/r/askscience
Ask a science question, get a science answer.
Title | Description |
---|---|
Physics | Theoretical Physics, Experimental Physics, High-energy Physics, Solid-State Physics, Fluid Dynamics, Relativity, Quantum Physics, Plasma Physics |
Mathematics | Mathematics, Statistics, Number Theory, Calculus, Algebra |
Astronomy | Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Planetary Formation |
Computing | Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Computability |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | Earth Science, Atmospheric Science, Oceanography, Geology |
Engineering | Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Structural Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering |
Chemistry | Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Polymers, Biochemistry |
Social Sciences | Social Science, Political Science, Economics, Archaeology, Anthropology, Linguistics |
Biology | Biology, Evolution, Morphology, Ecology, Synthetic Biology, Microbiology, Cellular Biology, Molecular Biology, Paleontology |
Psychology | Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Abnormal, Social Psychology |
Medicine | Medicine, Oncology, Dentistry, Physiology, Epidemiology, Infectious Disease, Pharmacy, Human Body |
Neuroscience | Neuroscience, Neurology, Neurochemistry, Cognitive Neuroscience |
Date | Description |
---|---|
9 Oct | Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science |
16 Oct | Ask Anything Wednesday - Engineering, Mathematics, Computer science |
23 Oct | AskScience AMA Series: Dr. Brent Seales, Vesuvius Challenge |
23 Oct | Ask Anything Wednesday - Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology |
23 Oct | Mole Day |
28 Oct | Jonas Salk's Birthday (b.1914) |
30 Oct | Ask Anything Wednesday - Economics, Political Science, Linguistics, Anthropology |
6 Nov | Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science |
We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers. -Carl Sagan, Cosmos
/r/askscience
There are various forms of energy, including heat energy, chemical energy, electrical energy and light energy etc.
How do we distinguish them on an quantum scale? Are there any arrangements of particles which result in various forms of energy?
Really curious if on average what mountain would erode faster. This assumes same material and average conditions for there environment.
I've seen hurricanes regain strength in the Gulf but never form and get so strong. Just curious if this is unusual.
Ovens, microwave, fire, there are plenty of ways to make something nice and hot but not cold (besides refrigerator). Could we invent a cold oven or cold fire?
Sorry if my question is non specific, but I will try to specify here. If a black hole has a singularity with truly infinite gravity, and gravity gets weaker with distance, then isn't it impossible to divide/subtract a number from infinity, without that number being zero or inifnity, but we know we can't do that anyways, so whats the deal, shouldn't the gravitational energy that is supposedly infinite, continue radiating into space, destroying space time in it's wake? Or are singularities truly not infinite gravity? Sorry if this sounds stupid, I am simply trying to understand this as the average joe.
I know that usually particles will be stripped from a comet approaching a star and the tail will be pushed away from the star by the stellar wind. But I also remember learning somewhere that when a comet gets especially close to a star, gasses and liquids will be heated and expelled specifically from the side of the comet facing the star in great enough volumes that they will overcome the pressure of the solar wind, resulting in a tail that faces towards the star instead. Is this latter theory possible?
Are scientists actively studying rabies somehow, anywhere? How? Do they infect animals with it and study them? ... Study how?
I know it will eventually make its way to the ocean, but in the mean time, does it move along the course of the various rivers like an egg in a snake – a swollen, flooded area all the way down?
So, we had historic floods produced by Helene dropping so much water. What was unique about this storm that it did so much more damage?
It seems like we've had Cat 2/1 storms go ashore before and not do this. Did Helene have more water than others or did it happen to drop what it had in more concentrated or vulnerable places?
I know in the Asheville area, they had already had a bunch of rain the week before so the ground was saturated and that contributed to the problem. Is that the main reason?
Is this an error? This is the first time I hear about RNA in chromosomes. What kind of RNA is in chromosomes?
for ex you have 2 magnets trying to repel eachother but being pushed closer together. Does the magnets internal structure experience increased stress the stronger the repulsion ? Or is that stress only felt by whatever is actually pushing the magnets together ?
We learned in school that the reason your body gets a fever etc when you are sick is to fight the pathogens causing sickness. Would taking medicine to relieve these symptoms make you sick for longer?
Edit, to clarify:
Yes, cold temperatures only slow the rate at which bacteria develop, and I am referring to resistance in the sense that the bacteria are no longer affected by cold temperatures and will develop as usual.
Is this correct terminology? Perhaps this is a question of physics more so than the microbiology of how and what bacteria become resistant to.
Given the vast number of nucleotides in a genetic sequence, there is an unfathomable number of potential mutations. Not all genetic mutations are detrimental or even viable, and a substantial portion of DNA is non-coding - but even so, it seems unrealistic to me that we can classify cancerous cells into a relatively small number of categories or types. Why aren’t all cancerous cells “unique” provided the seemingly infinite combinations of possible mutations?
I know vibration is a major issue in engineering, but I'm curious as to what 's going on on a microscopic level as things get loose, and I'm intrigued by how can a reciprocal motion make something turn and loosen up, one way only. Why doesn't vibration cause a bolt to tighten up?
I was pulling Velcro apart in the dark and noticed it was emitting light as I did so. Can anyone explain this? Is it the same reason as adhesive strips/tape?
So proteins are amino acids, but if you take bcaas or eaas, you won't build muscle, so surely there's something else in a protein that actually creates muscle?
My bicep isn't made entirely of valine for example, or any other amino acid, they are their own cells, but I want to understand how it is actually made and not "the body uses vitamins and proteins to build muscle."... It seems to me like there is ALOT more than that and I can't seem to dig anything up on Google other than the quote I mentioned.
Is there any fossil evidence of human or neanderthal predation by larger predators? Im curious to know which ones our ancestors may have often encountered.
As in if a space elevator is built or if something is winched from the ISS, must it still go at escape velocity to leave Earth?
There is a major part of geology I don't think I understand. I often see geological maps of areas like this one showing different bedrock by periods. I live in an area of Indiana where most of the region’s bedrock dates to the Pennsylvanian period. I understand how this date was established with index fossils and dating methods, however, the entire map goes against what I understand of geology. I was under the impression areas had bedrock sorted horizontally in stratigraphic layers, with different layers dating to different periods as this image shows. Why then do geological maps show a single period dominating an area? Are geological maps just showing the top layer? If so does that mean I could dig down where i live in Indiana and eventually hit earlier-period rocks with earlier-period fossils? With how many valleys and quarries there are in my area you'd think there'd be an outcropping from one of these earlier periods, but that doesn't seem to be the case, hence my confusion. Thank you for any responses
How often do volcanoes erupt/blow without warning in our current day and age? I know that our monitoring and sensors/technology have gotten better with time, but sometimes nature just happens.
So my question is, how likely in the estimation of volcanologist/geologists is it for a devastating eruption to happen without any evacuation warning for the nearby towns?
I tried to Google fu the statistics bit mostly just got lists of eruptions in the past 50-100 years, not how much advanced knowledge of the activity we had.
Wouldn't the water run down the mountain?
So, I know that over time animals will develop adaptations to better survive their environments, but how to insects compare in this way? Do they also evolve to fit their environments, are they growing a new sets of wings in particularly windy climates? Or are they not as affected. What does an insect adapting to their surroundings look like over time?