AskScience AMA Series: We are the organizers of Celebrating Einstein, a month-long interdisciplinary science outreach event honoring Einstein's theories and achievements. Ask Us Anything!

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• AskScience AMA Series: We are the organizers of Celebrating Einstein, a month-long interdisciplinary science outreach event honoring Einstein's theories and achievements. Ask Us Anything!
• Why is gold soft?
• What is difference between advection and convection?
• Can light make a sound?
• Would shooting down a nuclear missile result in a nuclear explosion?
• Why does the ISS maintain a radial-in attitude?
• Why don't electrons cross the plates of charged capacitors?
• How are radio waves 1s and 0s?
• What wavelengths does sulfur emit as electrons jump between energy levels?
• How do we know when the Yellowstone National Park Super volcano last erupted?
• Is there uncertainty in the spins of bound electrons in orbitals?
• How does color index relate to a star's "Habitable Zone"?
• Why are cardiac valves from pigs not rejected by human bodies?
• Can everything become a liquid gas or solid?
• Is heat transfer through metals non-linear?
• If I steep a tea bag in hot water, will it eventually reach equilibrium and stop diffusing flavor and caffeine?
• When measuring radiation, what is the difference between "mrem" and "cpm" and which is more important in determining exposure?
• Do plants with naturally red leaves have different chemical processes for photosynthesis than green plants, or is the color difference unrelated?
• Is infinity a number or concept?
• How does a low atmospheric pressure affect an air flow of a vacuum pump?
• Is the Pacific Ocean calmer than the Atlantic, and why or why not?
• By what means do geneticists correlate biological data with geography?

AskScience AMA Series: We are the organizers of Celebrating Einstein, a month-long interdisciplinary science outreach event honoring Einstein's theories and achievements. Ask Us Anything! Posted: 21 Apr 2017 04:00 AM PDT Hi Reddit! We are some of the many organizers for Celebrating Einstein, a month-long, interdisciplinary outreach event that includes spoken lectures, danced lectures, readings, interviews with physcists, symphony performance, field trips for West Virginia schools, artistic interpretations of Einstein's theories, and more. Over 100 years ago, Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, and we are just beginning to detect them now. Our goal is to communicate the beauty and significance of Einstein's theory of General Relativity, its predictions, and the recent detection of gravitational waves announced only last year with the public. Check out our website for a full list of the events we've organized, and we'd love to talk about the science, the outreach, the organization, or anything! We have four organizers from the physicist/astronomer side joining us today: Sarah Burke-Spolaor is a professor of astronomy at WVU. She was a postdoctoral researcher in Socorro, NM, working with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Very Large Array. She works on electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave sources and fast radio bursts. Kristina Islo is a graduate student in the Leonard Parker Center for Gravitation, Cosmology, and Astrophysics at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. As a member of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, she studies the gravitational wave astrophysics possible with pulsar timing array experiments as well as the statistical methods used to detect signals from supermassive binary black holes. Michael Lam is a postdoctoral researcher in the WVU Physics and Astronomy Department and a member of the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology. He is currently working with the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) collaboration. His current area of research is on characterization of NANOGrav's gravitational wave detector, an array of pulsars distributed throughout the galaxy. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2016. Laura Sampson is a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State University. She received her doctorate at Montana State University and worked previously at the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern University. She is one of only five nationwide recipients of the 2015 L'Oreal USA "For Women in Science" Fellows. We'll be on starting at 12 PM ET (17 UT), so ask us anything! Celebrating Einstein was originally produced by Montana State University and the eXtreme Gravity Institute. The West Virginia Celebrating Einstein event is sponsored through NSF award number 1458952, the WVU Department of Physics & Astronomy, the WVU School of Theatre & Dance, the West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, and the WVU Eberly College of Arts & Sciences. submitted by /u/AskScienceModerator [link] [comments]

Why is gold soft? Posted: 21 Apr 2017 05:11 AM PDT Vague I know but is it because of the atomic structure? Tungsten a much much "harder" material is 5 electrons away from gold and have the same electron configuration. I noticed that the grouping on the periodic table shows similar hard/soft properties of elements by the group number. I thought this had more to do with electron structure than physical properties? submitted by /u/hansca04 [link] [comments]

What is difference between advection and convection? Posted: 21 Apr 2017 01:36 AM PDT submitted by /u/iitvaranasi [link] [comments]

Can light make a sound? Posted: 21 Apr 2017 06:55 AM PDT Is it possible to turn on a light with such intensity as to cause a vibration that could be heard? I figure light is made of particles and sound is just compressions of matter. So could light possibly make a sound? submitted by /u/astorml [link] [comments]

Would shooting down a nuclear missile result in a nuclear explosion? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 06:25 PM PDT Regarding a successful missile defense system, intercepting a nuclear missile launch. submitted by /u/Bcjustin [link] [comments]

Why does the ISS maintain a radial-in attitude? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 11:50 AM PDT In almost every photo of the International Space Station, you can clearly see that the cupola module is always pointing towards the earth. That means that the ISS maintains a constant attitude relative to Earth and that it's spinning at 1 rotation/orbit (90 min) I understand that it doesn't need any energy to maintain this low angular speed, but I assume that it does create some potentially avoidable problems: • Small centrifugal accleration on the outer most modules. • EVA astronauts will maintain the linear velocity of the spin, thus moving away from the station after they exit. • Docking: I just can't wrap my head around how stuff could dock to the ISS if it's spinning at 4°/min (unless it stops spinning for docking maneuvers). So why is it spinning? Just to maintain a view for the cupola at all times? Does it stop spinning during EVAs and docking? submitted by /u/All_HaiI_Satan [link] [comments]

Why don't electrons cross the plates of charged capacitors? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 08:51 PM PDT So I'm taking physics now and I still have trouble understanding this. If there is an electric field across the plates, why wouldn't the electrons just cross the space in between the plates instead of going the long route on the wire to the opposite plate. I'm also confused as to why one plate is positive and the other is negative in the first place. Shouldn't the like charges want to repel each other and hence not accumulate on a plate to begin with? Apologies in advance if this is common knowledge I just always have been confused by this. submitted by /u/stars_bitch67 [link] [comments]

How are radio waves 1s and 0s? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 02:37 PM PDT Looking at wifi, how is binary transmitted via radio waves? Is there a difference in amplitude? Phase changes? This page has some good info, just curious how wifi works specifically; visuals would be helpful if you've got em submitted by /u/kcaselli66 [link] [comments]

What wavelengths does sulfur emit as electrons jump between energy levels? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 07:38 PM PDT I know that the electrons go between the various energy levels and they emit photons at exact wavelengths, but what wavelengths does it emit? All the sources I've found have either been really inexact or super technical. submitted by /u/Algebra-Theorem [link] [comments]

How do we know when the Yellowstone National Park Super volcano last erupted? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 09:09 PM PDT I know that scientists say that it should erupt every 600,000 years but it hasn't erupted for 640,000 years, how do we know that it erupted 640,000 years ago? submitted by /u/vampirechick1991 [link] [comments]

Is there uncertainty in the spins of bound electrons in orbitals? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 03:49 PM PDT As per the Heisenberg uncertainty, we can't know the exact spin of a particle in all directions since different spin components are non-commuting. But in such a case, why do we say that electrons in orbitals occupy strictly either spin-up or spin-down states? I realize it is possible to fully know the spin in exactly one direction, but is it not possible that the electrons in an orbital might have spins that are not exactly parallel (nor antiparallel) with each other? submitted by /u/CallMeDoc24 [link] [comments]

How does color index relate to a star's "Habitable Zone"? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 10:34 AM PDT It seems intuitive that (for a given luminosity) the hotter a star, the further out its habitable zone would be. Is this an accurate correlation? submitted by /u/IntestinalFracking [link] [comments]

Why are cardiac valves from pigs not rejected by human bodies? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 06:37 AM PDT The problem with the body rejecting organs/tissues is huge and mostly entails the usage of pharmaceuticals preventing the rejection. Why can be transplant cardiac valves from pigs without having a rejection (in most cases)? submitted by /u/Basti8592 [link] [comments]

Can everything become a liquid gas or solid? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 09:23 AM PDT submitted by /u/Capoonthefifth [link] [comments]

Is heat transfer through metals non-linear? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 01:40 PM PDT When a metal heats up from a contact with a heat source. does the rate at which that heat moves through change as temperature increases? submitted by /u/MegaJackUniverse [link] [comments]

If I steep a tea bag in hot water, will it eventually reach equilibrium and stop diffusing flavor and caffeine? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 09:07 AM PDT How long would that take? submitted by /u/Kenley [link] [comments]

When measuring radiation, what is the difference between "mrem" and "cpm" and which is more important in determining exposure? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 08:51 AM PDT I've noticed that most modern geiger counters can be switched from rems to sieverts to counts per minute. When attempting to measure radiation exposure for workers, which of these measurements should be used? What is the difference? submitted by /u/CommanderCougs [link] [comments]

Do plants with naturally red leaves have different chemical processes for photosynthesis than green plants, or is the color difference unrelated? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 09:49 AM PDT submitted by /u/WhiteRaven22 [link] [comments]

Is infinity a number or concept? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 04:08 AM PDT submitted by /u/Singularity000 [link] [comments]

How does a low atmospheric pressure affect an air flow of a vacuum pump? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 10:42 AM PDT My science club is planning on releasing a high-altitude balloon with a vacuum pump on board to collect some samples. The pump we're planning to use is the Boxer 3KD model. The technical data says it has a maximum free flow of 18l/min. Of course the air pressure in stratosphere is really low so I was wondering how will it affect the flow of the air in the pump? Is there any way to calculate it? submitted by /u/ScoiaTael16 [link] [comments]

Is the Pacific Ocean calmer than the Atlantic, and why or why not? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 07:50 AM PDT I remember hearing as a kid that the Pacific Ocean was named such because it was more peaceful than the Atlantic. Is that true? Or is it just an odd story. Also, can one ocean be calmer than the other? I am thinking of "calmer" as being less storms, smaller waves, and other conditions that would make sailing easier on one compared to the other. submitted by /u/wierddude88 [link] [comments]

By what means do geneticists correlate biological data with geography? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 10:33 AM PDT How do geneticists connect DNA data with geographic points? How can geneticists see migration patterns and correlate them with locations on the globe? submitted by /u/theleakyprophet [link] [comments]

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Would there be a benefit to putting solar panels above the atmosphere?

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• Would there be a benefit to putting solar panels above the atmosphere?
• How do organisms break down diatomic nitrogen?
• Ask Anything Wednesday - Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology
• What is the difference between special relativity and general relativity?
• Is there a rule that states that calculations of particle interactions at micro scales, by nature, cannot be scaled up into the macro-systems? Or are we just limited by our current understanding and nothing really prevents us from finding a way to scale quantum equations upwards?
• [Chemistry] Can you drink Para-Water? Ortho-water? Can you breath pure Singlet Oxygen?
• When downhill snow sledding, would being heavier make you go faster (because of gravity's pull) or slower (because of friction)?
• Light can be polarized, so can sound waves be polarized?
• Were there any mp2 files, what about an mp5? Where does the 3 and 4 come from?
• What happens to cosmic radiation and solar winds that interact with the earth's magnetosphere?
• Why can I hear a buzz in my earphones (which are plugged into my laptop) when I touch the Jack/plug of my speakers (which are turned off but plugged into the mains)?
• Is the term "frequency" meaningless for a square wave because it consists of nearly infinite harmonics of some fundamental sinusoidal frequency?
• Could redox reactions happen using positions?
• What is the gauge group associated with the graviton, if the graviton turns out to exist?
• Is Centrifugal Force a significant factor in the apparent gravity felt on Earth?
• Long after humanity disappears from the planet, what will be the last remaining sign we were ever on Earth?
• What makes spring springy?
• Does negative mass from an engineered dispersion relation count as negative mass in the stress-energy tensor of general relativity?
• What is the difference between a surfactant, a wetting agent, and an emulsifier? Are they all the same thing?
• Why are so many transiction metal compounds good heterogeneous catalysts?
• How does a source of light, with finite surface area, send light in infinite directions?
• What is the difference between the specific entropy given in steam tables (s) and the specific entropy given in ideal gas tables (s_0)?
• Why is there a nonzero vacuum permittivity?

Would there be a benefit to putting solar panels above the atmosphere? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 09:25 AM PDT So to the best of my knowledge, here is my question. The energy output by the sun is decreased by traveling theough the atmosphere. Would there be any benefit to using planes or balloons to collect the energy from the sun in power cells using solar panels above the majority of the atmosphere where it could be a higher output? Or, would the energy used to get them up there outweigh the difference from placing them on the earth's surface? submitted by /u/blizzetyblack [link] [comments]

How do organisms break down diatomic nitrogen? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 05:28 AM PDT I was watching an old SciShow episode and Hank Green said something to the effect that the N≡N triple bond is so strong, it can't usually be broken except by lightning or a comparably powerful force. Yet nitrogen is arguably one of the very most prevalent and important components of nutrition for most organisms on the planet (in my understanding?). So how do organisms break that triple bond in order to render nitrogen reactive enough to bond with other elements? submitted by /u/BJPenwhistle [link] [comments]

Ask Anything Wednesday - Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology Posted: 19 Apr 2017 08:04 AM PDT Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology 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]

What is the difference between special relativity and general relativity? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 08:06 AM PDT submitted by /u/RealTiredOfYourShiit [link] [comments]

Is there a rule that states that calculations of particle interactions at micro scales, by nature, cannot be scaled up into the macro-systems? Or are we just limited by our current understanding and nothing really prevents us from finding a way to scale quantum equations upwards? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 06:32 AM PDT submitted by /u/Dr_Snarky [link] [comments]

[Chemistry] Can you drink Para-Water? Ortho-water? Can you breath pure Singlet Oxygen? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 04:17 AM PDT The spin states on the hydrogen of water can either be the same as one another or opposite to one another. Also, the spin states of Oxygen in O2 are the same way My question is, how does this effect biochemistry? If I somehow obtained a supply of pure Para- or Ortho- Water, or filled a pure Oxygen breathing environment with Singlet Oxygen instead of Triplet Oxygen, could I safely drink said water and breath said Oxygen? What if I used air with Singlet Oxygen instead of pure Singlet Oxygen? Also, how stable are these spin states? Would my water remain in that spin state long enough to interact with it? Would my Singlet O2 remain Singlet long enough to breath? Would it interact with my body in a way that causes injury or toxicity? Would it ignite on contact with flammable things like me? What would happen if I tried to drink pure Ortho or pure Para water? What about breathing Pure Singlet Oxygen? Why? submitted by /u/pds314 [link] [comments]

When downhill snow sledding, would being heavier make you go faster (because of gravity's pull) or slower (because of friction)? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 03:39 PM PDT submitted by /u/stilnomen [link] [comments]

Light can be polarized, so can sound waves be polarized? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:39 PM PDT submitted by /u/JoeRmusiceater [link] [comments]

Were there any mp2 files, what about an mp5? Where does the 3 and 4 come from? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 06:46 PM PDT submitted by /u/Pixel__Dragon [link] [comments]

What happens to cosmic radiation and solar winds that interact with the earth's magnetosphere? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 05:09 PM PDT Do they bounce off? If so how do they bounce off? How do we know? submitted by /u/Sandwich_Theorem [link] [comments]

Why can I hear a buzz in my earphones (which are plugged into my laptop) when I touch the Jack/plug of my speakers (which are turned off but plugged into the mains)? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:20 PM PDT I don't know if jack is the right word - the bit that I'd usually plug into my laptop.. submitted by /u/yslk [link] [comments]

Is the term "frequency" meaningless for a square wave because it consists of nearly infinite harmonics of some fundamental sinusoidal frequency? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 04:09 AM PDT Can we find the frequency of a square wave? submitted by /u/shank9717 [link] [comments]

Could redox reactions happen using positions? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 08:26 PM PDT I know gaining an electron would be reduction, and losing an electron would be oxidation. However, could these redox reactions take place using positions instead? If so, would the rules swap, making oxidation be gaining a positron? submitted by /u/ProjectCyan [link] [comments]

What is the gauge group associated with the graviton, if the graviton turns out to exist? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 07:47 PM PDT I understand that the gauge symmetry almost completely specifies the nature of the force it applies to, for example U(1) must behave like electromagnetism, up to the coupling constant. I have also read that, if there is a massless spin-2 boson, it must carry a force identical to gravity. So what Lie group leads to the force of gravity? Or am I wrong about something I've said here? submitted by /u/EnshaednK [link] [comments]

Is Centrifugal Force a significant factor in the apparent gravity felt on Earth? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 01:58 PM PDT Does Centrifugal Force contribute at all to alleviate the felt force of Gravity on Earth? For example, if the Earth stopped spinning suddenly would it feel like everything just became heavier because there would no longer be the Centrifugal Force pulling us outwards? Would that answer be the same on a celestial body that is significantly larger or smaller than earth? Or on one that spins much faster? submitted by /u/LateNightPhilosopher [link] [comments]

Long after humanity disappears from the planet, what will be the last remaining sign we were ever on Earth? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 05:31 AM PDT submitted by /u/the_real_coinboy66 [link] [comments]

What makes spring springy? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 07:14 PM PDT Well what does make spring come back to their original form and why if you extend too much it'll lose some 'springiness'? submitted by /u/darazeway [link] [comments]

Does negative mass from an engineered dispersion relation count as negative mass in the stress-energy tensor of general relativity? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 02:59 PM PDT Recently a group reported a negative effective mass in the paper Negative mass hydrodynamics in a spin-orbit–coupled Bose-Einstein condensate. As I understand it, this negative mass comes from the equation, derived from the dispersion relation, m = 1/k_ex * 1/(∂²ω/∂k²). They showed that this negative mass exhibits many unusual phenomena, including accelerating in the opposite direction of applied force and "the breaking of parity and of Galilean covariance." My question is: does this negative mass appear or count as negative mass in the stress-energy tensor of general relativity? (And of particular interest, as it relates to the creating an energy-density lower than the vacuum for a hypothetical Alcubierre drive?) submitted by /u/science1482181229 [link] [comments]

What is the difference between a surfactant, a wetting agent, and an emulsifier? Are they all the same thing? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 06:39 PM PDT I hear all three terms used, for example the hydroponic stores always talk about using a wetting agent but it seems similar to when the cannabis cookbook guys talk about using lecitithin as an emulsifier. And sometimes people call it a surfactant also. submitted by /u/cant20 [link] [comments]

Why are so many transiction metal compounds good heterogeneous catalysts? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:07 PM PDT submitted by /u/Lichewitz [link] [comments]

How does a source of light, with finite surface area, send light in infinite directions? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 05:03 PM PDT The sun for example (albeit very large) will send light in all directions even though it's only got a limited about of surface (surface is probably the wrong word) to send light from. How? submitted by /u/brad5995 [link] [comments]

What is the difference between the specific entropy given in steam tables (s) and the specific entropy given in ideal gas tables (s_0)? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:55 PM PDT submitted by /u/AHighFifth [link] [comments]

Why is there a nonzero vacuum permittivity? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:24 PM PDT To my understanding, the propagation of electric fields through a vacuum (and indeed through all matter) has a limiting factor, the constant of nature known as vacuum permittivity (=~8.85x10-12 Fm-1). My question is what is the physical reason for this constant/effect? Is it a result of light having a top speed? submitted by /u/CameronBerry96 [link] [comments]

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Are high calorie food like chocolate bars more damaging to the environment because the ingredients would cost more energy to grow?

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• Are high calorie food like chocolate bars more damaging to the environment because the ingredients would cost more energy to grow?
• What is a negative temperature state?
• How do bosons work?
• In the eighteenth century, there was a belief in a 'Bonona Stone' which could absorb light and stay luminous for a short period of time. Is this scientifically possible? And what this likely to geologically be?
• Why is direction of dipole moment from - to + ?
• Can events outside event A's light cone causally influence event A in the future?
• What's wrong with this inconsistency between the microcanonical and canonical emsembles?
• What are the issues with using tritium as fuel for a radioisotope photoelectric generator?
• What happens as two black holes get closer together and eventually collide?
• How does the Foucault Pendulum work if it is within Earth's atmosphere that is rotating along with Earth?
• Did Bipedal Dinosaurs Hop?
• How does three way calling work on a typical cell phone?
• Is there a difference between human nerve endings?
• After reading the scenario I have written in the post can you tell me will the distance taken by each car to reach 100mph be the same or different?
• Why is Dark Matter generally accepted as the probable answer to the missing mass problem rather than Modified Gravity?
• Why isn't space exploration done above or below our poles?
• I was trying to do a thought experiment involving entropy and thermal radiation and came up with an impossible result. What did I do wrong?
• Does space between particles impact electrical conductive properties?
• What is keeping the proton and neutron in a hydrogen atom from sticking together?
• What is the difference between an isolated and a closed system in thermodynamics?

Are high calorie food like chocolate bars more damaging to the environment because the ingredients would cost more energy to grow? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 03:26 PM PDT Maybe my question is unclear. Since aliments like peanuts are high in calories, I wonder if they need more energy to grow based on my knowledge of transformation of energy, thus if it "costs" more to the environment to grow it. submitted by /u/TestAccountPIzIgnore [link] [comments]

What is a negative temperature state? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 02:10 PM PDT Read comment on an article about WSU physicists "creating negative mass" with super-cooled rubidium atoms. One of the explanations was a negative temperature moment To me it sounds like a phenomenon related to negative temperature. By applying those lasers, the atoms were confined, which also bounded the energy upwards, and at the same time excited by those lasers. When you pump in more energy than it takes for maximum entropy state, the whole system starts behaving as a negative-temperature system – microstates with higher energy are favoured, as the total energy is too high anyway. Apply a force – a potential field, and atoms will flow towards higher energy states – towards the direction the force was applied from. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-04-physicists-negative-mass.html#jCp submitted by /u/Creator_caged [link] [comments]

How do bosons work? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 04:35 PM PDT I understand that 17 elementary particles exist, 12 fermions and 5 bosons. I also understand that bosons 'carry' the four fundamental forces of the universe. Photon=electromagnetism, gluon=strong force, Z and W=weak force, and Higgs gives particles mass, carrying gravity. But what does it mean by "carry"? And how do bosons do it? Please explain as you would to a 14 year old in advanced classes with a very basic understanding of quantum mechanics and physics, because I am. submitted by /u/IAmSpartaqus [link] [comments]

In the eighteenth century, there was a belief in a 'Bonona Stone' which could absorb light and stay luminous for a short period of time. Is this scientifically possible? And what this likely to geologically be? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 03:39 AM PDT I originally found a reference to the 'Bonona Stone' in Goethe's 'The Sorrows of Young Werther', and can't find any other information. Any help is appreciated! submitted by /u/herbaltea123 [link] [comments]

Why is direction of dipole moment from - to + ? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 05:36 AM PDT I know that this is the convectional sign. But you do not simply put it from - to + . I would like an exact answer submitted by /u/BonSim [link] [comments]

Can events outside event A's light cone causally influence event A in the future? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:31 AM PDT submitted by /u/HerrBarrockter [link] [comments]

What's wrong with this inconsistency between the microcanonical and canonical emsembles? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 10:28 AM PDT This is what I understand: In the microcanonical ensemble, a system of N particles is confined to a certain volume V, adiabatically separated from the outside worldwide, meaning its energy E is fixed. A magnitude called entropy is related to the amount of configurations available to the system with the given energy. The temperature of the system is related to the derivative of the entropy with respect to the energy E. So, it appears that, with the exception of certain systems with linear relation between this magnitudes, there is a local biyection between them. So, how is it posible for the canonical ensemble to claim that the system is at fixed temperature T and that its energy fluctuates? I mean, if the energy changes, so does the derivative of S with respect to E and therefore T. Is temperature defined differently for the canonical ensemble? submitted by /u/Paul-Lubanski [link] [comments]

What are the issues with using tritium as fuel for a radioisotope photoelectric generator? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 11:27 PM PDT submitted by /u/hasuki057146 [link] [comments]

What happens as two black holes get closer together and eventually collide? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 06:32 PM PDT What effect do the black holes have on each other and the surrounding space? Is their gravitational pull magnified? What does the collision result in? Sorry if this has been asked before, I was having trouble searching for this question. submitted by /u/FanMasterJoe [link] [comments]

How does the Foucault Pendulum work if it is within Earth's atmosphere that is rotating along with Earth? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 01:09 PM PDT If the Foucault Pendulum works, then I should be able to hover above Earth in a helicopter and let the Earth's rotation do my traveling for me. Am I missing something?? submitted by /u/shklowaway [link] [comments]

Did Bipedal Dinosaurs Hop? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 03:05 PM PDT Bipedal dinosaurs are always depicted walking like humans, but is there any evidence to indicate some might have hopped like birds or kangaroos? submitted by /u/Hitaka02 [link] [comments]

How does three way calling work on a typical cell phone? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 06:42 PM PDT I was watching homeland and saw a scene where a person picked up a phone, dialed someone else into the call, and the newcomer was able to trace the initial call. I have always assumed that on a three way call one person acts as a host and relays information between all parties but I don't know if that is accurate. Is this assumption correct and can anyone provide more information about the protocol if it is not? submitted by /u/hrtachetosing [link] [comments]

Is there a difference between human nerve endings? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 06:33 PM PDT I was thinking about how the clitoris or penis can send so many signals of arousal and pleasure but another part of the body with a lot of nerve endings like the finger tips don't send any feelings of arousal. Do humans have different types of nerve endings at different places in the body that can only send signals of pain or signals of pleasure or do all nerves have the ability to signal both pleasure and pain at different times? submitted by /u/Heavymayo [link] [comments]

After reading the scenario I have written in the post can you tell me will the distance taken by each car to reach 100mph be the same or different? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 11:35 PM PDT The answer to this seemed obvious but after second thoughts and arguments at work it got complicated. Scenario Two cars drive from 0-100 mph. Both cars accelerate at a perfect constant rate but one has a faster constant rate than the other. Both cars are identical in weight, size and shape. Both have the same sized wheels and imagine there is no need for a gear change so the acceleration rates remain constant. The road is absolutely straight and flat and there is no wind resistance. Question After reading the scenario I have written in the comments can you tell me will the distance taken by each car to reach 100mph be the same or different? submitted by /u/Brad_Barry [link] [comments]

Why is Dark Matter generally accepted as the probable answer to the missing mass problem rather than Modified Gravity? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 11:18 PM PDT This paper gives some related background information to the question I am asking: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1401.5904.pdf submitted by /u/chauncemaster [link] [comments]

Why isn't space exploration done above or below our poles? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 10:35 PM PDT submitted by /u/newtothelyte [link] [comments]

I was trying to do a thought experiment involving entropy and thermal radiation and came up with an impossible result. What did I do wrong? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 09:31 PM PDT First, I am by no means experienced with physics, I personally study chemistry; so please bear with me. As the title says I was doing a thought experiment out of sheer curiosity. We can imagine a large hollow sphere that is perfect in shape and is a completely isolated system with a smaller perfect sphere perfectly centered inside of it. We're assuming that the whole system was in thermal equilibrium to start, and that all materials involved absorb radiation equally across the entire spectrum. Because it is a completely isolated system, no energy is leaving it in the form of radiation, it's only in the shell or the sphere or the space between. We'll call the radius of the inner sphere R₁ and the radius of the outer shell R₂, the luminosity will be represented by L₁ and L₂ and in case they're needed: T₁ and T₂ respectively for the temperatures of the spheres. Since R₁ < R₂, we know that the inner surface area of the shell is much larger than the sphere. Using the Stefan–Boltzmann law and the fact that T₁ starts equal to T₂, then L₁ < L₂ since the same energy is emitted per unit area. Assuming all energy emitted by one body is absorbed by the other, then the sphere would be absorbing more energy than it is emitting to the shell. This would heat the sphere and cool the shell until the ratio of R₁/R₂ multiplied by T₁4 is equivalent to T₂4. But that can't be right, it'd be creating a temperature difference from nothing. It's an isolated system, according to the second law of thermodynamics the entropy of that system could only increase; but in this case it'd be decreasing, so I must be thinking something incorrectly. Otherwise, you could hypothetically hook up a peltier device between the two bodies and forever have electricity --which as great as it sounds, isn't possible as far as I know. So where did I go wrong? submitted by /u/Kapitalist_Pigdog [link] [comments]

Does space between particles impact electrical conductive properties? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 03:17 PM PDT Alright, so this is an odd one. I was watching Star Trek: DS9 (I know, it's not the best one but as a ST fan I feel the need to power through it) S06 E09. In this episode Miles, Julian, and Dax get shrunk down to about a centimeter tall. Miles and Julian find themselves in one of the display consoles when Julian goes to sit on some part. Miles stops him and says that the part is carrying about 30 milliamps of electricity. Not enough to harm a normal sized human but more than enough to kill a centimeter tall sized human. Now normally I'd accept this and move on but they made it very clear that the number of atoms in the three hadn't been reduced in number but only that the space between the 'parts' (I'm assuming the space between the quarks) had been reduced. So my question is this. Disregarding the impossibility of shrinking a human in such a way would 30 milliamps be enough to kill a centimeter sized person assuming they had the same number of atoms, quarks, etc.? submitted by /u/Dranthe [link] [comments]

What is keeping the proton and neutron in a hydrogen atom from sticking together? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 09:09 PM PDT submitted by /u/silverfang492 [link] [comments]

What is the difference between an isolated and a closed system in thermodynamics? Posted: 18 Apr 2017 08:37 PM PDT I was thinking about the second law of thermodynamics, and looked it up to make sure I had it right. Here it says that the entropy of an isolated system always increases. While on the wiki it states that This can be contrasted with what (in the more common terminology used in thermodynamics) is called a closed system, being enclosed by selective walls through which can pass energy as heat or work, but not matter What is the difference between the two? Entropy's definition states a gradual decline into disorder, but I feel like it's backwards. Is "disorder" directly correlated to things like diffusion/osmosis? In my head it seems like the natural process of these things trend toward an order of sorts, where things are equal... submitted by /u/TrapHappier [link] [comments]

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