- AskScience AMA Series: We are vertebrate paleontologists who study crocodiles and their extinct relatives. We recently published a study looking at habitat shifts across the group, with some surprising results. Ask Us Anything!
- Why is Methane such a powerful greenhouse gas when it's absorption spectrum for terrestial radiation seems so narrow?
- How long does it takes for a star to go supernova from the moment it starts to “burn” iron?
- Why are rocket nose cones, such as SpaceX, rounded like a Von Karman Shape instead of pointed?
- Hydrology: Does river discharge affect bathymetry?
- How are enzymes produced on an industrial scale, instead of their natural occurrence?
- What’s the most reactive element?
- What does it mean it is too cold to snow?
- How can different sperm produce different offspring? Do they not have the same genetic code?
- How do Super-Sonic Parachutes work?
- Why are clouds for heavy rain really dark grey, but those for heavy snow light grey / white?
- Is there statistical evidence of certain times of the day when pregnant women are more likely to have their water broken?
- Why does copper (Cu) only hold one electron in the 4s orbital?
- How does sportwear's wicking work?
- Does the amount of water you steep a tea bag in effect the amount of caffeine you get?
- How can we "create" coherent electrons when decoherence is supposed to be irreversible?
- Why do dogs pant and hang their tongues out such a lot when wolves (and most animals) do not? Is it a trait that somehow selected for during domestication?
- How do we determine from experiments the charge of a muon particle?
- We just learned Gauss’ Law in General Physics 2. It got me thinking, is there any reason we can’t apply Gauss law to gravitational fields and such?
| Posted: 01 Feb 2019 05:32 AM PST Hello AskScience! We are paleontologists who study crocodylians and their extinct relatives. While people often talk about crocodylians as living fossils, their evolutionary history is quite complex. Their morphology has varied substantially over time, in ways you may not expect. We recently published a paper looking at habitat shifts across Crocodylomorpha, the larger group that includes crocodylians and their extinct relatives. We found that shifts in habitat, such as from land to freshwater, happened multiple times in the evolution of the group. They shifted from land to freshwater three times, and between freshwater and marine habitats at least nine times. There have even been two shifts from aquatic habitats to land! Our study paints a complex picture of the evolution of a diverse group. Answering questions today are:
We will be online to answer your questions at 1pm Eastern Time. Ask us anything! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Feb 2019 12:30 AM PST So I've recently come across these graphs on some of these global warming conspiracy websites. https://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/04/11/methane-the-irrelevant-greenhouse-gas/ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atmospheric_Transmission.png They seem to show that Methane has pretty small absorption peaks in the terrestrial radiation spectrum compared to something like CO2 or water vapor. Since it's also much less prevalent in the atmosphere it seems unintuitive that it should have such a disproportionately large global warming potential(Over 28 the GWP of CO2 according to the EPA website). So what's going on here? Does Methane have other peaks in it's spectrum outside the range of the graphs that account for it's high warming effect? Are there other factors our models need to take into account to properly describe the heat trapping abilities of gases in the atmosphere? Am I misunderstanding what global warming potential actually means? Are the graphs just wrong, or incorrectly labelled/interpreted? [link] [comments]  |
| How long does it takes for a star to go supernova from the moment it starts to “burn” iron? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 04:53 AM PST The last exploitable element for a star is manganese, once the star starts burning iron the fusion reaction is no longer sustainable and the star starts dying. How long does it take for it to go supernova from this moment? [link] [comments]  |
| Why are rocket nose cones, such as SpaceX, rounded like a Von Karman Shape instead of pointed? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 02:52 AM PST I understand and sub sonic speeds, rounded shapes help with the flow detachment of the air but this changes at supersonic when the shock wave causes high pressure and drag. Surely a pointed nose with more oblique shock than normal shock is better in those supersonic regions? [link] [comments]  |
| Hydrology: Does river discharge affect bathymetry? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 04:53 AM PST Out of curiosity, would it be reasonable to assume the bathymetry of the ocean floor at the mouth of a major river would be shallower proximate to the river's mouth? My reasoning is that the discharge of sediment would accumulate to over time cause a shallower ocean floor. However, I can't find anything online to support this (maybe I'm googling it wrong) [link] [comments]  |
| How are enzymes produced on an industrial scale, instead of their natural occurrence? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 08:07 AM PST As far as my limited knowledge goes, enzymes are naturally-occurring catalysts to chemical reactions that lower the energy required for the transition state. But how did people replicate these enzymes outside of their naturally-occurring scenarios in order to produce them on an industrial level? For (silly) example: In the movie Fight Club, Tyler recounts how ancient people discover the cleansing properties of lye via the chemical reactions that happened in the river after their human sacrifices (the burnt flesh of the sacrifices mixed with lye upriver, and made the clothes downriver much cleaner due to a "soapy discharge"). But nowadays, lye is commercially produced (presumably without any sacrifices--human or otherwise.) So, how exactly is this done? [link] [comments]  |
| What’s the most reactive element? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 12:53 AM PST |
| What does it mean it is too cold to snow? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 07:24 AM PST In some areas like the midwest, it is in the negatives. It is so cold that it is too cold to snow. How can that be? [link] [comments]  |
| How can different sperm produce different offspring? Do they not have the same genetic code? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 07:17 AM PST |
| How do Super-Sonic Parachutes work? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 12:50 AM PST |
| Why are clouds for heavy rain really dark grey, but those for heavy snow light grey / white? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 06:09 AM PST |
| Posted: 01 Feb 2019 07:18 AM PST I was watching a documentary about some female mammals which only go into labour under certain climate/daylight conditions and wondered if humans do the same thing. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Why does copper (Cu) only hold one electron in the 4s orbital? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 07:15 AM PST According to the rules it should be 3d9 4s2 but it is 3d10 4s1. I assume this is probably due to some energy state preferences but does anyone have a more accurate explanation? [link] [comments]  |
| How does sportwear's wicking work? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 07:05 AM PST I find that the ability of a shirt to draw all the sweat out from the skin is pretty witchcraft-y, considering our experience with normal clothes. I've done a little bit of research about this, but the sites I found explain it in too vague a manner and with absolutely no picture or video at all. There are many questions in my mind right now. So,
Does that mean the sportwear will become a balloon full of water? Because water will be trapped between the transferring material and the insulating layer, with no moving air to help the evaporation because of the resistant shell, LOL. This significant extra weight is a climber's nightmare IMHO.
How can a fabric break sweat's surface tension? What does it have to do with the easier propelling? That's about all I can think of for now. Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Does the amount of water you steep a tea bag in effect the amount of caffeine you get? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 06:59 AM PST This may be a stupid question, but I've been trying to switch from coffee to tea and in my research, it will commonly say "there is X amount of caffeine in an 8 oz. cup of tea." When it comes to coffee, I know that a bigger cup of coffee typically equals more caffeine. When it comes to tea though, I would imagine the caffeine is strictly dependent on the tea bag. But my question is, if 8 oz. of boiling water activate X amount of caffeine in tea, is there more caffeine potential in the tea bag if you steep it in more water? [link] [comments]  |
| How can we "create" coherent electrons when decoherence is supposed to be irreversible? Posted: 01 Feb 2019 12:41 AM PST |
| Posted: 31 Jan 2019 10:26 AM PST |
| How do we determine from experiments the charge of a muon particle? Posted: 31 Jan 2019 08:18 AM PST I understand that we can determine its charge to mass ratio by looking at deviations of the particle in magnetic and electric fields. But how did scientists determine the charge or mass on a single muon particle, without prior assuming it to be equal to charge of electron. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Jan 2019 09:58 AM PST |
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