I just looked at the sun with my eclipse glasses, and there are two black dots on the sun. What are those? | AskScience Blog

Pages

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

I just looked at the sun with my eclipse glasses, and there are two black dots on the sun. What are those?

I just looked at the sun with my eclipse glasses, and there are two black dots on the sun. What are those?


I just looked at the sun with my eclipse glasses, and there are two black dots on the sun. What are those?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 01:52 PM PDT

If you have your eclipse glasses, go look. Are they solar flares visible to the naked eye? Or are they planets?

submitted by /u/supaiderman
[link] [comments]

Do animals know when a storm or hurricane is coming?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 02:21 PM PDT

After going on vacation I was driving back to south Florida, about where the category 4 hurricane is supposed to hit and I realized that a whole lot of birds, a lot more than usual, we're moving north and since It's becoming colder everywhere I thought it should be the other way around where birds migrate south. Now with the hurricane looking like a very large threat, I figured that must be the reason for the birds fleeing.

Bonus question: if they can sense the hurricanes, why can't humans?

submitted by /u/jajsiehenso
[link] [comments]

Why do hurricanes only hit eastern North America?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 12:23 PM PDT

My question is mainly why eastern over western (California), but also I don't believe I've heard of hurricanes hitting anywhere else in the world either.

submitted by /u/SquanchyMelo
[link] [comments]

What exactly is a laser composed of and what are the differences between different types of lasers?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 02:29 AM PDT

I understand that lasers are light (focused?) and that's about it. Lasers fascinate me. You can buy a pointer at pretty much any corner shop and those are very fun to play with. What interests me more are those lasers that cause damage. The ones that cut through metal and can disintegrate fabric/paper. What is the difference between a basic laser pointer and a laser capable of cutting through six inches of metal like a knife through butter? Is it simply the intensity of the light? And if that's the case, through what means do we control the intensity? I apologise if this question seems overly basic but, generally speaking, I am not a man of science. Thank you in advance for your answers and I look forward to being educated further on the topic.

submitted by /u/ChosenNeravarrine
[link] [comments]

What happens if a black hole is sucked in to another black hole?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 11:19 PM PDT

What kind of impacts do nuclear tests have in general on nature?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 01:52 PM PDT

What will happen to a piece of wood, placed in a "pot"with no oxygen and then placed over a fire?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 03:18 PM PDT

also the same question but what if the "pot" was pressurised?

submitted by /u/Smoko854
[link] [comments]

Why is there a Laser Gain Curve?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 10:27 AM PDT

As we talk about a Laser and its active Medium, a figure like the one down below is often shown. I understood the basics of it but cannot think of a simple explanation why there is a gauss like gain curve above all passible frequency spikes.

I know one can say "the medium increases only those frequencies" but what principle is connected to this?

I also know that the curve does not always have to be gaussian but thats not the point of the question.

https://imgur.com/a/GwRNo

submitted by /u/Ic3Breaker
[link] [comments]

Does the Pauli exclusion principle imply that there is a maximum possible density for any substance?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 03:51 PM PDT

I.e. packed so tightly that it would be impossible to get any tighter without particles starting to occupy the same space? I know that under normal conditions, an atom is primarily made up of empty space between the nucleus and the electrons, so I'd imagine such a limit could only be reached in a black hole.

Are all black holes the same density? Or are black holes of a higher mass more dense? If some are more dense than others, do we have reason to believe that there is a limit to just how dense they can get?

submitted by /u/Lemonwizard
[link] [comments]

What types of magnets are used in motors and generators?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 08:54 PM PDT

For example, in wind turbines/electric cars. What are the advantages/disadvantages of different materials?

submitted by /u/JackA7X
[link] [comments]

Do we have any idea what caused the Oh My God Particle to be moving so fast?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 05:49 PM PDT

Chemistry: Molecule shape and electron geometries. Why isn't H2S linear?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 02:02 PM PDT

I am a Chem 3 (organic chemistry) student so Im very familiar with chemistry. While studying I came across a simple question, "What is the molecular and electron geometries of H2S?" So I made the lewis diagram and realized that since Sulfur is in the same group as Oxygen and that I had drawn drawn a linear version of the water molecule. Then i thought, well what is different from Oxygen and Sulfer. Then i found that Sulfer actually has an electronegativity (e-neg) of 2.5 while oxygen has and e-neg of 3.5. after-which i realized that the difference between hydrogen and sulfur is 0.4 (marginally non-polar). And since linear is a non-polar structure i figured that "hey this must be why H2O is bent! it has a polar molecule from the difference in e-neg! this must be why the bent molecule forms!"-but I was wrong, the molecule is bent.

My question is why? No one else that ive seen has made a clear explanation as to why "the lone pairs push the bonding pairs away." in my mind, its just 4 electron pairs, and two of them just happen to have a proton attached to them. why does this molecule form a bent instead of a linear?!

If the answer is a theory or a scientific paper, please link it in your answers please!

submitted by /u/EpicPwn_343
[link] [comments]

Has the discovery of a very large particular number ever refuted a widely believed conjecture in mathematics?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 06:55 PM PDT

For example:

Goldbach's conjecture states that every even integer greater than two is the sum of two primes. Computer calculations have verified that this holds true for integers less than 4 x 1018 , but nevertheless a full proof has never been discovered.

Now, if we were to discover a single even integer greater than 4 x 1018 Goldbach's conjecture would be false. In the history of mathematics has something like this ever happened? Has a widely believed conjecture been rendered false due solely to the discovery a single large number that refutes it?

submitted by /u/only_bad_days
[link] [comments]

Why Tsar Bomba - the most powerful bomb ever detonated - could have destroyed the Earth according to its creators?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 11:27 AM PDT

According to the Russian physicists who created the bomb, the explosion could have started a self-sustaining nuclear reaction in the ocean, leading to the planet's destruction. How is that possible?

submitted by /u/EchoOne11
[link] [comments]

How can we tell what path a hurricane will take days in advanced? How come we can't determine high probability paths for the hurricane further in advance?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 02:05 PM PDT

I'm a dumb kid.

submitted by /u/The_Thrill17
[link] [comments]

In a flood situation, what walls are holding up the water?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 06:56 PM PDT

Are gas giants (up to 12 Jupiter masses) more likely around hot stars (O-A class) or cold stars (K, M, Brown Dwarf)?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 10:03 AM PDT

I can't find reliable data on planetary likelihood per stellar class.

submitted by /u/MrJadexxxxxxx
[link] [comments]

Why does clipping a sine wave create a square wave?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 12:57 PM PDT

I understand why an infinite series of odd harmonics at proportional amplitudes and frequencies creates a square wave, and I understand the additive properties of waves.

I also understand why overdriving a sine wave through an amplifier/circuit cuts off the top and bottom of the wave, giving it a "square" appearance.

I guess I don't understand the reasoning the other way around. How and why does the fairly simple operation of clipping turn one sine wave into an infinite series of sine waves?

It may seem like I'm asking a question I've already answered, but that's not my intention, or maybe I'm not getting something.

Let's say you didn't offhand know the harmonics of a square wave. How could you derive them from the shape of a square wave?

Odd harmonics generate square/triangle waves. Why do square/triangle waves generate odd harmonics?

Does that make sense, or is the answer just, "dumb dumb, what about the transitive property don't you understand?"

submitted by /u/diamondbackmanhunter
[link] [comments]

No comments:

Post a Comment