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Thursday, September 7, 2017

Megathread: 2017 Hurricane Season

Megathread: 2017 Hurricane Season


Megathread: 2017 Hurricane Season

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 04:29 PM PDT

The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane season has produced destructive storms.

Ask your hurricane related questions and read more about hurricanes here! Panel members will be in and out throughout the day so please do not expect an immediate answer.

Here are some helpful links related to hurricanes:

submitted by /u/AskScienceModerator
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After recently watching a Kurzgesagt video about bringing a piece of the sun to Earth: Are fusion reactors truly safe when they fail?

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 06:16 AM PDT

Reference video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ldO87Pprc

In the video, Kurzgesagt discusses the possible results of bringing a piece of the sun, gathering from different areas, to Earth and the effects of bringing the pieces. Most of the effects basically involved large, planet affecting explosions.

Fusion reactors are described as safe and don't 'melt down'. If we are recreating a process much much hotter than the sun in a fusion reactor, why would a containment fail still be considered safer than a fission reactor, other than the obvious radiation issue?

submitted by /u/Cryptonat
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Is spin a bulk property? Does it make sense to talk about the spin of a macro object by adding up spins of individual particles, the same way that we can talk about its charge by adding up the individual charges?

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 02:45 AM PDT

[Chemistry] Are frozen vegetables any less healthy than fresh ones? Does anything happen at a molecular level when you freeze vegetables that makes them process differently in our bodies?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 05:57 PM PDT

Is it possible for black holes to lose their "black hole" status?

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 07:22 AM PDT

If a black hole eventually radiates it's mass away through hawking radiation, can it get to the point where it does not meet it's schwarzchild radius, and loses it's "Nothing that passes it's event horizon, not even light, can return" property?

submitted by /u/Hawksource-
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Why is the impact from being hit while wearing a bulletproof vest so much worse than the recoil from a rifle?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 06:14 PM PDT

From my understanding, recoil is the force the bullet exerts on the mass of the gun, and the impact felt by the person being hit is the energy of the traveling projectile, spread through the mass of the vest. The force of the bullet is the same in both cases, so why is the reported damage so different?

submitted by /u/HelviusCinna
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How is the temperature of rogue planets measured?

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 06:43 AM PDT

I came across this video Rogue Planets, Loners of the Universe and they mentioned infrared. I googled and came across answers that mentioned the "energy over waveband the waveband of interest", but I realize that is for planets that orbit a sun. Since rogue planets are defined as objects that have been ejected from the planetary system in which they formed, how does this apply? I've seen thermal and infrared cameras in commercial use - I wonder what type of tools or equipment are necessary to read these measurements in space.

submitted by /u/hedgehogflamingo
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Why does the Inverse Compton Effect prevent the atmosphere from lighting up from an atomic explosion?

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 01:17 AM PDT

So Inverse Compton Effect is that a charged particle and give some of its energy to a photon, and somehow that prevents the atmosphere from lighting up in an atomic explosion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_nuclear_explosions

submitted by /u/yosimba2000
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Why are there designated unused positions in unicode blocks?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 07:23 PM PDT

For example U+0378 is not mapped to a character, why?

submitted by /u/READERmii
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What type of explosive is being used for the H-Bomb's explosive lenses (Fuse for the fission reaction)?

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 03:37 AM PDT

Is RDX and TNT still used?

submitted by /u/monkeymonkeym
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At what point does the speed of air moving over a surface start heating from friction rather than cooling by carrying away heat?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 02:24 PM PDT

Is there a map of the human genome?

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 02:26 AM PDT

Is there an accurate map of the human genome? That is maybe an interactive map and says what dna does what in theory. Like showing a giant full length dna sequence of examples and when you click on a certain section it shows eye color, circadian rhythm, and other fascinating theoretical sequences.

submitted by /u/ArmoredBattalion
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How are NOAA's storm chaser planes able to fly through hurricane Irma and not go down? I'd think the propellers and/or the windows would take a serious beating. How are they designed to handle the intense wind and rain and keep the crew safe?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 11:57 AM PDT

What would happen if you put separate ends of a "rope" into 2 different blackholes?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 10:26 PM PDT

Hypothetically, the rope is strong enough to not break.

submitted by /u/hopeless_poet
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How does the destructive force of an H-Bomb propagate?

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 12:42 AM PDT

An atomic bomb keeps sending out particles that will break apart other particles to cause a chain reaction.

What about an H-Bomb? All I know is that you use an incredible amount of energy to force light atoms to fuse, resulting in a compound with lower potential energy that what it started with. And then everyone dies...? How?

submitted by /u/yosimba2000
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After an extended period of time, will a ceiling/floor fan actually make a room warmer because it is adding energy to the molecules around it?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 01:20 PM PDT

Do most animals fast when ill?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 10:41 AM PDT

Has anyone ever attempted to fuse heavy elements by artificial nucleosynthesis? What would make such a process difficult?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 08:55 AM PDT

How long would you need to survive to out live a zombie apocalypse?

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 02:23 AM PDT

Zombies are just decomposing bodies out in the elements, so how long would you need to survive before they reach a level of decomp that they no longer pose a threat of being able to chase you down and attack you?

submitted by /u/the_dying_punk
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Do plants die of old age?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 12:29 PM PDT

Aside from the obvious seasonal plants, do plants such as bushes and trees ever get "old" like people do? If so, are there old characteristics? Can a bush or tree die of old age if it is otherwise healthy?

submitted by /u/Alfrasco
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Is it possible for a nucleus to 'be' between two excited states?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 08:34 AM PDT

Hi everyone,

I am currently working on a thesis about radiation and specifically about gamma decay. As I was reading literature about ground state and excited state, I wondered wether it is possible for a nucleus to 'be' between two excited states or between excited state and ground state. I think this is not possible because a emited gammaphoton will include all the energy that is between two states so a gammaphoton can't include half the energy there is between two states.

Is my way of thinking correct or am I missing the point horribly here?

Thanks in regard!

submitted by /u/Dr_Oetlul
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Do all solids have a triple point?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 08:29 AM PDT

Is it merely a question of getting the temp low enough and pulling a large enough vacuum?

I'm trying to determine if I can use sublimation for crystal formation.

submitted by /u/thecasey1981
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Wednesday, September 6, 2017

When a storm like Irma is at sea, what's happening below the surface?

When a storm like Irma is at sea, what's happening below the surface?


When a storm like Irma is at sea, what's happening below the surface?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 08:08 PM PDT

How is the biosphere effected? Do fish just swim deeper and go about their regular life?

submitted by /u/DrJawn
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If you were to randomly find a playing card on the floor every day, how many days would it take to find a full deck?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 09:25 AM PDT

The post from front page had me wondering. If you were to actually find a playing card on the floor every day, how long would it take to find all 52? Yes, day 1, you are sure not to find any duplicates, but as days pass, the likelihood of you finding a random card are decreased. By the time you reach the 30th card, there is a 22/52 chance of finding a new card. By the time you are looking for the last card, it is 1/52. I can't imagine this would be an easy task!

submitted by /u/Eddie_shoes
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Aside from Pu-238, what other sources of power could be used for deep space satellites?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 06:35 AM PDT

I know Pu-238 was used by numerous satellites like Cassini and Voyager, but is there any other nuclear power source with a similarly long half-life? Po-210 would seem to be a possible substitute, but it's half-life is too short.

submitted by /u/7spade
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It is said the theoretical maximum sustainable wind speed in a hurricane is around 200mph. Why?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 02:01 PM PDT

While there might be spikes above that, it is said that the theoretical maximum speed of wind, that a hurricane can keep up sustainably, is around 200mph. This is what Hurricane Irma is approaching towards. Why is that so?

submitted by /u/hdsjulian
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Why do larger elements have more neutrons in comparison to their protons?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 07:18 AM PDT

Why do Ammonites seem to be the most common fossil, and why are they referenced so often to the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, compared to other species who went extinct?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 02:02 AM PDT

Why can't quarks exist as separate individual particles?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 04:01 PM PDT

Im reading a physics book and the author just wrote the above argument with no explanation/ reference to some research on the subject as a basis. As if this was a given. I demand an explanation!

submitted by /u/Hashanadom
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How do scientists measure extreme temperatures?

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 12:55 AM PDT

E.g. the melting point of steel or near absolute zero. I'm pretty sure a regular thermometer wouldn't cut it.

submitted by /u/TheWonderworks
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Ask Anything Wednesday - Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 08:06 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!

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Why does the European model for hurricane forecasts outperform the American model by such a large degree?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 03:31 PM PDT

With the recent Hurricane Harvey hitting the United States in Texas, the American HMON model showed Harvey heading over Mexico, while the European model's prediction was very close to the actual path. Why is the American model so far behind?

Article for reference: https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/at-times-during-harvey-the-european-model-outperformed-humans/

submitted by /u/how_do_i_land
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How do all-purpose cleaners work?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 05:11 PM PDT

I have a bottle here that lists several ingredients including: decyl glucoside, sodium citrate, glycerin, and a lot of natural oils. How do these ingredients actually clean a surface?

submitted by /u/mpblizzard
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How does being struck by lightning and surviving affect the survivor's physiology?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 03:42 PM PDT

I've heard several stories of people being struck by lightning and surviving. In some cases, the same person was struck more than once at a different time. How does a lightning strike affect the body of survivors? Does it have any long standing effects that can be seen years after?

submitted by /u/AbruptBiblicalSword
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How does a radar measure a rotational speed of a baseball?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 09:41 PM PDT

Start Speed: 88.3 mph Spin Rate: 1710.4 rpm

You can easily see these kinds of stats in baseball forums.
How do you measure a spin rate of a ball?

submitted by /u/skchyou
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How do trees know what time of year it is for defoliation?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 03:46 PM PDT

I always thought it was something like hibernation, or if they are on a schedule? Thanks for answering!

submitted by /u/destroydadestroy
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Are there tectonic plates on Mars?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 07:39 PM PDT

Earth's mountains and volcanoes are formed by tectonic plate collisions (at least, that's my basic understanding of it). So, is this the case on Mars? Does Mars have earthquakes (or, maybe call them marsquakes)? What about the volcanoes on Mars? Are there any, and if so, what are they like? Are the igneous rocks formed by those volcanoes similar to those on Earth? Also, what about Mercury and Venus? What do we know about those planets?

submitted by /u/caezium
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How do rocket scientists know what velocity is needed to enter the orbit of bodies other than Earth?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 07:47 PM PDT

I'm been bingeing "Space Race" stuff lately and I think I can comprehend how we calculated the velocity required to enter orbit above Earth. I don't understand how we made the calculations to have a spacecraft enter orbit over a body that humanity has not set foot on.

What kinds of data were used to calculate velocities to enter orbit above bodies such as Jupiter.

I thank you in advance for any responses.

submitted by /u/kufunuguh
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How small could an aneutronic reactor be?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 08:24 PM PDT

I'm interested in reality-grounded science-fiction power sources, and it was suggested to me that very small reactors could be make if we mastered aneutronic fusion. How small could an aneutronic fusion reactor be and remain safe for biological life to be around? How would the size affect the efficiency?

Note: I'm not an idiot, but I'm no engineer or nuclear physicist.

submitted by /u/VoidAgent
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Why is the center of the Milky Way galaxy always shown as a bright spot? Isn't there a supermassive black hole there?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 02:52 PM PDT

How inaccurate are typically earthquake magnitude estimates?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 10:16 AM PDT

Estimates of the magnitude of the earthquake created by the most recent North Korean nuclear test range from 5.6 to 6.4. That's a range of 0.8, corresponding to a factor 15 uncertainty in energy release. Is an uncertainty this big typical for an earthquake of this size?

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Why do swallowed hormones (e.g. The pill) work? Shouldn't the acid & proteases render them non-functional?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 03:32 PM PDT

How were the electron transport chain and Krebs Cycle discovered?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 05:04 PM PDT

Chemistry always boggles my mind.

submitted by /u/yosimba2000
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If quartz oscillates at an exact frequency, how can an atomic clock be any more accurate?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 07:58 AM PDT

Other than supermassive black holes, what makes up our galactic core?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 09:42 AM PDT

Most websites state that anything that agonises/antagonises receptors can only be removed by decay and be cleared naturally by the body. Is it feasible to unbind receptors without depending on half life?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 04:39 PM PDT

Curious.

Suggestions:

Go inverse? (Assuming it was an Antagonist, treat it with an agonist and vise versa - going with a Antagonist with this example) I'd imagine that it wouldn't actually neutralize the antagonist that is causing the effect and instead you would with a constant fluctuation receptor activity? (I'd imagine) Also, you couldn't find exact agonist to negate the effect - finding a similar agonist sure, but you will end up with maybe more side effects where the agonists and antagonists don't match.

Clearing cycle? The brain has its own maintainence cells (Neuroglia) that do various things from providing homeostasis to removing cells and foreign substances. Pharmaceuticals that do antagonises/agonises receptors I would imagine wouldn't (?) detect as a threat because the pharmaceutical works. Does it? Is it not? Does it actually Are the special onset triggers for certain neuroglia? Would it even clear foreign receptor binders if specially triggered? etc. etc.

Food/Exercise? Something just as simple as eating the right water/fat soluble foods or doing loads of cardio or is it more complex than that?

To say a substance will cover everything is very ambiguous. Feel free (please) to use any other receptor examples or even solutions while explaining. I assumed serotonin receptors in my explanation.

Thank you.

Please, when you explain the answers please explain them in layman terms, I use all these terms when in fact I am just really dumb. Thanks a lot.

submitted by /u/Detourmenation
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Tuesday, September 5, 2017

I just looked at the sun with my eclipse glasses, and there are two black dots on the sun. What are those?

I just looked at the sun with my eclipse glasses, and there are two black dots on the sun. What are those?


I just looked at the sun with my eclipse glasses, and there are two black dots on the sun. What are those?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 01:52 PM PDT

If you have your eclipse glasses, go look. Are they solar flares visible to the naked eye? Or are they planets?

submitted by /u/supaiderman
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Do animals know when a storm or hurricane is coming?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 02:21 PM PDT

After going on vacation I was driving back to south Florida, about where the category 4 hurricane is supposed to hit and I realized that a whole lot of birds, a lot more than usual, we're moving north and since It's becoming colder everywhere I thought it should be the other way around where birds migrate south. Now with the hurricane looking like a very large threat, I figured that must be the reason for the birds fleeing.

Bonus question: if they can sense the hurricanes, why can't humans?

submitted by /u/jajsiehenso
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Why do hurricanes only hit eastern North America?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 12:23 PM PDT

My question is mainly why eastern over western (California), but also I don't believe I've heard of hurricanes hitting anywhere else in the world either.

submitted by /u/SquanchyMelo
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What exactly is a laser composed of and what are the differences between different types of lasers?

Posted: 05 Sep 2017 02:29 AM PDT

I understand that lasers are light (focused?) and that's about it. Lasers fascinate me. You can buy a pointer at pretty much any corner shop and those are very fun to play with. What interests me more are those lasers that cause damage. The ones that cut through metal and can disintegrate fabric/paper. What is the difference between a basic laser pointer and a laser capable of cutting through six inches of metal like a knife through butter? Is it simply the intensity of the light? And if that's the case, through what means do we control the intensity? I apologise if this question seems overly basic but, generally speaking, I am not a man of science. Thank you in advance for your answers and I look forward to being educated further on the topic.

submitted by /u/ChosenNeravarrine
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What happens if a black hole is sucked in to another black hole?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 11:19 PM PDT

What kind of impacts do nuclear tests have in general on nature?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 01:52 PM PDT

What will happen to a piece of wood, placed in a "pot"with no oxygen and then placed over a fire?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 03:18 PM PDT

also the same question but what if the "pot" was pressurised?

submitted by /u/Smoko854
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Why is there a Laser Gain Curve?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 10:27 AM PDT

As we talk about a Laser and its active Medium, a figure like the one down below is often shown. I understood the basics of it but cannot think of a simple explanation why there is a gauss like gain curve above all passible frequency spikes.

I know one can say "the medium increases only those frequencies" but what principle is connected to this?

I also know that the curve does not always have to be gaussian but thats not the point of the question.

https://imgur.com/a/GwRNo

submitted by /u/Ic3Breaker
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Does the Pauli exclusion principle imply that there is a maximum possible density for any substance?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 03:51 PM PDT

I.e. packed so tightly that it would be impossible to get any tighter without particles starting to occupy the same space? I know that under normal conditions, an atom is primarily made up of empty space between the nucleus and the electrons, so I'd imagine such a limit could only be reached in a black hole.

Are all black holes the same density? Or are black holes of a higher mass more dense? If some are more dense than others, do we have reason to believe that there is a limit to just how dense they can get?

submitted by /u/Lemonwizard
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What types of magnets are used in motors and generators?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 08:54 PM PDT

For example, in wind turbines/electric cars. What are the advantages/disadvantages of different materials?

submitted by /u/JackA7X
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Do we have any idea what caused the Oh My God Particle to be moving so fast?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 05:49 PM PDT

Chemistry: Molecule shape and electron geometries. Why isn't H2S linear?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 02:02 PM PDT

I am a Chem 3 (organic chemistry) student so Im very familiar with chemistry. While studying I came across a simple question, "What is the molecular and electron geometries of H2S?" So I made the lewis diagram and realized that since Sulfur is in the same group as Oxygen and that I had drawn drawn a linear version of the water molecule. Then i thought, well what is different from Oxygen and Sulfer. Then i found that Sulfer actually has an electronegativity (e-neg) of 2.5 while oxygen has and e-neg of 3.5. after-which i realized that the difference between hydrogen and sulfur is 0.4 (marginally non-polar). And since linear is a non-polar structure i figured that "hey this must be why H2O is bent! it has a polar molecule from the difference in e-neg! this must be why the bent molecule forms!"-but I was wrong, the molecule is bent.

My question is why? No one else that ive seen has made a clear explanation as to why "the lone pairs push the bonding pairs away." in my mind, its just 4 electron pairs, and two of them just happen to have a proton attached to them. why does this molecule form a bent instead of a linear?!

If the answer is a theory or a scientific paper, please link it in your answers please!

submitted by /u/EpicPwn_343
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Has the discovery of a very large particular number ever refuted a widely believed conjecture in mathematics?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 06:55 PM PDT

For example:

Goldbach's conjecture states that every even integer greater than two is the sum of two primes. Computer calculations have verified that this holds true for integers less than 4 x 1018 , but nevertheless a full proof has never been discovered.

Now, if we were to discover a single even integer greater than 4 x 1018 Goldbach's conjecture would be false. In the history of mathematics has something like this ever happened? Has a widely believed conjecture been rendered false due solely to the discovery a single large number that refutes it?

submitted by /u/only_bad_days
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Why Tsar Bomba - the most powerful bomb ever detonated - could have destroyed the Earth according to its creators?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 11:27 AM PDT

According to the Russian physicists who created the bomb, the explosion could have started a self-sustaining nuclear reaction in the ocean, leading to the planet's destruction. How is that possible?

submitted by /u/EchoOne11
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How can we tell what path a hurricane will take days in advanced? How come we can't determine high probability paths for the hurricane further in advance?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 02:05 PM PDT

I'm a dumb kid.

submitted by /u/The_Thrill17
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In a flood situation, what walls are holding up the water?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 06:56 PM PDT

Are gas giants (up to 12 Jupiter masses) more likely around hot stars (O-A class) or cold stars (K, M, Brown Dwarf)?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 10:03 AM PDT

I can't find reliable data on planetary likelihood per stellar class.

submitted by /u/MrJadexxxxxxx
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Why does clipping a sine wave create a square wave?

Posted: 04 Sep 2017 12:57 PM PDT

I understand why an infinite series of odd harmonics at proportional amplitudes and frequencies creates a square wave, and I understand the additive properties of waves.

I also understand why overdriving a sine wave through an amplifier/circuit cuts off the top and bottom of the wave, giving it a "square" appearance.

I guess I don't understand the reasoning the other way around. How and why does the fairly simple operation of clipping turn one sine wave into an infinite series of sine waves?

It may seem like I'm asking a question I've already answered, but that's not my intention, or maybe I'm not getting something.

Let's say you didn't offhand know the harmonics of a square wave. How could you derive them from the shape of a square wave?

Odd harmonics generate square/triangle waves. Why do square/triangle waves generate odd harmonics?

Does that make sense, or is the answer just, "dumb dumb, what about the transitive property don't you understand?"

submitted by /u/diamondbackmanhunter
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