How is Plutonium 238 hot?

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• How is Plutonium 238 hot?
• Why do diamagnetic elements, such as Bismuth, not have a curie point above which they lose their diamagnetism?
• Do spectral lines appear in the microwaves, radio waves and x-rays, gamma rays as they do in visible light?
• What laws/theories limit the maximum size of a cyclone/anti-cyclone on a spherical body?
• What is energy?
• How do scientists know how many protons, neutrons and electrons there are in an atom?
• Where does "sound energy" goes, in active noise cancelling headphones ?
• Why does sound propagate faster through hot air eventhough it's less dense?
• What does the U on this magnet mean?
• When explaining the theory of relativity, the difference observed in passing time between a stationary observer and one who is moving is often used as a descriptor. How are stationary and moving defined?
• Do volcanoes form a shape that can be approximated by simple mathematical curve?
• Since heat is lost very slowly in space, do asteroids have any of their "original heat" left from their formation or collisions?
• If something was stabilized in the Earth-Moon L3 LaGrange point and it was knocked out of stability, what would happen?
• Is there a base of pi where some digits are much more likely than others to show up? Is it possible to have some base where some digit will never show up?
• How does alpha spectroscopy work and what is its purpose?
• If a 15,000 K star peaks in the ultraviolet. Does that mean we would not be able to see this star? Explain.
• Can data on AC EM waves be jammed by DC EM fields?

How is Plutonium 238 hot? Posted: 21 Mar 2017 05:06 AM PDT I have been researching radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) and got stuck on why the decay releasing alpha particles leads it to being hot? also why do RTG need fins to dissipate the heat when we are trying to convert it to energy? submitted by /u/lewlew241 [link] [comments]

Why do diamagnetic elements, such as Bismuth, not have a curie point above which they lose their diamagnetism? Posted: 21 Mar 2017 02:34 AM PDT submitted by /u/Jatexi [link] [comments]

Do spectral lines appear in the microwaves, radio waves and x-rays, gamma rays as they do in visible light? Posted: 21 Mar 2017 01:04 AM PDT I assume they also appear in the infrared and ultraviolet ends of the spectrum. submitted by /u/the6thReplicant [link] [comments]

What laws/theories limit the maximum size of a cyclone/anti-cyclone on a spherical body? Posted: 21 Mar 2017 12:21 AM PDT This thought came to me recently looking at images of the massive cyclone structure on Saturn. If there is a planet of diameter n, how large can a cyclone/anti-cyclone be? I assume there an upper limit < the surface area of the sphere, but how is it constrained and what is the theoretical limit for any given body? submitted by /u/ChthonicIrrigation [link] [comments]

What is energy? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 05:32 PM PDT I'm a kinesiology major so the energy I learn about comes from ATP. When the terminal phosphate breaks off from the rest of the phosphates, the bond breaks and energy is released. But what is that energy? Is it actually something, or is just a term used to describe something with no physical qualities? Also, I suck at categorizing my posts so sorry if I should have chosen something else. submitted by /u/BIessthefaII [link] [comments]

How do scientists know how many protons, neutrons and electrons there are in an atom? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 11:39 AM PDT I am still in highschool and in chemistry while we are studying atoms and their Composition I have always asked myself as well as my teacher, how do they even know how many protons, neutrons and electrons there are if they can't even see the atom... Still today, I don't know the answer to that... submitted by /u/LePaulitte13 [link] [comments]

Where does "sound energy" goes, in active noise cancelling headphones ? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 02:44 PM PDT My understanding of noise cancelling headphones is that the headphone will produce the opposite of the external sound, and when added, those two sounds will cancel each other. This will result in no sound. The headphone uses energy to produce his sound wave. The external sound wave has an energy. The resulting soundwave (which is the sum of the two others) has no energy since its amplitude is 0. So, where do the initial energy of the soundwave and the energy of the headphone-produced soundwave go ? submitted by /u/chocopouet [link] [comments]

Why does sound propagate faster through hot air eventhough it's less dense? Posted: 21 Mar 2017 12:44 AM PDT submitted by /u/320driver [link] [comments]

What does the U on this magnet mean? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 01:32 PM PDT I'm in physics right now and we were given these magnets. My teacher and I are stumped as to what the U represents here. submitted by /u/_Christmas [link] [comments]

When explaining the theory of relativity, the difference observed in passing time between a stationary observer and one who is moving is often used as a descriptor. How are stationary and moving defined? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 04:10 PM PDT In the normal way of explaining this, it's told that someone on Earth would see time pass more quickly than someone traveling in a spaceship approaching the speed of light. How can we define one point as stationary and one point as moving if they're just two points in space? Wouldn't those labels be arbitrary, and the only real measurement would be the distance between the two points and its rate of change? submitted by /u/andersberndog [link] [comments]

Do volcanoes form a shape that can be approximated by simple mathematical curve? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 04:09 PM PDT I was wondering if the shape of a volcano could be modeled by a simple mathematical curve. Presumably, the lava flows will try to follow the path of least resistance to the ground - does this result in a certain, predictable shape forming (such as the caternary shape of a hanging string)? Could such a shape be modeled as some kind of trigonometric/exponential/power function? submitted by /u/ThatCosmicGuy [link] [comments]

Since heat is lost very slowly in space, do asteroids have any of their "original heat" left from their formation or collisions? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 09:15 AM PDT submitted by /u/Largedump [link] [comments]

If something was stabilized in the Earth-Moon L3 LaGrange point and it was knocked out of stability, what would happen? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 09:37 PM PDT Let's say something at L3 gets knocked around a bit. Will it move along an Earth Orbit towards L4 or L5? If so, how long would it take to get there (minutes, days, months, eons)? And would it stop at L4 / L5, or keep moving in a new orbit? Or would it just crash into Earth? submitted by /u/lateknightcoffee [link] [comments]

Is there a base of pi where some digits are much more likely than others to show up? Is it possible to have some base where some digit will never show up? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 07:33 AM PDT For pi in base 10 it seems that all digits are fairly regularly equal in occurrence (3.1415926...) but is there a base, for example base 4, where a certain digit is much more likely or less likely than others (e.g. 3.022202022200022...)? Is this the case for other numbers such as e? submitted by /u/Fog_Terminator [link] [comments]

How does alpha spectroscopy work and what is its purpose? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 12:20 PM PDT submitted by /u/alphadam [link] [comments]

If a 15,000 K star peaks in the ultraviolet. Does that mean we would not be able to see this star? Explain. Posted: 20 Mar 2017 08:07 AM PDT submitted by /u/jodms05 [link] [comments]

Can data on AC EM waves be jammed by DC EM fields? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 07:00 AM PDT For example: Could an AC electromagnetic wave with a frequency of 1Hz, propagating towards a receiver with a limited amount of data, be disrupted or 'jammed' by a DC electromagnetic field, which entirely surrounds the receiver although obviously with a frequency of 0Hz? If yes, is there a frequency range within which 'jamming'/interference of AC EM waves by DC fields is possible (ie 1-100Hz)? submitted by /u/tjsb55 [link] [comments]

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We have been measuring the age of earth by looking at the layers of ground, how do we know there aren't any older evidence underneath the thick snow of North pole? Or the deepest ocean floor that human has yet to discover?

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• We have been measuring the age of earth by looking at the layers of ground, how do we know there aren't any older evidence underneath the thick snow of North pole? Or the deepest ocean floor that human has yet to discover?
• How do we know that mass compressed into a space below its Schwarzschild radius collapses into a singularity, rather than some non-singularity density?
• Since the flow of electric current through a wire is same as that of water through a pipe, will the flow of electric current be restricted when we "squeeze" the wire?
• What is the "shelf life" of a nuclear weapon? How long could one be stored before the fissile material decays to a point where it can't be detonated?
• Since CO_2_ in our blood regulates our autonomic breathing reflex, what effect has increased atmospheric CO_2_ had on humans and our breathing (and other animals, if possible)?
• Why do we use different ways of detecting light as its frequency changes?
• If i had magnet and i would put piece of iron under it just right so it wouldnt fall nor rise but it would float would it eventualy fall anyway? If so why?
• Is any research being done by serious mathematicians on finding an easier and more direct solution to Fermat, or is that sort of thing left to the amateurs and hobbyists?
• Do scientists need to know the amount of an isotope present initially when doing radiometric dating? If so, how do they know?
• What makes our saliva able to form bubbles? Does it share similarities with soap bubbles?
• Why is energy and momentum conserved?
• What happens to molecules after binding to cell receptors?
• Does HCl melt ice more efficiently than plain water? Why or why not?
• What causes dark circles to form around your eyes?
• Is the movement of tectonic plates in any way influenced by their average latitude?
• Why is there such a thing as "critical mass" for a radioactive material? Why couldn't the chain reaction sustain itself with less mass than the critical amount? How is this mass calculated?
• If a drunk driver is severely hurt in a crash, how does the hospital treat the pain?
• Why do quantum dots behave they way they do?
• Which two points can be connected by a wormhole and will it always be a shortcut?
• Is it possible to store muons, like we can store electrons?

We have been measuring the age of earth by looking at the layers of ground, how do we know there aren't any older evidence underneath the thick snow of North pole? Or the deepest ocean floor that human has yet to discover? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 04:29 AM PDT We have been measuring the age of earth by looking at the layers of ground, how do we know there aren't any older evidence underneath the thick snow of North pole? Or the deepest ocean floor that human has yet to discover? Or even unknown creatures that lived before the dinosaurs.. submitted by /u/iamid [link] [comments]

How do we know that mass compressed into a space below its Schwarzschild radius collapses into a singularity, rather than some non-singularity density? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 06:18 AM PDT I understand that if you have a given mass compressed into a sphere with radius below its Schwarzschild radius, the escape velocity of that mass is such that light cannot escape it (it is a black hole). I understand that current understanding of elemental particles and the forces they exert would not provide enough force to resist gravitational collapse. The thing I'm kind of missing is how this necessarily leads to the idea of a point of near - infinite density and infinitesimal volume. From my limited understanding, part of the idea of a singularity is that we don't understand how the physics of such an object would work at all, in common parlance we hear that physics "breaks down." If we're going to admit that physics as we understand them can't tell us anything useful about a singularity, what leads us to believe the collapse wouldn't stop at say - the size of a tennis ball, or the Planck length, or something like that? Also, can someone speak to any explanation of the coincidence that the density we calculate as being unable to observe due to it's escape velocity is exactly the density that we calculate collapses into a singularity? submitted by /u/random-dent [link] [comments]

Since the flow of electric current through a wire is same as that of water through a pipe, will the flow of electric current be restricted when we "squeeze" the wire? Posted: 20 Mar 2017 01:27 AM PDT submitted by /u/newguy208 [link] [comments]

What is the "shelf life" of a nuclear weapon? How long could one be stored before the fissile material decays to a point where it can't be detonated? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 08:14 PM PDT submitted by /u/scotscott [link] [comments]

Since CO_2_ in our blood regulates our autonomic breathing reflex, what effect has increased atmospheric CO_2_ had on humans and our breathing (and other animals, if possible)? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 12:28 PM PDT This came up as a side comment in an ELI5 post. Human and all other oxygen-breathers evolved on a planet with atmospheric CO2 ranging from 200-280 ppm. Right now atmospheric CO2 is around 400 ppm, and estimates are that over the next few centuries it will climb to 1500 ppm. What effect is this having on people's respiration (or perhaps on animals more sensitive to it than humans), and what will happen in the future if this trend continues as predicted? /r/explainlikeimfive/comments/60a843/comment/df4ycaa?st=J0H28NQE&sh=e8ceb4fc (Thank you /u/--geode) submitted by /u/TychaBrahe [link] [comments]

Why do we use different ways of detecting light as its frequency changes? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 02:39 PM PDT If everything on the electromagnetic spectrum is a form of light, then why do we have to use such vastly different detection methods as we move up and down the spectrum? Why can't I use an antenna to observe visible light (or can I)? Why do properties vary so much, if its all waves on a continuum of frequency change? submitted by /u/theory42 [link] [comments]

If i had magnet and i would put piece of iron under it just right so it wouldnt fall nor rise but it would float would it eventualy fall anyway? If so why? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 03:29 PM PDT Would the magnetic field "demagnetize" the iron after time or the magnet itself would get weaker?... submitted by /u/Ptrfile [link] [comments]

Is any research being done by serious mathematicians on finding an easier and more direct solution to Fermat, or is that sort of thing left to the amateurs and hobbyists? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 01:34 PM PDT submitted by /u/NicholasFelix [link] [comments]

Do scientists need to know the amount of an isotope present initially when doing radiometric dating? If so, how do they know? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 10:02 PM PDT Hi everyone, this may be a dumb question, but I'm curious as to how we know what the amount of Carbon-14 was thousands of years ago? I've never considered this before, but I was speaking to a friend who is a YEC, and he gave me this analogy - "Radiocarbon dating is like coming in a room, finding a burning candle, and measuring how fast the candle burns. The problem is that even if we know how fast the candle burns, we don't know how tall it was in the first place." Personally, I'm an atheist, and I don't doubt the veracity of carbon dating (I find it hard to believe this many scientists would not have considered this "problem"). That said, I really didn't know what to say to him. I feel like he is (and to some extent me, because I couldn't answer his question) either missing the point, or misunderstanding how carbon dating actually works. I know what a half life is, and know that they are constant. I also understand that we use other dating methods to verify and create calibration curves for radiometric dating. My question is, are scientists assuming that the levels of these isotopes have been constant? And if so, how do know? From what I understand, we measure the amount of these isotopes present, and since they decay at certain rates, that allows us to come up with an age. My (very limited) understanding also assumes that we would have to know how much was present in the first place. Is this true? BTW: I just want to make this clear, I am not a YEC!! This comes from a question posed to me by one; it was a question I did not have a good answer for. submitted by /u/Jtb_brah [link] [comments]

What makes our saliva able to form bubbles? Does it share similarities with soap bubbles? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 12:39 PM PDT submitted by /u/Kero58 [link] [comments]

Why is energy and momentum conserved? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 11:35 AM PDT Are these equivalent? Like can I prove that if I assume that energy is conserved in interactions, momentum is also conserved? Another question: these two conservation laws, are they based upon how our part of the universe seem to work, or is there some fundamental contradiction in saying energy or momentum might not be conserved throughout the universe? submitted by /u/MappeMappe [link] [comments]

What happens to molecules after binding to cell receptors? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 02:05 PM PDT To my understanding, once the ligand binds to the cell's receptors, this sets off a biochemical cascade in the cell, leading to a change in genetic or cell expression as a response to environment (i.e. it's complicated). But what actually happens to the ligand/molecule itself after binding to the receptor? I don't think this was ever mentioned in my intro bio class. Intuitively, I guess the molecule would just... unbind, but that doesn't make much sense to me either. I have a feeling this is a silly and simple question but oh well. submitted by /u/Genavia [link] [comments]

Does HCl melt ice more efficiently than plain water? Why or why not? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 02:37 PM PDT Although HCl and H2O are both polar molecules, O has a elecronegativity value of 3.4, while Cl is just 3.0. Does this mean that H20 is better at dissolving ice than HCl, or are there other factors? submitted by /u/pennyinanocean [link] [comments]

What causes dark circles to form around your eyes? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 08:09 AM PDT submitted by /u/phoneshop101 [link] [comments]

Is the movement of tectonic plates in any way influenced by their average latitude? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 12:31 PM PDT submitted by /u/Chief_of_Achnacarry [link] [comments]

Why is there such a thing as "critical mass" for a radioactive material? Why couldn't the chain reaction sustain itself with less mass than the critical amount? How is this mass calculated? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 09:27 AM PDT submitted by /u/Lichewitz [link] [comments]

If a drunk driver is severely hurt in a crash, how does the hospital treat the pain? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 06:18 AM PDT Alcohol and opiates are dangerous to mix and the interaction (both being CNS depressants) looks like it would increase head injury and blood pressure problems. So what would a hospital do here with someone in severe pain (i.e. crush injury) who they also believe had recently been drinking heavily? submitted by /u/NotAnotherEmpire [link] [comments]

Why do quantum dots behave they way they do? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 05:43 PM PDT I am trying to get a conceptual understanding of why the size of a quantum dot nanocrystal causes a change in the absorbance and fluorescence of the crystal. I understand that the reason is vaguely because of the "particle in a box" explanation but every description of this I find involves a bunch of math. I would like a less mathy explanation if possible. Thank you! submitted by /u/screensaver [link] [comments]

Which two points can be connected by a wormhole and will it always be a shortcut? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 08:23 AM PDT First of all, I know a wormhole is entirely theoretical right now (but taken serious by the likes of Einstein and Hawking). Nevertheless, I wonder how they should work. During the past hours, a number of questions came up and I'm happy about answers to any or all of them. Here's what I think I already understand: I got the idea of shortcutting through additional spatial dimensions, as it's shown in this picture. If the 2D plane on this picture was straight and not shaped like a "U" in the 3rd dimension, it would not be possible to save distance by shortcuting through the 3rd dimension. So a wormhole here can only help shortcutting if the 2D space is not completely flat in other dimensions and if the wormhole takes a (relatively) direct path. 1) But how curved is our 3D space in other dimensions? Do we know this? 2) Is my understanding correct that we have to work simply with how our 3D space is curved in the higher dimensional space in reality? So assuming we can always decide to connect point x and y with a wormhole that takes the shortest possible path through the higher dimensional space, we still can't decide how much of a shortcut that wormhole would be, because that depends on how curved our 3D space actually is? 3) Can even any two points be connected with a wormhole, or are there also natural restrictions to which points are connectable (still purely theoretical, no matter how much exotic matter or energy or whatever might be needed)? 3) I've read about spacetime that it's locally curved by massy things but on the bigger scale it's about flat in our observable universe. Are these the curvatures I'm asking about? 4) Will it always take the shortest possible way through the available additional dimensions? So will it always be straight or can it be winded like on this picture? As with the first picture, I understand this picture to depict the connection of two points in the 2D space by going through a 3rd dimension. However, in this case the path through the 3rd dimension is longer than the shortest possible distance when just using 2 dimension. 5) How many spatial dimension are available for a wormhole / how many spatial dimensions are really there? submitted by /u/sleeep_deprived [link] [comments]

Is it possible to store muons, like we can store electrons? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 01:26 PM PDT submitted by /u/Bouncingbunny13 [link] [comments]

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Could a natural nuclear fission detonation ever occur?

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• Could a natural nuclear fission detonation ever occur?
• Why do rocket ships appear snowy on take off?
• Why don't we just eat calorie bombs that have the reccommended daily intake instead of spending money on low carb, expensive foods?
• How do muons differ from electrons in cosmic radiation?
• How do physicists define (or characterize) true randomness?
• Can a Hall effect detector detect currents in nerves accurately or at all?
• What is the chemical reaction occurring with fiber-reactive tie-dye?
• How is quantum entanglement achieved in real world practice?
• What is the fundamentals of calculus?
• [physics] How does gravity differ across a planet?
• What's the gravitational field of a "particle in a box"?
• How much energy does an electron/beam of electrons have to have before it becomes dangerous to human health?
• Could you slow down radioactive decay by speeding a radioactive isotope to relativistic speeds (99.9999999% the speed of light)? Just a thought experiment. Kinda Like the twin paradox but with 2 decaying isotopes.
• Why is cyanide an anion, but carbocations cations?
• Why can't we collapse a photon to its position eigenstate, stopping it all together?
• Can we talk about Photoelectric effect if the Electrons are not ejected, but only excited to a higher energy level?

Could a natural nuclear fission detonation ever occur? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 06:45 AM PDT submitted by /u/TheSentinelsSorrow [link] [comments]

Why do rocket ships appear snowy on take off? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 05:38 AM PDT Hey so I'm watching CNNs "The Sixties" this morning, and I just watched the one about the space race and Apollo missions and so forth. Great documentary series by the way if anyone needs something to watch. But, I've noticed that, on lift off, the rocket boosters and large cylinders beneath the shuttles or capsules or whatever, have sheets of what appears to be ice/snow falling off them. Is this the result of storage? A thermo dynamic phenomenon? Is this even snow/ice? Thanks! submitted by /u/gdoodles [link] [comments]

Why don't we just eat calorie bombs that have the reccommended daily intake instead of spending money on low carb, expensive foods? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 02:09 PM PDT submitted by /u/castratedblackman [link] [comments]

How do muons differ from electrons in cosmic radiation? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 02:36 AM PDT Could someone explain how electrons behave when hitting the earth vs how muons behave? I know that they have a gigantic mass compared to electrons, but what does this change? Do they fly further, are they "brighter", do they cause any "reactions" that electrons don't ? submitted by /u/Jannik2099 [link] [comments]

How do physicists define (or characterize) true randomness? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 01:59 AM PDT I've been wrestling with the idea of randomness a seemingly deterministic universe, and I've realized that I'm not entirely sure how to rigorously define what randomness is. To be clear, I'm talking about true, ontological randomness, not the weaker epistemological version ("for all we can ever know, it may as well be random"). Many definitions I've read seem to conflate two subtly different ideas: 1) An event is random iff it was not initiated by a cause; that is, iff it is not an effect of another event (visualize a billiard ball "randomly" shooting forward on its own). I've heard quantum mechanics described as "acausal," which seemed to be used interchangably with the idea of randomness. 2) An event is random iff its outcome is probabilistic at best, and not deterministic; that is, iff its result cannot, even in theory, be perfectly accurately predicted given all possible information and computing power (visualize a billiard ball being struck by another, and being jolted into a "random" trajectory such that, even flawlessly recreating the initial conditions, it could have taken a different path). A possible third one seems a little over-restrictive to me, but I'll include it for completeness, because it seems to be common: 3) An event is random iff all outcomes are equally likely. It seems to me that this definition is a more restrictive version of (2), leaving out non-uniform probability distributions. I'm also not sure that 1 and 2 are not logically equivalent. (Might a probabilistic outcome require an uninitiated event to have occurred at some point in its causal chain? And conversely, wouldn't an uninitiated event be inherently uncertain?) Or, if not quite equivalent, how might they be related? Note: I realize it isn't universally agreed on that true randomness exists at all. It's a super interesting topic which I see discussed a lot here—which is what's prompting me to ask what, precisely, it is. submitted by /u/Porkfolio [link] [comments]

Can a Hall effect detector detect currents in nerves accurately or at all? Posted: 19 Mar 2017 01:59 AM PDT submitted by /u/pimpmastahanhduece [link] [comments]

What is the chemical reaction occurring with fiber-reactive tie-dye? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 01:57 PM PDT Looking for something like a simple chemical reaction equation, but I would love to get information about kinetics of the reaction, the type of reaction occurring (substitution, elimination, etc.), or any details that I can to get a thorough picture of the chemistry. For an example dye, I'm talking about something like these Fiber reactive dyes that work really well at dying clothing that has been soaked in an alkaline solution for some time. To my knowledge, the alkaline solution (usually soda carbonate, pH roughly 11.5) deprotonates the cellulose fibers in the cotton clothing to some degree, which then gives the dye a spot to chemically bond. I don't understand the mechanism of how this happens though or anything more specifically. Motivation: I've been running a tie-dye workshop for K-12 students for some time now, which is fun and gives me the opportunity to talk about some basic chemistry concepts (solutions, pH, bonding) but I would like to buff it up a bit with some more advanced concepts for the benefit of college students and/or more curious students. Any help goes to teaching people more about chemistry, much appreciated! submitted by /u/gaykraken [link] [comments]

How is quantum entanglement achieved in real world practice? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 11:38 AM PDT From what i think know, you take two particles at one location, magically entangle them(this magic is the core of my question), then separate the particles and measure. Is it a synchronization of say their magnetic fields or some other energy that makes them deterministic after being separated? Do they have to be "identical" particles? Is proximity crucial to the initial entanglement process? For anyone on the theoretical side of physics, I'm interested in framing up a theory (or disproving myself in the process) that quantum entanglement happens naturally almost as "a force of nature" and we are only able to easily see macrocosms of this effect at certain "quanta" or energy levels (other than the quantum levels we've measured to date). Also any related/useful subreddits or links would be helpful as well. Thanks! submitted by /u/djohnson7789 [link] [comments]

What is the fundamentals of calculus? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 08:14 AM PDT So guys, I'm in my last year of highschool, around 36 days to my final examination. I have no problem with normal maths, but then there is additonal mathematics... One topic I can't seem to UNDERSTAND is calculus. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW it, but I don't understand it. Like I know intergration is the oppostie of differentiation. But what is calculus exactly? I know that you can use it to find area under graph, speed, distance and acceleration of a body. But honestly who writes speed and distance in terms of x & y in real life? I don't know if I'm making myself clear, but I want to understand the topic. It's like why does this topic exist. I am 100% ignorant in this topic. I don't want to be someone who memorizes all the formulas without having a clear understanding of them. So, how is calculus used? Or rather what is it? Sorry for the long wall of text, I've just been frustrated for a while now, I can't let this topic beat me, can I? Hehe submitted by /u/Mr--Awkward [link] [comments]

[physics] How does gravity differ across a planet? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 05:23 PM PDT There is a post in /r/space about a gravity map of the moon. It varies. How does this occur? My limited understanding is that gravity is determined by mass, the more mass the greater the gravity. This is also affected by the density of the mass, with both mass and density playing together to make gravity. So is the variation in gravity across the moon (or another planet) due to pockets of more dense elements? Is it just averaged out? How does the fluctuation in gravity across the earth affect the orbit of say, the It's? submitted by /u/whyspir [link] [comments]

What's the gravitational field of a "particle in a box"? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 12:31 PM PDT Looking at the electron cloud of a hydrogen atom or other such "particle in a box" wavefunction, is there a time-evolution of the gravitational field of the particle-in-a-box (as if the mass is moving) or is the mass consistently spread out over the wavefunction? More or less the same question but worded differently, if a particle-in-a-box is tunneling through a barrier, will its gravitational field look like the mass is spread out along the wavefunction and tunneling through the barrier, or will it appear to come from a point in space that's moving? TL;DR is the mass spread out over the wavefunction? submitted by /u/12mo [link] [comments]

How much energy does an electron/beam of electrons have to have before it becomes dangerous to human health? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 09:41 PM PDT I was wondering in the context of a particle accelerator. For example, some of the largest particle accelerators can produce beams on the scale of GeV or TeV, which is obviously very dangerous. What's the lower bound of that scale? How energetic can a beam be before it gets dangerous? submitted by /u/AMuonParticle [link] [comments]

Could you slow down radioactive decay by speeding a radioactive isotope to relativistic speeds (99.9999999% the speed of light)? Just a thought experiment. Kinda Like the twin paradox but with 2 decaying isotopes. Posted: 18 Mar 2017 09:19 AM PDT submitted by /u/chafedogg [link] [comments]

Why is cyanide an anion, but carbocations cations? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 09:16 AM PDT My chemistry teacher cited the fact that, in both cases, the carbon involved has too few covalent bonds (3 not 4) to explain each species' charge. Why is Cyanide negative but a carbocation positive? submitted by /u/0TheGingerSoul0 [link] [comments]

Why can't we collapse a photon to its position eigenstate, stopping it all together? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 07:43 PM PDT In the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, observations cause wave functions to collapse into eigenstates of that observation. A photon should be a wave function (a boson in particular), so why can't we observe it with the position observable to collapse it into a state where it is stationary? If we can, how do we work around this in order to appease relativity? submitted by /u/Ljw5da [link] [comments]

Can we talk about Photoelectric effect if the Electrons are not ejected, but only excited to a higher energy level? Posted: 18 Mar 2017 10:32 AM PDT submitted by /u/iliassekkaf [link] [comments]

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