AskScience Panel of Scientists XVII |
- AskScience Panel of Scientists XVII
- Why do we consider it certain that radioactive decay is completely random?
- Why don't freight trains use turbine engines?
- Do different isotopes (e.g. Carbon 12 and Carbon 14) have slightly different electron emission spectra?
- Would an impact on the moon during an eclipse allow us to do spectroscopy of the impact ejecta dust?
- Why do my eyes make a squeaking noise when I rub them roughly?
- Why would a black hole with the mass of Jupiter trap light while Jupiter itself doesn't?
- Ask Anything Wednesday - Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science
- When I reflected a laser off my phone screen, the reflection on the wall was many tiny dots in a grid like pattern, what is happening here?
- Turbofan vs Gas Turbine?
- How would Earth's climate system respond to an increase in solar luminosity?
- Could dark energy be used to harvest electricity using temperature differentials?
- Why does Vancouver have two high tides per day?
- What would a sun spot look like if I were hovering directly above it?
- Could someone explain what happens in this video? (And whether it is accurate)
- If I was on a planet around a star between galaxies, would other stars be visible by the naked eye?
- How do colliding neutron stars create heavy elements above iron?
- How do warm blooded animals like rabbits survive a frigid winter?
- Why don't highway tractors use electromotive diesel setups to pull freight similar to locomotive and mine haul?
- What is the cause behind the relationship between an atom being heavy and its propensity to decay?
- How much energy does a tree consume in a day?
- Why do electrons have kinetic energy?
- How do we determine how far away a distant galaxy is when the universe is expanding at an increasing rate?
- Does spacetime curve toward the event horizon nearest by or toward a central geometric point of the entire black hole?
| AskScience Panel of Scientists XVII Posted: 07 Aug 2017 01:16 PM PDT Please read this entire post carefully and format your application appropriately. This post is for new panelist recruitment! The previous one is here. The panel is an informal group of redditors who are either professional scientists or those in training to become so. All panelists have at least a graduate-level familiarity within their declared field of expertise and answer questions from related areas of study. A panelist's expertise is summarized in a color-coded AskScience flair. Membership in the panel comes with access to a panelist subreddit. It is a place for panelists to interact with each other, voice concerns to the moderators, and where the moderators make announcements to the whole panel. It's a good place to network with people who share your interests! You are eligible to join the panel if you:
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| Why do we consider it certain that radioactive decay is completely random? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 04:57 PM PDT How can we possibly rule out the fact that there's some hidden variable that we simply don't have the means to observe? I can't wrap my head around the fact that something happens for no reason with no trigger, it makes more sense to think that the reason is just unknown at our present level of understanding. EDIT: Thanks for the answers. To others coming here looking for a concise answer, I found this post the most useful to help me intuitively understand some of it: This post explains that the theories that seem to be the most accurate when tested describes quantum mechanics as inherently random/probabilistic. The idea that "if 95% fits, then the last 5% probably fits too" is very intuitively easy to understand. It also took me to this page on wikipedia which seems almost made for the question I asked. So I think everyone else wondering the same thing I did will find it useful! [link] [comments]  |
| Why don't freight trains use turbine engines? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 03:15 PM PDT Freight trains in the US use diesel-electric drive trains where the engines act as a generator that then drives electric motors. These trains are supposedly extremely efficient, with a commonly-cited figure of 400 mpg per ton. However, I'm operating under the assumption that turbines are the most efficient way to produce electricity as they're used to produce electricity for the grid. If this is the case, then why aren't trains using turbines, since they're trying to turn fossil fuel into electricity at peak efficiency? If it's not, then why do power plants not use diesel? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 27 Sep 2017 02:53 AM PDT Do isotopes of atoms cause the electrons to have slightly different energy levels and therefore slightly different emission spectra or do the electron levels remain the same? [link] [comments]  |
| Would an impact on the moon during an eclipse allow us to do spectroscopy of the impact ejecta dust? Posted: 27 Sep 2017 07:54 AM PDT Could deorbiting a large spacecraft or meteor into the surface at a 90° angle to the Earth while the moon transits the sun allow us to do spectroscopy using the sun's light filtering through the dust cloud that results from the impact? [link] [comments]  |
| Why do my eyes make a squeaking noise when I rub them roughly? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 08:52 PM PDT |
| Why would a black hole with the mass of Jupiter trap light while Jupiter itself doesn't? Posted: 27 Sep 2017 01:05 AM PDT I'm a bit confused. One is a simple gas giant and the other a black hole of the same mass yet only the black hole traps light. Why is it that way? [link] [comments]  |
| Ask Anything Wednesday - Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science Posted: 27 Sep 2017 08:06 AM PDT Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science Do you have a question within these topics you weren't sure was worth submitting? Is something a bit too speculative for a typical /r/AskScience post? No question is too big or small for AAW. In this thread you can ask any science-related question! Things like: "What would happen if...", "How will the future...", "If all the rules for 'X' were different...", "Why does my...". Asking Questions: Please post your question as a top-level response to this, and our team of panellists will be here to answer and discuss your questions. The other topic areas will appear in future Ask Anything Wednesdays, so if you have other questions not covered by this weeks theme please either hold on to it until those topics come around, or go and post over in our sister subreddit /r/AskScienceDiscussion , where every day is Ask Anything Wednesday! Off-theme questions in this post will be removed to try and keep the thread a manageable size for both our readers and panellists. Answering Questions: Please only answer a posted question if you are an expert in the field. The full guidelines for posting responses in AskScience can be found here. In short, this is a moderated subreddit, and responses which do not meet our quality guidelines will be removed. Remember, peer reviewed sources are always appreciated, and anecdotes are absolutely not appropriate. In general if your answer begins with 'I think', or 'I've heard', then it's not suitable for /r/AskScience. If you would like to become a member of the AskScience panel, please refer to the information provided here. Past AskAnythingWednesday posts can be found here. Ask away! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 26 Sep 2017 08:27 PM PDT |
| Posted: 27 Sep 2017 02:45 AM PDT I recently read about the Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines used in ships are based on Trent 800 turbofans with 80% part commonality. What are the mechanical differences between aircraft turbofans and Gas turbines and if none why the distinction in name from say a Turboshaft. [link] [comments]  |
| How would Earth's climate system respond to an increase in solar luminosity? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 08:15 PM PDT |
| Could dark energy be used to harvest electricity using temperature differentials? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 10:13 PM PDT In a video I watched recently, it was theorized that empty space is not empty, but has a dark energy that is the reason for the expanding universe. Also mentioned was how that energy also gives empty space a radiant temperature. Sterling Engines run off temperature differentials, so if dark energy is a force that also creates heat, could it be harnessed to generate electricity? If not temperature differentials, are there better competing theories? (I'm intentionally ignoring the size such a system would need to be, and efficiency of the system, just asking if it's even feasible) [link] [comments]  |
| Why does Vancouver have two high tides per day? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 09:59 PM PDT I'm not exactly sure how I ended up looking at tide tables, but that's the internet for you. I noticed something that really surprised me: Vancouver BC has and extra high tide each cycle. As the tide is going out, it appears to change its mind and come back in a bit, before finally actually going out. Why? Does it happen all year like this, or just some times? I'm originally from Halifax, I didn't know about it being like that back there. Why is it different? [link] [comments]  |
| What would a sun spot look like if I were hovering directly above it? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 09:50 PM PDT |
| Could someone explain what happens in this video? (And whether it is accurate) Posted: 27 Sep 2017 05:16 AM PDT https://youtu.be/0ZFPio2PeQc?t=180 At 3:00 of this video. [link] [comments]  |
| If I was on a planet around a star between galaxies, would other stars be visible by the naked eye? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 07:52 PM PDT I've read there are only about 8,000 stars visible to the naked eye. I understand that there are some stars between galaxies that were ejected. If I was on a planet around a star in this area between galaxies, would there be stars observable with the naked eye or just the local sun? [link] [comments]  |
| How do colliding neutron stars create heavy elements above iron? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 09:44 AM PDT So im aware that supernova are the main source of our heavier elements. However neutron stars that collide also make them, my question is how. Neutron stars no longer conduct fusion. So how does there act of colliding create heavy elements? Does fusion restart by being fueled by shear gravity? Or is it another process. If possible provide link to source. Thank you [link] [comments]  |
| How do warm blooded animals like rabbits survive a frigid winter? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 04:27 PM PDT |
| Posted: 26 Sep 2017 08:53 AM PDT Hello! I'm not sure if this is the appropriate sub Reddit for this question, but hopefully there is an engineer kicking around that can shed some light. I've worked in the trucking industry as a mechanic and I currently work as a mechanic for locomotives. I've always wondered why the trucking industry doesn't go the same way as locomotive and mine haul vehicles? Diesel engines last longer when powering generators due to constancy of load and you no longer need a transmission, driveline and power-dividers. Also electric motors could be used to brake and they are very high torque. Anyone have any experience in this subject? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| What is the cause behind the relationship between an atom being heavy and its propensity to decay? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 09:00 PM PDT Follow up: could we create an environment in which heavy elements that would normally decay remain stable? [link] [comments]  |
| How much energy does a tree consume in a day? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 03:24 PM PDT Hypothetically, there is an oak that is 80 ft tall, 24" diameter, and is 22,000 lbs (including roots). How much energy does that tree need from sunlight and nutrients in the soil on average to survive one day? I have read how much energy a tree can produce from being chopped down and wood burnt, but I haven't been about to find the energy it consumes in a day to live. [link] [comments]  |
| Why do electrons have kinetic energy? Posted: 26 Sep 2017 05:55 PM PDT The hydrogen atom consists of a negatively charged electron bound by a positively charged nucleus. Traditionally when we calculate the energy of the H atom we can partition the Hamiltonian into a kinetic energy part and a potential energy part. However when analyzing the ground state solution a cusp (singularity) appears at the position of nucleus since the potential energy goes to infinity. This cusp is "neutralized" by the kinetic energy which goes also to infinity at that point. Therefore it seems t that there is something fundamentally wrong with separating kinetic and potential energy at the quantum level. Can anybody with deeper quantum physics knowledge then me chime in? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 26 Sep 2017 01:58 PM PDT The red shift given by a distant galaxy tells us how fast it was moving away from us a large number of years ago. But since the universe is expanding at an increasing rate, how do we determine how far away galaxies are? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 27 Sep 2017 12:59 AM PDT |
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