Frequently Viewed Questions

549 questions have been viewed 6727686 times since 08/12/04 14:42

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172456Why do your ears ring?
140337Are cats and dogs colorblind? Do cats' eyes glow in the dark?
65614Why do men grow hair on their face, while most women don't?
62064How can you tell if a ruby is real or fake? Is there a test I can do?
60870Why do crystal glasses give off sound when you rub them with a wet finger?
59748What are the effects of sleep deprivation on the human body?
59681Does sugar make you hyper if you eat a lot of it?
56428Why does squinting help people with vision problems see better?
54317Can you turn gas into a solid form?
52907How do relaxers on your hair work?
50410I 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?
49847When 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?
45883How many earths will fit in the sun?
43674How are elements named?
42280How do you grow seedless watermelons?
42041How many dimensions are there?
40915How can you tell if a diamond is real or fake?
40829Is it safe to touch mercury bare handed? Are you going to be poisoned if you touch it?
40479Why are humans born with eyes open and puppies are born with eyes closed?
39973How does a fluorescent light bulb work?
37040Who invented math?
35818Why can't you put metal in a microwave?
35766Do fish see in color?
34982How are crystals formed?
34941Why do crickets make noise at night?
33356Will 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?)
31844If humans only use 10% of their brains, what is the other 90% doing?
31167Why is a tomato considered a fruit and not a vegetable?
29904What causes the earth to rotate and why?
29520How can the sun burn without oxygen in space? If there is oxygen in space why do astronauts need oxygen?
29499Why do your bones crack when you walk up or down stairs sometimes?
29169How do you split atoms?
28976Isaac Newton discovered gravity, but why did he call it gravity?
28872What if you had no white blood cells?
28871Why do your cheeks turn red when you get embarrassed? How come when we get nervous our heart feels like it's beating faster?
28490How is glass made?
27814Why are robin's eggs blue?
27760Why does your tongue get stuck to metal in the winter?
27499How does water boil? Why are there bubbles and how does bubbling work?
27053Why does soap make bubbles?
26265I 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?
26141Why does fruit ripen?
25518Why are computer chips written on silicon?
25292Why do birds bob their head when they walk?
25131Is popping popcorn a physical or a chemical change?
24705How do you make a man made element?
24540Why 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?
24373How does a fire hydrant work?
23964Why do the electrons of an atom orbit around the nucleus?
23874What makes the sun hot?
23721Do 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?
23557Why do humans enjoy music? What is it about the brain that makes sounds translate into pleasure and other emotions?
23489Does energy have mass? Does light have mass?
23408How do you make a magnet?
22997How did animals get to have rabies?
22625How do solar energy cars work?
22511Can humans ever see in the dark with no night vision glasses or other aids?
22455At what magnification on a microscope can you actually see animal cells and plant cells?
22054What is the most common type of blood?
21704Is it possible to determine the resonance frequency of an object that has a diameter in nanometers in size (such as a cell)?
21131How can information be sent on radio waves, etc? How can things that have no mass contain messages?
21125How is rubber made?
20984Does the mass of the Earth increase with the increasing population? If not, why not?
20521How does burning gasoline make a car move?
20461How exactly do catalysts lower the activation energy of bonds?
20329How does sun block work?
20167Can animals get a sunburn?
20023What kinds of plants live on the bottom of the ocean?
20013How does the CCD work in a digital camera?
19990Why do we have fingernails?
19844Water doesn't spoil, but why do some water bottles have expiration dates?
19841How does a Van De Graaf generator work and what is it made from?
19681Do evergreen trees give off oxygen all year round?
19657Why is the center of the earth hot?
19655Why does the sun have black spots?
19433How does your body move? Does the brain send it messages?
19413What is ceramic made of?
19412Does every one in the world have cancer cells in their body?
18869How many atoms are in a grain of sand?
18770Will a candle burn in a space ship where everything is weightless?
18760Do flies have hearts?
18706How is ink made?
18674If hydrogen and oxygen are both flammable why doesn't water burn?
18486How do dreams and nightmares occur? Why do we sometimes remember our dreams, and other times we do not remember? Do we dream every night?
18091What chemical properties, if any, makes things sticky?
18056Where 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?
17903How do people think? What are memories stored as? Where is it stored? How is it recalled? How can I have independent thinking?
17899Why does salt melt snow?
17779Why does skin wrinkle and what causes it as you get older?
17665Why don't birds' legs get frostbite? Because they are not covered with feathers, they could get frozen, couldn't they?
17576Why does the wind blow?
17265How do butterflies fly?
17255What evidence do we have that continents were connected?
17182How do we know how old the earth is?
16893Why can birds fly but penguins can't?
16824How does Aspirin work?
16778Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark?
16746How does sonar work?
16666Why does oil float above water?
16594Is sinking sand real or myth? If real, please explain how it works.
16588Why 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?
16551What material is flame made of?
16439Why do dolphins live in the water when they are mammals?
16230Why are there different colors to lightning?
16195Why do babies get their parents features?
16047How does the desalination of water work?
15957How do underwater flares and torches work, when water puts out fires?
15916Why do bees sting?
15819How 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?
15776Why does water boil at a lower temperature in Denver (higher altitude) than in New York?
15709Why can't we hold our breath like the whales?
15589Why do different balls bounce differently?
15569Why are combustion reactions exothermic (why is fire hot)? What makes these reactions produce heat the way they do?
15557How do MRI's work? What are all the ticking and banging noises?
15526Why are cats so flexible?
15476Why is it normal to move your arms when you walk or run?
15469Why is it that when you burn a contained candle the wax disappears? Does it evaporate? What is the chemical reaction?
15469How do chameleons/anoles change colors?
15426Why do ships float? Why don't ships sink?
15120Why do people get seasick or carsick?
15109How many types of rocks are there throughout the world?
14896What is fire? Does it have mass?
14873Where does liquid nitrogen come from and how is it made?
14661How does a glow-stick work and how come neon glows?
14626How are dryer sheets manufactured?
14606What 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?
14495How does a copy machine work?
14398How come we have two eyes but see only one of everything?
14295How do they compress oxygen into pure oxygen tanks?
14281Where does the salt in the sea come from?
14113Can only water evaporate or can other liquids?
13872How 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?
13703Is a venus flytrap a producer or a consumer?
13543After 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?
13421Can 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?
13303Why do some dogs eyes reflect red instead of yellow and does this have anything to do with their coat type?
13292What makes Band-Aids sticky?
13209Why is grass green?
13132Where have most dinosaur bones been found? Where have the most dinosaur eggs been found?
12924Can candle wax become a gas?
12853What 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?
12781How many rocks are there on Earth?
12748Does the moon have earthquakes/moonquakes?
12730Why is element 43 made by man and none of the elements around it are?
12682Why does the gravitational pull of the moon control the tides of the sea?
12611Why do computers freeze up?
12522Why is the planet Mars red?
12508Why does light travel slower in different materials (glass, water, etc.)? Also, how have scientists slowed light to "walking speeds"?
12449Why do baseball bats sting you when you hit a baseball?
12434How do you jam a radio broadcast?
12372How does a lens bend light to focus on a point?
12347I know that water can put out a fire. What does liquid nitrogen do to a fire?
12206How hot is it at the earth's core? Does the heat affect our temperature?
12155Why, when you breathe in helium, does your voice change?
12086What makes the weather change?
12062Why does the earth have more water than land?
12061Can a cellular phone work in space? How far into space can you go without losing communication?
12046How do scientists know what the Earth's inner core is made up of?
12010Is 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?
11993Why is it generally colder at higher elevations?
11979If icebergs are made of fresh water, why don't they melt in the salt water of the ocean?
11883How does light travel though space if atoms aren't close together?
11867Why are evergreen trees green all year round?
11818Why do coals appear 'red hot' in a fire and is this the hottest spot in a fire?
11815What is lightning and what makes thunder rumble?
11730If the electrons are attracted to the protons, why don't they come crashing into the nucleus?
11710Are there any nontoxic ingestible fluorescent materials?
11710What shape are stars?
11645How exactly are nocturnal animals able to see in the dark?
11608Why do baby fawns have spots?
11606How is it that no matter where a person stands on earth they are always upright? Why aren't people in Antarctica upside down?
11599Does temperature effect the speed of light?
11598Does the moon have lithospheric plates? Do other planets have distinct layers such as the inner core, outer core, and mantle, like the earth does?
11591Since there is no air on the moon, why is the United States flag waving around when you see footage of man on the moon?
11567Can 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?
11563If plastic is made to be biodegradable, then won't the plastic forks and spoons we use dissolve in our mouth?
11516Is it possible to use electrolysis or another method to separate NaCl into sodium and free floating chlorine gas?
11483From what metals are electromagnets made?
11456Why don't you see two things if you have two eyes?
11454What is anti-matter? Does it exist naturally? Does it look and feel like regular matter? How do scientists make anti-matter?
11444What happens at the edge of a diamond? How does the carbon end?
11426What 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.
11419How do you make a laser?
11415What is the volume of water in a gallon of ice?
11351How do bugs stick to the wall?
11330What would happen if a tornado started in the southern hemisphere and progressed into the northern hemisphere? Would it change directions?
11310Why do chameleons change color?
11291Why or how can some animals make a limb for themselves?
11258Is carbon dating an effective way of finding how old something is?
11243Why do people get that weird feeling in their stomachs when they go down a hill or ride a rollercoaster?
11233Why is there zero gravity in space?
11155How do minerals and nutrients form? Why do some foods have metals in them?
11125Why does a cow have so many stomachs?
11118Why is carbon the building block of matter?
11023Why do cats shed all year round even on the coldest days?
10976What causes a tidal wave?
10887How are electromagnets used in simple telephones?
10834If 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?
10827Do photons have mass? If not, then how does gravity affect light (i.e. Black holes)?
10730How come there is no thunder and lightning in the winter time?
10702Have 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?
10664How are marshmallows made?
10570Why does the earth behave like a magnet?
10567My 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?
10557Is AIDS the only incurable disease?
10451What is spontaneous combustion? Is it a myth? What causes it?
10420Why do boomerangs come back when you throw them?
10347How can electricity run things?
10341How do new materials that are used in swimming suits work and where do they come from?
10335Can lava rock be heated and turned back into lava?
10321Is jello an amorphous solid? If not, what is it?
10272How small is the smallest thing you can see under a microscope?
10257How efficient is photosynthesis compared to the amount of light energy delivered to the earth?
10229How does a particle accelerator work and why is it so useful?
10215Who determined the speed of light and how did they do it?
10165Why is there discussion as to whether or not glass is a liquid or a solid?
10107How will electric shocks to a plant effect its growth?
10093How do polar bears get water in the Artic? I thought all the fresh water was frozen in the ice caps?
10084With 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?
9953How do CDs Work?
9907Why do deer lose their rack in the winter?
9905If 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?
9897How much does the population grow a minute?
9826How can hummingbirds fly backwards?
9735Why 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?
9730What formula or method was used to determine Avogadro's number?
9709How come ice skates slide over ice so easily when hydrogen bonds usually make things stick?
9647Why do dogs have padded feet?
9641How do you clone plants?
9611Why does the sky turn red or orange when the sunsets? Why does it turn grey during a storm?
9550How do you clean bones you would like to use in a display?
9505What are quasars, what causes them to be formed?
9476Why do they say there are two sides of your brain?
9450Where do tornadoes come from?
9449If 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?
9426Why do turtles have shells?
9426Why does motor oil prevent paint from drying?
9404What makes spider silk so strong?
9365How do we get cavities from candy and why do our teeth turn gray/blackish?
9316Why can't we swallow our food whole like snakes?
9310How do airplanes fly?
9290How many other galaxies do we know of? Do we have the materials to make a spaceship to reach another galaxy?
9287Why can't fish breathe on land?
9277What happens if you go into space with a regular plane? Do you explode?
9276Why does rain fall in drops rather than gush down?
9269How many different kinds of dinosaurs are there?
9254If you could drill a tunnel all the way through the earth and dropped a rock in it, what would happen?
9212Why do we get a shock from electricity?
9160How does a sociologist apply the scientific method in the study of sociology?
9126Is a snail faster or slower than a slug?
9122How are carbon nanotubes formed? Can they be positioned easily? How?
9091What color is Saturn, and are there planets in other galaxies?
9064Why are eyeballs wet?
9037How do scientists detect and measure seismic waves?
9018What about the atomic structure of a substance determines its color and/or luster?
8995Why has no one been able to cultivate truffles? What separates them from other fungi?
8978How would gravity function if the earth were a torus?
8967It 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?
8941How do fuel cells work?
8929How are the colors in a rainbow made?
8898How are simple machines used in doorknobs?
8890Recycled 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?
8841How does a firefly make its light?
8840Can there be hummingbirds in Croatia?
8836What 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?
8833Why does each snowflake have a different shape?
8778Can we ever make nuclear powered cars in the future?
8769How do they put the flavor in candy?
8756When 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?
8744If 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.
8649Why is vegetable oil able to be used as a power source for automobiles?
8648What is a mole?
8646How do microwave ovens work?
8594When hydrogen explodes and combines with oxygen, where does the energy that is released in the explosion come from?
8592How 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?
8582Why do drops of water cling to glass?
8544What is the highest microscope power on an electron microscope?
8541How does gravity work?
8465Why are some dishes safe to put in the oven, microwave, and dishwasher, but others aren't?
8460What was the gas mileage for the earliest cars made?
8451When a water surface reflects something (when looking from the top), does it undergo total internal reflection?
8443How does wind affect waves?
8406Does magnetism work in space?
8402If solids, like glass and ice, are made of tightly packed molecules, how can we see through them?
8385What was the longest time a tornado touched the earth and when was it?
8376What are Saturn's rings made of?
8371I 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?
8365Can 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.
8350What 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?
8274What does a flying fish do to fly?
8226How do you find dinosaur bones?
8202Where does the chlorine from pools go when the water evaporates? Does this harm the ozone?
8179What is the lowest temperature possible?
8162How does CGI (like in the Matrix and the Hulk) work?
8155What 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?
8127What 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?
8121Why 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?
8104How is the equation E=mc2 carried out physically?
8089How come deserts have sand instead of dirt and soil?
8085Is time travel possible?
8072How many active volcanoes are there in the world?
8070When is dry ice a fluid?
8028What are MEMS and why are they an important scientific break through?
8014If light travels in a straight line, why is lightning crooked?
7979How are submarines able to go down so deep under the water, and then surface?
7938How accurate is the VSEPR model of molecular geometry for predicting the shapes of large, complex molecules?
7934How do scientists know there are such things as atoms?
7921Why doesn't it rain inside a house?
7889Why is the sky blue?
7851What is nanotechnology used for? Why do scientists study it?
7823Why is it you can see lightning as it goes through the air, but not a laser beam?
7800What is a Green Flash?
7799Apparently 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.
7730Why is space black?
7712What is Jupiter made of?
7710Why do trees get new rings every year?
7701There are many types of dwarf stars, what are they and what makes them different?
7696Is it possible to snow at any temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit? Is it ever possible for it to be too cold to snow?
7671How 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?
7659How do some flowers respond to stimuli such as light?
7656Why do stars twinkle?
7606How did people find out a day is 24 hours?
7593Why does my milkshake stay thick even when it warms up? Shouldn't it get thinner as it melts?
7581Why do stars form pictures?
7566Why is it that when I hold a stick over a fire it ignites without touching the coals?
7565Are there rainbows when it snows?
7563How does RADAR work?
7561Why don't sharks have bones?
7549Why is a mirror left-right reversed, and not up-down backwards?
7536How do you make a rock into a metal or a crystal?
7532How 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.
7532What 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?
7518What causes certain sounds to be unique even though they are on the same frequency?
7490Is being a scientist fun? How is it fun?
7463How do engines start?
7443What 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?
7416What causes lightning?
7403How do magnets work?
7370I'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?
7363What causes the Earth to rotate?
7356Is the ozone layer affecting our seasons? How?
7308What is Vitamin A and what does it do? Also, what kinds of elements are in Vitamin A?
7281How 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?
7276What would happen if I touched a cloud?
7264If an archeologist found a human tibia is it true that they can calculate the height of that particular person?
7156Why can squirrels touch the telephone wires and not get electricuted?
7133How do sea turtles find their way back to the same beach they were born on after traveling all through the sea?
7112How do eye glasses improve a persons sight?
7090How do scientists determine the viscosity of lava?
7088Specifically, 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?
7063What shape can a volcano be?
7052We 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?
6990What's the most dangerous animal in New York State?
6985Our 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?
6967Why doesn't gold rust?
6953Why 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?
6944When 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?
6936Why is gold such a soft material compared to something like iron?
6916Why does popcorn stick to your tongue or anything else that is damp?
6916How many scales do fish normally have?
6895We 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?
6893When was the very first dinosaur on Earth?
6893Where does water get its strength?
6861What was there before the "Big bang?" Why did it happen?
6858Is there another solar system besides ours?
6838What is the aurora borealis and why does it occur?
6837How is mercury a liquid like substance, but it does not make anything wet?
6835How are plastics made into useful products?
6803What is the invasive zebra mussel doing to Cayuga Lake? Is it anything like what happened with the cichlids and nile perch in Victoria Lake?
6740 Why does the earth revolve around the sun in an oval shaped orbit not in a round orbit?
6706What is in batteries that causes electricity?
6683In 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?
6666How do computers communicate with Chinese characters?
6646Are there life forms (animals, insects) that live in underwater volcanoes?
6641Why do people have stress?
6597Why are some lights called Halogen Lights? Do they contain elements from the Halogen group?
6589How is a language invented?
6586Why are apes different from humans and monkeys?
6542What is fiber optic cable and what advantages does it have over other technologies?
6534What are hydrothermal vents?
6521What molecular property causes certain matter to be transparent?
6511Archeologists 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?
6508Why 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?
6492I am interested in becoming a scientist. What do I need to study to pursue this interest?
6488Can 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.
6459Why is plasma classified as a phase? What is its chemical make-up? How was it discovered?
6432What is the history of coding?
6394What would the result be if the acid in your stomach turned into a base? What effect would it have on your body?
6392What causes lightbulbs to be so inefficient, and how is efficiency rated?
6377Is Pluto small enough to ever drift out of orbit?
6361Where are the crystals in the crystal radio?
6343What makes gyroscopes in airplanes orient themselves correctly in any position?
6332Why does glass weigh more than plastic?
6330I 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?
6308Why do certain events stay in your memory for a long time whereas others vanish quickly? How does you brain discriminate between them?
6302Why are some musical instruments still made out of wood instead of using new types of materials like plastic?
6298How do you make synthetic elements?
6265Why are male robins more colorful than the female robins?
6214How do you make a computer game?
6191Why do baseballs fly farther in Coors Field in Colorado?
6188Why does hot air go up and cold air go down?
6160Why is the full moon bigger in some places than in others?
6137How do you believe the Earth and the universe originated? And how is your theory proven by science?
6127Is the Mars Rover powered solely by solar power? How long will the solar panels be able to power the rover?
6118Why do the moon and the sun seem to change colors?
6113Does Jupiter rotate and change place with other planets (like Pluto)?
6102How are radioisotopes used to battle cancer cells?
6087How do mutations occur? Do they risk life?
6086Do mountains ever fall?
6079Why isn't the shortest day of the year the coldest?
6073Why does the light from a sodium lamp appear orange?
6071We'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.)
6061How are spiders different from insects? How many species of spiders are there? How many different silks are there?
6058What is a wormhole?
6053In 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?
6045What is the evolutionary reason for abstract thought, art and expression?
6041How can so much information be crammed into such a small space on a microchip?
6036What is the chemical make up of Canola oil?
6028Why are the small computers of today faster than the big IBM computers of the past?
6022If you put a balloon of oxygen into liquid nitrogen what would happen to the balloon?
5998In space, are solar panels being used for power? What about nuclear power?
5996Why does Jupiter have a red spot?
5992Do certain flavors actually make your mouth cooler? (Peppermint, Spearmint)
5937How do lasers in machines work?
5919How is it physically possible for a sneeze to efficiently clear out our sinuses? What happens during a sneeze?
5842What is ozone and what makes it?
5837If the mantle can rise when weight has been lifted off of it (isostasy), then why are some islands sinking into the ocean?
5811Why is it possible for some animals to hear certain frequency pitches of sound and why others can't. What is different about their ears?
5807How is it that when powder is applied to a surface fingerprints appear?
5798What affect will the new "gene-altered" foods have on us?
5780What is the string theory in Physics?
5740Why is the sky a blaze of color during sunset in Arizona?
5733Why do migrating birds fly in that particular formation?
5733What would cool down faster and turn to ice quicker: hot water in the freezer or cold water in the freezer?
5722How does two-photon microscopy work? How do the resonance patterns create a photon with half the wavelength of the parent photons?
5704What is the smallest amount of a substance that can still have color?
5697The 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?
5659How do they measure how far away stars are?
5637What are clouds made of?
5629What is a x-ray?
5629Why does wood turn to ashes in my fireplace?
5611How does a microphone work?
5585I 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?
5562In biology, do you study about birds and find out what they eat and where they live and where they migrate?
5545If water evaporates, then why do we have lakes, ponds, and oceans?
5533If 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?
5496Why is it that when fruit ripens, it gets sweeter than when it's picked? Is there more sugar in it?
5491How do speakers produce more than one sound at a time (example: guitar and vocal)?
5456Why do we have nightmares/night terrors? How long do they normally last?
5388Why do chinese water deer have canine teeth?
5364What is dark matter and what kind of gravitational effects does it have on the cosmos?
5357If fog is really just low clouds, why don't they appear billowy and poofy like clouds in the sky do?
5331In 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?
5326Is it possible that there is an asteroid bound for earth?
5296What kinds of plants are poisonous?
5296What is the exact use of the International Space Station? How long is it going to take to build? How does it work?
5280What are mirages?
5269What is blood made out of? If you wanted to make blood, what ingredients would you need?
5222How 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.
5214Can you find vitamins in the ground?
5206We learned that plastics are being used as lights. Can any other ordinary products be developed in the same way?
5199What types of body chemicals are involved in depression? Has anyone done research on a possible connection between negative blood types and depression?
5176Do things rust in outer space?
5164How do mutations occur? Do they risk life?
5132What fuel will be used in future interstellar rockets?
5110Why is a dandelion stem like a straw (hollow)?
5087What known effect does radar and mobile phone towers have on racing pigeons capabilities to home?
5083Is it possible to raise a cloned limb from the body?
5075How do spaceships work?
5057Can you genetically change organisms like bacteria to eat garbage?
5047Do Praying Mantis' eat animals bigger than themselves?
4954If 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?
4948I'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?
4914 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?
4908How can we manage our natural resources? Will they run out?
4893Does gravity get stronger nearer to the ground? If so by how much?
4868How does a mass spectrometer separate isotopes?
4854How do you grow taller?
4842How 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?
4817What are the possibilities that there is another form of life in the universe?
4812Is it imaginable that an AIDS vaccine will be developed?
4767What exactly is radiation and why is it harmful? What can it do to you? How is it made?
4754Can you take a migratory bird and magnetize the compass paricles in its head so it can't tell where it's going?
4745I have heard of ways to get energy through the braking of a car. How does this work?
4738Why don't explorers go to planets other than the moon?
4706Does the universe have an edge?
4700How do wings on birds make them fly?
4694Is the human eye like a fingerprint? Can it be used for positive identification purposes?
4682If we had to leave earth, what would be the best planet to move to? Which one would be most like Earth?
4664What is a black hole and why does it suck in objects in space?
4644If 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?
4629What are electromagnets and what metals are included?
4607Why do some bugs jump?
4578How do people think of the words we say?
4539Why does the color of tree leaves change?
4522How do people know how to make electricity?
4506How is hail produced?
4503Have you or will you ever try to weigh a red blood cell? If so, how would you?
4490What 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?
4473How does a bumble bee know which flower it's already been to?
4467What further advances have scientists at Cornell made in the study of GMO's?
4449Won't the non-use of chlorofluro-carbon (CFC's) do more harm than good?
4398Why 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?
4398How is the milky way different from other galaxies?
4395How did scientists get the idea for light years?
4323What kinds of elements are found in the oldest rocks?
4288How does the wind blow?
4269What are computers going to look like in the future?
4249Why are dipole-dipole and London-Dispersion Forces so much weaker than hydron bonds? Why are intermolecular forces weaker than atomic bonds?
4215How does energy that is released as heat get reused?
4176I 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?
4154In 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)
4130What is the difference between fuels (Diesel, unleaded, etc.)?
4100When 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?
4076Can you create protons? And if not, where did the hydrogen nuclei required to form a star come from?
4069If 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).
4068When lightning flashes, does one see the plasma or the electrical charge?
4042What is a shooting star?
4012Why do scuba divers wear rubber?
3998Can an infrared beam conduct an electrical current?
3964Why are the boiling points of metals with metallic bonds so varied?
3957Is there an accurate way to measure how much the planet earth weighs? If it's possible how much does the earth weigh ?
3910If 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?
3907I'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?
3891Now 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?
3885Can 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?
3851If 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?
3763Why do solar cells produce more electricity in low temperatures?
3759My 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?
3757Why 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?
3611How come a lot of colors make the black found in black markers?
3604Have 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?
3554How do planets form?
3546How long ago were fiber optics developed?
3511Why do scuba divers wear rubber?
3461How 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?
3453Can particle accelerators accurately simulate conditions that occured during the Big Bang?
3452Why do scientists say Pluto should not be a planet?
3328What are a few, most effective, things we can do to protect our body's cells from becoming cancerous?
3209What forces make a volcano erupt?
3179Who was the first scientist in the whole entire world. What experiment did he/she do?
3081Why are coral reefs dying?
2964Is the universe expanding? Why or why not? What theories have been used to prove or disprove this phenomenon?
2932What causes a tsunami?
2841What is heat lightning and how is it possible? Is it different from lightning during a storm? If so, how?
2805What was the biggest shark that scientsts found in the ocean?
2754What is nanotechnology?
2725How 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?