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Friday, August 5, 2016

Has the speed of sound ever been surpassed underwater? What would an underwater sonic boom be like?

Has the speed of sound ever been surpassed underwater? What would an underwater sonic boom be like?


Has the speed of sound ever been surpassed underwater? What would an underwater sonic boom be like?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 12:47 PM PDT

The speed of sound underwater is 1481 m/s (at 20 degrees C), which is 4.2 times faster than in air - so mach 4.2. This is fast. The fastest recorded fish is the black marlin, which swims at 36 m/s. Modern rifles have muzzle velocities greater than 1200 m/s and some tank guns are up around 1700 m/s (in air of course), so it seems at least plausible that an object could be fired underwater fast enough.

submitted by /u/mlukeman
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Are there languages or dialects that have no shared history but, surprisingly, have a lot of the same phonemes?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 09:33 PM PDT

What happens if I, in weightlessness, heat a bucket of water, will diffusion "mix" the water or will there exist a sharp temperature gradient in the water resulting in boiling water at the bottom and cooler water on top?

Posted: 05 Aug 2016 04:13 AM PDT

On Earth if I heat a bucket of water from the bottom convection would mix the water. In other words does convection in fluids by heating exist in space?

submitted by /u/Goodkat2600
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Why didn't the universe collapse into a black hole immediately after the big bang?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 10:24 PM PDT

All the stuff, matter, energy that would ever be was in a space that would seemingly have to be dense enough to be a black hole. Why are we not crushed inside of a black hole?

submitted by /u/deebeeoh
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Why are the words for "mother" and "father" so similar in so many distinct languages?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 06:39 PM PDT

I've recently realized that "mother" and "father" all sound quite similar all across the globe, even in places far away from Europe such as China (Mandarin: Māmā) and Southern Africa (Zulu: umama).

Is this due to European influence, or is it something else?

submitted by /u/Valkaus
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Why was there such low entropy after the big bang?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 09:47 PM PDT

Why are dark matter halos spherical while most of the other matter in galaxies is on a plane?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 03:01 PM PDT

Does it have to do with dark matter being weakly interacting?

submitted by /u/BAOUBA
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What is at the bottom of deep fresh water lakes like the Great Lakes?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 10:19 AM PDT

The science of holding your breath: there's no discomfort caused by running out of Oxygen?

Posted: 05 Aug 2016 12:27 AM PDT

I've been looking into the world of Free Diving, essentially people who are good at holding their breath for a long time. I've heard in a couple of places that there's no sense of pain or discomfort in running out of Oxygen, you just pass out. The pain of holding your breath is only caused by too much Carbon Dioxide.

Is this true, scientifically? And is there any evolutionary reason or advantage to this, is it harder to detect that lack of one thing rather than the buildup of the other, or is it just that "too much Carbon Dioxide" is, under normal circumstances, a good enough proxy for "not enough Oxygen" that it makes no difference?

submitted by /u/FleaBargain
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In ketosis, does the decomposition of fat into ketones release energy? If yes, where does it go and how does it affect the body's energy expenditure?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 08:05 AM PDT

The energy density of fat is 37 MJ/kg, but ketones have just 30 MJ/kg. My reasoning is that this difference must be released in the liver as heat.

If that's the case, then the rest of the body cannot use that energy. It must burn ketones instead. But in order to let the brain and muscles burn 1 kcal of ketones, the liver must decompose a bit more than a kcal of fat, so the total daily energy expenditure must be a bit higher (except for that fraction of energy in which we burn fat directly).

Does that make sense?

submitted by /u/bouillon9
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What would happen to an electron and proton in a vacuum?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 08:09 PM PDT

I know that they would accelerate towards each other due to the electromagnetic force. But, what happens once they become very close, to the point where they reach their highest velocity? Would they collide, with the kinetic energy accumulated in the acceleration being used to form a chemical bond (making a hydrogen atom)? If they would stick together and make a hydrogen atom, how does that entire process not lead to an increased entropy of the universe?

submitted by /u/letsgetmolecular
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If one were to mine the craters on the moon, would one find what made the impact?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 10:20 AM PDT

Do we have an explanation for the 150 million years worth of rocks missing in the Grand Canyon?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 09:51 AM PDT

I recently saw a debate on youtube where the creationist claimed that there is a place in the grand canyon where 150 million years worth of rock is completely missing. He says that there is a layer of cambrian rocks (600 million years old) and a layer above this of "carbiniforus?" rocks (450 million years old). Between these two layers there is supposedly a major gap. 150 million years old to be precise. Now, I am by no means a creationism by any stretch of the definition, but I'm still curious as to how (if this is true), this can be? I'm sure there is a scientific explanation. Could it be erosion, or any other geological explanation?

Thanks for any help!

submitted by /u/ProningPineapple
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Can Hamiltonian chaos be seen in quantum systems?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 07:03 PM PDT

Is the small divisor problem represented in quantum systems? Or is this all purely deterministic and classical?

submitted by /u/BillOReillyFetish
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Why does Zinc only rust on the outer layer while iron rust all the way through?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 10:59 AM PDT

When it comes to light, is it all or nothing when it comes to gravitational influence?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 10:17 AM PDT

My understand based on what I have read, is that light can not escape a black hole, due to the gravitation forces in play.

I was wondering if the gravitational force of neutron star in moments away from collapsing into a black hole, has any impact on light?

submitted by /u/Karmaa
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How does an electron absorb energy from a photon in a solar cell?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 10:06 PM PDT

When an electron and a photon interact to raise the energy level of the electron, what happens? How is energy transfered from the photon to an electron? Is this some passing of quarks?

submitted by /u/PythonEnergy
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(Statistics) What is the difference between selection bias and healthy user bias?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 10:38 AM PDT

I am reading a book on statistics and in one part it mentions all of the different kind of biases that can occur when analysing data from samples. Two of the biases mentioned are selection bias, and healthy user bias.

The author provides examples, and from what I can tell, they seem to be the same thing, but healthy user bias is restricted to health-related data.

I am by no means whatsoever a statistician however, so any input is appreciated, as I can't find any comparison between the two.

submitted by /u/MythicalBeast42
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Why don't all clouds form at the same elevation?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 10:57 AM PDT

Clouds seem to form at different levels, some lower or higher than others- what is the reason for this? Why do clouds form at different heights?

submitted by /u/constructingphysics
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How do the signals inside of a PC "know" where they have to go?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 10:41 AM PDT

A signal inside of a PC has to go from A to B, but how the signal know the path where it has to go? There are probably an "infinite" amount of possibilities where it could go and end up, but it takes the one that is right. How?

edit for spelling

submitted by /u/Katie_Deely
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What would happen if I compressed a spring and then welded the coils together?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 09:58 AM PDT

Would the resulting cylinder have the same "springiness," or would I simply be left with a tube of coiled metal?

submitted by /u/whowantstoplayrisk
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Thursday, August 4, 2016

AskScience Panel of Scientists XV

AskScience Panel of Scientists XV


AskScience Panel of Scientists XV

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 10:55 AM PDT

Please read this entire post carefully and format your application appropriately.

This post is for new panelist recruitment! The previous one is here.

The panel is an informal group of redditors who are either professional scientists or those in training to become so. All panelists have at least a graduate-level familiarity within their declared field of expertise and answer questions from related areas of study. A panelist's expertise is summarized in a color-coded AskScience flair.

Membership in the panel comes with access to a panelist subreddit. It is a place for panelists to interact with each other, voice concerns to the moderators, and where the moderators make announcements to the whole panel. It's a good place to network with people who share your interests!


You are eligible to join the panel if you:

  • Are studying for at least an MSc. or equivalent degree in the sciences, AND,

  • Are able to communicate your knowledge of your field at a level accessible to various audiences.


Instructions for formatting your panelist application:

  • Choose exactly one general field from the side-bar (Physics, Engineering, Social Sciences, etc.).

  • State your specific field in one word or phrase (Neuropathology, Quantum Chemistry, etc.)

  • Succinctly describe your particular area of research in a few words (carbon nanotube dielectric properties, myelin sheath degradation in Parkinsons patients, etc.)

  • Give us a brief synopsis of your education: are you a research scientist for three decades, or a first-year Ph.D. student?

  • Provide links to comments you've made in AskScience which you feel are indicative of your scholarship. Applications will not be approved without several comments made in /r/AskScience itself.


Ideally, these comments should clearly indicate your fluency in the fundamentals of your discipline as well as your expertise. We favor comments that contain citations so we can assess its correctness without specific domain knowledge.

Here's an example application:

 Username: /u/foretopsail General field: Anthropology Specific field: Maritime Archaeology Particular areas of research include historical archaeology, archaeometry, and ship construction. Education: MA in archaeology, researcher for several years. Comments: 1, 2, 3, 4. 

Please do not give us personally identifiable information and please follow the template. We're not going to do real-life background checks - we're just asking for reddit's best behavior. However, several moderators are tasked with monitoring panelist activity, and your credentials will be checked against the academic content of your posts on a continuing basis.

You can submit your application by replying to this post.

submitted by /u/AskScienceModerator
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Why is blue light the first to get absorbed into the atmosphere through rayleigh scattering, but it penetrates water deeper than other colors?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 04:10 AM PDT

I am out fishing and there are guys with lights that they use to light up the water in the back of the boat when it is dark out so they can see the fish, but all of the lights are either blue or more commonly green. I know from my stage crew days that blue is very hard to produce well, and that the human eye is most adept to see green, and when I did my scuba class they had a chart showing the depths that colors start to fade. This got me thinking however, why does blue light penetrate further than red light in water, shouldn't the same properties of Rayleigh scattering apply?

submitted by /u/bitingpuppy
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Are there any examples in engineering where the Leidenfrost effect is incorporated into the design?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 03:30 AM PDT

With an estimated 1,000,000 nematode species, what distinguishes them all?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 06:28 PM PDT

I was on a Wikipedia safari, and read that there are 25,000 known nematode species, and 1,000,000 estimated total species.

I'm wondering what could possibly distinguish between 1,000,000 variations of a little worm. Could someone explain the minimal distinguishing characteristics of a species of nematode?

submitted by /u/vertebrate
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How do we detect when neutrinos collide into matter if they are electrically neutral? Isn't what we think of as a collision just an electromagnetic interaction?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 07:27 AM PDT

Or does it have to do with the weak force? I've taken a few courses on QM so don't hold back!

submitted by /u/BAOUBA
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What specifically causes neutrinos to oscillate flavor?

Posted: 04 Aug 2016 07:44 AM PDT

What special properties does it have that say and electron or quark don't have. From what I've been told, the necessary flavor and mass transformations don't commute and so they aren't simultaneous eigenstates, but why is this needed in the grander scheme?

submitted by /u/BAOUBA
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How do all the power plants on the grid ensure that their output AC is in-sync with the grid's?.

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 10:59 AM PDT

If I plug in my laptop, for instance, into the wall here in the U.S., it will be charged by a 60 hz AC current. Presumably, multiple power plants are responsible for supplying this current at 60 hz. How do the designers of the grid ensure that all of these gigantic powerplants are perfectly in sync? What happens if one or more falls out of sync? Could the current become wonky and break a bunch of people's electronics?

Thanks in advance!

submitted by /u/CompellingProtagonis
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How is a superatom different from an ordinary molecule?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 06:07 PM PDT

Is there a physiological difference in the brain between people with exceptional memory and those with average memory?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 10:19 AM PDT

What happens when opposite magnetic poles meet?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 05:32 PM PDT

There's a gif in r/oddlysatisfying of a n/s magnet in a container of iron filings in some kind of solution. The filings aren't attracted to the center. What's happening?

submitted by /u/misterhamtastic
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Do dreams unfold procedurally or are they 'pre-written'?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 10:07 AM PDT

I had a dream once that had a banging plot twist, which leads me to wonder if they might be predetermined in some way at the start of a dream. Is this possible?

submitted by /u/LouisCowell
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So I read that rotating black holes have ring singularities. Can you pass through the ring?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 02:23 PM PDT

What would happen if you had a rotating black hole and you fell down through the north or south pole? Would you oscillate through the ring and eventually settle down in the middle of it? Wouldn't that contradict orbital motion? If you fall from height x and you pass through the gravitational center undisturbed, you'd end up at height x again on the other side, right?

submitted by /u/xXxXxXxVICTORxXxXxXx
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What's with all the water in that recent sinkhole gif?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 10:53 AM PDT

The clip I'm referring to

  1. Where is that water coming from?

  2. Why is the water thrashing around like there's a storm out at sea?

Watching that clip over and over, I just...like my brain can't really grasp a sinkhole with thrashing waves just opening up in a backyard like that.

submitted by /u/MrPancakesMcgee
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What makes clownfish "immune" to anemones?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 11:10 AM PDT

Partially brought to you by Finding Nemo

submitted by /u/UnexpectedClock
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Why don't electrons and neutrinos have smaller components?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 07:45 PM PDT

As I understand it, above the electroweak unification energy, it becomes clear that electrons and neutrinos become two states of the same spin 1/2 particle with weak hypercharge -1 and weak isospin ±1/2

Quarks on the other hand look different independently, but when you add them up as protons and neutrons, they become spin 1/2 particles whose hypercharges add up to +1 and whose weak isospins add up to ±1/2

Under electroweak symmetry, they seem to mirror each other, but leptons are elementary and baryons are not. Why is this? Is it possible that leptons have their own components that are even more tightly bound?

submitted by /u/chunkylubber54
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Why does delta x * delta p >= h/4pi?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 03:37 PM PDT

This is the math behind Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle but what is the logic behind the right side of the equation? Why does delta x * delta p have to be greater than or equal to h/4pi?

submitted by /u/shshdhdhdjrj
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How close are we to actually understanding what consciousness is and how it formed?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 08:17 AM PDT

With what seems like advancements of our knowledge of the human brain being made nearly every week, I would assume that we are relatively close to understanding what consciousness is and how it formed. So, with all of this new information at scientists disposal, how close are we to understanding consciousness?

submitted by /u/IAmTrident
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Do we lose our ability to remember dreams as we get older? If so, why?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 10:39 AM PDT

How do cancerous cells decompose?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 05:58 PM PDT

Random on the toilet thought but my family's old dog passed away from cancer and was buried in the garden and I was wondering does the cancerous tissue decompose in the same way that healthy tissue does and does the fact that it is cancerous effect the bacteria that is decomposing it. Thanks

submitted by /u/ahill743
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Does wood harden if it's underwater?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 11:58 AM PDT

I've watched a few documentaries and read a few articles about the founding of Venice and one thing that they all mention, is that the Venetians used wooden beams as supports due to the lack of a solid foundation. They would drive these beams into the water and the soft soil until they hit bedrock and, according to these (secondary) sources, the wood overtime hardens instead of rotting as (I assume) the wood remains underwater and isn't exposed to the air. Is this true? And if so, what is happening to the wood to make it 'harden'?

submitted by /u/merkonerko2
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Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Assuming ducks can't count, can they keep track of all their ducklings being present? If so, how?

Assuming ducks can't count, can they keep track of all their ducklings being present? If so, how?


Assuming ducks can't count, can they keep track of all their ducklings being present? If so, how?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 02:21 AM PDT

Prompted by a video of a mama duck waiting patiently while people rescued her ducklings from a storm drain. Does mama duck have an awareness of "4 are present, 2 more in storm drain"?

What about a cat or bear that wanders off to hunt and comes back to -1 kitten/cub - would they know and go searching for it? How do they identify that a kitten/cub is missing?

Edit: Thank you everyone for all the helpful answers so far. I should clarify that I'm talking about multiple broods, say of 5+ where it's less obvious from a cursory glance when a duckling/cub is missing (which can work for, say, 2-4).

For those of you just entering the thread now, there are some very good scientific answers, but also a lot of really funny and touching anecdotes, so enjoy.

submitted by /u/qpk-
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How is blood tested for dopamine, serotonin, and/or norepinephrine? How are 'levels' determined; e.g. what is the actual mechanism of the test?

Posted: 02 Aug 2016 08:38 AM PDT

I've been learning about different theories of human emotion and many of them focus on the three molecules listed in my title question. This lead me to wonder how these molecules are tested for. Since biology is one of my weaker areas of knowledge, I tried looking around on the web for how these substances are extracted and/or tested for; however, I found little information. Most of what I found focused on lay peoples' personal medical experiences–off topic for me. And, since I don't know what these tests are called in their professional context, I can't get my search on.

What I'm curious about is how, in general, these substances are detected in the blood and how, from a technical perspective, the concentrations are determined. I was hoping that a basic description would lead me to a basic understanding the correct terminology so that I could study further on my own.

Thanks.

edit: Everyone, thanks for so many responses. It will take me a while to read through all of them but you all have given me a great start to my journey. Cheers!

submitted by /u/skytomorrownow
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What is the difference between a real and virtual particle, and why does that difference matter?

Posted: 02 Aug 2016 08:35 AM PDT

Pun not intentional

submitted by /u/asteconn
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What would happen a very massive asteroid hit the sun?

Posted: 02 Aug 2016 07:24 AM PDT

A asteroid the size that it can easily do a massive amount of damage to earth.

submitted by /u/Cjcp3
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Do stars exist that only emit infrared light?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 12:44 AM PDT

Fires burn at different temperatures, what's the 'coolest' fire that we know of? How is it made?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 05:33 AM PDT

Are there rogue stars in the Universe, similar to how there are rogue planets?

Posted: 02 Aug 2016 06:27 AM PDT

I've heard of rogue planets that have been flung out of their star system, and I was wondering if there were perhaps rogue stars that have been flung out of their galaxy and roam empty space. Is that even possible?

submitted by /u/magicman1336
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Might be a stupid question, but why can't animals of different species mate? What's stopping us from having a dogcat?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 07:26 AM PDT

Which insect bite itches the longest?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 05:50 AM PDT

Was devoured by chiggers after a 2 hour trek in the woods. In the realm of the insect world (would have put quotation marks around 'insect world' but figured that might be the wrong use of such)...which insect bite/s take the longest to heal/quit itching?

submitted by /u/goodeggforyou
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How would you safely demolish a skyscraper in a dense skyline?

Posted: 02 Aug 2016 06:09 PM PDT

Whenever I see pictures of places with lots of closely packed skyscrapers I can't help but wonder how would you safely demolish one of them without damaging anything around it? You obviously can't just knock it down if there's no space around it, so how would it be done?

submitted by /u/007T
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How can Aleph Null be the smallest infinite?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 05:18 AM PDT

How can Aleph Null be the smallest infinite? Don't for example the infinite numbers between "1" and "2", make a smaller infinite than all the number contained in Aleph Null?

submitted by /u/justdontfindme
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Can we utilize gamma radiation and other types of deadly radiation for energy?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 12:39 AM PDT

As far as I know, radiation is a kind of energy (and vice-versa) that is very deadly to everything. But if atomic energy is available, then why can't we use radiation for power?

submitted by /u/MACMAN2004
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Ask Anything Wednesday - Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 08:05 AM PDT

Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science

Do you have a question within these topics you weren't sure was worth submitting? Is something a bit too speculative for a typical /r/AskScience post? No question is too big or small for AAW. In this thread you can ask any science-related question! Things like: "What would happen if...", "How will the future...", "If all the rules for 'X' were different...", "Why does my...".

Asking Questions:

Please post your question as a top-level response to this, and our team of panellists will be here to answer and discuss your questions.

The other topic areas will appear in future Ask Anything Wednesdays, so if you have other questions not covered by this weeks theme please either hold on to it until those topics come around, or go and post over in our sister subreddit /r/AskScienceDiscussion , where every day is Ask Anything Wednesday! Off-theme questions in this post will be removed to try and keep the thread a manageable size for both our readers and panellists.

Answering Questions:

Please only answer a posted question if you are an expert in the field. The full guidelines for posting responses in AskScience can be found here. In short, this is a moderated subreddit, and responses which do not meet our quality guidelines will be removed. Remember, peer reviewed sources are always appreciated, and anecdotes are absolutely not appropriate. In general if your answer begins with 'I think', or 'I've heard', then it's not suitable for /r/AskScience.

If you would like to become a member of the AskScience panel, please refer to the information provided here.

Past AskAnythingWednesday posts can be found here.

Ask away!

submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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If electrons repel each other due to their negative charge, how do any bonds form to make molecules?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 03:56 AM PDT

I thought I understood this but I hit me recently. How does anything exist? Electrons are negative so they should repel each other, yet it is somehow a lower energy state to share electrons and become one molecule. I probably don't understand it all or have all the information. Does it have something to do with quantum mechanics?

submitted by /u/alechilelli
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Is the contact potential (Vo) for a p-n junction of a particular material a constant value?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 07:01 AM PDT

I'm learning about p-n junctions in my electronic course and I was taught that when a p-n junction is formed a potential barrier (Vo) is formed. I was taught that for Silicon the value is 0.6V and for Ge its around 0.2 V. I'm unable to get a grip around how there could possibly be a constant value for this potential. Wouldn't it depend on several other factors of the p-n junction?

submitted by /u/karim7029
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When you swim, what is the relation between weight, force and amount of displaced water?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 06:32 AM PDT

I want to know if the weight I'm lifting to train my biceps and triceps is ok, or if I should eventually add more. I want to be strong enough so my muscles can handle swimming faster and more time.

submitted by /u/R_Metallica
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Does self-harm (cutting etc.) differ amongst ethnicities / races?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 06:26 AM PDT

I know that self-harm such as cutting differs greatly between genders, does it differ between ethnicities or races? Or is it mostly a white people / white young women phenomenon? Do chinese or black teenagers cut themselves at the same rates as white teenagers do, ceteris paribus?

submitted by /u/MonkeyWrench3000
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Does the Expanding Universe Affect the Radio Signals We Send Off into Space?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 05:45 AM PDT

I was watching an episode of PBS Spacetime on the Youtubes, and they were explaining how the expanding universe "stretches" the wavelengths of photons emitted by stars making them experience Red-Shift.

My question is, does this phenomenon only affect photon wavelengths or does it affect radio waves as well, and if so, would aliens be able to decode the radio waves we send out due to this effect?

submitted by /u/Asking_For_Knawledge
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Why does a gaseous system change to maintain the equilibrium constant when there is a pressure change?

Posted: 02 Aug 2016 11:57 PM PDT

If a system is at equilibrium, that is there is the same amount of forward reaction as there is back reaction. Why does the (relative) concentration of gas change when a pressure change is imposed? Le Chatelier's Principle states it will "oppose the change" but why would it do so? The gas particles are still in the same ratio relative to each other (albeit higher concentrations - at t=0 after decreased volume) and they all have the same energy as before. They collide more frequently (if volume decreased - therefore pressure increased) but that would mean the rate of forward and back reaction would be faster but no net change in the amounts of each gas at equilibrium compared to the equilibrium before the pressure change was imposed?

submitted by /u/stoickaz
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Is it possible to drain lava from volcanoes that is predicted to erupt soon and then cooling the magma elsewhere to harvest the minerals?

Posted: 02 Aug 2016 02:33 PM PDT

What if we drilled a hole near an active volcano deep into it's magma chamber, drain out some magma so we prevent it from exploding, is that possible?

submitted by /u/FriedFirefly
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Is it possible to make bubbles a different shape, like make a bubble cube?

Posted: 03 Aug 2016 05:53 AM PDT

BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene deficiencies, why do these result in cancer of breasts or ovaries and not other types of tissue?

Posted: 02 Aug 2016 06:17 PM PDT

I know that these genes are involved in double-stranded DNA break repair, which is a big problem for a cell, so it seems that BRCA deficiency should leave other tissue types vulnerable to cell mutation and cancer. If we don't really know, that's a good answer too.

submitted by /u/Bigheinie
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Would a speaker work inside of a vacuum?

Posted: 02 Aug 2016 07:35 PM PDT