Frequently Viewed Questions

549 questions have been viewed 4686377 times since 08/12/04 14:42

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90794Why do your ears ring?
71473Are cats and dogs colorblind? Do cats' eyes glow in the dark?
44323Does sugar make you hyper if you eat a lot of it?
40683Can you turn gas into a solid form?
38497How can you tell if a diamond is real or fake?
38425Why do men grow hair on their face, while most women don't?
37279How do relaxers on your hair work?
34924Why are humans born with eyes open and puppies are born with eyes closed?
33246How can you tell if a ruby is real or fake? Is there a test I can do?
32570Why do crystal glasses give off sound when you rub them with a wet finger?
32222How are elements named?
31103Why does squinting help people with vision problems see better?
30205I 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?
28205How many dimensions are there?
24974How does a fluorescent light bulb work?
24648What are the effects of sleep deprivation on the human body?
23753Why do your bones crack when you walk up or down stairs sometimes?
23417How is glass made?
23402Why do graphic equalizers have so many bars? I could understand 2 bars for L and R channels, but I get puzzled every time I look at one. If I took the left or right channel plug out of my receiver, would half of the bars stop moving?
23390Isaac Newton discovered gravity, but why did he call it gravity?
23371Why do crickets make noise at night?
23366Is it safe to touch mercury bare handed? Are you going to be poisoned if you touch it?
22942Why can't you put metal in a microwave?
22757How do you grow seedless watermelons?
22449Why do your cheeks turn red when you get embarrassed? How come when we get nervous our heart feels like it's beating faster?
21969I 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?
21432Will 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?)
21181How many earths will fit in the sun?
20196When 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?
20128If humans only use 10% of their brains, what is the other 90% doing?
19819Do fish see in color?
19495Who invented math?
19189Why does soap make bubbles?
19072Why does fruit ripen?
18904Why does your tongue get stuck to metal in the winter?
17964What is the most common type of blood?
17898Why are robin's eggs blue?
17805Do evergreen trees give off oxygen all year round?
17631What if you had no white blood cells?
17056Is popping popcorn a physical or a chemical change?
17031How does a fire hydrant work?
17025How are crystals formed?
16581How do you make a man made element?
16477Does the mass of the Earth increase with the increasing population? If not, why not?
16428How can the sun burn without oxygen in space? If there is oxygen in space why do astronauts need oxygen?
16351How do you make a magnet?
16320Is it possible to determine the resonance frequency of an object that has a diameter in nanometers in size (such as a cell)?
16046Can animals get a sunburn?
16007How does sun block work?
15977Can humans ever see in the dark with no night vision glasses or other aids?
15757What causes the earth to rotate and why?
15688How do solar energy cars work?
15525If hydrogen and oxygen are both flammable why doesn't water burn?
15074Why does salt melt snow?
14929Water doesn't spoil, but why do some water bottles have expiration dates?
14782Will a candle burn in a space ship where everything is weightless?
14528Why do the electrons of an atom orbit around the nucleus?
14506Why do we have fingernails?
14440Why are computer chips written on silicon?
14400Where 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?
14240Why do birds bob their head when they walk?
14092Does energy have mass? Does light have mass?
14005How 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?
13780Is sinking sand real or myth? If real, please explain how it works.
13767How does the CCD work in a digital camera?
13663Does every one in the world have cancer cells in their body?
13623Why does the sun have black spots?
13585What makes the sun hot?
13340Why is the center of the earth hot?
13332How does burning gasoline make a car move?
13306Why do dolphins live in the water when they are mammals?
13204Why do ships float? Why don't ships sink?
13058How does a glow-stick work and how come neon glows?
12922How do you split atoms?
12915How do MRI's work? What are all the ticking and banging noises?
12654How do people think? What are memories stored as? Where is it stored? How is it recalled? How can I have independent thinking?
12654How does water boil? Why are there bubbles and how does bubbling work?
12637How does the desalination of water work?
12507Do flies have hearts?
12282Why does the wind blow?
12275How does sonar work?
12175What material is flame made of?
12172Why do bees sting?
12140How do we know how old the earth is?
12079How do butterflies fly?
12067How many atoms are in a grain of sand?
12050How does Aspirin work?
12013How long does it take for the so-called biodegradable plastic cutlery that is now on the market to decompose? What is the energy cost to produce it in the first place? Are they truly an environmentally responsible product?
11969Why can't we hold our breath like the whales?
11900Why do humans enjoy music? What is it about the brain that makes sounds translate into pleasure and other emotions?
11845Why do different balls bounce differently?
11828Why can birds fly but penguins can't?
11763Why 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?
11562How did animals get to have rabies?
11558What chemical properties, if any, makes things sticky?
11459Why do babies get their parents features?
11334How does a copy machine work?
11253Why don't birds' legs get frostbite? Because they are not covered with feathers, they could get frozen, couldn't they?
11078Why do some dogs eyes reflect red instead of yellow and does this have anything to do with their coat type?
11056How are dryer sheets manufactured?
10981At what magnification on a microscope can you actually see animal cells and plant cells?
10915How do underwater flares and torches work, when water puts out fires?
10891Why do people get seasick or carsick?
10834Why is it normal to move your arms when you walk or run?
10819How can information be sent on radio waves, etc? How can things that have no mass contain messages?
10815Where does the salt in the sea come from?
10787What is ceramic made of?
10784Why is element 43 made by man and none of the elements around it are?
10779Why is grass green?
10669How is ink made?
10648Why is it that when you burn a contained candle the wax disappears? Does it evaporate? What is the chemical reaction?
10612How exactly do catalysts lower the activation energy of bonds?
10558Why is the planet Mars red?
10522Where does liquid nitrogen come from and how is it made?
10519How does your body move? Does the brain send it messages?
10517Why are combustion reactions exothermic (why is fire hot)? What makes these reactions produce heat the way they do?
10505How do chameleons/anoles change colors?
10426Why are cats so flexible?
10426How do you jam a radio broadcast?
10399Why is a tomato considered a fruit and not a vegetable?
10229What is lightning and what makes thunder rumble?
10179How come we have two eyes but see only one of everything?
10118How do you make a laser?
10099What evidence do we have that continents were connected?
10077What makes Band-Aids sticky?
10033Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark?
10017Why is it generally colder at higher elevations?
10013What is the volume of water in a gallon of ice?
9996If plastic is made to be biodegradable, then won't the plastic forks and spoons we use dissolve in our mouth?
9992How do dreams and nightmares occur? Why do we sometimes remember our dreams, and other times we do not remember? Do we dream every night?
9815What kinds of plants live on the bottom of the ocean?
9806After 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?
9759Is 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?
9649What happens at the edge of a diamond? How does the carbon end?
9622Are there any nontoxic ingestible fluorescent materials?
9622How do minerals and nutrients form? Why do some foods have metals in them?
9574What 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.
9568How many types of rocks are there throughout the world?
9537I know that water can put out a fire. What does liquid nitrogen do to a fire?
9520Can 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?
9394Why does a cow have so many stomachs?
9338Does the moon have lithospheric plates? Do other planets have distinct layers such as the inner core, outer core, and mantle, like the earth does?
9321What is fire? Does it have mass?
9215How does a Van De Graaf generator work and what is it made from?
9188My 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?
9138With 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?
9099Can candle wax become a gas?
9081What would happen if a tornado started in the southern hemisphere and progressed into the northern hemisphere? Would it change directions?
9070Why do computers freeze up?
9040If icebergs are made of fresh water, why don't they melt in the salt water of the ocean?
9019Why does the gravitational pull of the moon control the tides of the sea?
9013How do they compress oxygen into pure oxygen tanks?
9011Why does the earth have more water than land?
9003If the electrons are attracted to the protons, why don't they come crashing into the nucleus?
8978Can 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?
8964Can only water evaporate or can other liquids?
8941How does a lens bend light to focus on a point?
8895Why does skin wrinkle and what causes it as you get older?
8887Why don't you see two things if you have two eyes?
8798Why is carbon the building block of matter?
8778From what metals are electromagnets made?
8760How do new materials that are used in swimming suits work and where do they come from?
8743How do CDs Work?
8693Why or how can some animals make a limb for themselves?
8689Why is there zero gravity in space?
8635Why do baby fawns have spots?
8618Have 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?
8568Why do chameleons change color?
8553What is spontaneous combustion? Is it a myth? What causes it?
8552How can hummingbirds fly backwards?
8486Why is there discussion as to whether or not glass is a liquid or a solid?
8468How do you clone plants?
8457How are marshmallows made?
8456How hot is it at the earth's core? Does the heat affect our temperature?
8452How many rocks are there on Earth?
8394Does the moon have earthquakes/moonquakes?
8376Can a cellular phone work in space? How far into space can you go without losing communication?
8355If 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?
8279Is AIDS the only incurable disease?
8275Do photons have mass? If not, then how does gravity affect light (i.e. Black holes)?
8254What color is Saturn, and are there planets in other galaxies?
8194How do airplanes fly?
8137If 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?
8111What shape are stars?
8102Is carbon dating an effective way of finding how old something is?
8102What formula or method was used to determine Avogadro's number?
8097Why 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?
8046How is rubber made?
7990Who determined the speed of light and how did they do it?
7977What happens if you go into space with a regular plane? Do you explode?
7977How does a particle accelerator work and why is it so useful?
7972Why do we get a shock from electricity?
7970What makes the weather change?
7920Can lava rock be heated and turned back into lava?
7913Why, when you breathe in helium, does your voice change?
7882If you could drill a tunnel all the way through the earth and dropped a rock in it, what would happen?
7859Why do deer lose their rack in the winter?
7858Recycled 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?
7836How do fuel cells work?
7818What are quasars, what causes them to be formed?
7815What is anti-matter? Does it exist naturally? Does it look and feel like regular matter? How do scientists make anti-matter?
7780How come there is no thunder and lightning in the winter time?
7768If 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?
7767Why does the earth behave like a magnet?
7760Is jello an amorphous solid? If not, what is it?
7742How can electricity run things?
7733Is it possible to use electrolysis or another method to separate NaCl into sodium and free floating chlorine gas?
7688Why do boomerangs come back when you throw them?
7679How do bugs stick to the wall?
7675How small is the smallest thing you can see under a microscope?
7668Why do coals appear 'red hot' in a fire and is this the hottest spot in a fire?
7664How many different kinds of dinosaurs are there?
7646Why does motor oil prevent paint from drying?
7584How would gravity function if the earth were a torus?
7567How are the colors in a rainbow made?
7548Why do cats shed all year round even on the coldest days?
7522Can there be hummingbirds in Croatia?
7522Where do tornadoes come from?
7493How exactly are nocturnal animals able to see in the dark?
7483What about the atomic structure of a substance determines its color and/or luster?
7478How do they put the flavor in candy?
7460How do microwave ovens work?
7459How do we get cavities from candy and why do our teeth turn gray/blackish?
7446Can we ever make nuclear powered cars in the future?
7444What does a flying fish do to fly?
7440What makes spider silk so strong?
7435How does a firefly make its light?
7432How do you clean bones you would like to use in a display?
7419What are Saturn's rings made of?
7408Why do they say there are two sides of your brain?
7387Why is vegetable oil able to be used as a power source for automobiles?
7315When a water surface reflects something (when looking from the top), does it undergo total internal reflection?
7314When 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?
7311Why are some dishes safe to put in the oven, microwave, and dishwasher, but others aren't?
7281What is a mole?
7268How efficient is photosynthesis compared to the amount of light energy delivered to the earth?
7243I 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?
7219Is a venus flytrap a producer or a consumer?
7210Why do dogs have padded feet?
7198Can 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.
7196Why do turtles have shells?
7193What 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?
7191What was the gas mileage for the earliest cars made?
7141Why does rain fall in drops rather than gush down?
7131How many other galaxies do we know of? Do we have the materials to make a spaceship to reach another galaxy?
7131If 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.
7127Why can't we swallow our food whole like snakes?
7122How is it that no matter where a person stands on earth they are always upright? Why aren't people in Antarctica upside down?
7120How will electric shocks to a plant effect its growth?
7057What is the lowest temperature possible?
7021Why 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?
7020What are MEMS and why are they an important scientific break through?
7020Is time travel possible?
7004Why does each snowflake have a different shape?
6987When is dry ice a fluid?
6977What is nanotechnology used for? Why do scientists study it?
6967Why doesn't gold rust?
6961What is the highest microscope power on an electron microscope?
6948It 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?
6908How are submarines able to go down so deep under the water, and then surface?
6898Why are evergreen trees green all year round?
6896Why do stars twinkle?
6861Why can't fish breathe on land?
6860How 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?
6844What 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?
6824Why do drops of water cling to glass?
6815How accurate is the VSEPR model of molecular geometry for predicting the shapes of large, complex molecules?
6814How much does the population grow a minute?
6803If solids, like glass and ice, are made of tightly packed molecules, how can we see through them?
6803Why are there different colors to lightning?
6791How do polar bears get water in the Artic? I thought all the fresh water was frozen in the ice caps?
6781How are simple machines used in doorknobs?
6767Why is it that when I hold a stick over a fire it ignites without touching the coals?
6757If light travels in a straight line, why is lightning crooked?
6755Why does oil float above water?
6710How 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?
6698How many active volcanoes are there in the world?
6692What is Jupiter made of?
6675Why does light travel slower in different materials (glass, water, etc.)? Also, how have scientists slowed light to "walking speeds"?
6658Why doesn't it rain inside a house?
6648How come deserts have sand instead of dirt and soil?
6599Apparently 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.
6596Does magnetism work in space?
6592How is the equation E=mc2 carried out physically?
6558How are electromagnets used in simple telephones?
6532Why is the sky blue?
6516Where does the chlorine from pools go when the water evaporates? Does this harm the ozone?
6474How does RADAR work?
6462How come ice skates slide over ice so easily when hydrogen bonds usually make things stick?
6448How does a sociologist apply the scientific method in the study of sociology?
6429How do engines start?
6397Why does my milkshake stay thick even when it warms up? Shouldn't it get thinner as it melts?
6397What is Vitamin A and what does it do? Also, what kinds of elements are in Vitamin A?
6365How do you make a rock into a metal or a crystal?
6365When hydrogen explodes and combines with oxygen, where does the energy that is released in the explosion come from?
6365What 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?
6362Is the ozone layer affecting our seasons? How?
6335Is being a scientist fun? How is it fun?
6314Why do stars form pictures?
6285Why does water boil at a lower temperature in Denver (higher altitude) than in New York?
6264How did people find out a day is 24 hours?
6239What is a Green Flash?
6228Why is a mirror left-right reversed, and not up-down backwards?
6216We 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?
6195How do scientists know there are such things as atoms?
6159Specifically, 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?
6140What 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?
6109Why is space black?
6059There are many types of dwarf stars, what are they and what makes them different?
6019How 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.
6010How are carbon nanotubes formed? Can they be positioned easily? How?
6005How do computers communicate with Chinese characters?
6005What shape can a volcano be?
5970What is fiber optic cable and what advantages does it have over other technologies?
5923If an archeologist found a human tibia is it true that they can calculate the height of that particular person?
5923How does gravity work?
5918Why are apes different from humans and monkeys?
5909Why are eyeballs wet?
5897When 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?
5872How does CGI (like in the Matrix and the Hulk) work?
5872How does light travel though space if atoms aren't close together?
5862What was there before the "Big bang?" Why did it happen?
5860Our 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?
5852What 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?
5850How do some flowers respond to stimuli such as light?
5845Are there life forms (animals, insects) that live in underwater volcanoes?
5819Why is it you can see lightning as it goes through the air, but not a laser beam?
5814How 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?
5796What was the longest time a tornado touched the earth and when was it?
5759Is it possible to snow at any temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit? Is it ever possible for it to be too cold to snow?
5749What is the invasive zebra mussel doing to Cayuga Lake? Is it anything like what happened with the cichlids and nile perch in Victoria Lake?
5747Why can squirrels touch the telephone wires and not get electricuted?
5718I'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?
5697What is in batteries that causes electricity?
5695How are plastics made into useful products?
5689How do you find dinosaur bones?
5678What are hydrothermal vents?
5674When was the very first dinosaur on Earth?
5665Is there another solar system besides ours?
5651Why has no one been able to cultivate truffles? What separates them from other fungi?
5603Is a snail faster or slower than a slug?
5596Why do baseball bats sting you when you hit a baseball?
5595Why 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?
5593Why does popcorn stick to your tongue or anything else that is damp?
5576What would the result be if the acid in your stomach turned into a base? What effect would it have on your body?
5555What 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?
5536How do you make a computer game?
5520What causes lightbulbs to be so inefficient, and how is efficiency rated?
5518We 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?
5516In 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?
5515What 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?
5514Where does water get its strength?
5508What causes a tidal wave?
5507Why does glass weigh more than plastic?
5477What is the history of coding?
5467How can so much information be crammed into such a small space on a microchip?
5447Why is plasma classified as a phase? What is its chemical make-up? How was it discovered?
5443Where are the crystals in the crystal radio?
5441Does temperature effect the speed of light?
5411Why do the moon and the sun seem to change colors?
5406What causes certain sounds to be unique even though they are on the same frequency?
5396Is Pluto small enough to ever drift out of orbit?
5371Does Jupiter rotate and change place with other planets (like Pluto)?
5369What causes the Earth to rotate?
5368What is the aurora borealis and why does it occur?
5349What molecular property causes certain matter to be transparent?
5339In 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?
5329What would happen if I touched a cloud?
5316How do eye glasses improve a persons sight?
5308Are there rainbows when it snows?
5259Why do certain events stay in your memory for a long time whereas others vanish quickly? How does you brain discriminate between them?
5215Why is the sky a blaze of color during sunset in Arizona?
5211Why are the small computers of today faster than the big IBM computers of the past?
5201Do mountains ever fall?
5200What affect will the new "gene-altered" foods have on us?
5193If the mantle can rise when weight has been lifted off of it (isostasy), then why are some islands sinking into the ocean?
5180I am interested in becoming a scientist. What do I need to study to pursue this interest?
5177How many scales do fish normally have?
5172Do certain flavors actually make your mouth cooler? (Peppermint, Spearmint)
5154Why are male robins more colorful than the female robins?
5152How are spiders different from insects? How many species of spiders are there? How many different silks are there?
5141What makes gyroscopes in airplanes orient themselves correctly in any position?
5141How does wind affect waves?
5134Why are some musical instruments still made out of wood instead of using new types of materials like plastic?
5132Why does the sky turn red or orange when the sunsets? Why does it turn grey during a storm?
5129Why 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?
5126How is mercury a liquid like substance, but it does not make anything wet?
5123Archeologists 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?
5114In space, are solar panels being used for power? What about nuclear power?
5068How do you believe the Earth and the universe originated? And how is your theory proven by science?
5066What is a x-ray?
5065How do mutations occur? Do they risk life?
5062Why is gold such a soft material compared to something like iron?
5059What's the most dangerous animal in New York State?
5045Is the Mars Rover powered solely by solar power? How long will the solar panels be able to power the rover?
5021How do lasers in machines work?
5012Why are some lights called Halogen Lights? Do they contain elements from the Halogen group?
4993How do scientists know what the Earth's inner core is made up of?
4984Why do migrating birds fly in that particular formation?
4927Why is the full moon bigger in some places than in others?
4879Why do trees get new rings every year?
4859Why do people get that weird feeling in their stomachs when they go down a hill or ride a rollercoaster?
4855How is it that when powder is applied to a surface fingerprints appear?
4853What is dark matter and what kind of gravitational effects does it have on the cosmos?
4844Why do baseballs fly farther in Coors Field in Colorado?
4841Is it possible that there is an asteroid bound for earth?
4834If you put a balloon of oxygen into liquid nitrogen what would happen to the balloon?
4830What is the exact use of the International Space Station? How long is it going to take to build? How does it work?
4819How do scientists determine the viscosity of lava?
4812Is it imaginable that an AIDS vaccine will be developed?
4796What are clouds made of?
4782How do they measure how far away stars are?
4780How do magnets work?
4758In biology, do you study about birds and find out what they eat and where they live and where they migrate?
4756What is the string theory in Physics?
4728What 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?
4721The 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?
4709Since there is no air on the moon, why is the United States flag waving around when you see footage of man on the moon?
4707Why isn't the shortest day of the year the coldest?
4701 Why does the earth revolve around the sun in an oval shaped orbit not in a round orbit?
4656If water evaporates, then why do we have lakes, ponds, and oceans?
4647What is a wormhole?
4644Can 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.
4609How is a language invented?
4593I 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?
4571Why do people have stress?
4566What is the evolutionary reason for abstract thought, art and expression?
4553What is the smallest amount of a substance that can still have color?
4527How 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.
4516How does two-photon microscopy work? How do the resonance patterns create a photon with half the wavelength of the parent photons?
4506How do you make synthetic elements?
4491What are mirages?
4463How is it physically possible for a sneeze to efficiently clear out our sinuses? What happens during a sneeze?
4422I understand lead was replaced by graphite in pencils. Was this because of lead's harmful effects or because of economic reasons that the lead was replaced?
4410What known effect does radar and mobile phone towers have on racing pigeons capabilities to home?
4409We learned that plastics are being used as lights. Can any other ordinary products be developed in the same way?
4404Why does Jupiter have a red spot?
4397What would cool down faster and turn to ice quicker: hot water in the freezer or cold water in the freezer?
4396What is the chemical make up of Canola oil?
4393Why does wood turn to ashes in my fireplace?
4334I'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?
4333What kinds of plants are poisonous?
4328If fog is really just low clouds, why don't they appear billowy and poofy like clouds in the sky do?
4294Why does the light from a sodium lamp appear orange?
4237What fuel will be used in future interstellar rockets?
4214In 1987, there was a supernova which was detected on earth by a burst of neutrinos and also by a flash of light coming from the exploding star. Einstein's relativity principle mandates that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, so the light and the neutrinos should have reached earth at the same time. But instead, the neutrinos arrived first, followed 6 hours later by the light. What is the explanation of this? Does it mean that Einstein was wrong?
4184How do scientists detect and measure seismic waves?
4174Can you genetically change organisms like bacteria to eat garbage?
4162Can you find vitamins in the ground?
4149Why don't explorers go to planets other than the moon?
4138If 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?
4133Do Praying Mantis' eat animals bigger than themselves?
4125I have heard of ways to get energy through the braking of a car. How does this work?
4124If 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?
4120How do sea turtles find their way back to the same beach they were born on after traveling all through the sea?
4118What is ozone and what makes it?
4105Is it possible to raise a cloned limb from the body?
4075What are the possibilities that there is another form of life in the universe?
4056Does gravity get stronger nearer to the ground? If so by how much?
4047We'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.)
4039Can you take a migratory bird and magnetize the compass paricles in its head so it can't tell where it's going?
4011Why don't sharks have bones?
4002How do people know how to make electricity?
3931Why does the color of tree leaves change?
3921What causes lightning?
3857Why is a dandelion stem like a straw (hollow)?
3853How do people think of the words we say?
3825Have you or will you ever try to weigh a red blood cell? If so, how would you?
3820Won't the non-use of chlorofluro-carbon (CFC's) do more harm than good?
3813How 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?
3775How can we manage our natural resources? Will they run out?
3774 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?
3769What is a black hole and why does it suck in objects in space?
3766Why is it possible for some animals to hear certain frequency pitches of sound and why others can't. What is different about their ears?
3745Why do chinese water deer have canine teeth?
3738How are radioisotopes used to battle cancer cells?
3690What further advances have scientists at Cornell made in the study of GMO's?
3669Where have most dinosaur bones been found? Where have the most dinosaur eggs been found?
3668What exactly is radiation and why is it harmful? What can it do to you? How is it made?
3624How do spaceships work?
3622How did scientists get the idea for light years?
3603What is a shooting star?
3577How does a microphone work?
3564What kinds of elements are found in the oldest rocks?
3550How does a mass spectrometer separate isotopes?
3544Why do some bugs jump?
3542When 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?
3541If 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?
3538How is the milky way different from other galaxies?
3531How does a bumble bee know which flower it's already been to?
3527What are electromagnets and what metals are included?
3491How do you grow taller?
3463Do 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?
3460Why is it that when fruit ripens, it gets sweeter than when it's picked? Is there more sugar in it?
3440How do wings on birds make them fly?
3424When lightning flashes, does one see the plasma or the electrical charge?
3422What are computers going to look like in the future?
3412What 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?
3402How does energy that is released as heat get reused?
3375Why do we have nightmares/night terrors? How long do they normally last?
3339Now 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?
3317If you burn a liter of fuel in an internal combustion engine are the emissions the same weight as the weight of the original liter, if not why?
3288Why 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?
3272Is the human eye like a fingerprint? Can it be used for positive identification purposes?
3256Why does hot air go up and cold air go down?
3239In 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)
3225Does the universe have an edge?
3225How do mutations occur? Do they risk life?
3188What types of body chemicals are involved in depression? Has anyone done research on a possible connection between negative blood types and depression?
3161Why 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?
3159How is hail produced?
3152How do speakers produce more than one sound at a time (example: guitar and vocal)?
3094Is there an accurate way to measure how much the planet earth weighs? If it's possible how much does the earth weigh ?
3087I 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?
3069Can 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?
3056Why are dipole-dipole and London-Dispersion Forces so much weaker than hydron bonds? Why are intermolecular forces weaker than atomic bonds?
3051My 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?
3015Why do solar cells produce more electricity in low temperatures?
3009How does the wind blow?
2996If 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).
2995Why do scuba divers wear rubber?
2971What is the difference between fuels (Diesel, unleaded, etc.)?
2945If 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?
2936Can an infrared beam conduct an electrical current?
2841If we had to leave earth, what would be the best planet to move to? Which one would be most like Earth?
2816How long ago were fiber optics developed?
2749Can you create protons? And if not, where did the hydrogen nuclei required to form a star come from?
2748How come a lot of colors make the black found in black markers?
2747How 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?
2746I'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?
2698How do planets form?
2672What forces make a volcano erupt?
2655What are a few, most effective, things we can do to protect our body's cells from becoming cancerous?
2609Why are the boiling points of metals with metallic bonds so varied?
2585Have we ever observed a newborn star "turn on"? Or, is the process of self-sustaining nuclear fusion so gradual that the increase in luminosity of newborn stars is not noticeable in a human lifespan?
2582Who was the first scientist in the whole entire world. What experiment did he/she do?
2518Why are coral reefs dying?
2469Why do scientists say Pluto should not be a planet?
2462Why do scuba divers wear rubber?
2450Can particle accelerators accurately simulate conditions that occured during the Big Bang?
2429Is the universe expanding? Why or why not? What theories have been used to prove or disprove this phenomenon?
2391What causes a tsunami?
2295Do things rust in outer space?
2235What is blood made out of? If you wanted to make blood, what ingredients would you need?
2179What is nanotechnology?
2119What was the biggest shark that scientsts found in the ocean?
2074What is heat lightning and how is it possible? Is it different from lightning during a storm? If so, how?
1589How is calcium measured in bone? (without using blood, as this applies to a forensic anthropological question). And, what is the procedure or method of doing so? Is there any special tools, or devices needed?
528Why is type O blood the most abundant type when it is recessive?