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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Has it been scientifically proven that Nuclear Fusion is actually a possibility and not a 'golden egg goose chase'?

Has it been scientifically proven that Nuclear Fusion is actually a possibility and not a 'golden egg goose chase'?


Has it been scientifically proven that Nuclear Fusion is actually a possibility and not a 'golden egg goose chase'?

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 02:20 AM PDT

Whelp... I went popped out after posting this... looks like I got some reading to do thank you all for all your replies!

submitted by /u/snuggleybunny
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Is there a difference between having a 2 hour nap then 6 hours sleep and just having an 8 hour sleep? Brain wise?

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 05:47 AM PDT

So what usually happens to me is that I arrive home from school, and usually have a two hour nap. Lets say from 5pm - 7pm. Then I stay up until 12am and wake up at 6am.

Is there a difference if I stay up until 10pm and sleep till 6am?

Does anything happen in brain function?

submitted by /u/ShaNipNip1
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If e=mc^2 and light has energy, how is the mass zero?

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 03:49 AM PDT

I'm sure it's obvious, please enlighten me

submitted by /u/Digital-Arts
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When an isotope is stable, does that mean it can't ever decay, or that the half life is so long it doesn't matter to us?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:49 PM PDT

Is acclimatization to a colder climate primarily psychological? Or are there physiological changes too?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 09:36 AM PDT

My kids have lived their whole lives in a colder climate than I grew up in, and they seem to be more tolerant of cold, and less tolerant of heat. So when my kids are going around shirtless when the temperature is in the high 50s F, have their bodies "learned" to handle that situation differently than mine does? Or have my kids just learned to deal with it mentally?

Side question: I also have some friends who grew up in a warm climate, but who are decidedly "cold-weather people". Is that a physiological thing too? Do people's bodies have different equilibria that they regulate toward, with different levels of efficiency? Or is it psychological?

submitted by /u/withabullet
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In theory how much more energy can we get from fusion than from fission?

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 05:48 AM PDT

For example if we take 1 gram of U-235 and calculate maximum theoretic energy we can get from fission of that 1 gram and then take 1 gram of hydrogen isotopes and calculate maximum theoretic energy we get from its fusion.

submitted by /u/Ihmed
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Why do men, with the gene that encodes for male pattern baldness, only lose their hair after a certain age?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 04:07 PM PDT

Moreover, if a male has this gene why isn't it expressed throughout their life, including childhood?

submitted by /u/CharlieATJ
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There are springs for position, dampers for velocity, and then mass for acceleration. Are there any other linear devices that relate higher time derivatives of position to force?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 08:28 PM PDT

We can make real, physical mass-spring-damper systems that are modeled by mx''+cx'+kx=0, because springs, dampers, and mass are all real things that have a linear relationship between their respective derivatives of position and force. Can we go higher? Is there some device such that I can make a real, physical system modeled by px'''+mx''+cx'+kx=0, where p is some constant physically analogous to m, c and k? What about even higher derivatives?

submitted by /u/RugglesIV
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This is the Kaye Effect. Does anyone have any idea what is going on?

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 07:42 AM PDT

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) What's the difference?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 09:04 PM PDT

Hi AskScience,

I'm working on a project involving FT-IR and I've hit a wall in explaining how it works. I understand the basics of how infrared excitation and resonance frequencies will allow you to infer what molecules are present in a sample. However, I'm not sure how the Fourier Transform function applies to this technique. It's my understanding that the function is the reason why we can see the peaks/valleys of the graph in the first place, but I have trouble really understanding the details of what's happening.

Can anyone explain what a specrograph would look like if no Fourier Transform function was applied? I've never used a non-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer, so it's hard to truly explain and appreciate how far the technology has progressed.

P.S. My background is in biology, but I will try my best to understand the chemical/physical aspects of any explanations :)

submitted by /u/CannibalEmpire
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Is hearing sensitivity linked to a creature's size in any way?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 08:27 PM PDT

Example (and I know this is science fiction, but that's why I'm asking), in the Monsters V.S. Aliens movie, Susan can talk with the other characters despite her ears being 15 meters (49 feet) away from them, and they're talking at a regular volume. Presumably this is because her ears/eardrums are larger and can pick up fainter sounds.

Does this also apply in real life? Say, do lions have better hearing ability than a house cat does?

submitted by /u/pizzaboy10
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Does constant exposure to a certain colour affect your mind at all?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:46 PM PDT

So I've heard from random sites that the colour red can promote caution or even anxiety. Is this true at all?

submitted by /u/Ipek102
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Do photons still move at C inside the event horizon, are they still photons inside the singularity?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 02:56 PM PDT

Why do lasers have such a visible diffraction pattern?

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 01:05 AM PDT

When looking at a laser hitting a surface, whats the cause of the obvious diffusion pattern from it?

Its almost like being able to see each individual photon beam.

submitted by /u/AccidentallyTheCable
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Can you combine mass energy equivalence and Sine, Tangent and Cosine Law?

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 04:39 AM PDT

If Mass energy equivalence works like a right angled triangle. What happens when you apply sine law, cosine law and tangent law to it? And how would that math be applied in reality?

submitted by /u/katanaking90210
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Does electrolysis take more energy to split the water molecule as the pressure of the water goes up? Is it proportional?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:07 PM PDT

Is the mass or charge of an electron (or any other fundamental particle) an average/median of a population density distribution, or are they all one value?

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 03:58 AM PDT

What materials are radiolucent in x-ray machines?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 08:20 PM PDT

I've check many search engines, but none have different answers and say "skin is radiolucent and bone isn't."

submitted by /u/Augmentroar
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Do molecules in real life exist in a combination of all the resonance forms of that molecule?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 07:45 PM PDT

A little confused right now. I thought resonance forms where what the molecule can switch between, sort of like equal combinations of that molecule. I was just led to believe that all resonance forms are inaccurate and it's actually an amalgamation of all them that correctly model what a molecule actually looks like.

submitted by /u/clang6
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Why can't we test for neurotransmitter levels in the body?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 06:21 PM PDT

It seems as though we have tests available for so many other things in the body. Why can't we measure levels of neurotransmitters? This could be used to determine which antidepressant might be most effective, for example.

submitted by /u/ElaineAcclaim
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How can we have a vaccine for a lifelong disease, like herpes, that our bodies can't normally fight off?

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 02:43 AM PDT

Correlation Between Element Density and Rarity?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 05:40 PM PDT

So if all of the elements denser than iron are made in the final moments of massive supernovae, and the denser elements are the most difficult to make and thus produced in progressively smaller amounts, shouldn't the rarity of an element directly follow its density? Do they? Lead seems fairly common. Is that just because of Earth's specific accretion?

submitted by /u/one-black-eye
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Monday, October 17, 2016

If you had a completely empty universe, in which only 2 marbles, placed perfectly still in the beginning, with 1 ly distance in between them, how long would it take for them to collide due to gravity?

If you had a completely empty universe, in which only 2 marbles, placed perfectly still in the beginning, with 1 ly distance in between them, how long would it take for them to collide due to gravity?


If you had a completely empty universe, in which only 2 marbles, placed perfectly still in the beginning, with 1 ly distance in between them, how long would it take for them to collide due to gravity?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 08:03 AM PDT

Assuming the marbles are something like 10 cm in diameter and around 100 g heavy. Do they ever collide? Or is the gravitational attraction way too small? But since gravitational fields are infinite they should collide at some point even if it took them something like 1*10³³ years or something.

Edit: WOW. Frontpage. Never expected so much attention. Seems like people wonder as much as I do. :D

submitted by /u/Pekyk
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Can pi be expressed rationally in a non base 10 number system?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 04:42 AM PDT

Would you be able to measure your speed relative to the rest of the universe with the speed of light?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 12:54 AM PDT

What I am saying is, would you be able to measure your speed and the direction you are travelling in relative to the while universe?

E.g. If you had a laser and flashed it at a detecter and calculated the speed to be the speed of light plus 100km/h, would that mean relative to the rest of the universe, the set-up is travelling 100km/h in the direction opposite that of the laser beam?

Sorry if this is ridiculous, just a thought I had.

submitted by /u/Cthulhu179
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Is there an isotope effect on fugacity?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 06:19 PM PDT

Specifically, is the fugacity at a pressure P of H2 gas different than the fugacity at a pressure P of D2 (deuterium) gas?

submitted by /u/MattJames
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What's the probability that in n vectors, each with n elements where each element is a random integer, that the set is linearly independent?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 12:06 AM PDT

How did scientist measure the speed of light?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 06:04 AM PDT

What adaptations make the Black Mamba so fast (compared to other snakes)?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 11:39 AM PDT

Can someone answer questions about what a quantum gate (or band gap) looks like compared to a FET, and coding for photons?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 08:02 AM PDT

I have some questions and would appreciate any information you have on these subjects. My background is not science, but I can't stop thinking about these 3 things and if I don't write a story and get them out of my head - they just stay there and don't let me focus well on other things. I want my story to make sense, but I need some help. If you have an explanation...please keep this in mind.

...and thank you, thank you, thank you if you are will to answer.

A few years back I read an article on Graphene and conductivity. It basically stated that it was so conductive that they were having a difficult time finding an interruption switch (they couldn't turn it off).

We finally have an interruption switch for Graphene:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/graphene-finally-gets-an-electronic-on-off-switch/

This effectively makes graphene a transistor.

"Semiconductors are defined by their band gap: the energy required to excite an electron stuck in the valence band, where it cannot conduct electricity, to the conduction band, where it can. The band gap needs to be large enough so that there is a clear contrast between a transistor's on and off states, and so that it can process information without generating errors."

I also read an article on how MIT was able to create something of a quantum gate, similar to a field effect transistor, but for quantum computing. However, in order for quantum computing to come to fruition we have to have the ability to pass a single photon (and only a single photon) through a gate. http://news.mit.edu/2012/single-photon-transmitter-could-enable-new-quantum-devices-0725

Is is passing through the gate or the drain? (like FET)

What is the definition of a band gap in quantum computing?

When it comes to writing code for quantum computing, I can't help but think of a shutter on a camera.

Will we write code that basically opens the shutter to a certain degree (instead of 0's and 1's) ?

Or can we again apply the same principle of the interruption switch and control the amount of light?

submitted by /u/aurorabor3alice
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Are there any colours perceptible by the human eye that we haven't discovered?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 06:29 PM PDT

When listening to music with earbuds/headphones, how are the producers/artists able to make the music only play on one side?

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 04:05 AM PDT

On my ride into work, I noticed that in my song there was one point where the artists voice only came through one earbud, then switched to the other side. How is it possible for the producers to create this effect?

submitted by /u/OzzyWozzie
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Is it possible to define electric charge in an absolute (non relative) sense?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 05:30 PM PDT

A positive charge is the opposite of a negative charge. But is it possible to define one without referring to the other, or they solely relative terms?

A book I am reading claims it is not possible, and as a consequence the two charges could in theory swap throughout the entire universe, and nothing would be observed as different. It sounds very odd and i was wondering if the basis is true.

submitted by /u/windupcrow
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Why is it that when a bullet fully penetrates a target, the exit hole is so much bigger than the entry hole?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 11:15 AM PDT

EDIT: this isn't about fragmentation. If a high powered round goes through multiple targets, it will leave a clean entry and a huge exit in all of them. This is the vid that inspired the question: https://youtu.be/NfOhKDJZsCk

submitted by /u/shaftmaster666
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How exactly do qubits work and how are they different to regular bits? Does quantum computing allow us to solve problems that were previously unsolvable with regular computing (excluding raw processing power)?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 08:31 PM PDT

Is there a name for this phenomenon?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 03:17 PM PDT

OK, so here's the context:

Person A and Person B are doing a q&a format interview.

Person B is expecting a question that is very broad but has a direct response that can be rooted in logic.

Person A instead asks a question that is very specific with a broad list of responses.

Person B suddenly goes blank, instead of having an answer, the question itself becomes the main focus of Person B's cognitive processing. Usually Person B will then either ask Person A to reiterate the question, or respond with an "I have no idea what you're even asking" response.

What is this called, and why does it happen?

submitted by /u/BassBeerNBabes
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Why are the occipital lobes, which deal with vision, in the back of the brain while the temporal lobes, which include that auditory areas, are right next to the ears?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 10:58 AM PDT

Regarding Dark Energy, how do we know that the redshift of galaxies is due to the expansion of space, and not due to their relative velocity through space?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 11:47 PM PDT

Being interested in Astronomy and Cosmology, I spend a lot of time watching lectures and documentaries on the subject. But it seems no matter how many of them I watch, they never seem to answer this question, and it's been nagging at me for a while.

When it comes to the subject of Dark Energy, these documentaries always give a short of history of how it came to be discovered. It starts with Einstein's theories and his introduction of the Cosmological Constant to make the universe static, and then Hubble measuring the redshift and proving the expansion, causing Einstein to call the CC his "biggest blunder". Then fast-forward to the nineties and Saul Perlmutter and his team using type 1a supernovae to accurately measure redshift of many galaxies, basically greatly expanding on (no pun intended) the Hubble data and coming up with a graph such as this:

http://newscenter.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2009/10/expansion-history.jpg

Then they finish up by saying that this data proves that the expansion of the universe is accelerating...perhaps with some examples involving raisin bread and ants on ballons. It is this last part that brings me to my question and have never been able to find any clarification on.

It seems like there could be two possible reasons for the redshift, each leading to opposite conclusions.

1) The redshift is caused by the expansion of space since the photons left the source galaxy, causing their wavelengths to get stretched out. Because the redshift of nearby (but not gravitationally bound) ones is greater than what we would expect given a constant or decelerating expansion, the conclusion is that the expansion is accelerating. Okay, makes sense.

2) The redshift was caused by the relative velocity between the source galaxy and our own when the light left. If this were the case, it would seem to imply that the universe (but not necessarily space itself) was expanding more rapidly in the distant past, and less rapidly in the more recent past. This would also seem to make sense, but is never discussed. (Also, it seems like the redshift being greater than expected for the more nearby galaxies, would also imply that the deceleration of the expansion is decreasing. This would require an explanation just as much Dark Energy would...maybe due to increasing density of the interstellar medium at shorter distances causing friction or some such thing...but maybe my logic is just failing me at this point)

Alternatively it seems like it could also be some mixture of the two. So this brings me back to my original question. How is it that the second case was ruled out, whereas the first one was not, especially given that at the time it was the second conclusion that was expected?

Let me just say that I'm not trying to argue about this as I'm certain there is a perfectly good explanation for why it is 1 and not 2. I'm simply trying to figure out what that reason is, as I've never been able to find anything that goes into the details and explains it. I'm assuming there must be some sort of complicated math involved and it just can't be easily explained in layman's terms and therefore not appropriate for these lectures/documentaries/etc. as they are intended for the general public, so if you have to get a little technical for this answer I completely understand and will try to follow along anyway, but keep in mind I am a complete layman myself.

Thanks!

submitted by /u/bardacuda
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If you mix oil and water in a bowl and wait for a while, you will see gravity seperate them and put all of the oil on top. How is this consistant with the law of increasing entropy?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 07:02 AM PDT

Are the genetic causes of infertility for men and women stem from the same genes, or different genes?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 09:15 AM PDT

Or is the answer some genes affect both sexes and some don't?

submitted by /u/znihilist
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How can position to term rule be applied in daily life?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 03:15 PM PDT

Asking for my stepson. The teacher has failed to answer his question so I am reaching out. What can it be used for? What are its applications in everyday life? What is the point of learning it in addition to term to term rule?

submitted by /u/Grassy_Fart
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Can Natural Killer Cells Be Used to Kill Cancer Cells?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 07:40 AM PDT

Obviously lots of problems to overcome. How do we tag cancer cells and only cancer cells with the MIC that allows natural killer cells to identify cancer cells only is a big one. Is using the body's immune system to kill cancer cells something that's already being explored in cancer research?

Are there any other theories on how Cancer cells could be targeted that we can't pull of with our current equipment but we know would most likely work?

submitted by /u/mizzrym91
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When a supernova ejects its elements, do the heavier ones spread out as far as the light ones or do they always stay near the center. And if so is that the reason why in our solar system 'solid' planets are near the sun?

Posted: 16 Oct 2016 02:15 AM PDT

And if we wanted to "mine" heavy elements, would mercury the best candidate?

submitted by /u/MaybeAfterThis
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Sunday, October 16, 2016

If, theoretically, you were in an infinite sized room, and there was complete darkness. If you lit a candle, how far away would you have to be from this candle before you couldn't see it?

If, theoretically, you were in an infinite sized room, and there was complete darkness. If you lit a candle, how far away would you have to be from this candle before you couldn't see it?


If, theoretically, you were in an infinite sized room, and there was complete darkness. If you lit a candle, how far away would you have to be from this candle before you couldn't see it?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 01:27 PM PDT

How do astronauts perform wet chemistry experiments in the microgravity?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 10:49 AM PDT

A titration in microgravity sounds very complicated, for example.

submitted by /u/ngc6205
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Why does it take some medications (such as antidepressants) up to two weeks to take effect, while with OTC stuff like tylenol it takes a few hours?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 09:16 PM PDT

How does the new 2 trillion upper limit of galaxies affect dark matter and the "missing mass" theory?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 12:51 PM PDT

This recent article in 'The Astrophysical Journal' presents that the upper limit of galaxies may approach 2 trillion. Being at least an order of magnitude higher than previous estimates, does this now offer an explanation as to the missing mass in the universe? Does it change the impact or amount of dark matter/energy that may exist, or is the observation of dark matter unaffected and simply the estimated total mass of the universe increases?

submitted by /u/WonderboyUK
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How does file recovery software work?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 02:25 PM PDT

There's software that can recover deleted files even after emptying the recycle bin. How does this work?

submitted by /u/wodowodo
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Is there a benefit to seeding an RNG with a large prime number?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 12:01 PM PDT

How do we create artificial elements heavier than uranium but cannot create hydrogen fusion?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 12:39 PM PDT

Asking off the basis that you would need to fuse or add more protons, neutrons and electrons to an atom to create heavier elements so why can we not do that with hydrogen?

submitted by /u/Iknowimdum
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Why is there so much rainfall in East Asia, even though most of it is at the same latitudes as the Sahara desert?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 04:24 PM PDT

Is gravity the same throughout the earth?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 08:51 AM PDT

Does it differ in places?

submitted by /u/MarcoSolo23
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Can gyroscopes at the end of an axle or some other "no thrust" alternative be used to control the rate of precession of a big spinning wheel in space?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 11:57 AM PDT

Elon Musk's recent presentation of SpaceX's proposed Mars architecture has got me wondering if his giant booster could be used to put a practical "wheel in the sky" space habitat in orbit around Earth.

My goal is a fairly self sufficient community of a few thousand people in space: air / water / waste recycling, hydroponics / fish farm, classrooms, sick bay, shops, offices, entertainment, fabrication, labs. 15-17m diameter x 47m long cylindrical modules are joined by 7.5 degree mating adapters to form a 715 m wheel. Each of the modules has 5 decks that are about 2.5m tall.

Artificial gravity is a necessity, long term bone density loss and other issues are killers. Carbon fiber cables join to a central hub like spokes. Other cables hold the hoop in compression (like the hoop around barrel stays) or spanning module-to-module along the inside. All this cabling keeps our wheel intact as it spins at 1 rpm, giving 0.8 g artificial gravity. The wheel is big enough that Coriolis effect won't make inhabitants nauseous.

My ideal scenario is to launch each module, have tugs meet them and shepherd them into position. Solar and cosmic radiation shielding comes from the walls being filled with a fluid. The outer walls have two layers, and initially the walls are hollow and empty. After the wheel is assembled, the ITS tanker delivers a fluid that is pumped into the gap.

My preferred orbit is a sun-synchronous circular orbit about 700 km and 98 degrees inclination and it would continuously track above the day-night terminator. (There are already several satellites that do this.) In that orbit, I would like the big wheel to precess exactly once a year so that one side of the wheel is continuously facing the sun and the other side always stares into cold dark space. This allows the wheel to have solar panels that are always gathering energy and radiators that are always dissipating excess heat. It also avoids issues that arise from cyclic hot-cold cycles, they would make sealing between modules more challenging and cause fatigue that reduces operating life. Last, it allows one side to have extra shielding for solar protons. I understand that galactic cosmic radiation is a huge issue, especially since the orbit goes above the poles.

The issue is how to make the big wheel track the sun by precessing one turn a year. I did some math and came up with 192 newtons of force being applied to each end of a 200 m axle (one end's thrust point up, the other end down). There is no way to do that with thrusters, the mass of chemical fuel would be enormous. We have an awesome amount of continuous sunshine at our disposal, so a lot of electric power could be available.

Is there another way to apply torgue to the big wheel's axle or change center of rotation or otherwise make the wheel precess?

submitted by /u/frowawayduh
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How can the masses of the right and left-handed neutrinos be different?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 07:31 AM PDT

If a left neutrino is emitted and starts travelling at some speed in a given direction, since it has mass surely I can pick a reference frame where it is travelling in the oposite direction. If that boost does not change the orientation of the spin, do I not end up with a right-handed neutrino in the new reference frame? If so, how can the masses be different? Is mass not Pmu .Pmu, which should be Lorentz invariant?

Also, if the above were true, could we detect right handed neutrinos by having the emission source travel extremely fast with respect to the measuring apparatus?

Thanks!

submitted by /u/Paul-Lubanski
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Could dark matter/energy be explained by countless black holes?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 07:37 PM PDT

I was thinking about how dark matter and how gravity can bend light as seen in gravitational lensing. Since our only way of detecting things in the universe (other than through gravitiational waves) is by looking at the light waves that come from space, it seemed intuitive that all this unexplained mass and energy that we classify as dark matter could just simply be from the fact that the photons in those areas never reached earth for us to see. My "theory" for this is that super massive black holes, with strong enough gravitational pulls, intercept the photons that would have reached earth. If this is the case, it seems that depending on how close the wandering black hole is to us, it could block out more or less of the photons that would've reached earth. Thanks! :)

submitted by /u/nick9190
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What is the difference between measurements of cortical thickness, grey matter concentration and grey matter volume?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 07:20 PM PDT

I am reading some papers on the effects of meditation on the brain and I am curious what these different measures really mean in terms of what they tell us about the effects of meditation on the brain. Thank you!

submitted by /u/SynapticZen
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Can you use an electric field to cause targeted opening of voltage-gated channels?

Posted: 15 Oct 2016 08:24 AM PDT

Just to build on the title...

is it possible to create a local electric field which would cause (or sustain) an open state of voltage-gated channels within tissue?

Or alternatively...

Is it possible to depolarize a cell membrane on a tissue-specific basis? Or do membrane potentials of different cell types overlap in such a way that precisely opening one population of cells would be impossible?

submitted by /u/dafendi
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