AskScience Panel of Scientists XVIII

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• AskScience Panel of Scientists XVIII
• How effective are the black bars football players put under their eyes?
• When humans started launching satellites into space, did they end up discovering previously unknown islands?
• What is more environmentally friendly to drink soda, a aluminum can or a plastic bottle?
• Do various primates recognize humans as being primates as well?
• Would an ion-powered probe be able to get off a small asteroid?
• If gravity is the weakest of the fundamental forces, why aren't celestial bodies movement, especially those with magnetic properties, governed by electromagnetism rather than gravity?
• How do whales, the largest mammals on earth that inhabit the water, end up beached?
• Why does Kosovo have so many more people than Montenegro?
• How are expiration dates assigned to medicine?
• How does emergency contraception (morning after pill) containing levonorgestrel work? Pre-fertilization or post-fertilization MOA?
• What was the earliest known relationship between early humans and wolves/dogs, and what did they both stand to gain from the relationship?
• In a perfectly conductive wire, does information travel at the speed of light?
• What substances polluted the Earth in the 17th and 18th Century?
• The hazard symbols for highly flammable and oxydizing are very similar. Why is the oxydizing symbol so similar and what does it visually represent?
• What are you actually feeling when you feel like you have to pee?
• Is it possible to use a planets magnetic field as a particle accelerator?
• Why do rotating black holes look so weird?
• How does a person on the ground (Whilst touching a live electric wire) complete the circuit with the grounded neutral wire? Shouldn't the earth act as an insulator and not allow the electrons to flow from you to the neutral wire?
• How do internet cables and telephone poles transmit so much data all at once?
• How are a non-planetary nebulas created?
• How did differing chromosome numbers evolve?
• The Wikipedia page on Cosmic Rays says, "Studies by IBM in the 1990s suggest that computers typically experience about one cosmic-ray-induced error per 256 megabytes of RAM per month," What were these studies and how did they test this?
• How do the graphics on the super bowl field work?

AskScience Panel of Scientists XVIII Posted: 05 Feb 2018 04:54 AM PST 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: Are studying for at least an MSc. or equivalent degree in the sciences, AND, Are able to communicate your knowledge of your field at a level accessible to various audiences. Instructions for formatting your panelist application: Choose exactly one general field from the side-bar (Physics, Engineering, Social Sciences, etc.). State your specific field in one word or phrase (Neuropathology, Quantum Chemistry, etc.) Succinctly describe your particular area of research in a few words (carbon nanotube dielectric properties, myelin sheath degradation in Parkinsons patients, etc.) Give us a brief synopsis of your education: are you a research scientist for three decades, or a first-year Ph.D. student? Provide links to comments you've made in AskScience which you feel are indicative of your scholarship. Applications will not be approved without several comments made in /r/AskScience itself. Ideally, these comments should clearly indicate your fluency in the fundamentals of your discipline as well as your expertise. We favor comments that contain citations so we can assess its correctness without specific domain knowledge. Here's an example application: Username: /u/foretopsail General field: Anthropology Specific field: Maritime Archaeology Particular areas of research include historical archaeology, archaeometry, and ship construction. Education: MA in archaeology, researcher for several years. Comments: 1, 2, 3, 4. Please do not give us personally identifiable information and please follow the template. We're not going to do real-life background checks - we're just asking for reddit's best behavior. However, several moderators are tasked with monitoring panelist activity, and your credentials will be checked against the academic content of your posts on a continuing basis. You can submit your application by replying to this post. submitted by /u/AskScienceModerator [link] [comments]

How effective are the black bars football players put under their eyes? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 03:24 PM PST I understand it helps with the light, the glare and the reflection from the lightspots, I was just wondering if someone had answers concerning the usefulness of the black lines football players put under their eyes. submitted by /u/QcLoCo [link] [comments]

When humans started launching satellites into space, did they end up discovering previously unknown islands? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 11:07 PM PST submitted by /u/heretodaygonetmrw [link] [comments]

What is more environmentally friendly to drink soda, a aluminum can or a plastic bottle? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 01:53 PM PST submitted by /u/Moonkeyman120 [link] [comments]

Do various primates recognize humans as being primates as well? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 06:14 PM PST submitted by /u/VendettatheGreat [link] [comments]

Would an ion-powered probe be able to get off a small asteroid? Posted: 05 Feb 2018 05:02 AM PST Who would win, an ion engine or a dinky little asteroid like this one? submitted by /u/Fireheart318s_Reddit [link] [comments]

If gravity is the weakest of the fundamental forces, why aren't celestial bodies movement, especially those with magnetic properties, governed by electromagnetism rather than gravity? Posted: 05 Feb 2018 03:31 AM PST submitted by /u/Chasen101 [link] [comments]

How do whales, the largest mammals on earth that inhabit the water, end up beached? Posted: 05 Feb 2018 05:59 AM PST I had posted this on r/explainlikeimfive and one user told me to post over here like the title says. Someone had suggested that they just end up swimming too close to shore and get pulled in by the current or that it could also be due to ongoing marine studies, such as the use of sonar, dredging, etc.What are some of the current theories/studies trying to prove as to why this happens? submitted by /u/da_lizardking [link] [comments]

Why does Kosovo have so many more people than Montenegro? Posted: 05 Feb 2018 01:29 AM PST When you look at Kosovo and Montenegro on a map, they seem really similar in size (Montenegro is actually a bit larger, at 14,000 km2 to Kosovo's 11,000 km2). Yet Kosovo has about three times as many people (1.8 million compared to 600,000). Kosovo is almost as populous as neighbouring Macedonia, which is much larger in size. Furthermore, while both countries are mountainous, Montenegro has access to the sea (which is advantageous) whereas Kosovo is landlocked and appears to have fewer resources and fewer reasons to settle there. So, why do such similar neighbouring countries have radically different population? submitted by /u/pavass [link] [comments]

How are expiration dates assigned to medicine? Posted: 05 Feb 2018 05:15 AM PST Most times the components in medicine (either pills or syrups) are chemicals. What do you take into account to set an expiration date? submitted by /u/jujulita_moi [link] [comments]

How does emergency contraception (morning after pill) containing levonorgestrel work? Pre-fertilization or post-fertilization MOA? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 09:28 PM PST I just saw this in an AskReddit thread where someone said that the morning after pill works to prevent ovulation and fertilization. This caught me a little off guard, so I wanted to ask about this here! I'm not in the US - I'm in South America. Although I eventually dropped out, I did go to med school for three years, and I distinctly remember my pharmacology professor and later an OBGYN preceptor during my first clinical clerkship saying that levonorgestrel has a higher chance of taking a post-fertilization MOA. I believe there was some study that pointed to that as well - scientists from Spain, I think? I'm trying to find something in English rather than Portuguese and the first thing I came across was this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5102184/ For reference, emergency contraception is available without a prescription here in Brazil. Someone in class asked if it induces a miscarriage/acts as an abortive medication, and the professor started going in detail about how technically, there is a chance that the drug works to prevent a pregnancy that's already started (very early stage, though...). IIRC, the explanation given is that this particular EC "tricks" the body - it rapidly increases the progestogen levels that the body normally builds up after ovulation. This causes the endometrium lining of the uterus to thicken and then as the progestogen levels start to decline, the person who took the EC gets their period. They did say that the pre or post fertilization MOA depends on what stage of the menstrual cycle the woman taking it is in. It's funny that most of the web searches in Portuguese do mention the post-fertilization MOA. Now, when I searched for this in English, most information available (not in official research, more like Your Reproductive System 101) emphasized that this drug prevents ovulation and that it absolutely did not work the same as abortion pills. So...that got me curious, and I wanted to know what's the cause of this divergence in information. Thanks! submitted by /u/TallisTate [link] [comments]

What was the earliest known relationship between early humans and wolves/dogs, and what did they both stand to gain from the relationship? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 01:00 PM PST submitted by /u/refrainiac [link] [comments]

In a perfectly conductive wire, does information travel at the speed of light? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 10:25 PM PST Like when you press a button like a mouse click, would the information of the click travel to the computer chip at the speed of light, if the wire was perfectly conductive? Couldn't find a good answer online. Thanks. submitted by /u/SoccorMom911 [link] [comments]

What substances polluted the Earth in the 17th and 18th Century? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 09:44 PM PST Okay, so in the 20th and 21st century, there are a TON of substances that pollute the Earth, CFC, Carbon Monoxide and things like automobiles and industries and what not. What were the atmosphere degrading substances back when the world was not as advanced as it is now ? submitted by /u/vibhav_1 [link] [comments]

The hazard symbols for highly flammable and oxydizing are very similar. Why is the oxydizing symbol so similar and what does it visually represent? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 01:14 PM PST I am very sorry for such a boring question, but I'm struggling to find why the Oxydizing symbol is the way it is. I need to explain what is happening in the image so I can seperate it from the Highly Flammable symbol. submitted by /u/anyonamous [link] [comments]

What are you actually feeling when you feel like you have to pee? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 08:21 AM PST submitted by /u/levalex [link] [comments]

Is it possible to use a planets magnetic field as a particle accelerator? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 09:28 PM PST submitted by /u/haladur [link] [comments]

Why do rotating black holes look so weird? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 01:28 PM PST So I found this website from ESA where you can play around with a black hole and the rotating black hole (Kerr black hole) looks so weird. Why does it have that shape? submitted by /u/YottaEngineer [link] [comments]

How does a person on the ground (Whilst touching a live electric wire) complete the circuit with the grounded neutral wire? Shouldn't the earth act as an insulator and not allow the electrons to flow from you to the neutral wire? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 02:25 PM PST Thanks in advance. submitted by /u/StatHoop88 [link] [comments]

How do internet cables and telephone poles transmit so much data all at once? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 08:07 PM PST I know that they send data in bits of electric pulses but I don't understand how they can transmit so many calls at once or how they can show so many people different sites at once without it being too much. I can't imagine people putting a whole new wire in just because you want an extra Ethernet connection or an extra phone line. submitted by /u/luwachamo [link] [comments]

How are a non-planetary nebulas created? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 03:05 PM PST submitted by /u/Sgwyd_ [link] [comments]

How did differing chromosome numbers evolve? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 07:27 AM PST How could different chromosome numbers evolve in a species without an organism with a different chromosome count just dying because of that "mutation". submitted by /u/ManapatTheBoss [link] [comments]

The Wikipedia page on Cosmic Rays says, "Studies by IBM in the 1990s suggest that computers typically experience about one cosmic-ray-induced error per 256 megabytes of RAM per month," What were these studies and how did they test this? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 09:28 PM PST I'm asking because the Wikipedia source links to a 2008 Scientific American article that simply states the same fact with no other source to back it up. All searches for this study lead me in circles back to the same article. submitted by /u/liamemsa [link] [comments]

How do the graphics on the super bowl field work? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 03:03 PM PST How are images and text displayed? Is the field like a giant green screen? submitted by /u/iEatSponge [link] [comments]

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Similar to increasing wealth gap, are we experiencing an increasing educational gap? Are well-educated getting more educated and under-educated staying under-educated?

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• Similar to increasing wealth gap, are we experiencing an increasing educational gap? Are well-educated getting more educated and under-educated staying under-educated?
• If camera lenses are circular, why do they produce a rectangular image?
• Do you sweat if you are submerged in hot water?
• Everyone knows how the CO2 cycle works, but how does methane cycle work?
• is it possible for multiple planets to share the exact same orbit?
• What was the largest landmass or land feature discovered by satellite?
• How did people think stars work in the run up to the discovery of nuclear fusion and energy?
• Why does the far side of the moon look so different than the near side of the moon (none of the characteristic dark splotches)?
• Does light really make one lightyear per year, even though space is expanding?
• Would there be any advantage to making an interstellar spacecraft "aerodynamic" since there is no air? Is there an alternate concept of "vacudynamic" design which would provide benefits?
• How does your brain react to a Missing/failing organ?
• Is the ideal human weight based on calculated averages, or is it based on observable evidence that the body performs its best at a certain weight?
• Homo sapiens' nearest relatives live in hierarchical bands, but hunter-gatherer bands are egalitarian. Most agricultural societies are hierarchical. Was the reemergence of hierarchy cultural or did farming allow for the reappearance of previously culturally supressed hierarchical instincts?
• Does frosted glass let in less light than clear glass? If so, why?
• How did quantum physicists come to the conclusion that phenomena like radioactive decay has no cause rather than concluding that there's an unknown, random-like variable causing it?
• Why do some microorganisms look like bugs or insects? Is there any correlation between them?
• Are there any examples of animals 'practising' an ability, in the way we as humans do?
• How do we detect new, exotic, stable particles in the LHC and other similar colliders?
• How is Digestibility Determined or Measured?
• What are the fastest mass-having things in the universe?
• Human eyes have evolved to be able to see in a wide range of light intensity, have different parts of the world evolved slightly different from another according to their specific need?
• Why does Hawking Radiation result in loss of mass, and why does the loss of mass speed up as the black hole get's smaller?

Similar to increasing wealth gap, are we experiencing an increasing educational gap? Are well-educated getting more educated and under-educated staying under-educated? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 10:14 AM PST Edit: Thanks everyone for many different perspectives and interesting arguments! One of the points brought up was education and degrees. In this question, I don't necessarily equal attained education with received degrees but rather with actual acquired knowledge, including knowledge gained through non-institutional education. I realize we need quantifiable ways to measure educational attainment and awarded degrees is one of them. Though imperfect, it is better than non-existent. One just has to be careful about interpreting what exactly that number tells us. It also begs the question: What is the best way to measure acquired knowledge? In case there is a trend of a growing educational gap, what concerns me is the possible emergence of an educational divide. Depending on the definition of "educational divide" and high-quality data available, such divide might potentially be underway. submitted by /u/akuataja [link] [comments]

If camera lenses are circular, why do they produce a rectangular image? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 03:43 AM PST submitted by /u/TitaniumTurbine [link] [comments]

Do you sweat if you are submerged in hot water? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 05:44 PM PST submitted by /u/Dustypawous [link] [comments]

Everyone knows how the CO2 cycle works, but how does methane cycle work? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 05:39 AM PST submitted by /u/SEND_NOODELS [link] [comments]

is it possible for multiple planets to share the exact same orbit? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 03:13 AM PST if so, have we found examples of such? submitted by /u/mfairview [link] [comments]

What was the largest landmass or land feature discovered by satellite? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 04:31 PM PST Inspired by a question in /r/AskHistorians which asked whether there was land discovered by satellite imagery, I'm curious as to what the largest landmass or land feature discovered by satellites may be. I was unable to turn up anything via Google Scholar, though maybe my Google-fu is insufficient. Landsat Island (25m x 45m = 1,125m2) is the only one I can find that is apparently notable. submitted by /u/Hydrazeen [link] [comments]

How did people think stars work in the run up to the discovery of nuclear fusion and energy? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 06:41 PM PST submitted by /u/tectoo [link] [comments]

Why does the far side of the moon look so different than the near side of the moon (none of the characteristic dark splotches)? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 05:56 AM PST Just saw this cool gif of the moon, and it struck me how different the near side of the moon (that we see from Earth) looks from the far side. The dark splotches that make up the "man in the moon" seem largely absent from the far side. I've since learned that the "splotches" are called Lunar Maria and are formed from ancient lava flows, but I haven't stumbled across any explanation why they all face one side. Do we have any strong scientific explanation or theories why the Lunar Maria all face the Earth? submitted by /u/FroodLoops [link] [comments]

Does light really make one lightyear per year, even though space is expanding? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 01:25 AM PST Let's say we had a star 1 mio lightyears away. While its light travels to us, the space itself in between is expanding, so the light has to travel a longer distance. Technically, the light therefore should take more than 1 mio years to reach us, even if the star was exactly 1 mio lightyears away originally. Am i correct or do i miss something? submitted by /u/Morpfium [link] [comments]

Would there be any advantage to making an interstellar spacecraft "aerodynamic" since there is no air? Is there an alternate concept of "vacudynamic" design which would provide benefits? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 04:34 PM PST submitted by /u/DweadPiwateWoberts [link] [comments]

How does your brain react to a Missing/failing organ? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 07:53 PM PST submitted by /u/Jumpingeal [link] [comments]

Is the ideal human weight based on calculated averages, or is it based on observable evidence that the body performs its best at a certain weight? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 07:31 PM PST submitted by /u/workerlurker [link] [comments]

Homo sapiens' nearest relatives live in hierarchical bands, but hunter-gatherer bands are egalitarian. Most agricultural societies are hierarchical. Was the reemergence of hierarchy cultural or did farming allow for the reappearance of previously culturally supressed hierarchical instincts? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 08:53 PM PST Or, do dominance hierarchies actually exist in hunter-gatherers, but without aspects we would otherwise associate with hierarchy e.g. socially dominant individuals exist but without the coercive power to take extra food, or extra mates, etc? submitted by /u/Seswatha [link] [comments]

Does frosted glass let in less light than clear glass? If so, why? Posted: 04 Feb 2018 05:41 AM PST submitted by /u/wilsghost [link] [comments]

How did quantum physicists come to the conclusion that phenomena like radioactive decay has no cause rather than concluding that there's an unknown, random-like variable causing it? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 12:04 PM PST I'm majoring in philosophy of science and this leap from determinism to probabilistic-determinism is amazing but I'm having trouble understanding the need to make that leap. I'm trying to understand how scientists were able to weigh the likelihoods of the two competing philosophies. One claims a cause is probably there somewhere (albeit inductively) but is observationally random. The other claims, against all prior experience, a cause is not needed (and according to some people, not possible according to accepted quantum theory). Also, how is the situation different from dark matter and dark energy - cases where we don't know the cause of observed phenomena, yet declared and labeled the causes as unknown variables rather than uncaused phenomena? I've been told to look into John Bill's "No Go Theorem" and also something to do with experiments in optics or light, but never had it actually explained. Thanks! submitted by /u/Seraphrawn [link] [comments]

Why do some microorganisms look like bugs or insects? Is there any correlation between them? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 05:28 PM PST submitted by /u/Johhnzzy [link] [comments]

Are there any examples of animals 'practising' an ability, in the way we as humans do? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 05:22 PM PST In the sense that certain humans feel the desire to become increasingly proficient in an ability - performing a musical instrument, athletics, video games, etc. I suppose the question I'm asking is - is practising some personal ability, something we have developed due to our intelligence (or a consequence of it), or is it 'instinctive'? submitted by /u/sevenhours37 [link] [comments]

How do we detect new, exotic, stable particles in the LHC and other similar colliders? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 12:59 PM PST submitted by /u/ClassyAmoeba [link] [comments]

How is Digestibility Determined or Measured? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 07:50 PM PST I see foods or diets say something is more digestible or easier to digest all the time. What is being measured here? Is it lower incidence of complaints? Speed through GI tract? Fecal volume? Just marketing? Very curious what this means, scientifically. submitted by /u/dza76wutang [link] [comments]

What are the fastest mass-having things in the universe? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 02:22 PM PST this xcd was motivation behind the question https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ submitted by /u/ti-83calcmastrrc [link] [comments]

Human eyes have evolved to be able to see in a wide range of light intensity, have different parts of the world evolved slightly different from another according to their specific need? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 03:45 PM PST In the sense that back in time a few millennia and beyond, some group of people living in a place that is primarily cold would have no as much use for their eyes to be able to see with dim lunar reflection light as they would not venture out much, as opposed to some group of people who lives in a much wormer place and can use the advantage of seeing properly in dim light for night hunting or so? Other reasons around those lines or completely different ones as to ask if there is any clearly defined group of people geographically or ethnicly (if thats a word) that has a different "range" of light they can see properly in? If yes or no, is there another clear example of different group of people having different a slightly vision characteristics compared to another group? submitted by /u/mrsievert [link] [comments]

Why does Hawking Radiation result in loss of mass, and why does the loss of mass speed up as the black hole get's smaller? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 04:30 PM PST So, my understanding is that Hawking Radiation is when a pair of particles spawn into existence where one is outside the event horizon of a black hole and the other is inside. The outside one shoots off into space resulting in Hawking Radiation. But what happens to the one on the inside? Since it's essentially captured by the black hole, why doesn't it add to its mass? Also, I've heard that Hawking Radiation speeds up over time, resulting in tiny black holes 'exploding' out of existence (I think i saw this on a MinutePhysics video). But it seems to me the opposite would happen. The larger the black hole, the more surface area its event horizon has, and the more chances for the particle pairs to be created with one on the inside, and one on the outside. What am I missing? submitted by /u/VegasTamborini [link] [comments]

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A tidally locked planet is one that turns to always face its parent star, but what's the term for a planet that doesn't turn at all? (i.e. with a day/night cycle that's equal to exactly one year)

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• A tidally locked planet is one that turns to always face its parent star, but what's the term for a planet that doesn't turn at all? (i.e. with a day/night cycle that's equal to exactly one year)
• Can mitochonrial DNA control RNA instructions, imposing a threat to transcription sequences in organisms (specifically mammalian)?
• Did NASA sterilize the mars rovers to prevent relocating bacterial life to mars?
• Why is escape velocity so high?
• What do the indivisual lines in an atomic spectra represent?
• Why do elderly people sound old?
• Tin (Sn) has the largest liquid range of all metals (505 K to 2875 K), why?
• How far into the future can we predict the exact dates of lunar and solar eclipses?
• What does it mean when a particle has a statistical significance?
• How does energy move between fields in QFT?
• Have we made any headway on the branch between quantum and classical mechanics?
• Why some popcorn do not pop?
• Why is it that some dyes, like that used in laundry detergents, do not stain [white] clothes and can actually do the opposite, clean them?
• Shouldn’t an aircraft body act like a faraday cage? How am I able to get a cellular signal inside an aircraft?
• Where do the parts of a rocket (e.g. boosters, fuel tanks, etc) end up after they detach? If someone retrieves them, how do they do it?
• When referring to a planet's axial tilt, what is the tilt relative to?
• How does the human body regulate its temperature under water?
• In a really long line, if the first person moves forward, what's the average time until the last person moves. (That is, what's the speed of wave propagation in queues)?
• Why do some plants like apples and bananas have to be cloned to ensure the same kind of fruit, instead of being grown from seed?
• How much percent of global warming is caused by humans?
• Are there more -features- in 4G vs 3G, and 5G vs 4G, than just higher speed?
• How is REM sleep avoided during an eye surgery with anesthesia?
• Does the equator experience time dilation compared to the poles?

A tidally locked planet is one that turns to always face its parent star, but what's the term for a planet that doesn't turn at all? (i.e. with a day/night cycle that's equal to exactly one year) Posted: 02 Feb 2018 12:00 PM PST submitted by /u/ZeroBitsRBX [link] [comments]

Can mitochonrial DNA control RNA instructions, imposing a threat to transcription sequences in organisms (specifically mammalian)? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 04:34 AM PST Mitochondrial DNA is exposed to genetic mutations, as is the Nucleic DNA. In humans, mitochondrial DNA provides instructions for making molecules called transfer RNA (tRNA) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) which are complementary cousins of DNA. One of their main functions is carrying the transcribed DNA to different ribosomes in the body. Since the RNA is created by the Mitochondrial DNA, is it possible for instructions to be altered causing deficiencies in the organism? If so, what are they, and how high is the rate of incidence (occurrence)? submitted by /u/aenigmata [link] [comments]

Did NASA sterilize the mars rovers to prevent relocating bacterial life to mars? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 08:17 AM PST I'm assuming the rovers were totally cleaned of all "life". You wouldn't want to bring a bacteria or archaea to mars and then "find life" after it fell off your rover and multiplied. submitted by /u/Justicebp [link] [comments]

Why is escape velocity so high? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 05:50 AM PST Why is the escape velocity for earth 11.2 km/s? Can someone explain why it needs to be such a high speed? Why can't a vehicle just travel at a steady 1 km/h until is out of reach of the planet's gravity? submitted by /u/lopix [link] [comments]

What do the indivisual lines in an atomic spectra represent? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 06:09 AM PST i know there's gotta be something to do with the release of photons maybe? some type of energy, right? i'm not sure, but i want to know. submitted by /u/sickarettes [link] [comments]

Why do elderly people sound old? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 07:21 PM PST What is it about one's vocal chords/intonation/enunciation that causes them to physically sound older? I can tell when the person who answers the phone is young, middle aged or elderly. Why? submitted by /u/PollyShelby [link] [comments]

Tin (Sn) has the largest liquid range of all metals (505 K to 2875 K), why? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 03:23 PM PST What makes the melting point of tin relatively low, even though the boiling point is high? Is it the valency? Bonding? The atomic weight? submitted by /u/IAmMaarten [link] [comments]

How far into the future can we predict the exact dates of lunar and solar eclipses? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 06:26 PM PST I know we can model the solar system precisely enough to pinpoint dates and times of eclipses back to antiquity, but I'm wondering how far that predictive power actually goes. What variables could make precise predictions challenging going into the far future? submitted by /u/fiz03 [link] [comments]

What does it mean when a particle has a statistical significance? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 03:48 AM PST I understand that the larger the value the more likely it is to exist and be accepted but how is it measured? I ask this after reading about the LHC detecting a pentaquark in August 2016 with a statistical significance of 9𝜎. Link: https://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.082003 Any further reading recommendations would be great! submitted by /u/Bosserson [link] [comments]

How does energy move between fields in QFT? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 02:46 AM PST How does a vibration in a photon field become a vibration in the electron field for instance. Also, how does heat work in QFT? Is it "attached" to the vibrations or is it it's own seperate field? submitted by /u/Christopherence [link] [comments]

Have we made any headway on the branch between quantum and classical mechanics? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 01:32 AM PST I'm reading "The Large, the small, and the human mind" by Roger Penrose, and he makes a wide array of potential theories throughout the book, backed by a very technical and scientific approach. The book was written in 1997, my question is, what forms of progress have we made since then, and is there anything we can definitely rule out? For those who haven't read it, he proposes different possible solutions or formats for solutions for the branches between quantum and classical physics. He also raises questions about biophysical processes and consciousness, that maybe there is an answer to be found in quantum level biophysical processes that could explain consciousness in a scientific sense. If all that seems too hard to answer without actually reading the book, there are three general theses he poses, Mentality can be treated scientifically The ideas of quantum mechanics are relative to the mind body problem The quantum mechanical problem of the actualization of potentialities is a genuine physical problem that cannot be solved without modifying the quantum formalism We've learned a lot since 1997, I'm not sure these questions are solved, but we must've had some big steps since then in these questions? Or are these things now trivial? Thanks to all who answer in advance, sorry if my questions are poorly worded, I just didn't know a better place to raise these questions. submitted by /u/SpitFire216 [link] [comments]

Why some popcorn do not pop? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 05:32 PM PST submitted by /u/lazyhappyass [link] [comments]

Why is it that some dyes, like that used in laundry detergents, do not stain [white] clothes and can actually do the opposite, clean them? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 05:53 PM PST The question popped in to my head as I poured a popular detergent in to my washer containing white clothes and I noticed how dark blue the detergent was, completely opaque, and I found it odd that it cleans as opposed to leaving a dreadful blue splatter all over my clothes. submitted by /u/beardneophyte [link] [comments]

Shouldn’t an aircraft body act like a faraday cage? How am I able to get a cellular signal inside an aircraft? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 06:35 PM PST Is the signal coming in through the windows? Surely those are too small and sparsely distributed across the body? submitted by /u/imnotrelevanthere [link] [comments]

Where do the parts of a rocket (e.g. boosters, fuel tanks, etc) end up after they detach? If someone retrieves them, how do they do it? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 11:45 AM PST submitted by /u/Tokusatsu_fan [link] [comments]

When referring to a planet's axial tilt, what is the tilt relative to? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 08:00 PM PST if earth's tilt is 23.5 degrees, where is it zeroed out at? On the surface of earth the reference for tilt would be where the center of (earth's) gravity, i dont know if my question is clear or makes sense, if it doesnt ill try to clarify. submitted by /u/JennyTheFluffyBunny [link] [comments]

How does the human body regulate its temperature under water? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 07:46 PM PST submitted by /u/ostrich_fondlerer [link] [comments]

In a really long line, if the first person moves forward, what's the average time until the last person moves. (That is, what's the speed of wave propagation in queues)? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 05:52 PM PST I was waiting in a long line (queue) at a theme park yesterday and started wondering: how long does it take from the time that the first person moves until the opening gets to me and I can step forward? That is, what's the speed of wave propagation in queues? I'm picturing waves of people moving forward though the line, and it's kind of a neat image. I've tried Google searching a bunch of related phrases but haven't turned anything up. Surely someone has measured this. Although I can't really think of any practical implications. Any ideas? submitted by /u/Alien_vs_Hypnotoad [link] [comments]

Why do some plants like apples and bananas have to be cloned to ensure the same kind of fruit, instead of being grown from seed? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 03:39 PM PST submitted by /u/Arper [link] [comments]

How much percent of global warming is caused by humans? Posted: 03 Feb 2018 01:22 AM PST I had a small discussion with my classmates about this topic. It seems there are alot of studies about it online but the results are almost always different. Have a nice day! submitted by /u/furiousITguy [link] [comments]

Are there more -features- in 4G vs 3G, and 5G vs 4G, than just higher speed? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 05:28 PM PST More than just the "conversation" that the phone has with the tower to establish a connection, and on which channel, and on how much power, etc probably changes; and embedded in that initial conversation is "what time is it here" and "what time zone am I in", etc. Is there more to it than just the protocol changes? Are there new, shall we say, "APIs", meaning new -features- that a 5G device can use that simply didn't exist for 4G (and 4G over 3G)? submitted by /u/DeeDee_Z [link] [comments]

How is REM sleep avoided during an eye surgery with anesthesia? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 06:15 PM PST submitted by /u/Ratogiro [link] [comments]

Does the equator experience time dilation compared to the poles? Posted: 02 Feb 2018 11:00 AM PST submitted by /u/_MemeProphet_ [link] [comments]

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