AskScience AMA Series: I'm David Biello, science curator for TED Talks. I just wrote a book about how people's impact are permanently altering our planet for the (geologic) long term. AMA! |
- AskScience AMA Series: I'm David Biello, science curator for TED Talks. I just wrote a book about how people's impact are permanently altering our planet for the (geologic) long term. AMA!
- Does the infinite series 1/1-1/2+1/3-1/4... converge?
- So on the front page is a post about oil being able to completely cover an area of water with a one molecule thick layer. For large industrial oil spills, how does this layer affect the absorption of carbon from the atmosphere?
- Can a potential difference between two plates strip away electrons from one of the plates?
- Are psychosomatic symptoms cultural? Regional?
- Why is SO2 possible, but not S2O?
- Is it possible to cool water down past 0C without it turning into ice?
- Why are the Maldives so flat?
- Is there a closed-form equation for this type of curve generated by connecting points on a graph?
- Why are so many basic Physics formulas in the form of 0.5ab^2?
- How are the two main definitions of entropy equivalent?
- How are fast nuclear reactor operated ?
- Is there an upper limit for the size of a star?
- What is the best book that describes current string theory (or how it's evolved)?
- What are the different ways to contain a magnetic field? Also, is there a magnet which self-contains it own field within a specified volume?
- What is the origin of the "fine" and "hyperfine" structures?
- What makes it ok for sea mammals to drink sea water?
- How dramatically does human behavior change when a person understands their actions won't be punished/have consequences?
- Why aren't there "snow thunderstorms?"
- What is a tensor and why should I care about one?
| Posted: 13 Dec 2016 05:00 AM PST I am a science journalist who has been writing about the environment long enough to be cynical but not long enough to be completely depressed. I'm the science curator for TED Talks, a contributing editor at Scientific American, and just wrote a book about this idea that people's impacts have become so pervasive and permanent that we deserve our own epoch in the geologic time scale. Some people call it the Anthropocene, though that's not my favorite name for this new people's epoch, which will include everything from the potential de-extinction of animals like the passenger pigeon or woolly mammoth to big interventions to try to clean up the pollution from our long-term pyromania when it comes to fossil fuels. I live near a Superfund site (no, really) and I've been lucky enough to visit five out of seven continents to report on people, the environment, and energy. I'll be joining starting at 2 PM EST (18 UT). AMA. [link] [comments]  |
| Does the infinite series 1/1-1/2+1/3-1/4... converge? Posted: 13 Dec 2016 04:09 AM PST I know the series 1 + 1/2 + 1/3 ... diverges, but if the sign changes every entry, does it still diverge? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 12 Dec 2016 08:08 PM PST I've got to imagine that a large oil spill would literally cover hundreds of square miles if the oil is distributed as a one-molecule layer. Considering how often this happens, does it contribute to climate change, or is the effect relatively neutral? [link] [comments]  |
| Can a potential difference between two plates strip away electrons from one of the plates? Posted: 12 Dec 2016 05:56 PM PST I have a feeling the answer is yes I would just like to know if I am correct/why it's correct. I understand how the photoelectric effect works and how if a photon has enough energy it can free an electron from a metal (the examples I always saw in class had a setup with two parallel plates, with the freed electrons crossing the space in between the plates). So could a high enough potential difference (say like between the two plates) strip the electrons from the metal of one of the plates similar to the photoelectric effect? [link] [comments]  |
| Are psychosomatic symptoms cultural? Regional? Posted: 13 Dec 2016 04:14 AM PST Somatization and psychosomatic symptoms (such as headaches, back pains, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, respiratory distress, chest tightenings, etc) are prevalent in most populations. But do those symptoms tend to be more prevalent in specific cultures? Does one group of people exhibit primarily psychosomatic gastrointestinal symptoms, whereas a different group of people will have mainly musculoskeletal symptoms? Do people in Japan somatize mostly in headaches whereas people of a middle upper-class income exhibit mainly backpain? Are these differences of a cultural or regional nature? Do they evolve over time? [link] [comments]  |
| Why is SO2 possible, but not S2O? Posted: 13 Dec 2016 02:13 AM PST Or for example why is H2SO4 possible, but not H2OS4? This question may sound dumb, but I can't work it out. Sulphur and oxygen have the same amount of electrons in the valence shell, so shouldn't they be interchangeable in compounds? [link] [comments]  |
| Is it possible to cool water down past 0C without it turning into ice? Posted: 13 Dec 2016 02:43 AM PST |
| Posted: 12 Dec 2016 03:45 PM PST I would have thought that, as islands, they would be the "peaks" of mountains/volcanoes sticking out of the water meaning they would be hardly flat at all. [link] [comments]  |
| Is there a closed-form equation for this type of curve generated by connecting points on a graph? Posted: 12 Dec 2016 04:11 PM PST This picture shows the curve which is generated by connecting the points (0, 0) to (10, 0), (0, 1) to (9, 0), and so on. Of course, the endpoints don't have to be (10, 0) and (0, 10), they can be (X, 0) and (0, X). My question is: as I increase the number of subdivisions, e.g. connecting (0, 0.1) to (9.9, 0), until the spacing between lines becomes an infinitesimal quantity, is there a closed-form equation for the resulting curve that bounds all the lines within, assuming I use the endpoints (10, 0) and (0, 10)? My guess, just from looking at the rough shape of the curve, is that it is the arc of a quarter-circle with the center at (10, 10). Or is it not as simple as that? [link] [comments]  |
| Why are so many basic Physics formulas in the form of 0.5ab^2? Posted: 12 Dec 2016 07:03 PM PST The title pretty much sums up my question. To be more specific however, why are so many of the basic mechanics physics formulas all in the same general form of 0.5ab2. For example, Kinetic Energy is 0.5mv2, and spring potential is 0.5kx2. In the kinematic equation x=xit+0.5at2, the 0.5at2 shows up again. In the formula for energy of a particle in simple harmonic motion, the energy formula is once again 0.5kA2. It even shows up sometimes in some of the most basic electricity and magnetism formulas for potential energy. Obviously some constant times x, when integrated, gives 0.5cx2, but I was curious is there is some other reason this form for equations shows up so often, or if it just a product of integration. My apologies if this is a very basic question, or a meaningless one. I am still in high school physics and haven't reached anywhere close to a high level of understanding with regards to physics. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| How are the two main definitions of entropy equivalent? Posted: 12 Dec 2016 03:40 PM PST I've heard two definitions of entropy that seem slightly different, one from the thermodynamic perspective and one from stat mech. How are the two equivalent or consistent? Mathematical proofs are fine and appreciated. [link] [comments]  |
| How are fast nuclear reactor operated ? Posted: 13 Dec 2016 05:40 AM PST Hi there, I am looking for fellow nuclear engineers working on fast reactors as a question popped in my mind. If the neutron spectrum is fast (e.g. around 400 keV for SFR) in a fast nuclear reactor , then how do control rods work ? After a little research, I found that control rods are made in boron-10 (B4C), which is well known for having a big capture cross section. But how is that enough for fast reactors ? Your rods are only going to "eat up" the thermal tail of the spectrum, but the "hard" part will still remain and contribute to the reactivity, which by definition for a fast reactor is the main part ? Am I missing something ? [link] [comments]  |
| Is there an upper limit for the size of a star? Posted: 12 Dec 2016 10:59 AM PST So, I know that when a star dies, its size dictates its final fate - from going supernova and ending up as a black hole to fading into a white dwarf. I also know that a star's size roughly dictates the length of its lifespan, with larger stars burning out more quickly. I also do know that there is a lower limit to the size of a star - a minimum mass before fusion can be achieved. So, is there any maximum mass for a star? Like a point where the star just instantly goes supernova, or just is unstable? I'm not sure if I'm phrasing the question well, but I hope it is understandable. If there is an upper limit, what is the calculation or theory used to derive this value? Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| What is the best book that describes current string theory (or how it's evolved)? Posted: 12 Dec 2016 08:19 PM PST Something along the lines of "The Elegant Universe" - which as a layperson I could understand (mostly, I think...). But that book came out years ago and I'd to stick my beak back into things and read about what some really smart people thing the universe actually is. I really enjoy this stuff, but I'm not in the know on what books really talk about the bleeding edge stuff and what are the "good" ones (so far google searches haven't been a huge amount of help, because they bring up so many books from years and years ago...and I don't know who the really respected authors are). Thanks in advance!! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 13 Dec 2016 04:52 AM PST I'm trying to engineer a mechanism that uses magnets in vehicles for power transmission. However, I don't want the magnet to interfere with any other component in the vehicle. Any idea on how to contain its magnetic field under my desired volume? Alternatively, is there any type of magnet that self-contains its field so I don't have to end up using more parts? [link] [comments]  |
| What is the origin of the "fine" and "hyperfine" structures? Posted: 12 Dec 2016 03:12 PM PST I know it's to do with angular momenta coupling, but I don't understand what this physically means. If the electronic and nuclear angular momenta couple together, why does this result in a splitting of states? [link] [comments]  |
| What makes it ok for sea mammals to drink sea water? Posted: 12 Dec 2016 08:11 PM PST For us land bearing folk, drinking too much salt water is bad. But whales and sea lions don't have much of a choice, right? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 12 Dec 2016 07:53 PM PST Or if there are any prominent studies performed in this area I could read up on, that would also be incredibly helpful [link] [comments]  |
| Why aren't there "snow thunderstorms?" Posted: 12 Dec 2016 09:00 AM PST We all know about rain thunderstorms, but I don't ever remember experiencing a snow thunderstorm. Do they not exist? If so, why? [link] [comments]  |
| What is a tensor and why should I care about one? Posted: 12 Dec 2016 08:13 AM PST We are learning about tensors in EM but all we got were a list of axioms instead of an explanation of what one is. As if we were introduced to vectors by being given the abstract definition of a vector space without being told its something with a magnitude and direction. [link] [comments]  |
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