AskScience AMA Series: I am a former Senior VP of Knowledge at Google who broke the world record for highest free-fall jump in 2014. Ask me anything!

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• AskScience AMA Series: I am a former Senior VP of Knowledge at Google who broke the world record for highest free-fall jump in 2014. Ask me anything!
• Does the universe have an event horizon?
• What theoretical results would we learn if the LHC *did* produce a micro black hole?
• Gif of guitar. Why does all the strings not show standing waves?
• Theoretically, can all elements become stable if you add or subtract neutrons to it?
• What stops us from constantly chomping down on our tongue as we eat?
• Is the universe expanding in time as well as space? If so, how could we possibly know that?
• What volume of outer space would you need to inhale to take a single breath?
• 22,000 years ago, the Earth was 4C cooler. How did these few degrees result in huge swaths of land being buried under ice?
• What happens when you confine plasma with magnets?
• What was the “common view” on hidden variables theory in the time between the 1935 EPR paper and the 1972 (etc.) quantum entanglement measures?
• What is the point on the moon surface perpendicular to L1?
• Why are astronauts able to move at the same speed (8 km/s) as the ISS during a spacewalk?
• How does the Uncertainty Principle affect entropy?
• Optimal betting strategy in a game of chance?
• Why do neutrons shoot through dense material, but get reflected by softer material during Radiography?
• Is it possible to simulate an atom or molecule from the standard model or string theory?
• Saw CNN story about: 'Man dissolves in acidic water after he falls into a Yellowstone hot spring' is that even possible?

AskScience AMA Series: I am a former Senior VP of Knowledge at Google who broke the world record for highest free-fall jump in 2014. Ask me anything! Posted: 18 Nov 2016 05:00 AM PST Hi, reddit! I'm Alan Eustace and I'm here with Jerry Kolber. We're the subject and director, respectively, of the documentary 14 MINUTES FROM EARTH, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April of this year and was released On Demand this past Tuesday. Jerry's film documented the process by which I broke the world record for high-altitude jump in 2014 at the age of 57 when I dropped from a gas-powered balloon 135,000 feet above the earth. Check out the film's trailer! The plan began as a scribble on a paper napkin and took three years of working in secrecy to come to fruition. In 2011 I began working with Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter, co-founders of Paragon Space Development Corporation, to bring the plan to life. Because a private citizen cannot simply purchase a space suit from NASA, we also worked with ILC Dover, outfitters of every United States astronaut in the Apollo program. Jerry Kolber, the film's Executive Producer and Director, is the co-creator and show runner of the Emmy-nominated series "Brain Games" on National Geographic, and has created, produced, and served as showrunner on many other award-winning scripted and un-scripted series. Learn more about his work. Ask us anything about the jump or the film! We'll be online at 2:00pm EST to answer your questions. submitted by /u/AskScienceModerator [link] [comments]

Does the universe have an event horizon? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 09:02 AM PST Before the Big Bang, the universe was described as a gravitational singularity, but to my knowledge it is believed that naked singularities cannot exist. Does that mean that at some point the universe had its own event horizon, or that it still does? submitted by /u/chunkylubber54 [link] [comments]

What theoretical results would we learn if the LHC *did* produce a micro black hole? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 10:49 PM PST I'm not at all worried about the safety of this, that's silly. However, lots of articles about the potential for LHC to produce "micro-black-holes" talks about various theories that this discovery would imply. http://angelsanddemons.web.cern.ch/faq/black-hole The creation of a black hole at the LHC would confirm theories that our universe is not 4 dimensional (3 space plus 1 time dimensions), but indeed hosts other dimensions http://phys.org/news/2015-03-mini-black-holes-lhc-parallel.html "If mini black holes are detected at the LHC at the predicted energies, not only will it prove the existence of extra dimensions and by extension parallel universes, but it will also solve the famous information paradox in black holes," Ali said. Solving the paradox is possible because, in the gravity's rainbow model, mini black holes have a minimum radius below which they cannot shrink. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_black_hole#Feasibility_of_production micro black holes must form from two colliding particles with sufficient energy, which might be allowable at the energies of the LHC if additional dimensions are present other than the customary four I'm basically wondering what would have to be true about the universe in order for us to find micro black holes at the 14TeV level? If we did find them, what would that imply? Why would the micro black hole prove that extra dimensions exist? What does it mean to have "Extra spatial dimensions" in layman's terms? How many dimensions would it imply? How does it resolve the black hole information paradox? How does it relate to "Planck mass"? What else would we learn from this discovery? submitted by /u/Steve132 [link] [comments]

Gif of guitar. Why does all the strings not show standing waves? Posted: 18 Nov 2016 06:37 AM PST I saw this gif in r/gifs of a guitar strings. I was puzzled why sometimes the waves are traveling slowly. Why are they not "standing still"? I think I've had guitars where some notes appear to fluctuate (observed when plucking a single note). Could these things be related? Any physics/music/guitar nerds who knows? submitted by /u/eatmydog [link] [comments]

Theoretically, can all elements become stable if you add or subtract neutrons to it? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 04:16 PM PST submitted by /u/Bonrozzy [link] [comments]

What stops us from constantly chomping down on our tongue as we eat? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 03:24 PM PST submitted by /u/adidaman [link] [comments]

Is the universe expanding in time as well as space? If so, how could we possibly know that? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 11:07 PM PST I've seen the question 'how do we know the universe is expanding' posted a lot, but they're always asking about matter inside expanding space. We measure the redshift of distant galaxies to detect the expansion of space, but if time is also expanding wouldn't these effects be cancelled out? submitted by /u/practual [link] [comments]

What volume of outer space would you need to inhale to take a single breath? Posted: 18 Nov 2016 12:36 AM PST Of course, outer space is very much devoid of oxygen, but if you were to take an average breath, what volume of outer space would you need to suck up each time? submitted by /u/TopalthePilot [link] [comments]

22,000 years ago, the Earth was 4C cooler. How did these few degrees result in huge swaths of land being buried under ice? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 10:25 AM PST I was looking at this comic, which is a graphical representation of climate change over the last 22,000 years. Apparently, at the start of the graph, the Earth was 4 degrees cooler than it currently is. Under these conditions, Boston was under a mile of ice, and New York City had glaciers next to it. Looking at the current summer average high temperatures in Boston, even if you knock 4 degrees off them, you'd still have plenty of days at around 22C or 23C. How can that result in being buried under a mile of ice? submitted by /u/Febtober2k [link] [comments]

What happens when you confine plasma with magnets? Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:53 AM PST What happens when you confine plasma with magnets? When something reaches its plasma state, the electrons gets delocalised from their atoms. The overall charge of the plasma field should be neutral, since the electrons are still there, even though they are delocalised. A magnet would therefore not be able to attract or retract the plasma. But it does obviously Any explanation? submitted by /u/Chasar1 [link] [comments]

What was the “common view” on hidden variables theory in the time between the 1935 EPR paper and the 1972 (etc.) quantum entanglement measures? Posted: 18 Nov 2016 01:00 AM PST In particular, I came to believe that hidden variables were generally accepted in 1935 (because Einstein said so) - what was the breakthrough step in making them rejected: Bell's paper or the experiments? submitted by /u/CubicZircon [link] [comments]

What is the point on the moon surface perpendicular to L1? Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:31 AM PST Does it have a name? If not how can I find its coordinates? Since the moon is tidally locked this point should never move with respect to the lunar surface right? I'm talking about L1 in the moon-earth system of course submitted by /u/SilverCookies [link] [comments]

Why are astronauts able to move at the same speed (8 km/s) as the ISS during a spacewalk? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 08:54 PM PST submitted by /u/ultimatereb [link] [comments]

How does the Uncertainty Principle affect entropy? Posted: 18 Nov 2016 12:08 AM PST Hi, I was studying from my chemistry book on the chapter of entropy and I read something very weird. If the temperature of a crystal falls to absolute zero, then its entropy is zero. However the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that we cannot be certain about both energy and the position of a particle at the atomic level. This means that perfect crystals at absolute zero have some entropy. I don't know what: 1- Being a pure crystal have to do with having no disorder/entropy? 2- Uncertainty Principle relates to entropy?? Thanks in advance. submitted by /u/DudeElite [link] [comments]

Optimal betting strategy in a game of chance? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 07:56 PM PST Hello everyone, I have a question for those of you with a mind for statistics in regards to a game of chance. Suppose you have a game of chance, and the odds in this game are fairly consistent, random, and known ahead of time. In that game you can place a wager of any quantity you desire out of a starting amount (let's assume 100). If you win, you get a net return of 70% of the wager, but if you lose it is a total loss of whatever you risk. As you win, you may again place any wager you desire out of the new total now possessed. For this game let's assume the odds of winning are 80%, what would be an ideal wager in each successive step that allows an optimal increase in total without taking a massive setback in the event of a loss? I hope this is a clear enough description of what I'm asking. submitted by /u/Koiljo [link] [comments]

Why do neutrons shoot through dense material, but get reflected by softer material during Radiography? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 12:43 PM PST I understand that it has to due with the transfer of momentum from the particle colliding with the nucleus of the atoms in the material, but I'm having a difficult time understanding why it shoots through the dense solid. Why doesn't it bounce off of the surface similar to a pool ball hitting the side of the pool table? submitted by /u/PWestAg18 [link] [comments]

Is it possible to simulate an atom or molecule from the standard model or string theory? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 08:11 PM PST From the current knowledge of standard model/string theory, can a simulation of something like the hydrogen atom be done using the physics of its constituent elementary particles (or strings)? Has this been done before? What kind of computational costs would a simulation like this have? submitted by /u/WarU40 [link] [comments]

Saw CNN story about: 'Man dissolves in acidic water after he falls into a Yellowstone hot spring' is that even possible? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 03:18 PM PST http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/17/us/yellowstone-man-dissolved-trnd/ this is the news link. I know some basic chemistry, water is polar, so it shouldn't be able to dissolve carbon based molecules like the man's body or his shoes. So is this possible given the water pH/high temperature? and how? submitted by /u/SamuraiAfr0 [link] [comments]

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How do animals like squirrels get water when there are no nearby rivers, streams or ponds?

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• How do animals like squirrels get water when there are no nearby rivers, streams or ponds?
• Do centipedes have more than one gait?
• At what speed would I have to drive for the added drag of having my windows open offset the energy cost of the A/C?
• If you had a helium balloon on the ISS, Would it float in a particular direction?
• Are transparent objects like glass non-transparent for animals who have different visible spectrums?
• Why is the order of operations in mathematics as it is? Is there a natural component or is it arbitrary?
• Why aren't we able to keep isolated brains alive?
• Is there a way to create a 'sound bubble' where the sound is only audible within a controllable radius?
• What is it about Cobalt in mixed phases that makes it suitable for catalysis in industrial processes?
• How does a mother's body "know" when to start and stop producing breastmilk?
• If an eletric current can create a magnetic field... a magnetic field can create an eletric current?
• Will pre-blended gases separate under pressure?
• How did the continental shelf form in the Atlantic Ocean?
• What are Markov Chains?
• What is a Q-ball?
• How do ions in a solution conduct electricity?
• Why is there salt in the ocean?
• How is colored PTFE (teflon) made? Does it change the properties?
• If I peeled a banana or cut open a bell pepper, swabbed, and then cultured it, would anything grow? Essentially, are the insides of fruits and vegetables sterile?
• Do all gases expand at the same rate when heated?
• Does the efficacy of a vaccine go down when it is administered with other vaccines? (dead culture vaccines)

How do animals like squirrels get water when there are no nearby rivers, streams or ponds? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 06:14 PM PST I live in a place where there are squirrels, rabbits and other small animals almost everywhere but the nearest source of water is miles away. How do animals such as these get their water? submitted by /u/bluecheese31 [link] [comments]

Do centipedes have more than one gait? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 06:14 PM PST submitted by /u/p_tigerlily [link] [comments]

At what speed would I have to drive for the added drag of having my windows open offset the energy cost of the A/C? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 06:28 PM PST I've always wondered this. Essentially, running the A/C costs energy, so it's worse for the environment than just having windows open. But if you're going fast, the windows being open adds a lot of drag, so you have to spend more energy to maintain the same speed than if they were closed. What speed would I need to go for the energy "benefit" of not running A/C be equal to the energy loss of that drag? This obviously depends on car model, temperature difference, wind, air pressure... I'm more interested in order-of-magnitude guesses. Is this achievable with a standard sedan? Are cars designed so efficiently that I'd need to break the sound barrier to get close? submitted by /u/skarpi [link] [comments]

If you had a helium balloon on the ISS, Would it float in a particular direction? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 04:35 AM PST submitted by /u/mattsk8n [link] [comments]

Are transparent objects like glass non-transparent for animals who have different visible spectrums? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 05:37 AM PST Similarly to the question above, let's say an animal couldn't see our visible range of "blue". Would blue be transparent for them? submitted by /u/RadialClock [link] [comments]

Why is the order of operations in mathematics as it is? Is there a natural component or is it arbitrary? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 11:01 PM PST submitted by /u/Reddit_Guy_666 [link] [comments]

Why aren't we able to keep isolated brains alive? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 07:31 PM PST So, I was on the Wikipedia page for brains that have been separated from the body and kept alive in vitro, and it's made me wonder, why aren't we able to keep the brain alive for more than a few days? page link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolated_brain submitted by /u/Kevrj15 [link] [comments]

Is there a way to create a 'sound bubble' where the sound is only audible within a controllable radius? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 02:39 PM PST Without changing the medium, and with either a discrete edge or a rapidly decreasing signal past the 'radius' of the bubble. submitted by /u/alphaMHC [link] [comments]

What is it about Cobalt in mixed phases that makes it suitable for catalysis in industrial processes? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 04:34 AM PST I'm looking at cobalt as a catalyst and need to know specifically what is about Co in mixed oxides that makes it good for desulphurisation, for the production of terephthalic acid (TPA) and di-methylterephthalate (DMT) as well as reduced cobalt in hydroformylation. I'm assuming it's something to do with its transitory nature but don't know much more than that and am having a hard time finding papers that explain its efficacy instead of jumping into the hard catalysis science. Cheers. submitted by /u/Swahliman [link] [comments]

How does a mother's body "know" when to start and stop producing breastmilk? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 08:05 AM PST For instance, is breastmilk still produced when a baby is born prematurely? What about if the baby is stillborn/miscarried very late? I know some mothers breastfeed their children for several years, is there any point at which the body simply stops the supply of milk? Thanks! submitted by /u/downtodance [link] [comments]

If an eletric current can create a magnetic field... a magnetic field can create an eletric current? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 07:55 AM PST submitted by /u/bitow [link] [comments]

Will pre-blended gases separate under pressure? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 07:42 AM PST I work in the beer world, installing draft systems. Certain systems call for different setups, but they often need a blend of gases (co2 and n2) in varying mixes to answer the needs of the system. Most often this calls for a gas blender that blends the two gases actively from a pure co2 tank and a pure n2 tank. Occasionally, the setup calls for just using gas that is pre blended by the gas distributor in one tank. In this particular case, the blend is 75% n2, 25% co2. Would the gases potentially separate over time in the tank, rendering the blend ineffective? And if it's not too much to ask, what is the science behind it? Thanks for any insight, you guys are the best. submitted by /u/Waffuly [link] [comments]

How did the continental shelf form in the Atlantic Ocean? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 07:20 AM PST submitted by /u/_prim3_ [link] [comments]

What are Markov Chains? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 07:12 AM PST Specifically, how can they be used in algorithmic production of music? Also, what is the difference between discrete and continuous chains? submitted by /u/drainbox [link] [comments]

What is a Q-ball? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 07:12 AM PST In the backstory of Danny Boyle's SciFi film Sunshine (2007), it is explained that a Q-ball enters and is caught in the Earth's Sun and is the reason why Sun is dying. What is a Q-ball and how is it capable of killing the sun? submitted by /u/rafaellvandervaart [link] [comments]

How do ions in a solution conduct electricity? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 06:47 AM PST I'm aware that ions conduct electricity, however, most of the sources I've seen give me only a really basic explanation of why this happens. Does anyone have a really in-depth way of explaining this? submitted by /u/i_am_back_and_vegan [link] [comments]

Why is there salt in the ocean? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 10:37 PM PST Mainly how did this salt get there? submitted by /u/OregonTown [link] [comments]

How is colored PTFE (teflon) made? Does it change the properties? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 08:39 PM PST I see all sorts of colors of teflon available from manufacturers claiming that coloring doesn't affect the properties of it. My basic knowledge of PTFE has me thinking that it's impossible to dye. My best guess is some compound is mixed in before it's sintered. Does this really have an insignificant affect on the properties of the end product, specifically its friction? submitted by /u/pyromaniac28 [link] [comments]

If I peeled a banana or cut open a bell pepper, swabbed, and then cultured it, would anything grow? Essentially, are the insides of fruits and vegetables sterile? Posted: 17 Nov 2016 04:13 AM PST submitted by /u/jazerac [link] [comments]

Do all gases expand at the same rate when heated? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 07:28 PM PST Was reading an equation dealing with air recently "Standard cubic foot(SCF) = CF x (Pact/Pstd) x (Tstd/Tact)" and was wondering if this is applicable to all gases or if there is a constant for different gase that needs to be used for it to be accurate. Example, assume P remains constant: If CO2 is heated from 20°C to 100°C it expands by "x". Do all other gases also expand by "x" when heated from 20°C to 100°C? If so, or if not, why? submitted by /u/Qsaway [link] [comments]

Does the efficacy of a vaccine go down when it is administered with other vaccines? (dead culture vaccines) Posted: 17 Nov 2016 04:08 AM PST So I got a tetanus shot in one arm and a flu shot in the other. I asked the nurse if the immune response was different if two vaccines were administered instead of one. She said no, because they were dead cultures. Is there a "bandwidth" to what the immune system can respond to. Surely if I had 100 vaccinations in a minute there would be repercussions! (Yes vaccinations work, this is a question about how they work together) submitted by /u/herpberp [link] [comments]

You are subscribed to email updates from AskScience: Got Questions? Get Answers.. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States

Light is deflected by gravity fields. Can we fire a laser around the sun and get "hit in the back" by it?

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• Light is deflected by gravity fields. Can we fire a laser around the sun and get "hit in the back" by it?
• Could you turn a smoke detector into a makeshift radiation detector?
• If I were to leave my fully charged laptop turned off and unplugged for five years, could I still start it up on battery only?
• Why do crabs which are greyish in color turn reddish or orange when boiled or cooked?
• Are all modern domestic dogs descended from wolves, or were some bred using other canines, such as foxes and coyotes?
• Has there been any further studies to support the idea that the jet stream warms Europe more than the North Atlantic Current?
• Would a observer in the moon see a Super Earth as we recently experienced a super moon?
• Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science
• Chemists: What value/use do you get out of 2D and 3D representations of compounds? (Examples provided below)
• Will the moon ever impact Earth? Why or why not?
• A few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang, the universe cooled down to the point atoms were formed. What was matter made of before the cooling?
• Do blood transfusions "reset" things such as cholesterol or blood-borne diseases?
• Does light change colour when passing through a medium?
• How are babies able to express how they feel with certain actions without being taught how to do so?
• Purpose of Okazaki fragments?
• Is it possible to control the automatic stimulated behavior of your body?
• What forces prevent speeds greater than c in this thought experiment?
• Do objects actually have a centre of mass, or is it something we made make equations easier?
• What is the etymology of Stoichiometry?
• What are some examples of second order phase transitions?
• From where do plants grow?
• Why does UV light cause burns but not light on the other parts of the spectrum?

Light is deflected by gravity fields. Can we fire a laser around the sun and get "hit in the back" by it? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 01:26 AM PST Found this image while browsing the depths of Wikipedia. Could we fire a laser at ourselves by aiming so the light travels around the sun? Would it still be visible as a laser dot, or would it be spread out too much? submitted by /u/MG2R [link] [comments]

Could you turn a smoke detector into a makeshift radiation detector? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 04:56 AM PST I'm writing a nuclear war post-apocalyptic short story, and I was trying to think how people could detect pockets of radiation with everyday items. If you took a smoke detector, removed the Americium, and reversed the switch on the alarm (so that it goes off when the ionization circuit is closed instead of opened), could that function as a radiation detector? Would it pick up higher energy forms of radiation? submitted by /u/Soloandthewookiee [link] [comments]

If I were to leave my fully charged laptop turned off and unplugged for five years, could I still start it up on battery only? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 12:21 AM PST Average run-of-the-mill HP laptop, fully charged. I unplug it, turn it off, leave it at room temperature, and then I wait five years. Will I still be able to turn it on using battery power, or is the battery somehow discharged? submitted by /u/ral008 [link] [comments]

Why do crabs which are greyish in color turn reddish or orange when boiled or cooked? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 06:59 AM PST submitted by /u/captainbrave6 [link] [comments]

Are all modern domestic dogs descended from wolves, or were some bred using other canines, such as foxes and coyotes? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 05:01 AM PST submitted by /u/borderlineandsuicida [link] [comments]

Has there been any further studies to support the idea that the jet stream warms Europe more than the North Atlantic Current? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 05:35 AM PST Richard Seager published a study back in 2002 that air moving eastwards from the Pacific to North America are funnelled south because of the Rockies, pick-up warm-air and then move back northwards to warm Europe, and that this has a greater effect than warm ocean waters. The lowered air pressure immediately east of the Rockies also draws cold air from the Arctic, thus enhancing the temperature contrast between Eastern seaboard and UK/Europe at the same latitude. (edit: This may be linked to the Arctic Oscillation, but I'm not sure). This idea does crop-up quite a bit on Reddit. But I wanted to know if those in Earth Sciences actually believe it, because even Piers Sellers, director of Earth Sciences at NASA said in the "Before The Flood" video that the Gulf Stream warms Europe. submitted by /u/RicardoWanderlust [link] [comments]

Would a observer in the moon see a Super Earth as we recently experienced a super moon? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 03:58 AM PST submitted by /u/RhonnyK [link] [comments]

Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science Posted: 16 Nov 2016 07:05 AM PST Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary 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 [link] [comments]

Chemists: What value/use do you get out of 2D and 3D representations of compounds? (Examples provided below) Posted: 16 Nov 2016 06:31 AM PST I saw on Facebook today that Wikipedia posted about today being the anniversary of Albert Hoffman first synthesizing LSD, so I read up on the article. As I got sucked into the black hole I kept getting intrigued by the compounds they display on the right, for example, like this compound of DMT. Likewise, I'm interested in the significance of what you really get out of looking at images like the compound of LSD represented in three ways. I'm particularly interested in how the one on the left says anything, but information on the middle would be cool, too! Do these images do anything for you? Can you tell what compounds are based on these images? Do they ever point to something interesting or significant? Could you look at one of these compounds, recognize it's components, and then know how to synthesize it in providing you had the equipment? I hope this gets answered. Thank you! submitted by /u/Metropolis9999 [link] [comments]

Will the moon ever impact Earth? Why or why not? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 06:26 AM PST submitted by /u/SweetJefferson [link] [comments]

A few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang, the universe cooled down to the point atoms were formed. What was matter made of before the cooling? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 01:14 AM PST submitted by /u/Weedandspitz [link] [comments]

Do blood transfusions "reset" things such as cholesterol or blood-borne diseases? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 06:07 AM PST submitted by /u/diphling [link] [comments]

Does light change colour when passing through a medium? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 03:51 AM PST I'm learning about light, reflection, refraction and similar topics in Physics. The textbook says: n = c/v = λ1/λ2 where n = absolute refractive index, c = speed of light in vacuum, λ1 = original wavelength, λ2 = refracted wavelength. The book uses this to explain how light disperses into colours as it passes through a prism, which I mostly understand (because speed of light in a medium depends on frequency), allowing each colour to have it's own distinct refractive index. My question is: If n = λ1/λ2, doesn't this suggest that the wavelength is changed quite significantly as the medium changes? For example: red light has a wavelength of about 700nm, if it passes through a glass with n = 1.5, the equation suggests it has a new wavelength in the medium of about 466nm; a significant change in colour. In other words, does this mean that the red light that exits a prism was a different colour before entering the prism, and has been shifted to a shorter wavelength by refraction? submitted by /u/Mynerz [link] [comments]

How are babies able to express how they feel with certain actions without being taught how to do so? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 03:07 AM PST Like for example crying or laughing. Does this mean that even without learning how to express being happy we subconsciously know how to laugh or smile? If that's so whats making us automatically smile or laugh when we are feeling happy? submitted by /u/IEatTranslations [link] [comments]

Purpose of Okazaki fragments? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 05:18 AM PST Is there a reason DNA replication occurs discontinuously in an energy expensive manner on the lagging strand? Understanding evolution does not take the most efficient path, is there any reason behind the constant priming and short sequence of bases being added? Additionally the expense of DNA ligase converting all the primers made because of the nature of the lagging strand. submitted by /u/CocoLocomotion [link] [comments]

Is it possible to control the automatic stimulated behavior of your body? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 05:08 AM PST I am not talking about just heart rate when I mean regulatory behavior. I am more interested in the things that it seems we have no control over, like sweating or goose bumps. Both of these generally occur due to an environment/stimulus, is it possible to cause these reactions without an enivronment stimulus present? Thanks in advance for any in sights :) Edit: To clarify a bit more, there are internal stimului that can cause some of these reactions to occur, like something embarrassing or being nervous causing you to sweat. I should clarify that I mean: is it possible to control these functions with the same sort of ease that we control arms/legs? submitted by /u/dworpss [link] [comments]

What forces prevent speeds greater than c in this thought experiment? Posted: 15 Nov 2016 09:48 PM PST Of course none of this is feasible with current technology and materials science, but... Assume that we have a rod extending from the equator on Earth into space. (For the sake of the argument, assume the rod is as strong as theoretically possible and extends through the earth out the other side an equal distance to maintain the balance of the Earth's rotation) If we could make the rod long enough, what forces would stop the tip of the rod from traveling at a speed faster than c when earth is rotating? Calculating, I get: c = 299792458 m/sec 1 light day = 25902068371200 m (this is also the circumference of the circle needed for the end of the rod to be traveling at the speed of light over the course of 24 hours) pi(d) = 25902068371200 m (get the diameter of circle above) diameter = 8244884435161 m radius (length of rod) = 4122442217581 m = 4,122,442,218 km Distance to Neptune = 4,700,000,000 km Maintaining Earth's rotational speed, we would need a rod that extended out from the equator 4,122,442,218 km (somewhere between Saturn and Neptune) for the tip of the rod to be traveling faster than c. If you have something that rotates faster (Jupiter for example), the distance you need for the rod is dramatically decreased. I get the distances are insanely far, but it's still infinitely less than infinite. So where's the weak point in the thought experiment. Would the atoms break apart in the rod, or would the earth's rotation slow for some reason? submitted by /u/dtom-76 [link] [comments]

Do objects actually have a centre of mass, or is it something we made make equations easier? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 03:43 AM PST Usually we treat objects as if they have a centre of mass, as in all the forces act on the objects centre of mass, and moments etc originate from the objects centre of mass. Although it doesn't make much sense to me that all the weight of an object acts on one point, as in, if you added an atom to the side of a tennis ball, it doesn't make sense that the atom then has no weight, and the weight is transferred to the objects centre of mass. So, to put it simply, do objects actually have a centre of mass? submitted by /u/Jaffas-Ahoy [link] [comments]

What is the etymology of Stoichiometry? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 01:56 AM PST Stoichiometry is a term used in Chemistry and it pertains to the calculation of the quantities of chemical elements or compounds involved in chemical reactions. It is usually a 5-step process which uses ratios (generally, whole numbers) to determine mols or mass of a compound or element in a certain reaction. What is it's etymology? submitted by /u/TALPERS [link] [comments]

What are some examples of second order phase transitions? Posted: 15 Nov 2016 11:10 PM PST For polymers, the glass transition is second order. I'm wondering what other types of 2nd order transitions are out there. submitted by /u/slogmog [link] [comments]

From where do plants grow? Posted: 16 Nov 2016 01:02 AM PST Like trees which grows from the outer rim from the cambium, where do plants grow from? My proffesor doesn't know so hope anyone can help clear that up! Thanks.. submitted by /u/Glenn1BoY [link] [comments]

Why does UV light cause burns but not light on the other parts of the spectrum? Posted: 15 Nov 2016 07:02 PM PST submitted by /u/HiMyNamesServiceDesk [link] [comments]

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