What has made solar energy so much more expensive in the past, and what developments are most important to further reduce the cost in the future?

---

• What has made solar energy so much more expensive in the past, and what developments are most important to further reduce the cost in the future?
• What is the likelihood of their being an extremely large animal hidden in the depths of the ocean?
• Why is the Serotonin System the Primary Target for Depression Over Other NT Systems?
• Today, in Montreal, sunrise is at 7:34 am, and sunset is at 4:18 pm. In Edmonton, sunrise isn't until 8:50am, while sunset is almost the same, at 4:20pm. Why is sunrise more than an hour later, while sunset is at the same time?
• With Iron being the final product of stellar fusion, if we simply started with a chunk of Iron and continually added more what would happen over time as the quantity increased?
• When sonoluminescence occurs what happens to all that heat produced?
• How rare is silicon at what point would scarcity start to impact the cost of solar panel and microchip production?
• What is momentum? Not the formula or the fact that it's conserved... but how do I picture momentum? I can picture acceleration, torque, energy, potential difference, inertia etc etc.. but not momentum. What does it mean when an objects momentum is x kgm/s?
• What properties of a planet determine how high or deep surface features can form?
• why do we feel our heartbeat (pulse) stronger on some areas of our body than others?
• How do computers simulate probability distributions?
• If mass alters the curvature of spacetime, does charge distort spacetime or some electromagnetic analogue?
• How much of the United States could run on the geothermal energy of Yellowstone?
• Why does your body ache when you have a cold?
• [Ecology] Is there any evidence of natural bioremediation occurring in chemical or nuclear disaster sites, like Love Canal or Chernobyl?
• Playing with homemade synthesizers, realized I don't know HOW it is that an oscillator makes sounds?
• Why is angular momentum so important in studying the atom? Are atoms subject to gyroscopic precession?
• Why do people get runny noses when they eat something spicy?
• Why are there ridges on the roof of my mouth?
• Are there any regions of our galaxy that are vastly different from most of the galaxy?
• I'm a refrigeration tech learning about the magneto caloric effect and am wondering to what extent our planet experiences magnetic heating and cooling as it whizzes around the sun?
• How do meteorologists determine the chance of rain?

What has made solar energy so much more expensive in the past, and what developments are most important to further reduce the cost in the future? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 03:30 PM PST submitted by /u/carowh [link] [comments]

What is the likelihood of their being an extremely large animal hidden in the depths of the ocean? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 04:07 PM PST Since 95 percent of the ocean is unexplored, is it even possible for their to be a hidden giant in the depths? Or is their a way to be mathematically sure or using other means like sonar to conclude that their is not something that big lurking submitted by /u/GraySharpies [link] [comments]

Why is the Serotonin System the Primary Target for Depression Over Other NT Systems? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 10:59 PM PST Question in the title but why serotonin? If serotonin is the supposed 'happy chemical' then why do so many people on antidepressants often complain about feeling numb emotionally and sexual side effects? Surely other neurotransmitters are just as important if not more in the physiology of depression right? Or hormones like cortisol--why is measuring cortisol not done regularly by psychiatrists in treating depression? submitted by /u/lightstreaker2 [link] [comments]

Today, in Montreal, sunrise is at 7:34 am, and sunset is at 4:18 pm. In Edmonton, sunrise isn't until 8:50am, while sunset is almost the same, at 4:20pm. Why is sunrise more than an hour later, while sunset is at the same time? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 08:26 PM PST I would have expected the day to be symmetrically shorter, morning and night. submitted by /u/peanut_butter [link] [comments]

With Iron being the final product of stellar fusion, if we simply started with a chunk of Iron and continually added more what would happen over time as the quantity increased? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 05:21 PM PST I understand from other discussions here how adding different types of mass to an existing star has varied results, however if we were to start with material that could not be fused such as iron (or another similar traditionally non-fusible material) what would happen over time as the pile grew bigger and bigger and we continued to add to it? submitted by /u/Lorix_In_Oz [link] [comments]

When sonoluminescence occurs what happens to all that heat produced? Posted: 27 Dec 2016 07:40 AM PST I asked this question a couple days back and no-one replied which makes me sad cause I wannna know lol. submitted by /u/Rukasaur [link] [comments]

How rare is silicon at what point would scarcity start to impact the cost of solar panel and microchip production? Posted: 27 Dec 2016 07:20 AM PST submitted by /u/WanderingSkunk [link] [comments]

What is momentum? Not the formula or the fact that it's conserved... but how do I picture momentum? I can picture acceleration, torque, energy, potential difference, inertia etc etc.. but not momentum. What does it mean when an objects momentum is x kgm/s? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 10:25 PM PST Disclaimer: this question may be silly. But please help. submitted by /u/FailAtomic [link] [comments]

What properties of a planet determine how high or deep surface features can form? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 09:48 PM PST What about Mars allows it do have the tallest mountain and lowest canyon in the solar system? What is different about Earth in this respect? submitted by /u/FTLSquid [link] [comments]

why do we feel our heartbeat (pulse) stronger on some areas of our body than others? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 10:34 PM PST For example, when checking heart rate it is usually easiest to use either the arteries in the neck or wrist to determine bpm. Does this have to do with how large the blood vessel is? Or perhaps how close it is to the surface? Thank you! submitted by /u/TheBeany273 [link] [comments]

How do computers simulate probability distributions? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 08:12 PM PST Say I want to draw random values from a Gaussian distribution. How does a program generate random values such that they follow the desired distribution? submitted by /u/smoothpebble [link] [comments]

If mass alters the curvature of spacetime, does charge distort spacetime or some electromagnetic analogue? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:49 PM PST submitted by /u/eggn00dles [link] [comments]

How much of the United States could run on the geothermal energy of Yellowstone? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 10:43 AM PST submitted by /u/pyronius [link] [comments]

Why does your body ache when you have a cold? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 02:10 PM PST Whenever I get a cold my body aches. When I sneeze, it's not just my head, but my body that hurts. Why is that? Follow up, why do you feel weak too? submitted by /u/Rottendog [link] [comments]

[Ecology] Is there any evidence of natural bioremediation occurring in chemical or nuclear disaster sites, like Love Canal or Chernobyl? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 06:51 PM PST submitted by /u/dreamingintarot [link] [comments]

Playing with homemade synthesizers, realized I don't know HOW it is that an oscillator makes sounds? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 08:43 PM PST So I get that the oscillator is making waveforms and that depending no the frequency, peaks, and character of the wave, I hear different sounds, but when I really think about it, I feel like I'm still not quite sure I see how a little oscillator circuit is making sounds. I guess the disconnect starts with this idea. The oscillator is exactly making sounds because when you plug it into a bread board, and get the power pumping through it, it's like I can hear it. In other words, it's not making vibrations that I hear like when I strike a guitar. Or is it? Is it making super subtle vibrations and I just need an amplifier in order to make out the vibrations? Seems like that's still not right because even when you drop a needle on a record you can still faintly hear the music. I don't hear anything coming out of the oscillator when power is running through it on thr bread board. So, sorry if this sounds dumb, but what exactly am I hearing? Am I hearing electricity that's being amplified? Or is the electrical pulse making the the speaker vibrate a specific way that then creates what we all know to be an "electronic" sound? submitted by /u/sanspolanco [link] [comments]

Why is angular momentum so important in studying the atom? Are atoms subject to gyroscopic precession? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 04:44 PM PST I'm starting a quantum mechanics course at university. I want to know why angular momentum is so important ? Many Thanks submitted by /u/FailAtomic [link] [comments]

Why do people get runny noses when they eat something spicy? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 10:42 AM PST submitted by /u/endwithzero [link] [comments]

Why are there ridges on the roof of my mouth? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 08:37 AM PST submitted by /u/decalcomania [link] [comments]

Are there any regions of our galaxy that are vastly different from most of the galaxy? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 07:10 PM PST Aside from the core vs arms of the galaxy, what other meaningful divisions are there for our galaxy? submitted by /u/King_in-the_North [link] [comments]

I'm a refrigeration tech learning about the magneto caloric effect and am wondering to what extent our planet experiences magnetic heating and cooling as it whizzes around the sun? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 05:43 PM PST My thinking is that both the earth and the sun are magnetic bodies so there should be some sort of magneto caloric interaction. I've done a few cursory searches and have come up empty handed. For that matter, to what extent does the Earth experience magneto caloric effect due to its own magnetic field? submitted by /u/dsldragon [link] [comments]

How do meteorologists determine the chance of rain? Posted: 26 Dec 2016 05:54 AM PST submitted by /u/nonosenoname [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

If you had a pinhole camera with an aperture that only let one photon in at a time- what would its pictures look like?

---

• If you had a pinhole camera with an aperture that only let one photon in at a time- what would its pictures look like?
• Would it have been possible to watch Neil Armstrong on the moon through a telescope?
• My 5-year-old wants to know: What would happen if a giant ball of water even bigger than the sun ran into the sun?
• If the "vacuum of space" is really a very thin distribution of gasses and dust, are areas near stars and other gravity wells notably thinner?
• Why don't seeds germinate whilst inside ripe fruit?
• Why does cornstarch make soups and sauces thicker?
• How do we know how far away and across galaxies and other space objects are?
• Temperature is the average kinetic energy of a substance's molecules, so does a substance's temperature increase if its translational speed—and thus translational kinetic energy—increases?
• Could a bright enough light shine through metal?
• How do IR thermometers work? Or more specifically, do they guess the emissivity of what they are measuring?
• Birth rate seems to be inversely related to wealth and resource availability. Does this phenomenon occur in non-human species? Is there a biological(i.e. hormonal) influence behind it?
• Why does hair loss always begin from the top region of the head?
• Because they look similar, are okras and chilies more genetically similar than, say, chilies and potatoes?
• How did Hawaii's current vegetation get there?
• If all the mass of the universe was distributed evenly, would space still be a vacuum?
• How do cuckoo chicks know to remove host eggs after just hatching from their egg?
• If you gathered all the particles in the intergalactic space between the Milky Way and Andromeda, would you have enough to form a star?
• Why does liquid arranged themselves in a certain pattern when they freeze and not stay random as they are in their fluid state?
• Why do humans perceive that more massive objects should fall faster than less massive objects?
• [Linguistics] Is it simply because linguists haven't been able to discover the reason yet so they say the relationship between a signifier and the signified is mostly arbitrary except for the onomatopoeia words?
• Ignoring wind, how much of an effect could rainfall have on the range of football kick?
• How does a ribosome understand which exact protein goes with a corresponding codon?
• Why do so many things in nature manifest themselves in the form of waves? E.g photons, sound, electrons

If you had a pinhole camera with an aperture that only let one photon in at a time- what would its pictures look like? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 08:53 AM PST submitted by /u/runfromthemasses [link] [comments]

Would it have been possible to watch Neil Armstrong on the moon through a telescope? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 09:18 PM PST submitted by /u/FORluvOFdaGAME [link] [comments]

My 5-year-old wants to know: What would happen if a giant ball of water even bigger than the sun ran into the sun? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 06:56 PM PST Thanks for humoring us =) submitted by /u/on_island_time [link] [comments]

If the "vacuum of space" is really a very thin distribution of gasses and dust, are areas near stars and other gravity wells notably thinner? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 08:46 AM PST submitted by /u/Ravor9933 [link] [comments]

Why don't seeds germinate whilst inside ripe fruit? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 09:39 PM PST Like a tomato. You never see the seeds inside germinating while inside the wet moist tomato environment. submitted by /u/swaggg11 [link] [comments]

Why does cornstarch make soups and sauces thicker? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 02:15 PM PST submitted by /u/doubledongbot [link] [comments]

How do we know how far away and across galaxies and other space objects are? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 06:13 PM PST For the pillars of creation for example, we estimate it is 6500-7000 light years away. What method are they using to make that estimate. Also how do we estimate(or know) the size of these things? submitted by /u/LilFahny [link] [comments]

Temperature is the average kinetic energy of a substance's molecules, so does a substance's temperature increase if its translational speed—and thus translational kinetic energy—increases? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 05:58 PM PST For example, when a pitcher throws a baseball, he increases the ball's translational kinetic energy. Neglecting the affects that drag force has on the ball, does the combined affect of the molecules' translation and vibration cause them to become 'hotter?' submitted by /u/Diescientist [link] [comments]

Could a bright enough light shine through metal? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 12:29 PM PST So, light waves can be either absorbed or reflected by a material, or can go through a material. However, no material reflects or absorbs 100% perfectly. At least a few photons will go through (correct?). Anyway, say I write a message on a white piece of paper, and cover it with a black piece of paper. I can't see the message anymore, but if I went in a dark room and shined a light under it I could. If I did the same thing but covered the message with aluminum foil, it wouldn't work. What if I bought one of these expensive flashlights with thousands of lumens, would it work then? Is there any amount of light that would make it possible to see through the aluminum foil? Or a different wavelength of light? Somehow "x-ray" it? submitted by /u/MyDickIsElevenInches [link] [comments]

How do IR thermometers work? Or more specifically, do they guess the emissivity of what they are measuring? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 02:25 PM PST Since real objects aren't ideal black bodies how does the IR thermometer measure temperature? submitted by /u/I_Like_Existing [link] [comments]

Birth rate seems to be inversely related to wealth and resource availability. Does this phenomenon occur in non-human species? Is there a biological(i.e. hormonal) influence behind it? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 07:32 PM PST submitted by /u/DoctorKynes [link] [comments]

Why does hair loss always begin from the top region of the head? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 02:33 PM PST Why does pattern hair loss in men particularly seems to always start from the same region, top of the head, and never from the sides? submitted by /u/StingBull [link] [comments]

Because they look similar, are okras and chilies more genetically similar than, say, chilies and potatoes? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 06:12 PM PST My friend was saying that okra and Chili are pretty much the same due to them looking so similar. I said I thought they were dissimilar but had no proof. How much does look matter when talking about genetic similarity? Thanks!! <3 submitted by /u/refleksy [link] [comments]

How did Hawaii's current vegetation get there? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 02:08 PM PST Based on my knowledge of how islands are formed (lava escapes through faults in Earth's continental plates, and cools down after contact with water), Hawaii would have been very bare at one point. I am imagining a small island similar to what is in this picture (https://imgur.com/a/24qZs). My question is, how did Hawaii turn into the lush archipelago it is today? How did all of the plantlife that exists there, get there, if it was at one point bare and isolated from everywhere else. All of the trees and small plants couldn't have evolved and converged to become so similar (I doubt it), and I can't see how the DNA of any of the trees/plants would be transported to an isolated island chain otherwise. submitted by /u/KingReset [link] [comments]

If all the mass of the universe was distributed evenly, would space still be a vacuum? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 02:08 PM PST submitted by /u/ravenmxc [link] [comments]

How do cuckoo chicks know to remove host eggs after just hatching from their egg? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 01:55 PM PST Are there any other species that take on such tasks at 'an early age'? submitted by /u/pregpretz [link] [comments]

If you gathered all the particles in the intergalactic space between the Milky Way and Andromeda, would you have enough to form a star? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 11:40 AM PST I know intergalactic space is very sparse, but it is also very vast. Would you have enough between say Milky Way and Andromeda? submitted by /u/DerajjareD [link] [comments]

Why does liquid arranged themselves in a certain pattern when they freeze and not stay random as they are in their fluid state? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 04:48 PM PST submitted by /u/bitemyamygdala [link] [comments]

Why do humans perceive that more massive objects should fall faster than less massive objects? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 11:18 AM PST I haven't been able to find anything through search. If this assumption is the exact opposite of basically all empirical observations (setting aside instances of terminal velocity), why would the truth be counter-intuitive? Why wouldn't it just be obvious? submitted by /u/SMc-Twelve [link] [comments]

[Linguistics] Is it simply because linguists haven't been able to discover the reason yet so they say the relationship between a signifier and the signified is mostly arbitrary except for the onomatopoeia words? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 02:42 PM PST submitted by /u/Novelriaty [link] [comments]

Ignoring wind, how much of an effect could rainfall have on the range of football kick? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 07:12 PM PST Referring to American football here. Also ignoring changes in kicking style etc. Just wondering about the effect on momentum from drops falling on the ball, or the ball colliding with drops in its flight path. submitted by /u/JohnMatt [link] [comments]

How does a ribosome understand which exact protein goes with a corresponding codon? Posted: 25 Dec 2016 12:58 PM PST How do our cells understand the language of codons? What exactly makes a ribosome synthesize Methionine when it "reads" AUG or to stop when it reaches UAA, UAG or UGA? submitted by /u/AjaxSuited [link] [comments]

Why do so many things in nature manifest themselves in the form of waves? E.g photons, sound, electrons Posted: 25 Dec 2016 09:57 AM PST Is it humans limited way of describing these phenomena? Or does it have to do with the energetic nature? submitted by /u/WaterChemistry [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

Why do skydivers have a greater terminal velocity when wearing lead weight belts?

---

• Why do skydivers have a greater terminal velocity when wearing lead weight belts?
• How close to a perfect sphere is a black hole?
• [Physics] What type of detector would be needed to verify or disprove the existence of the gravitational wave background?
• What would be the cheapest or easiest elements to artificially make using nuclear reactions?
• How do contemporary mathematicians compare to Euler?
• [Earth & Planetary Sciences] Why does climate change seem to affect Earth's poles much more than it does areas closer to the equator?
• When you take a drug (say caffeine) for a while and the receptors for that drug get 'down-regulated' what actually physically happens?
• How did people determine that "PEMDAS" is the correct order for solving math problems and who was that person/persons?
• Why are the bubbles in a Windex bottle not circular?
• What would happen if you cooled hydrogen atoms and neutrons to near absolute zero and collided them? Would it kickstart a fusion reaction? Would it be worth the effort?
• What causes magnetism in non-magnets?

Why do skydivers have a greater terminal velocity when wearing lead weight belts? Posted: 24 Dec 2016 08:02 AM PST My brother and I have to wear lead to keep up with heavier people. Does this agree with Galileo's findings? submitted by /u/10-46 [link] [comments]

How close to a perfect sphere is a black hole? Posted: 24 Dec 2016 08:26 AM PST Is there much variation in the surface of a black hole? I'd imagine because of its relatively small size and huge mass black holes would be very close to a perfect sphere. submitted by /u/mbeaumont1 [link] [comments]

[Physics] What type of detector would be needed to verify or disprove the existence of the gravitational wave background? Posted: 24 Dec 2016 08:04 AM PST The gravitational wave background is conjectured to exist and is similar to the cosmic microwave background radiation, but instead of light, it is gravitational waves. As light from the first quarter million years of the universe could not penetrate the plasma soup at the time, the CMBR is limited to showing us the universe after that time - the gravitational wave background might enable us to probe earlier than that. submitted by /u/sirgog [link] [comments]

What would be the cheapest or easiest elements to artificially make using nuclear reactions? Posted: 24 Dec 2016 11:09 AM PST I don't mean purifying an element from compounds, I mean making an element from different elements. Californium is outrageously expensive and difficult to produce, but is it easier to make lead? I understand that alpha particles or helium ions are produced spontaneously from some heavier radioactive elements, but don't know how expensive or difficult to get those starting materials. Wiki tells me alpha particles/helium can be made in cyclotrons, but I assume making one would have high costs, as would electricity. I don't intend to ACTUALLY do it, just kid's question got me curious what the lowest price tag on alchemy would be. submitted by /u/interkin3tic [link] [comments]

How do contemporary mathematicians compare to Euler? Posted: 24 Dec 2016 07:31 AM PST The more I learn about Leonhard Euler, the more I am amazed by how much he was ahead of everyone else of his time. Since the 18th century mathematics has advanced considerably, but I am wondering whether the mathematicians of today come close to Euler's genius? submitted by /u/magsr [link] [comments]

[Earth & Planetary Sciences] Why does climate change seem to affect Earth's poles much more than it does areas closer to the equator? Posted: 24 Dec 2016 12:02 PM PST submitted by /u/FromTheDeskOfJAW [link] [comments]

When you take a drug (say caffeine) for a while and the receptors for that drug get 'down-regulated' what actually physically happens? Posted: 24 Dec 2016 11:47 AM PST Do the receptor sites disappear or get destroyed? Do the receptor sites simply stay there but withdraw into the cell wall? Do the receptors get plugged up with a molecule irreversibly binding to it? submitted by /u/neutronboy [link] [comments]

How did people determine that "PEMDAS" is the correct order for solving math problems and who was that person/persons? Posted: 24 Dec 2016 06:21 AM PST EDIT: Not remotely a math person myself. You guys are awesome. Thanks for the help! submitted by /u/Vat1canCame0s [link] [comments]

Why are the bubbles in a Windex bottle not circular? Posted: 24 Dec 2016 12:15 PM PST submitted by /u/seebs [link] [comments]

What would happen if you cooled hydrogen atoms and neutrons to near absolute zero and collided them? Would it kickstart a fusion reaction? Would it be worth the effort? Posted: 23 Dec 2016 07:06 PM PST submitted by /u/questiont1m3x [link] [comments]

What causes magnetism in non-magnets? Posted: 23 Dec 2016 09:41 PM PST I was playing with two butter knives and then suddenly realized that when placed next to each other that they were weakly magnetic. I can't think of anything that I did that can create the magnetic field without an existing magnetic or electric field. submitted by /u/-ManBearPig [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