it on a tri...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh79hya", "gh7t0si", "gh7gypo", "gh71pdd", "gh7geez", "gh7brmw" ], "text": [ "The only reasons I could think of are: \\- There is some post-processing happenning (e.g. aggresive denoising) that is actually making the image look worse (most likely anwer) \\- There is some s...
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[ "url" ]
kl6wf5
If the internet is primarily dependent on cables that run through oceans connecting different countries and continents. During a war, anyone can cut off a country's access to the internet. Are there any backup or mitigant in place to avoid this? What happens if you cut the cable?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh763zt", "gh75q22", "gh767ww", "gh77x4i", "gh76b9s", "gh7m2d3", "gh8owo0", "gh7tudl", "gh784a2", "gh7wveo", "gh75xze", "gh88zvk", "gh7rkhb", "gh75xyl", "gh85dm6", "gh8d1bs" ], "text": [ "Think of it like closing an interstate highwa...
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[ "url" ]
kl97mm
waterproofing electronics
Why cant manufactures spray some plastic laminate type coating on circuit boards to make them waterproof?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh7mspm", "gh7o5zt", "gh7kdnh" ], "text": [ "Its called [conformal coating]( URL_0 ) and is used in certain industries where the device needs to be really really resistant to moisture and dust and general board contamination The protection is nice but it comes with a lot of downsides....
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klbglb
Can someone explain to me how AND, OR and NOT gates make it possible to do anything?
I watched a video on how computers make decisions and it’s all based on these gates and with enough combinations you can make anything possible. But that’s still too far a jump in my head. Can anyone give an example of how these gates might get something running and then take it to a bit more advanced level so I can se...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh81xkn" ], "text": [ "That's tricky without going into too much technical detail ;) Essentially, you can break everything the computer does to adding binary numbers and storing data. The adding numbers is done using a *Half adder* or a *Full adder*. Wikipedia has the diagram for either. Half...
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klbtpl
Why is it so difficult for movie studios/sound crews to create a soundtrack that prioritizes dialogue so that I don’t have to turn the volume up to 4,000,000 to be able to understand what is being said?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh83665", "gh82ll7", "gh81l7l", "gh83df2" ], "text": [ "Home theater guy. It's because the audio is mixed for a theater. Sometimes you can get a more reasonable sound mix for home viewing if you choose Stereo in the Audio options menu, but obviously, that's not ideal if you have a...
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kldhhz
On sketchy sites, why do some pop-ups get blocked but others don't? Shouldn't all pop-ups be blocked by turning on the pop-up blocker?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh8c0pi" ], "text": [ "An ad blocker has to decide what's website content and what's an ad. If a website owner decides to manually post an image of an ad to their website there's not much an ad blocker can do to determine that's an ad and not website content because in a way it actually is we...
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klh7y9
What exactly is different about 5G than 4G, 3G, etc , and how exactly is it better?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh925qf", "gh9bful", "gh98k5z", "gh935z1" ], "text": [ "Every five years or so, the major cell phone companies get together and decide on the next developments of their technology. This is a huge undertaking. It is not not enough for Samsung or Apple to come up with a technology f...
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klkplt
How do lights with multiple light switches work? How is it that flipping one switch on when the light is already on turns it off?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh9lfw4", "gh9wvgk" ], "text": [ "The 2 light switches are connected via 2 wires. Call them wires A and B. If switch 1 is on wire A and switch 2 is on A, the light is on. If switch 1 is on wire B and switch 2 is on B, the light is on. If switch 1 is on wire A and switch 2 is on B, the lig...
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klkwyl
Why do softwares require us to restart our devices. Why wont a shut down do the same work as a restart.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh9m1w8" ], "text": [ "Many updates make changes to programs that are already running - these programs are already in your RAM. The updates only change the programs stored in long-term memory. Restarting your computer causes the RAM to be cleared and the updated version to be initialized into...
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kln9q9
how do changes in screen resolution work?
On the Galaxy S9 for example, you can change to 1080p down from 1440p to save power. How does this work, becuase from my understanding, the screen is made from millions of individual LED bubs that each form a pixel (2960x1440) 4,262,400 to be exact. You can't just turn a few off and expand the others, they're fixed, an...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "gh9ysc2" ], "text": [ "It's not just the pixels lighting up that consumes energy you also have to compute the image itself that the pixels are displaying. And the more details that entails the more costly the operations to compute it whereas if large chunks of the screen don't need to be comp...
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klsc2m
How is an air fryer different than a regular or convection oven?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghanxd8", "ghbaecq", "ghb4hto", "ghbdn7w", "ghayvmt", "ghbwq93" ], "text": [ "An air fryer is the same thing as a convection oven so the only difference there would be the form factor. The way both work (compared to a normal oven with convection off) is with a fan to const...
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kluciy
How does a virtual machine (like virtual box) work?
I was looking for ways to develop iOS apps using my windows computer, and I came across this option. I understand that you’re running a Mac OS on a pc, but I dont really understand how it’s different from a hackintosh. I read somewhere that using a virtual machine was like running two computers at once on the same phys...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghaxdm4" ], "text": [ "Takes a chunk of your RAM and makes it think it's a small computer with ram of its own, then you install an OS onto that mini computer inside your RAM." ], "score": [ 5 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
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klw0ls
How do blood oximeters calculate one’s blood oxygen level by just being placed on a finger for the pulse?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghbd3n9", "ghbh3ce", "ghb8w3w", "ghc62r8", "ghcdp95", "ghcehws", "ghbkk13" ], "text": [ "I'm guessing you've stuck a flashlight under your palm or your finger so you could see the other side of your hand light up bright red. Oximeters work on a similar principle. Oxime...
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klxiwv
Why does hitting a TV remote often get it to function when it wasn’t working before?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghbgnhd" ], "text": [ "As you know, your remote is powered by batteries. Those batteries complete an electric circuit, which lets electrons flow from one end of the battery, through the remote, and back to the other end. During this process, the electrons passing through the contact springs a...
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klxo99
Why do they push 5G so much instead of improving 4G coverage? I'm getting 200mbit/s on 4g and I could happily use my phone with a tenth of that. Where exactly are the benefits?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghbjw2m", "ghbj3s2", "ghbi0uh", "ghbhl6f", "ghbk6aa" ], "text": [ "5G really has a lot more to do with the business and commercial side of things, for consumer mobile phones, they only thing you'll see is increased speed. 5G for businesses though is going to be game changing--...
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klxr9p
Why is the video editing greenscreen... green?
Why is it green and not red or blue or anything else?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghbi0h3", "ghbipb2", "ghbi2kk", "ghbic2l", "ghbibr6" ], "text": [ "You need a bright primary color, one that most people aren't going to wear or have on their bodies, because all of that color will be deleted when you edit the film. You can use blue, but green is less likely t...
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km2nez
Why do some low-range smartphones have better battery than high-range ones?
Most of the newest smartphones of high-range (e.g., Xiaomi Mi, iPhone, Samsung and Huawei) that cost over $500 have 4500 mAh approximately or some even less, but for example, the Redmi 9 (costs less than $200), that is considered low-range has 5020 mAh. Why those top smartphones don't have a better battery than some of...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghcaym4", "ghcbhjt" ], "text": [ "High range phones come with an expectation for more features, higher end materials and less weight. When you add all those things together you have less scope for space and weight so the battery size gets shaved down.", "Keeping size and weight at a m...
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km6cvs
What does it take to make an everyday object programmable? Is it inserting a CPU in it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghd8il4", "ghcyq1y" ], "text": [ "TLDR: no, cpu doesn’t exclusively mean programmable Let’s start with “stick a CPU in it.” If you took a CPU and stuck it in a marshmallow, is the marshmallow now programmable? No, because simply sticking a processor in an object does nothing. Conversely, ...
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km8nd9
What goes on during cyber wars across countries?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghdim09", "ghdjdcv" ], "text": [ "Well a cyber war wouldn’t necessarily mean you wouldn’t need to use conventional weapons/war as well. World war is unlikely to happen due to nuclear weapons. But I can’t imagine something that could be called a cyber war, more cyber attacks/defence. And y...
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kme300
How did they build the retaining stone walls along river banks in cities hundreds of years ago?
Struggling to explain what I mean, every major city/river/harbour doesn't have a natural coast line, but generally a stone wall that goes down into the river and creates a permanent solid edge. I'm sure with modern technology its easier, but the ones built hundreds of years ago baffle me. Tried googling it but got a co...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghe186c", "gheaoaf" ], "text": [ "5yo version: There's a few ways. One way is that they build a wall in the water where they want to work and then use buckets to take out all the water. So they can work on dry ground. Another way is just dump stone and earth into the water where they want...
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kmmqb6
How and why are 'rays' harmful?
Referring to all types of rays: electromagnetic, gamma, alpha, beta, etc.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghfi4m3" ], "text": [ "Alpha/beta/gamma (ionizing) radiation is harmful because it can change the properties of atoms it hits, turning them into different elements or otherwise destabilizing them which in turn changes their properties. This can create changes or unreadable errors in DNA, or d...
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kmn8y3
What's the difference between UTF 8, 16 and 32
I'm learning the basics about computers and got to see about Unicode. Apparently it can be divided in 3 with UTF (Unicode Tranformation Format) which would be UTF 8, UTF 16 and UTF 32. I understand that each one has different value UTF 8 - 1B; UTF 16 - 2B; UTF 32 - 4B. But I don't understand beyond how much space each ...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghfo9jq", "ghghco8" ], "text": [ "Unicode assigns a number to every possible character. However, it doesn't dictate how these numbers are represented as bits - that's what UTF-8/16/32 do. In UTF-8 the base unit is a single byte. Numbers from 0 to 127 are stored as a single byte, numbers f...
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kmnla4
How do logins instantly know our credentials are incorrect whereas it takes a little while for correct credentials to be validated?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghflz8o", "ghflwvi" ], "text": [ "They don't. Validation or failure both take the exact same amount of time. Perhaps the issue is that, wherever you feel you are experiencing this, a failure is able to send a simpler failure message than a success, which presumably then has more to do sin...
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kmnnsc
How do email and video conferencing work?
What really happens in the background that the users don't see, that magically makes GMail send emails and Zoom make video conferencing possible?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghfmxfe" ], "text": [ "Your question is quite a broad one. Email and video conferencing are completely different technologies. There are also many variations within each technology. Email for example can use many different protocols such as SMTP, IMAP, and POP3. If you're looking for a succin...
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kmsvgc
how do sound equilizers work? If there is only one audio file, how do equilizers differentiate between bass, minds, and things like that and then are able to change them?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghgm7bm", "ghgsaoy" ], "text": [ "There is math called a \"Fast Fourier Transform\" that can take any sound (wave) and break it into separate frequencies. As a simple example, imagine an audio file where two flutes are playing in harmony. The FFT of that file would clearly show the freque...
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kmt32o
How do different USB types allow better data transfer rates? What is actually happening?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghgjykx" ], "text": [ "The USB 3.0 standard introduced new connectors that had 5 extra wires: 4 of these pins were reserved for 2 new data pairs , allowing full duplex communication, (a huge increase from the single pair on the previous connector). The type C connector optionally has two more...
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kmuh42
How do some seven-segment-displays shine black?
I read that they use LEDs, but black isn’t really a color you can shine. It’s the lack thereof. When black is displayed on a monitor, the pixels are just left unlit. However, black seven-segment-displays turn noticeably blacker in activated regions.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghgthpk", "ghh1n2c" ], "text": [ "Black digits like on an old calculator? Those are early liquid crystal displays. When unenergized light passes through the segment. When energized the crystals align to block the ambient light from passing through. They don’t emit black. They just block l...
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kmw85q
Why does HDTV look so strange and "fake"?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghh3520", "ghh3bw3", "ghh321v" ], "text": [ "It sounds like you're referring to the \"stage effect\" caused by some of the clarity and smoothness filters. Those are post-processkng effects applied by the TV itself in order to \"upscale\" the picture by filling in details that aren't t...
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kmws1z
Japan plans to make wooden satellites to eliminate waste in space. What happens to wood in space? Is this a good idea? Is it possible?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghhel5u" ], "text": [ "The company planning to do this never said that they were doing it to decrease space junk. And indeed, wooden satellites will not contribute to decreasing space junk in any way. The news was misinterpreted by most news agencies (perhaps intentionally) because space junk...
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kmxyxb
At what point, and how, does computer hardware touch/move/influence the software?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghhc91d", "ghhfnbi" ], "text": [ "Software is usually just a list of instructions for the CPU to do, and the CPU just runs those instructions. Sometimes there is instructions for the graphics chip/card, or sometimes those instructions tell the operating system to write to disk. But it’s s...
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kmzvdv
what do network switches do
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghhlvyc", "ghhn9fb" ], "text": [ "The basic principle behind a local area network is that any data packet sent out on the network should be delivered to all other computers connected to the network and they will then filter the packets based on the destination address. This is how early n...
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kn3aod
why the energy saver program on my washing machine takes the longest ( > 4 hours).
Edit: I mean a clothing washing machine
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghi3x8u" ], "text": [ "Because it uses cold water to wash the dishes for more time, heating water is what uses most energy but can clean quicker." ], "score": [ 6 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
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kn6p6b
How do phones (or any electronic device) measure their battery level?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghiptpm" ], "text": [ "Batteries use a chemical reaction to generate voltage (\"electric pressure\"). As the battery discharges it consumes the reactant chemicals and builds up product chemicals, which leads to a slow but predictable drop in voltage. The exact voltage curve varies with the ba...
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kn781w
Why do most of the heavy machines use diesel instead of petrol?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghix94x", "ghirbtk", "ghjwry9", "ghiw5sx" ], "text": [ "Diesel engines are more efficient because of their higher compression (it's true that diesel has slightly higher energy density too but that's not why diesels are more efficient), they produce much more torque at low speed, t...
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kna8gk
What is the little clock-like symbol that’s on a lot of plastic products (and plastic containers)?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghj9kx3" ], "text": [ "It's a manufacturing marker. Shows the date (well, often it shows just a week or a month) when the plastic went into the mould. So that a faulty product can be backtracked to who inspected it, which machine did it, who supplied the raw materials. And so on." ], "sco...
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knbrjj
What determines which floor/direction an elevator will go to first?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghjkx24", "ghjig7a" ], "text": [ "Elevator dispatch is an engineering problem, and there isn't one solution used everywhere. One simple algorithm is to make one trip up, one trip down, per cycle. Starting from the lobby, the car picks up passengers everywhere an \"up\" button has been pus...
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knia03
Why do regular non micro wave ovens have non clear glass
I know micro waves have a metal mesh behind the glass door to stop radiation, but why do normal gas/electric ovens have dots on the glass instead of being crystal clear like a normal window
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghkoakw" ], "text": [ "If it were clear glass, the oven would lose a LOT of heat through the glass through radiation. This reduces the efficiency and also results in a temperature gradient (near the glass it would be cooler). The temperature gradient means things cooked in the oven would be u...
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knj07p
Why were older crt TV sets (circa 1935-1953) more rounded than newer ones, was it just aesthetics of the times, or did production process changed, or was it something different?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghksjo2" ], "text": [ "Sharp corners cause stress fractures. CRTs are under significant pressure, and manufacturers wanted to make sure they didn't implode in someone's living room. Over the years, while CRTs were a thing, manufacturers got better and better at corners. They also got better a...
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knjxrx
how do saw stops tell hands and other things apart from wood?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghkxlw5", "ghkxtgy", "ghl7mkh", "ghlbrqi", "ghn1rny" ], "text": [ "The system is monitoring for anything that conducts electricity to touch the blade. If the wood you're cutting is _super_ wet, it can set off the sensor.", "There is a small electric signal on the saw blade...
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knk5m9
Why does the video playback in video editing software require so much more computing power than watching the same video in VLC or Windows Media Player?
Not even talking about UHD raw footage from a movie camera, just like an exported MP4. What is it about the playback/preview of the video in a program like Adobe Premiere that bogs down my computer so much that it is unwatchable, whereas watching the same video on a media player is perfectly smooth?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghl7r2n" ], "text": [ "When you playback on editing software, it checks for user added content like text, animation or transition on the video and then plays back the frames. This processing is done for every frame of the video. So the video plays choppy and your frame rate drops. As you add ...
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knkmnj
How did people in medieval ages use candles on Christmas trees without causing major fire accidents?
According to history, people used candles on Christmas trees for decoration. And this was still practiced till the invention of modern day lighting. Lit wax candles on almost drying trees sounds like a serious fire hazard. How could people put candles on trees without setting the tree on fire?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghl42bs", "ghld381", "ghl3bv9" ], "text": [ "My grandfather worked for an insurance company back in the day; my mother said that every year they paid claims on fires started by electric lights on Christmas trees, but never one on candles. Because it's such an *obvious* fire hazard, pe...
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knkr1o
- How do robots dance?
We've all seen the new BOSTON Dynamics video with the robots dancing. Did they program it for that song? Or is the AI doing this on their own?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghl7dfq" ], "text": [ "I would think you'd create a library of moves for each chassis, which start and end in a kind of neutral position so you can chain them together in any order. Then the robot can just execute those moves in a random, or scripted, sequence for as long as you want. You cou...
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knmwda
Why don't adblockers work on some sites (like Spofity) and work on most other ones?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghlnxk3" ], "text": [ "Ad blocking is a game of cat and mouse. Advertisement people come up with new, smart ways to avoid detection by the ad blockers all the time. Sometimes they manage to find some ways to push the advertisement that cannot be easily detected or stopped. By the way, my ad b...
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knn0b6
How did telegrams work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghldm53", "ghldzds" ], "text": [ "A telegraph is a wire with an electric current running through it. By using a switch the line can be broken, stopping the current, and reconnected again, resuming the current. By activating the switch for short and long periods of time a sequence of signa...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
knnoos
When programmers create games, where do the designs come from?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghlg32p", "ghlgm69", "ghlgs5z" ], "text": [ "Usually, at some point early on, the code says something like \"load {path/to/imagename} as pic21\" which comes from a directory or packed-up resource, and loads that picture into a memory grid so that it can be used later with something li...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
knonmq
How do transistors work?
I'm trying to understand how Transistors work and what the difference between a PNP BTJ and an NPN BTJ (Excuse my bad terminology, I'm not a tech person). Currently I understand how a base has to be active for the current to flow from the Collector to an Emitter in an NPN, however I'm unsure of how a PNP functions. I u...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghllfwa" ], "text": [ "They function like a water hose with a weight on them pinching them shut. The water hose is the connection between the Source and Drain. By applying a smaller current to the Gain you effectively lift the weight, which causes the hose to let more current through. Transis...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
knpmej
Why does website content often shift and move just after loading?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghm39of", "ghlpt6u", "ghmdw2g" ], "text": [ "Fun fact, the technical term for this is \"cumulative layer shift\", commonly referred to as CLS. It's a known problem, and Google will start to include CLS ratings as part of its website quality scores. They've been on a big push recently ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
knpzn8
Why is it that when you press firmly on your PC's monitor it leaves marks?
is it like.. heat marks or do you temporarily kill some pixels.. do you prevent electricity from getting to the monitor? what exactly happens there?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghlriy2", "ghlu4nm" ], "text": [ "LCD stands for liquid crystal display. When you press on the display you are forcing the material to flow, disrupting the illumination effect.", "Answer : The thickness and perfect alignment of various light filters and light producing elements must b...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ko00k8
Why does software like Adobe Flash have to be actively supported? Are all software like that?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ghngnm6", "ghngkzc", "ghnrmpc", "ghngpn7" ], "text": [ "The flash player plugin, due to its purpose, has been notorious for security issues that allow malicious code to run outside of the environment of a web browser. Adobe has maintained the software to fix many of these issues a...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ex07l8
How are carabiners so strong?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg5jnmp" ], "text": [ "Firstly you have tensile strength which is the force you have to apply to pull something apart. Carabiniers are made with steel and aluminum both of which are very strong metals. The second aspect is the shape they are designed to put all the force along the spine (side...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ex1nbi
How exactly do Amazon S3/Hadoop/etc work?
How do they work and what makes them special?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg5spna" ], "text": [ "Note that I don't work with these technologies often, so this is my understanding of them as a summarization of the information available. (I've used Hadoop in the past, but a few years back) Amazon S3 is considered \"object\" storage. An object is a file and informatio...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ex23pt
Why is Microsoft's Windows allowed to have their Apps preinstalled and bundled (with bing search and Edge browser) while Google was fined for the same thing in Android by the EU in 2018?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg5x39u", "fg5xjjd", "fg60w1f", "fg64il9", "fg5uvsp", "fg66qmt", "fg635av", "fg66ibr", "fg6v0n8", "fg679k4", "fg69k6g", "fg7bj5i", "fg6clac", "fg6d0hi", "fg6i89d", "fg7b0zi", "fg6c567", "fg629wj", "fg6jqh2", "fg6y0b1" ], ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ex523w
Why do laser mounts of guns exist?
I understand that it makes you more accurate because it shows a dot where you are shooting. But dont they give away location and enemies know where you are shooting, thus they can flank you?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg67u2k", "fg68vqi", "fg6ng9j" ], "text": [ "The lasers in movies where there is a long green line in front of the gun aren’t real. Or, at least aren’t normal. Maybe that’s what it looks like if you’re wearing night vision goggles or something. The “laser scopes” I’ve seen for hunting...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ex58gf
How a USB hub works? How can 1 USB carry the bandwidth of 5 or more? Wouldnt it be split?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg6adin" ], "text": [ "It is split, but most usb devices don't actually have high enough bandwidth for that to matter. Devices like mice and keyboards and stuff like that barely need any bandwidth at all. USB 2.0 has a max bandwidth of 480 Mbit/s which is enough for almost anything that used ...
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[ "url" ]
ex7s60
In a law and order episode, they confiscated a guys computer but he had strong electromagnets in the door frame that wiped his HD when they walked out of the room with it. Is something like this even possible or is it just on TV?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg6ml5r" ], "text": [ "In principle yes, a strong oscillating magnetic field could scramble the bits in a hard drive. However magnetic field strength drops off sharply with distance so in a practical sense trying to wipe everything going through a doorway would require an absolute monster of ...
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[ "url" ]
ex9ino
Why are downloads from some places faster than others?
For example, when you download a 5 gigabyte game on steam, it’s usually faster than a 5 gigabyte file from chrome. Why is this?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg6xejh", "fg6xoom" ], "text": [ "There are two considerations: 1) where you are downloading from 2) how you are downloading For example there are free file sharing sites that limit your download speed, so this is on them. They are limiting you. If steam servers aren't overloaded, they wi...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ex9otr
Why haven’t we made an airplane that runs on solar power
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg6xl8u", "fg6xd1b", "fg6xgn0", "fg6xdvp" ], "text": [ "They did. It flew around the world. It isn't practical, though, because sunlight only gives you on kilowatt per square meter of surface area, and solar panels can only use a fraction of that, so less than one horsepower for a...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
ex9swy
How does technology remember or know what time it is even after being completely shut off?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg6y429", "fg6xzq6" ], "text": [ "Many electronic devices have a small button battery, which runs a chip that keeps time while there's no power. These batteries will last for years, usually longer than the actual device itself, so most of the time they never need to be replaced. Smaller d...
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[ "url" ]
exevxn
why is there a color effect when you press hard on a monitor screen?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg7v62s" ], "text": [ "The L in LCD stands for \"liquid\" - there's a thin layer of liquid that responds to electric signals to affect how much light it lets through. The monitor uses this to display an image. When you press on the screen, you're squishing the liquid around and making it show...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
exlraq
why are todays cctv images still kinda crappy?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fg95692", "fg98fnj" ], "text": [ "Because the goal isn’t to get a perfect image, the goal of cctv is to continuously surveil. It would take way too much space to properly store a consistent stream of super HD video, therefore the video quality stays crappy!", "Cost and not technology ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
exnf4s
Why do content creators need 100% calibrated displays? Aren't consumers going to buy non-calibrated, over-saturated displays anyway?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fga0vqd" ], "text": [ "You are right that most consumer displays have poor color accuracy, though more devices are starting to come with calibrated displays. Professional content creators don't use calibrated displays so that you and I see things correctly, but rather to ensure that when work...
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[ "url" ]
expver
When you buy software, the source code usually is not made public, but doesn’t your computer still have to run the code to use the software? How can it run the code without allowing the user to see the code?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgb4p6t", "fgaztqs", "fgb0xd3", "fgc6391", "fgazuzh" ], "text": [ "Say you have some source code... in your source code is the line \"if playerhealth < 0, gameover = true.\" Seems pretty easy to understand. Now the compiler will convert that into binary. It will look something...
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[ "url" ]
exs407
Augmented Reality and the difference between it and Virtual Reality.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgbwmxx", "fgbym8r" ], "text": [ "VR = you see a fake scene, created by computer graphics. AR = you see the real world, plus some graphics.", "Virtual Reality creates a computer simulated environment around you. Augmented Reality puts virtual aspects into your real environment." ], ...
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extzat
How was the first clock programmed?
I can understand the logic behind a mechanic clock, but I mean like in a computer. How was someone able to tell a computer how long a second was so that it could be constantly changing in an accurate way every second?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgcj7b4", "fgctlbh" ], "text": [ "pretty much everything these days uses a crystal oscillator, such as quartz, which you can manufacture at difference frequencies. these oscillators \"vibrate\" or modify an electrical field at a precise frequency which you can then use to generate clocks ...
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[ "url" ]
exv9f7
A small-case 4-letter password has 456,976 possible combinations. Why is there a need for even stronger passwords?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgdayuq", "fgd27y3", "fgd65gf", "fgd18cr", "fgd3v6x", "fgd9qv5", "fgd0zi5", "fgdi9ge", "fgeio2r", "fgexyqd", "fgfco3o", "fgexjie", "fgezxys", "fgd5u8v", "fgdl2kz", "fgdjcr3", "fgf9ktc", "fgdkvv3", "fgdnnd6" ], "text": [ "...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
exvqb8
How does a compass actually work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgdcrxx" ], "text": [ "A compass uses balanced magnets on a pin. When you hold the compass upright, the magnet points north, but not geological north. It points to the magnetic pole. Fun fact, the magnetic south pole is actually in the northern hemisphere and the magnetic north pole is in the...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
exw3cy
How do they remaster old movies to HD or 4k?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgde2ah" ], "text": [ "If you search for \"behind the scenes\" for 'They Shall Not Grow Old' the Peter Jackson film, you should find how they did the coloring. I seen something on how they color graded the old footage (along with added dialog via Lip Readers), but cant find the link right now...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
exwoyw
How does having increased FPS reduce input delay
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgdnd8d" ], "text": [ "The vast majority of programs are only able to scan for input on every frame. Having a higher fps doesn't necessarily decrease input delay, but rather gives you more input \"opportunities\" per second. If you have an fps of 5, for instance, the program will not register...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
exxg8x
Where do spam emails get your email address from?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgds5rq" ], "text": [ "Places you've signed up can sell your email address to other marketers. Just like in the past places you'd given your address were able to sell your mailing address to marketers." ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
exxvuw
How does a thermal camera detect the temperature of different things?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgdzpfx", "fge0cyr" ], "text": [ "Everything that is warm, emits light, in a spectrum that we can’t see. However we can definitely make cameras that can see it, and turn the light into wavelengths that we can see. All a thermal camera does, is look at light that we can’t see, and turn it ...
[ "url" ]
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exzgda
Why do school computers run 3d modeling programs ultra smooth but my 1500$ gaming rig does not?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgeesjd" ], "text": [ "Check for any things you can do to optimize Inventor for your setup... or if you have stuff running in the background. Likely, your school's computer has set specific optimization settings, or decreased some other background stuff." ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_...
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ey0n0u
- When you charge your phone, the battery goes up to 100%. Why does it stop there? How does the phone tell the outlet to stop giving energy to the battery? Does the extra energy just loop through and go back into the wall?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgejffk", "fgejlg0", "fgembxt" ], "text": [ "There's a microchip in your phone called the charge management controller. It monitors the charge in your battery when you plug in. When it's full it switches to a \"trickle charge\" level, where it consume only just enough power to run the...
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ey61j5
is it possible for game Easter egg hunters to look at the games code to find all the Easter eggs?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgf9bg1", "fgf9jv2" ], "text": [ "Generally, the code of a game is not available to players. The game is a compiled program rather than source code. The difference is sort of like giving someone an unassembled IKEA shelf vs a premade shelf from a furniture store. The sourcecode is like th...
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[ "url" ]
ey6fow
What are developers changing when they optimize a video game? How do they make it run smoother?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgfbfe5", "fgfbina", "fgfbra9" ], "text": [ "So, the thing about computers and programming computers is that you can solve the same problem half a million ways. However, not every way is equally good at solving the given problem. Imagine sorting a deck, for instance. Would you conside...
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ey8qyv
How do printers work? How do they know how to print different fonts, pictures etc.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgfolk3" ], "text": [ "The printer prints a grid of very small dots, perhaps of 4 colors if it's a color printer. Software inside the printer, including mathematical formulas that describe the shape of every letter in every font, converts information from your computer into the right pattern ...
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[ "url" ]
eyb0le
How does a Wi-Fi extender work? Let's say if a certain location has a signal of -50dBm, how does adding an extender at that exact location boost the signal around it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgg3i47", "fgg4yvx", "fggasik", "fgg6cob" ], "text": [ "You add it before the signal drops, then it repeats the signal so it can be accessed further away.", "The way I understand it is, the extender acts as a radio repeater. It receives the signal from the router or access poi...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
eybs40
what exactly is cloud computing?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fggbk9y" ], "text": [ "The cloud is just someone else's computer. When you're using a \"cloud\" solution, you are basically leaving the hardware management of those servers up to a team that does nothing but that, meaning you don't have to source out a server guy to do that if you're a smalle...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
eyfha5
What is the purpose of the "circular net" in front of microphones of recording studios?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fggud3g", "fgguiex", "fghf93w", "fggulip", "fghgu9n" ], "text": [ "Pop filter. Stops bilabial sounds like \"b\" or \"p\" from sounding like loud pops. If you've ever heard a low quality youtube video, you know the pop I mean. Basically it smooths out the audio.", "It’s cal...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
eyg4i8
How does the internet work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fggy87e" ], "text": [ "Thousands, if not millions of computers all connected together sharing information is the most ELI5 way I can put it." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
eyh4z4
why, in todays high tech age, do we still use film stock and lenses for movies and pictures, when it could all be done on a computer?
People spend tens of thousands on anamorphic lenses and such, when you could just film in 4K, add a lens flair filter, and crop it to desired ratio. Clearly im missing something
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgh5w9h", "fgh4ubp", "fgh95xu", "fgh4gud" ], "text": [ "Despite the standard of digital sensors, film still has the advantage in some areas. You can massively over-expose film and still see some details, where digital will just give you solid whites. It's the other way around at t...
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[ "url" ]
eykqqw
how does an mAh work? How long will 1 mAh last on a smartphone? How long will 18000 last?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fghsll4", "fght7yv" ], "text": [ "Batteries are rates in mAh, that's milliamp hours. If a battery can provide 100 mA for 3 hours it can produce 300 mAh of output. Smartphones are complex computers, with a bright display and 3-5 radios inside. The power consumption depends on many variable...
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[ "url" ]
eyktc3
How does an atomic clock work? How does it start telling extremely precise time?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fghsq6c", "fgi3j6n", "fgi0558" ], "text": [ "An atomic uses a clump of atoms of a pure element. When excited, these atoms vibrate at a specific frequency that depends on the element's electron alignments. By counting the vibrations, you can get a very precise clock that's stable over ...
[ "url" ]
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eylgx9
Why is the Dvorak keyboard layout faster to type on than QWERY?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fghzphs", "fghwhwy" ], "text": [ "Bear in mind, the whole \"qwerty was to slow down typists\" is oversimplified way too much. It did make sure some combinations (th, st) were separate to prevent jams, but by engaging both hands, the layout does quite the respectable job. Dvorak came like ...
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[ "url" ]
eylkeo
Why is it some North American plugs have 3 prongs while some have 2?
I am assuming it is due to requiring more electricity but I’ve had broken 3 prongs work with just 2
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fghy5o3", "fghxx9e", "fgi2wf0" ], "text": [ "Reddit won't show me the other 4 comments for some reason, so I may be just repeating the same thing as others, but it has nothing to do with how much electricity an appliance uses. It has more to do with the grounding requirements of said ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
eylw3w
how did we make the first computer operating system if we didn't have computers to make them on?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fghzgay", "fghyqyq", "fgi06lg", "fghzi68" ], "text": [ "Computers do not require an operating system. An operating system allows for a lot of benefits, namely you can have multiple tasks run on the same computer. But there is no absolute need for an operating system, most early co...
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[ "url" ]
eynxyo
What was the process of editing movies before the computers? For example, movies made in the early 1900s.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgi8kq7", "fgi8jmy" ], "text": [ "They had many film rolls which they would cut and splice scenes together. It made a mess and scenes that didn't make in the movie ended up \"on the cutting room floor\"", "All sorts of clever techniques were used. One example is drawing on film. Like,...
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[ "url" ]
eyodrp
What does equalizing audio do and what difference would enabling it make in the sound?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgib8bb" ], "text": [ "When you are playing some audio the performance of your amplifier, speakers and the room is different for different frequencies. You may even personally perceive different frequencies at different levels making your individual listening experience different from everyon...
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[ "url" ]
eyq9j5
Why is High Dynamic Range video exclusive to 4K resolution and up?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgin2th" ], "text": [ "HDR 10 (the most popular one) video was a new format, it uses 10 bit video and the HDR channel. The timing made it right to attach it to the other new video standard of 4k. Nothing special means it has to be that way, but the timing worked out to just go \"you know what...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
eysb22
How do password managers complete website forms in a manner that other browser apps can't capture the input?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgj5knd", "fgiyfch" ], "text": [ "They don't. When you or your password manager type in a password, any application that has access to your browser can see it. Any plugin you use has the potential to steal any password you enter. In practice, such an attack would be pretty obvious, anti-m...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
eyst1p
Why AMOLED whites look yellow-ish compared to LCD whites?
I noticed that all AMOLED displays show whites with a yellow/red tint on them and don't look as "white" as LCD whites. Why?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgj9k2p" ], "text": [ "Blue AMOLED subpixels burn out the fastest. Red and green subpixels create yellow, so an AMOLED screen will shift yellow as it gets older. LCDs don't burn so they don't change much over their life." ], "score": [ 5 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
eyvte3
How are deepfake voices created by using limited audio of the subject taking?
Deepfake voices, when audio can be manipulated to sounds like virtually anyone, is done using clips of the subject talking to my knowledge. How can just a few samples be used to project anything that can be said?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgjzjs0" ], "text": [ "A billion monkeys with a billion typewriters. Deep fakes are made by having one program create a fake and another program test to see if it is a good fake. Because there is nothing manual in the process they can go through billions of attempts over time until they get a...
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[ "url" ]
eyx3o1
How were prescription glasses made accurately before the invention of modern technology?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgjskvk", "fgjtmvr" ], "text": [ "What modern technology do you envision? Spherical lenses were entirely within the abilities of technology 500 years ago. Prior to that we didn't really bother with glasses. Also prescriptions sure didn't exist. Such glasses were fairly limited to the weal...
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[ "url" ]
eyytfz
How do the coils on a glasstop stove get so hot so quickly.
I noticed that as soon as I turn on a glasstop stove the coils heat up the area almost instantly. How does it get so hot so quickly? How is the energy source (electricity I'm guessing?) get converted into heat?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "fgk51bl" ], "text": [ "Short version: It’s just really good at being really bad at conducting electricity. Heat from electricity comes from resistance to allowing the electrons from flowing smoothly. So, the worse something is as a conductor of electricity, the faster it heats up. Because the...
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