AskScience AMA Series: We are the GeoHazards Messaging Collaboratory here to talk about how we study geohazards like earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. Ask Us Anything!

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• AskScience AMA Series: We are the GeoHazards Messaging Collaboratory here to talk about how we study geohazards like earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. Ask Us Anything!
• South Korea just got hit with a 5.4 magnitude earthquake. 3 days ago, North Korea carried out a nuclear weapons test that caused a 5.3 magnitude seismic event. Is it possible that today's earthquake is a result of the nuclear testing several days ago?
• How did we determine the shape of electron orbitals?
• Would AC -> DC converter work with DC as input?
• Is there one dominant method currently used to measure the age of the earth or do we use several more or less equally?
• Can large volcanic eruptions like Krakatoa be traced in ice core records?
• Years ago I heard about the discovery of the memristor. Haven't heard anything about them since. What's the story? Are they being used widely?
• Is 20 infinitely larger than 1 infinity?
• Why does tilting a laptop screen increase the contrast and make finer details easier to see?
• If two people moved away from each other, with each person travelling just over half the speed of light, would they be able to communicate with each other?
• Do plants and animals have a common ancestor?
• Does the reported scientific consensus about the safety of consumable GMOs include an evaluation of studies about their effects on human gut microbiomes and epigenetic codes?
• Why do earthquakes 'shake' everything? Why don't the tectonic plates just slide into place in one smooth motion?
• In calculating standard deviation, why do you square the variances instead of taking the absolute value of the variances?
• What is time-translation symmetry and how do Floquet time crystals (theoretically) break it?
• Are edited genes heritable?
• How are thermodynamic quantities calculated? Such as enthalpy, internal energy, entropy, chemical potential, etc.
• When metal is exposed to water, does the metal corrode by reacting with the water itself, or dissolved oxygen in the water?
• What non-cytokinetic signal could drive IgE production without also stimulating IgG production?
• Does an inductor coil become a capacitor when 1 of the middle loops is cut?
• How do seeds know that they are outside of a fruit to begin germination and growth?

AskScience AMA Series: We are the GeoHazards Messaging Collaboratory here to talk about how we study geohazards like earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. Ask Us Anything! Posted: 13 Sep 2016 05:00 AM PDT Hi Reddit! We're scientists and educators from IRIS, UNAVCO, SCEC, and the USGS - and we're here to talk about earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes! We'll discuss anything from how we conduct and synthesize research, to how it is being applied in the real world, to how you can get prepared. Dr. Wendy Bohon (IRIS), Beth Bartel (UNAVCO), Jason Ballmann (SCEC) and Dr. Ken Hudnut (USGS/SCEC) will be on hand to answer your questions along with other (in)famous seismologists and geologists! We'll be on at 12 PM EDT (16 UT), ask us anything! From Wendy: My research focuses on examining how the surface and near surface of the earth changes as the result of earthquakes. Now, I focus on improving public education and perception of science, particularly seismology. I'm currently the Informal Education Specialist at IRIS. From Beth: As the outreach specialist for UNAVCO, I work to engage people in natural hazard science in fun, innovative ways, with a focus on deformation-how the Earth moves before, during, and after catastrophic events. My past research was in volcano deformation and I spent years installing equipment for UNAVCO to measure motions relating to earthquakes and glaciers as well. From Jason: I am a Communications Specialist at the Southern California Earthquake Center, (SCEC), where I manage outreach campaigns focused on science education, preparedness, and mitigation. My objectives are to advise and bring people together across many organizations and countries in making the world a more engaged, informed place through applying social science research and communications best practices. From Ken: As the Science Advisor for Risk Reduction for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Natural Hazards Mission Area I try to understand and explain natural hazards in order to help people. I am responsible for ensuring USGS hazards science is being applied to help solve societally relevant problems. My background is in earthquake science. submitted by /u/AskScienceModerator [link] [comments]

South Korea just got hit with a 5.4 magnitude earthquake. 3 days ago, North Korea carried out a nuclear weapons test that caused a 5.3 magnitude seismic event. Is it possible that today's earthquake is a result of the nuclear testing several days ago? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 08:33 AM PDT submitted by /u/halaahaa [link] [comments]

How did we determine the shape of electron orbitals? Posted: 13 Sep 2016 12:40 AM PDT submitted by /u/Terrapinz [link] [comments]

Would AC -> DC converter work with DC as input? Posted: 13 Sep 2016 02:12 AM PDT So, if I have a large batery pack and want to power something that requires DC, but the devices "power brick" is ment to be pluged in ordinary AC wall outled - can I put the bateries in series to get 220 volts DC and and just connect the power brick to get whatever voltage the device requires? submitted by /u/KaktitsM [link] [comments]

Is there one dominant method currently used to measure the age of the earth or do we use several more or less equally? Posted: 13 Sep 2016 05:34 AM PDT If there is one that is used a lot more than others, why? Are the others less accurate? submitted by /u/Hashi856 [link] [comments]

Can large volcanic eruptions like Krakatoa be traced in ice core records? Posted: 13 Sep 2016 05:17 AM PDT submitted by /u/Her0dotos [link] [comments]

Years ago I heard about the discovery of the memristor. Haven't heard anything about them since. What's the story? Are they being used widely? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 08:34 PM PDT It was hailed as a breakthrough discovery and would supposedly allow all kinds of new (or improved) things. But I've not seen anything about them for years. submitted by /u/Turd_City_Auto_Group [link] [comments]

Is 20 infinitely larger than 1 infinity? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 09:52 PM PDT If I was given the option between receiving infinitely many $20 bills and infinitely many $1 bills, would my choice matter in terms of getting more money? submitted by /u/black_gold_badger [link] [comments]

Why does tilting a laptop screen increase the contrast and make finer details easier to see? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 01:21 PM PDT submitted by /u/narwhal_breeder [link] [comments]

If two people moved away from each other, with each person travelling just over half the speed of light, would they be able to communicate with each other? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 10:06 AM PDT Or is this scenario impossible? submitted by /u/UnitedVindicator [link] [comments]

Do plants and animals have a common ancestor? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 09:42 AM PDT submitted by /u/Promiscuous_Cow [link] [comments]

Does the reported scientific consensus about the safety of consumable GMOs include an evaluation of studies about their effects on human gut microbiomes and epigenetic codes? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 02:05 PM PDT submitted by /u/piccadill_o [link] [comments]

Why do earthquakes 'shake' everything? Why don't the tectonic plates just slide into place in one smooth motion? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 09:40 AM PDT submitted by /u/perbux [link] [comments]

In calculating standard deviation, why do you square the variances instead of taking the absolute value of the variances? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 11:56 AM PDT In statistics, to get the standard deviation you take the variance and find the square root. The variance is each data point minus the average, and you square it (and divide by the number of samples). We square these terms because if you added them up without squaring them first, the negatives and positives cancel each other out. My question is why would it be beneficial to square these individual variances in the first place? Why wouldn't you instead take the absolute value of the individual variances and skip the squaring and square rooting? submitted by /u/Stormline [link] [comments]

What is time-translation symmetry and how do Floquet time crystals (theoretically) break it? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 04:07 PM PDT Do these time crystals have any bearing on "time travel" as it's now understood in the scientific community? Thank you! Link to the article that prompted my question. submitted by /u/truth__bomb [link] [comments]

Are edited genes heritable? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 09:43 AM PDT submitted by /u/CleanAndRebuild [link] [comments]

How are thermodynamic quantities calculated? Such as enthalpy, internal energy, entropy, chemical potential, etc. Posted: 12 Sep 2016 07:28 AM PDT submitted by /u/gierojj [link] [comments]

When metal is exposed to water, does the metal corrode by reacting with the water itself, or dissolved oxygen in the water? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 01:13 PM PDT I was curious about which it is reacting with. Does it react with one more than the other? submitted by /u/rustquestionguy [link] [comments]

What non-cytokinetic signal could drive IgE production without also stimulating IgG production? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 12:26 PM PDT Hi r/askscience! I'm an undergrad in a new Immunology lab and my PI posed this question to me and I am having trouble figuring it out based on the way she worded it. Ignoring cytokines and their impact on driving stimulation of certain immunoglobulins, what inherit mechanism would drive production of IgE over IgG? My mind takes me to allergy or parasite if we are talking an elevation in IgE but I am not sure by what mechanism this process would occur. Any information would help! submitted by /u/BetweenTwoFerns [link] [comments]

Does an inductor coil become a capacitor when 1 of the middle loops is cut? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 02:11 PM PDT It would have no direct path for electrons to cross between the 2 sides of the wire (cut somewhere deep in the coil) so to prevent buildup of static charge the 2 now separate but concentric coils should become oppositely charged, total neutral charge. Do some capacitors work this way? How efficient are they compared to the parallel plate kind? How much efficiency is lost in the transform from inductor to capacitor? What if we put a switch at the break so it could change between capacitor and inductor? submitted by /u/BenRayfield [link] [comments]

How do seeds know that they are outside of a fruit to begin germination and growth? Posted: 12 Sep 2016 01:49 AM PDT submitted by /u/LilCrazySnail [link] [comments]

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