Cornell Center for Materials Research

Frequently Viewed Questions

518 questions have been viewed 1811998 times since 08/12/04 14:42

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33245How can you tell if a diamond is real or fake?
19610Are cats and dogs colorblind? Do cats' eyes glow in the dark?
17562Can you turn gas into a solid form?
17419Why do your ears ring?
16715How are elements named?
16179How is glass made?
14647Why do your cheeks turn red when you get embarrassed? How come when we get nervous our heart feels like it's beating faster?
13571Isaac Newton discovered gravity, but why did he call it gravity?
13522Why do your bones crack when you walk up or down stairs sometimes?
13472Does sugar make you hyper if you eat a lot of it?
11769Why does squinting help people with vision problems see better?
10455Do evergreen trees give off oxygen all year round?
10165I have a recipe to make homemade glue. The recipe asks you to heat skim milk and vinegar until the milk curdles. Then it asks to remove the liquid from the mixture and add sodium bicarbonate to the curdles. What is sodium bicarbonate and why is it an important ingredient to make the glue?
10087How do relaxers on your hair work?
9916How does a fluorescent light bulb work?
9858If hydrogen and oxygen are both flammable why doesn’t water burn?
9223Why do men grow hair on their face, while most women don't?
9141How do you make a magnet?
8953Why do crystal glasses give off sound when you rub them with a wet finger?
8942Why do dolphins live in the water when they are mammals?
8780Why do crickets make noise at night?
8698How does a glow-stick work and how come neon glows?
8459How do solar energy cars work?
8246Why does soap make bubbles?
8192Why do ships float? Why don't ships sink?
8164Who invented math?
8106How many species of bats are there? Why do bats live in caves? How big do bats get? Do bats go underwater? How long do bats live? Do bats mate and give birth while flying or hanging?
7989Why can't you put metal in a microwave?
7866Why are robin's eggs blue?
7740Where does static electricity come from? How does it get in my cat's fur? Why is it worse in winter? How do dryer sheets get static out of clothes?
7729Why are humans born with eyes open and puppies are born with eyes closed?
7657How does sun block work?
7504How many dimensions are there?
7415Can humans ever see in the dark with no night vision glasses or other aids?
7318What is the most common type of blood?
7254How can you tell if a ruby is real or fake? Is there a test I can do?
7023Water doesn't spoil, but why do some water bottles have expiration dates?
6967Why doesn't gold rust?
6955How do you make a laser?
6926Can animals get a sunburn?
6910Is it safe to touch mercury bare handed? Are you going to be poisoned if you touch it?
6853Will your skin change color if you eat enough of a colorful food? (For example, if you eat a lot of carrots, will your skin turn orange?)
6729Why does salt melt snow?
6664Why do we have fingernails?
6620How does a fire hydrant work?
6571Why is element 43 made by man and none of the elements around it are?
6465How do MRI's work? What are all the ticking and banging noises?
6459Why does fruit ripen?
6377Why does the wind blow?
6264Why do different balls bounce differently?
6253Will a candle burn in a space ship where everything is weightless?
6184Why is grass green?
6183Is sinking sand real or myth? If real, please explain how it works.
6050Why is the planet Mars red?
6020Do fish see in color?
5976How do minerals and nutrients form? Why do some foods have metals in them?
5955Is it possible to determine the resonance frequency of an object that has a diameter in nanometers in size (such as a cell)?
5874How do you grow seedless watermelons?
5851What is the volume of water in a gallon of ice?
5729Why can't we hold our breath like the whales?
5726What happens at the edge of a diamond? How does the carbon end?
5617Why does a cow have so many stomachs?
5611How does a copy machine work?
5570How can the sun burn without oxygen in space? If there is oxygen in space why do astronauts need oxygen?
5552I heard that peppermint candy will help you do better on a test. Is this true? And, is there anything in peppermint candy that will boost my scores?
5535Does the mass of the Earth increase with the increasing population? If not, why not?
5489How does sonar work?
5479How does burning gasoline make a car move?
5454What is lightning and what makes thunder rumble?
5451What if you had no white blood cells?
5432Does every one in the world have cancer cells in their body?
5425How do CDs Work?
5417What would happen if I dyed water green with food coloring, then put it in a humidifier? I was going to do it but my mom made me stop at the last second.
5359How can hummingbirds fly backwards?
5352What color is Saturn, and are there planets in other galaxies?
5337Where does the salt in the sea come from?
5280Why does the moon rise and set in a few hours some nights and on other nights, the moon will rise at early darkness and still be in the sky the next morning?
5278With California blackouts and amazingly high heating costs, are alternate energy sources becoming closer to "hitting the market" than ever? If so, what are they and what are their pros and cons?
5272How do airplanes fly?
5270How does the CCD work in a digital camera?
5263How do you split atoms?
5262How do you clone plants?
5261Why can birds fly but penguins can't?
5215Why do babies get their parents features?
5212If plastic is made to be biodegradable, then won't the plastic forks and spoons we use dissolve in our mouth?
5181Are there any nontoxic ingestible fluorescent materials?
5153Is a horse's leg bone bigger than a human leg bone? If so, when a horse's bone breaks why is it so much harder to heal?
5106How are marshmallows made?
5104How does the desalination of water work?
5076Where does liquid nitrogen come from and how is it made?
5025Why do bees sting?
5006Why do we get a shock from electricity?
4994Why is it that when you burn a contained candle the wax disappears? Does it evaporate? What is the chemical reaction?
4990How does your body move? Does the brain send it messages?
4975How do new materials that are used in swimming suits work and where do they come from?
4972How hot is it at the earth's core? Does the heat affect our temperature?
4922I know that water can put out a fire. What does liquid nitrogen do to a fire?
4897From what metals are electromagnets made?
4864What does a flying fish do to fly?
4858Why do some dogs eyes reflect red instead of yellow and does this have anything to do with their coat type?
4834What makes Band-Aids sticky?
4833How are the colors in a rainbow made?
4831If icebergs are made of fresh water, why don't they melt in the salt water of the ocean?
4822What would happen if a tornado started in the southern hemisphere and progressed into the northern hemisphere? Would it change directions?
4800How are crystals formed?
4795Is it imaginable that an AIDS vaccine will be developed?
4784Why are cats so flexible?
4754If the electrons are attracted to the protons, why don't they come crashing into the nucleus?
4734What formula or method was used to determine Avogadro's number?
4730Recycled metal looks like the same color as non-recycled metal. When soda cans are recycled, what happened to the paint or dye that was on top of the aluminum?
4694If there is a flash of light inside of a cube, whose walls are all mirrors on the inside will the light keep reflecting off of every wall infinitely? Or will it just go away? What will happen?
4683How do butterflies fly?
4654Why do people get seasick or carsick?
4643Why are some dishes safe to put in the oven, microwave, and dishwasher, but others aren't?
4631How do you jam a radio broadcast?
4628If you could drill a tunnel all the way through the earth and dropped a rock in it, what would happen?
4620Why does your tongue get stuck to metal in the winter?
4597Why is it generally colder at higher elevations?
4565If you take a substance like water and were able to get it to absolute zero, where supposedly the molecules would cease to move, and then you reheated it, would the molecules recover and start to move again?
4557How does a firefly make its light?
4536What are Saturn's rings made of?
4519Why do computers freeze up?
4511How did animals get to have rabies?
4507Does the moon have lithospheric plates? Do other planets have distinct layers such as the inner core, outer core, and mantle, like the earth does?
4484How do you make a man made element?
4433How do they put the flavor in candy?
4428My dad just got some new tennis shoes with that reflective stuff on them. What is the difference between those reflective stickers and the glow in the dark stars over my bed?
4404What chemical properties, if any, makes things sticky?
4394Why does a nuclear bomb create so much energy with such a small amount of mass? Why is there so much nuclear fallout with such a small amount of nuclear material in the bomb?
4343What is nanotechnology used for? Why do scientists study it?
4342I know that a TV screen is made up of lots of blue, green and red dots, so why does the light coming out of it look blue from a distance?
4320Why do chameleons change color?
4316How do fuel cells work?
4314Is time travel possible?
4310How does Aspirin work?
4287What evidence do we have that continents were connected?
4264How many earths will fit in the sun?
4254What happens if you go into space with a regular plane? Do you explode?
4247How does the moon cause tides and how is it that when it is high tide in one place it can also be high tide on the other side of the world?
4239How do we know how old the earth is?
4231What material is flame made of?
4220How do chameleons/anoles change colors?
4215Why do frogs or certain frogs have to stay in the water? I know its their habitat but why can't they leave and stay on land?
4193How come we have two eyes but see only one of everything?
4177Why is carbon the building block of matter?
4176Why do humans enjoy music? What is it about the brain that makes sounds translate into pleasure and other emotions?
4156How would gravity function if the earth were a torus?
4154Where do tornadoes come from?
4144Why does the gravitational pull of the moon control the tides of the sea?
4135How are submarines able to go down so deep under the water, and then surface?
4132Why does rain fall in drops rather than gush down?
4132Why is vegetable oil able to be used as a power source for automobiles?
4128Why is there discussion as to whether or not glass is a liquid or a solid?
4126What makes the sun hot?
4108Do flies have hearts?
4088Why do deer lose their rack in the winter?
4076Why is it that when I hold a stick over a fire it ignites without touching the coals?
4073Can lava rock be heated and turned back into lava?
4065Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark?
4053How are dryer sheets manufactured?
3959Why are combustion reactions exothermic (why is fire hot)? What makes these reactions produce heat the way they do?
3949Can one of the professors write about some of the bacteria that are becoming immune to antibiotics? We are concerned when they are putting antibiotics in some meats now, and talking about antibacterial soaps having an effect on the immunity.
3937Can there be hummingbirds in Croatia?
3921What is Jupiter made of?
3918Why don't you see two things if you have two eyes?
3918Can the human eye be compared to a computer monitor? Does the view we see refresh itself or is it more like live feed? If something was moving too quickly, would it appear jumpy like a low frames/second?
3917Why do stars twinkle?
3908Why do birds bob their head when they walk?
3898Why are apes different from humans and monkeys?
3879What about the atomic structure of a substance determines its color and/or luster?
3875Why does the earth behave like a magnet?
3867How do dreams and nightmares occur? Why do we sometimes remember our dreams, and other times we do not remember? Do we dream every night?
3866When a water surface reflects something (when looking from the top), does it undergo total internal reflection?
3823Is AIDS the only incurable disease?
3821What is the lowest temperature possible?
3808How does a particle accelerator work and why is it so useful?
3798How do microwave ovens work?
3793Why does the earth have more water than land?
3792How come deserts have sand instead of dirt and soil?
3781How do underwater flares and torches work, when water puts out fires?
3774How exactly do catalysts lower the activation energy of bonds?
3774How do computers communicate with Chinese characters?
3763How can electricity run things?
3752Why does the sun have black spots?
3752How accurate is the VSEPR model of molecular geometry for predicting the shapes of large, complex molecules?
3736We were measuring water. There was some water on the table. There was water under one of the cups. We tried to pick up the cup lightly and it stuck. Why?
3733After mixing 1oz of cornstarch and some water together, why does it get hard when pressure is applied? And then when the pressure is released, the mixture becomes drippy?
3697When I place a straw in a glass of soda, the part of the straw in the water appears bigger and also seems bent as I look down into the cup. Why does it look bigger and why does it appear to bend upon entering the water?
3687How many different kinds of dinosaurs are there?
3683Why is it normal to move your arms when you walk or run?
3662What is Vitamin A and what does it do? Also, what kinds of elements are in Vitamin A?
3661Why does my milkshake stay thick even when it warms up? Shouldn't it get thinner as it melts?
3659Is popping popcorn a physical or a chemical change?
3641What is spontaneous combustion? Is it a myth? What causes it?
3609What is fiber optic cable and what advantages does it have over other technologies?
3576If fire needs air to breathe and the sun is a ball of fire, how does the sun stay lit if there is no air in space?
3570Are there life forms (animals, insects) that live in underwater volcanoes?
3570If light travels in a straight line, why is lightning crooked?
3567How exactly are nocturnal animals able to see in the dark?
3555How big is the universe and how did we figure it out? Where has the farthest telescope seen? How far have people sent the furthest satellite?
3554Can only water evaporate or can other liquids?
3551Why doesn't it rain inside a house?
3539How do engines start?
3528Why is there zero gravity in space?
3525What was there before the "Big bang?" Why did it happen?
3522How do they compress oxygen into pure oxygen tanks?
3493When hydrogen explodes and combines with oxygen, where does the energy that is released in the explosion come from?
3488What was the gas mileage for the earliest cars made?
3479How can so much information be crammed into such a small space on a microchip?
3477How do you make a rock into a metal or a crystal?
3473Apparently Romer measured the speed of light due to a delay in the satellite of Jupiters orbits. But how did he measure it - he must have had a succession of measurements over say 1 year, yet been able to time very accurately the advance or retard. How did he do this since he didn't have an accurate pendulum clock. ie what was his actual experimental method - nowhere can I find a good description.
3472What is fire? Does it have mass?
3466What are MEMS and why are they an important scientific break through?
3464What causes the earth to rotate and why?
3430Why do baby fawns have spots?
3418If light has no mass, why is it affected by gravity? I read that light can not escape a black hole because of the gravitational pull and that light from distant stars bends around our sun's gravitational field, making it appear that they are in a different direction from Earth than they actually are. I also read that light is massless, and that gravitational force is a function of mass. These seem inconsistent.
3414There are many types of dwarf stars, what are they and what makes them different?
3410Why don't birds' legs get frostbite? Because they are not covered with feathers, they could get frozen, couldn't they?
3361Why is a tomato considered a fruit and not a vegetable?
3358How come there is no thunder and lightning in the winter time?
3355How small is the smallest thing you can see under a microscope?
3354Why or how can some animals make a limb for themselves?
3351Why is the center of the earth hot?
3351Is the ozone layer affecting our seasons? How?
3340Is carbon dating an effective way of finding how old something is?
3333Why, when you breathe in helium, does your voice change?
3331When is dry ice a fluid?
3320What is a mole?
3320How can information be sent on radio waves, etc? How can things that have no mass contain messages?
3302Do photons have mass? If not, then how does gravity affect light (i.e. Black holes)?
3277What affect will the new "gene-altered" foods have on us?
3275How do you clean bones you would like to use in a display?
3266Why do cats shed all year round even on the coldest days?
3265It has been said that man cannot produce a perfect sphere. How can that be said if we have nothing perfectly spherical as a reference to begin with?
3253How does RADAR work?
3244How many active volcanoes are there in the world?
3230Why do stars form pictures?
3221What is the highest microscope power on an electron microscope?
3213What causes a heat sensitive material, such as a mood ring, to change color when it's temperate is altered? What is this material made of, and where else might it be used?
3212Why is the sky blue?
3181What makes spider silk so strong?
3179How do we get cavities from candy and why do our teeth turn gray/blackish?
3164In an accelerator when an electron and positron collide, for a short time they form pure energy. Where does the energy come from if energy can't be created or destroyed and where does the matter go?
3152Who determined the speed of light and how did they do it?
3143How do you make a computer game?
3138What would the result be if the acid in your stomach turned into a base? What effect would it have on your body?
3136What shape are stars?
3130How is ink made?
3128What are hydrothermal vents?
3118Why do coals appear 'red hot' in a fire and is this the hottest spot in a fire?
3115What are quasars, what causes them to be formed?
3105Why do the electrons of an atom orbit around the nucleus?
3102How do polar bears get water in the Artic? I thought all the fresh water was frozen in the ice caps?
3102What causes lightbulbs to be so inefficient, and how is efficiency rated?
3097Why do the moon and the sun seem to change colors?
3085Specifically, we have paperwork that gives different names for several of the new elements: Db for number 105 instead of Ha and Bh for number 107 instead of Ns. Do we have names for 110, 111, or beyond? What is the last one that was made?
3075What is the exact use of the International Space Station? How long is it going to take to build? How does it work?
3075Does Jupiter rotate and change place with other planets (like Pluto)?
3069Why is the sky a blaze of color during sunset in Arizona?
3064Why do dogs have padded feet?
3053If the mantle can rise when weight has been lifted off of it (isostasy), then why are some islands sinking into the ocean?
3035Is Pluto small enough to ever drift out of orbit?
3031What is dark matter and what kind of gravitational effects does it have on the cosmos?
3030Can we ever make nuclear powered cars in the future?
3026Why do they say there are two sides of your brain?
3020Is it possible that there is an asteroid bound for earth?
3012Does magnetism work in space?
3012Why does motor oil prevent paint from drying?
3007If solids, like glass and ice, are made of tightly packed molecules, how can we see through them?
2997How did people find out a day is 24 hours?
2991How do people think? What are memories stored as? Where is it stored? How is it recalled? How can I have independent thinking?
2986Can fire stay lit in space? For example, when a rocket takes off into space, there is fire coming out of the engines, but while in space is there still fire coming out of the engine? If not, how does the rocket get propelled without the force of the engine fire?
2964Why can't we swallow our food whole like snakes?
2945Is it possible to snow at any temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit? Is it ever possible for it to be too cold to snow?
2926Can a cellular phone work in space? How far into space can you go without losing communication?
2914What is a x-ray?
2912Why can't fish breathe on land?
2905How is the equation E=mc2 carried out physically?
2899Have nanobots already been created? What are nanobots made out of? Are they decomposable or will they just build up? What do they use for a power source?
2895Why do boomerangs come back when you throw them?
2840Why is a mirror left-right reversed, and not up-down backwards?
2832What is in batteries that causes electricity?
2825Our textbook tells us the speed of the molecules that make up the air we breathe, but the speed it gives us is faster than the speed of sound. Why don't we hear sonic booms as when an airplane breaks the sound barrier? Are the particles just too small for us to hear the booms?
2814How does a lens bend light to focus on a point?
2814Is being a scientist fun? How is it fun?
2799Why does each snowflake have a different shape?
2796What shape can a volcano be?
2745Why are computer chips written on silicon?
2732Why do turtles have shells?
2705When was the very first dinosaur on Earth?
2698Why does skin wrinkle and what causes it as you get older?
2676How is it that when powder is applied to a surface fingerprints appear?
2661Why has no one been able to cultivate truffles? What separates them from other fungi?
2659When a hermit crab leaves its shell that is too small, does it wander around without a shell until it finds another one, or does it go around with its shell till it finds a bigger empty one?
2627How many types of rocks are there throughout the world?
2620In Einstein's equation, E = mc2, he says that the energy released by an object is equal to the object's mass times the speed of light squared. Why is the speed of light a factor in determining energy release?
2617Why do drops of water cling to glass?
2615What is a Green Flash?
2608Why do migrating birds fly in that particular formation?
2593How is it that no matter where a person stands on earth they are always upright? Why aren't people in Antarctica upside down?
2591Is it possible to use electrolysis or another method to separate NaCl into sodium and free floating chlorine gas?
2587Is there another solar system besides ours?
2587Why do certain events stay in your memory for a long time whereas others vanish quickly? How does you brain discriminate between them?
2580How can a black hole suck things up if it doesn't really occupy any space? How do we know that space doesn't just end?
2580What is it about the human eye that limits the types of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum that can be seen as visible light? Why are other animals capable of interpreting infrared waves as well?
2533Why can squirrels touch the telephone wires and not get electricuted?
2529If an archeologist found a human tibia is it true that they can calculate the height of that particular person?
2527How do freshwater snails osmoregulate? I ask because I have been wondering why there are no freshwater squid. They would be a great fit for the estuaries. Please tell me how freshwater snails osmoregulate.
2525What is anti-matter? Does it exist naturally? Does it look and feel like regular matter? How do scientists make anti-matter?
2520Where does the chlorine from pools go when the water evaporates? Does this harm the ozone?
2512How do scientists know there are such things as atoms?
2465How are plastics made into useful products?
2464How many other galaxies do we know of? Do we have the materials to make a spaceship to reach another galaxy?
2458Where are the crystals in the crystal radio?
2455Why are the small computers of today faster than the big IBM computers of the past?
2455What molecular property causes certain matter to be transparent?
2455Why is plasma classified as a phase? What is its chemical make-up? How was it discovered?
2449I've heard of the expression "once in a blue moon" and I was wondering what is a blue moon and what is the significance in this saying?
2433What kinds of plants live on the bottom of the ocean?
2418Why is it that when I look at one side of the spoon I see my reflection right side up, and when I turn the spoon over I see my reflection upside down?
2400Why does glass weigh more than plastic?
2394How much does the population grow a minute?
2394How does a Van De Graaf generator work and what is it made from?
2385What allows me to use my own voice inside my head to talk to myself? Like when you do math inside your head. How do we hear ourselves? With our brain?
2382What causes the electron within an atom to emit photon packets? We were told to make a diagram of it. What causes the electron to skip down a level and emit photons?
2381Why are some musical instruments still made out of wood instead of using new types of materials like plastic?
2378How efficient is photosynthesis compared to the amount of light energy delivered to the earth?
2356How are simple machines used in doorknobs?
2339Where does water get its strength?
2335I would like to know why is it that most people like to finish off a meal with something sweet? Or is it just natural to balance savory and sweet? If so, why not the other way around? Is it purely from the gastronomic angle or that's the way our senses and palate are built?
2327How do lasers in machines work?
2322What is the history of coding?
2320Do mountains ever fall?
2317Why is space black?
2317Why are evergreen trees green all year round?
2303How come when you are riding in a bus, car, plane, or train, you don't feel like you are moving? You can move about the same as if you are on the ground.
2303What are clouds made of?
2300Do certain flavors actually make your mouth cooler? (Peppermint, Spearmint)
2293What is ceramic made of?
2279How do bugs stick to the wall?
2278What's the most dangerous animal in New York State?
2269How does CGI (like in the Matrix and the Hulk) work?
2269I am interested in becoming a scientist. What do I need to study to pursue this interest?
2250Why does popcorn stick to your tongue or anything else that is damp?
2241What is the aurora borealis and why does it occur?
2237Why do some scientists believe Pluto is not a planet? The dictionary defines a planet as "A non-luminous celestial body illuminated by light from a star, such as the sun, around which it rotates." Doesn't Pluto meet these conditions?
2225How many rocks are there on Earth?
2219How are spiders different from insects? How many species of spiders are there? How many different silks are there?
2193The laws of thermodynamics teach that things in nature go from order to disorder but the theory of evolution teaches that well ordered creatures evolved from disordered ones. How can both be true?
2191We have been introduced to Bernoulli's principle, and have done little experiments to see how moving air can have less air pressure than still or slower moving air. We can understand that it is true for water and air, but why?
2189Why don't explorers go to planets other than the moon?
2173Why are some lights called Halogen Lights? Do they contain elements from the Halogen group?
2165Why is the full moon bigger in some places than in others?
2163Archeologists dig backward in history the deeper they go. Where does all this extra earth material come from and will the planet get bigger and wider as eons pass?
2158In space, are solar panels being used for power? What about nuclear power?
2153Why do baseballs fly farther in Coors Field in Colorado?
2144Can you genetically change organisms like bacteria to eat garbage?
2126Why is it you can see lightning as it goes through the air, but not a laser beam?
2114What would happen if I touched a cloud?
2099Why are male robins more colorful than the female robins?
2096What makes the weather change?
2085What causes the Earth to rotate?
2055How do people know how to make electricity?
2042How do some flowers respond to stimuli such as light?
2019What makes gyroscopes in airplanes orient themselves correctly in any position?
2010How do you find dinosaur bones?
2007In biology, do you study about birds and find out what they eat and where they live and where they migrate?
2004I've heard that due to the massive amount of empty space in and between atoms, people could walk through a brick wall. How true is this from a scientific point of view?
1996Is the Mars Rover powered solely by solar power? How long will the solar panels be able to power the rover?
1994What happens at the absolute speed of zero? The earth is moving at some speed, the galaxy is moving at some speed. If you could stop all direction and speed, what would happen?
1993How are carbon nanotubes formed? Can they be positioned easily? How?
1988Why does the color of tree leaves change?
1975If water evaporates, then why do we have lakes, ponds, and oceans?
1962What are mirages?
1962How is rubber made?
1950How is mercury a liquid like substance, but it does not make anything wet?
1947What is the invasive zebra mussel doing to Cayuga Lake? Is it anything like what happened with the cichlids and nile perch in Victoria Lake?
1943What is the smallest amount of a substance that can still have color?
1933Why does wood turn to ashes in my fireplace?
1929How will electric shocks to a plant effect its growth?
1920How do they measure how far away stars are?
1914What was the longest time a tornado touched the earth and when was it?
1905I have heard of ways to get energy through the braking of a car. How does this work?
1903If someone would dig a huge hole and fill it in with water so that it was a lake, in 1,000 years would the lake have fish in it?
1901How come ice skates slide over ice so easily when hydrogen bonds usually make things stick?
1890Why does Jupiter have a red spot?
1886If you put a balloon of oxygen into liquid nitrogen what would happen to the balloon?
1877What are the possibilities that there is another form of life in the universe?
1862How do you believe the Earth and the universe originated? And how is your theory proven by science?
1862How are electromagnets used in simple telephones?
1857What is a shooting star?
1840Can you take a migratory bird and magnetize the compass paricles in its head so it can't tell where it's going?
1834How is it physically possible for a sneeze to efficiently clear out our sinuses? What happens during a sneeze?
1830How does a sociologist apply the scientific method in the study of sociology?
1826Are there rainbows when it snows?
1821How do people think of the words we say?
1782Is it possible to raise a cloned limb from the body?
1744What is the string theory in Physics?
1741We learned that plastics are being used as lights. Can any other ordinary products be developed in the same way?
1739Does the moon have earthquakes/moonquakes?
1726What kinds of plants are poisonous?
1685Can you explain the darkening of glass by irradiation? I am working with a high school chemistry teacher who would like to be able to use some old glass samples in discussions of atomic structure. Some of the glass has been turned purple through exposure to Cobalt-60.
1682What known effect does radar and mobile phone towers have on racing pigeons capabilities to home?
1675Have you or will you ever try to weigh a red blood cell? If so, how would you?
1658What kinds of elements are found in the oldest rocks?
1636Won't the non-use of chlorofluro-carbon (CFC's) do more harm than good?
1634What causes certain sounds to be unique even though they are on the same frequency?
1624Is jello an amorphous solid? If not, what is it?
1601What further advances have scientists at Cornell made in the study of GMO's?
1601What fuel will be used in future interstellar rockets?
1590Can you find vitamins in the ground?
1588How is the milky way different from other galaxies?
1553 At what magnification on a microscope can you actually see animal cells and plant cells?
1548If fog is really just low clouds, why don't they appear billowy and poofy like clouds in the sky do?
1537When a star is dying and increases greatly in size, is it because the gravitational pull from the star cannot overcome the pressure of the gasses that make up the star to begin with?
1533Now that we are all recycling, what are some of the products that are made from recycled materials that we should be buying to complete the cycle?
1519How does two-photon microscopy work? How do the resonance patterns create a photon with half the wavelength of the parent photons?
1512How can we manage our natural resources? Will they run out?
1488Why isn't the shortest day of the year the coldest?
1474Why does light travel slower in different materials (glass, water, etc.)? Also, how have scientists slowed light to "walking speeds"?
1445How did scientists get the idea for light years?
1439Why is gold such a soft material compared to something like iron?
1431What is ozone and what makes it?
1427Why do people have stress?
1427How does gravity work?
1418Does gravity get stronger nearer to the ground? If so by how much?
1414Can candle wax become a gas?
1381How many scales do fish normally have?
1352What is a black hole and why does it suck in objects in space?
1350Why is the United States one of the few countries that is not measuring in the Metric system despite being used in cars, soda, and film?
1342If humans only use 10% of their brains, what is the other 90% doing?
1304How do eye glasses improve a persons sight?
1301When lightning flashes, does one see the plasma or the electrical charge?
1224How does a bumble bee know which flower it's already been to?
1181Do Praying Mantis' eat animals bigger than themselves?
1152Why are eyeballs wet?
1065What is the chemical make up of Canola oil?
1006How do magnets work?
1001What is the lowest recorded manmade vacuum? What is the lowest recorded natural vacuum? With known physical restraints of the universe, what is the lowest vacuum pressure in theory? Is is possible for low pressures to break...chemical, atomic, particle bonds/interactions? If so, can you give examples at each level?
988How many atoms are in a grain of sand?
983What causes lightning?
964Why does the light from a sodium lamp appear orange?
961Is a snail faster or slower than a slug?
874What would cool down faster and turn to ice quicker: hot water in the freezer or cold water in the freezer?
863How does energy that is released as heat get reused?
821When diamonds are put under a black light why do some glow and some don't? Do the real ones glow or is it the fake ones that glow, or are they all real and glow differently because of things like quality clairty, shape, cut, or things like that?
800What is the evolutionary reason for abstract thought, art and expression?
788Why do trees get new rings every year?
783If an object passes in front of a projector/point-source of light that illuminates a screen far away, it will cast a shadow on the screen. Now, if the object moves fast enough, and/or if the screen is far enough, the shadow will move much faster than the object, and at a certain speed of the object, the shadow will move faster than the speed of light. What would a bystander, or a camera, see?
782Why do chinese water deer have canine teeth?
778What happens to a hydrogen atom after it has come in contact with a flame - I know it "pops" but what happens to the actual atom - does it remain as a hydrogen atom? Does it form a new atom or compund or is it annihilated?
774Is a venus flytrap a producer or a consumer?
769What exactly is radiation and why is it harmful? What can it do to you? How is it made?
755How does a microphone work?
738My instructor told me that the wavelength of laser light is determined by the distance between the mirrors in the laser device. I say he is not correct, it is the nature of the lasing medium itself as the molecules that make it up emit characteristic wavelenghts when excited. Which of us is correct?
727How do scientists know what the Earth's inner core is made up of?
724How is a language invented?
721How do you make synthetic elements?
695Why do some bugs jump?
688How does light travel though space if atoms aren't close together?
673Why are there different colors to lightning?
671Is the universe expanding? Why or why not? What theories have been used to prove or disprove this phenomenon?
649What is color? I know that objects absorb some colors and reflect others. But why do objects absorb or reflect certain colors? What do you add to something to make it reflect a color?
646Can an infrared beam conduct an electrical current?
646How does wind affect waves?
639How are radioisotopes used to battle cancer cells?
637Why is a dandelion stem like a straw (hollow)?
635How do sea turtles find their way back to the same beach they were born on after traveling all through the sea?
624If radioactive elements are getting converted into half in each of their successive half lives, then are radioactive elements going to disappear from universe after certain amount of time?
615Why is it that when fruit ripens, it gets sweeter than when it's picked? Is there more sugar in it?
597How does a mass spectrometer separate isotopes?
596How long ago were fiber optics developed?
585How do wings on birds make them fly?
585How does the atomic clock work? I know it has something to do with the element cesium, but how does it "know" the "right" time to the exact second?
579Is there an accurate way to measure how much the planet earth weighs? If it's possible how much does the earth weigh ?
578If photons have no mass, and you can make an atom laser, instead of an optical one. Would it be possible to attach matter or a small machine to a beem of light and make it travel long distances at light speed?
577How do scientists determine the viscosity of lava?
567Does the universe have an edge?
561 I was under the impression that viscosity of a fluid, particularly motor oil, increases as heat is applied. What is viscosity and does it have a positive or negative temperature coefficient?
559What are computers going to look like in the future?
556Why do scuba divers wear rubber?
552Can you please tell me what exactly nanobiotechnology is. Also, does it have a future? Or will it greatly effect the future and will nanobiotechnology be one of the leading areas of research?
552Why do solar cells produce more electricity in low temperatures?
548Why are dipole-dipole and London-Dispersion Forces so much weaker than hydron bonds? Why are intermolecular forces weaker than atomic bonds?
547Does energy have mass? Does light have mass?
545How come a lot of colors make the black found in black markers?
535Why do people get that weird feeling in their stomachs when they go down a hill or ride a rollercoaster?
519What are electromagnets and what metals are included?
503In an empty charged sphere, even though the charge is evenly distributed on the surface, why does it behave as if it is all in the center? (The same as gravity)
502What is the difference between fuels (Diesel, unleaded, etc.)?
497How much progress are scientists making in finding an enzyme that will degrade plastic to something environmentally friendly that can be safely reintroduced to the earth around us?
493If a person stands on a circular rotating stand, facing away from the centre with arms outstretched holding a spinning bicycle wheel and tilts the wheel to once side this causes the stand they are standing on to rotate. My questions are: Why is this? Does it make a difference which way the bicycle wheel is spinning? Will the bicycle wheel's momentum be effected by the spin of the stand the person is stood on? For the strongest anti-clockwise pull on the stand should the wheel be angled by raising the right hand and lowering the left(tilting), or pushing forward the right hand and drawing back the left (turning).
491How do spaceships work?
483How do you grow taller?
482I've always been puzzled by the way celestial bodies orbiting one another tend to "line up" on a roughly two-dimensional plane. Take the Solar System, for example: in all of the illustrations or moving simulations of planetary orbits I have seen, the planets always align themselves along roughly the same horizontal axis, with only slight vertical variation in their respective orbits. Is this phenomenon of "horizontal alignment" a result of the gravity of all the planets / moons / rings kind of pulling each other together even while they are all orbiting the same sun / planet? Was there an earlier time in the history of the solar system or of individual planets where there was a greater disparity between the horizontal alignments of different orbiting bodies? Or have I just been seeing simplified illustrations that don't accurately reflect all three dimensions in which bodies orbit other celestial bodies?
477Why don't sharks have bones?
472Why is it possible for some animals to hear certain frequency pitches of sound and why others can't. What is different about their ears?
466Why does the sky turn red or orange when the sunsets? Why does it turn grey during a storm?
464How does the wind blow?
452Why do we have nightmares/night terrors? How long do they normally last?
424Who was the first scientist in the whole entire world. What experiment did he/she do?
422What exactly are isotopes? I know that an element with different proton and neutrons is an isotope. So would it mean that (for example) Barium is an isotope but Aluminum is not?
420How does water boil? Why are there bubbles and how does bubbling work?
412Is the human eye like a fingerprint? Can it be used for positive identification purposes?
402Why is the pressure required for a bicycle tire so much higher than the pressure for a car tire? How come the much smaller bike tire does not explode when filled with such high pressure?
399How do planets form?
399I am currently studying electronics and how they work together to perform work. But I seem to get confused when the term "ground" is used. I understand that it is a "zero" reference point, and that it is a common return path for electrons to earth ground. I get stumped though when I see a schematic that has a ground attached to the negative end of a battery terminal in a dc circuit. Why don't the electrons just flow straight to ground? Then in an AC circuit schematic, I see a ground connection again connected to the negative side of a circuit. Can I assume that the ground is positively polarized which attracts the electrons?
396Can you create protons? And if not, where did the hydrogen nuclei required to form a star come from?
394What are a few, most effective, things we can do to protect our body's cells from becoming cancerous?
389Do trees have leaf "pores" where the leaves grow back every year in the same place, or do leaves grow back in different spots along a branch?
385Why are coral reefs dying?
340What forces make a volcano erupt?
339What types of body chemicals are involved in depression? Has anyone done research on a possible connection between negative blood types and depression?
314If we had to leave earth, what would be the best planet to move to? Which one would be most like Earth?
264We've heard that bats can glide but not soar, and we've also heard that they can't glide or soar... only fly by flapping. Can you clear this up for us? (We're asking because, in the summertime when we look up, we're not always sure whether we're seeing are swallows or bats at dusk, and this would help.)
184What was the biggest shark that scientsts found in the ocean?
169How is hail produced?
82What is heat lightning and how is it possible? Is it different from lightning during a storm? If so, how?
 
Edited on: 19 June 2007 2:36 pm