Cornell Center for Materials Research

Frequently Viewed Questions

542 questions have been viewed 2187613 times since 08/12/04 14:42

Hits Question
34221How can you tell if a diamond is real or fake?
27151Why do your ears ring?
23512Are cats and dogs colorblind? Do cats' eyes glow in the dark?
20895Can you turn gas into a solid form?
18810How are elements named?
18616Does sugar make you hyper if you eat a lot of it?
17374How is glass made?
15786Why do your bones crack when you walk up or down stairs sometimes?
15714Why do your cheeks turn red when you get embarrassed? How come when we get nervous our heart feels like it's beating faster?
15412Isaac Newton discovered gravity, but why did he call it gravity?
14500Why does squinting help people with vision problems see better?
13549How do relaxers on your hair work?
12735Do evergreen trees give off oxygen all year round?
12024Why do men grow hair on their face, while most women don't?
11683I 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?
11582How does a fluorescent light bulb work?
11143Why do crystal glasses give off sound when you rub them with a wet finger?
11092Why do crickets make noise at night?
10828How can you tell if a ruby is real or fake? Is there a test I can do?
10820If hydrogen and oxygen are both flammable why doesn't water burn?
10769How many dimensions are there?
10055Why does soap make bubbles?
10028How do you make a magnet?
9764Why are humans born with eyes open and puppies are born with eyes closed?
9563Why can't you put metal in a microwave?
9526How do solar energy cars work?
9481Why do dolphins live in the water when they are mammals?
9444Who invented math?
9378Why are robin's eggs blue?
9374How does a glow-stick work and how come neon glows?
9370How 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?
9266How does sun block work?
9200What is the most common type of blood?
9028Is it safe to touch mercury bare handed? Are you going to be poisoned if you touch it?
9000Why do ships float? Why don't ships sink?
8801Where 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?
8757Will 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?)
8746Can humans ever see in the dark with no night vision glasses or other aids?
8242I 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?
8224Water doesn't spoil, but why do some water bottles have expiration dates?
8181How does a fire hydrant work?
8051Can animals get a sunburn?
7902Why do we have fingernails?
7841Why does fruit ripen?
7642How do you grow seedless watermelons?
7589Is sinking sand real or myth? If real, please explain how it works.
7571Will a candle burn in a space ship where everything is weightless?
7556Why does salt melt snow?
7411How do you make a laser?
7353Is it possible to determine the resonance frequency of an object that has a diameter in nanometers in size (such as a cell)?
7286Why is element 43 made by man and none of the elements around it are?
7275Do fish see in color?
7171Why does the wind blow?
7122How do MRI's work? What are all the ticking and banging noises?
7068Why do different balls bounce differently?
7020What if you had no white blood cells?
6967Why doesn't gold rust?
6793Why is grass green?
6744Why is the planet Mars red?
6722What is the volume of water in a gallon of ice?
6714How does the CCD work in a digital camera?
6588How do minerals and nutrients form? Why do some foods have metals in them?
6536Why can't we hold our breath like the whales?
6527How can the sun burn without oxygen in space? If there is oxygen in space why do astronauts need oxygen?
6520How does a copy machine work?
6452How do you split atoms?
6409Does every one in the world have cancer cells in their body?
6402How does the desalination of water work?
6401Does the mass of the Earth increase with the increasing population? If not, why not?
6330How does burning gasoline make a car move?
6321How does sonar work?
6294What happens at the edge of a diamond? How does the carbon end?
6291What is lightning and what makes thunder rumble?
6171Why does a cow have so many stomachs?
6109Why 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?
6086Where does the salt in the sea come from?
6084Why can birds fly but penguins can't?
6041If plastic is made to be biodegradable, then won't the plastic forks and spoons we use dissolve in our mouth?
6041What 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.
5992Why do babies get their parents features?
5988Why is it that when you burn a contained candle the wax disappears? Does it evaporate? What is the chemical reaction?
5961Why do bees sting?
5952Why does your tongue get stuck to metal in the winter?
5931How are crystals formed?
5905What color is Saturn, and are there planets in other galaxies?
5876How do you make a man made element?
5868Where does liquid nitrogen come from and how is it made?
5847How do CDs Work?
5834Are there any nontoxic ingestible fluorescent materials?
5801Is 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?
5777With 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?
5768How can hummingbirds fly backwards?
5708How do airplanes fly?
5627How do you clone plants?
5623Why do people get seasick or carsick?
5619I know that water can put out a fire. What does liquid nitrogen do to a fire?
5617Why do some dogs eyes reflect red instead of yellow and does this have anything to do with their coat type?
5606How does your body move? Does the brain send it messages?
5606What makes Band-Aids sticky?
5585How do butterflies fly?
5525How hot is it at the earth's core? Does the heat affect our temperature?
5521How do you jam a radio broadcast?
5510How are marshmallows made?
5498How many earths will fit in the sun?
5490Why do we get a shock from electricity?
5469How do new materials that are used in swimming suits work and where do they come from?
5462Why are cats so flexible?
5453What would happen if a tornado started in the southern hemisphere and progressed into the northern hemisphere? Would it change directions?
5423Why do humans enjoy music? What is it about the brain that makes sounds translate into pleasure and other emotions?
5405From what metals are electromagnets made?
5402If icebergs are made of fresh water, why don't they melt in the salt water of the ocean?
5393Why is it generally colder at higher elevations?
5370If the electrons are attracted to the protons, why don't they come crashing into the nucleus?
5343Is popping popcorn a physical or a chemical change?
5337Do flies have hearts?
5282What chemical properties, if any, makes things sticky?
5263How 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?
5256If 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?
5221What material is flame made of?
5216How are the colors in a rainbow made?
5209How did animals get to have rabies?
5204What does a flying fish do to fly?
5166What formula or method was used to determine Avogadro's number?
5156Recycled 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?
5146If you could drill a tunnel all the way through the earth and dropped a rock in it, what would happen?
5132How does Aspirin work?
5107Why are combustion reactions exothermic (why is fire hot)? What makes these reactions produce heat the way they do?
5099If 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?
5097Does the moon have lithospheric plates? Do other planets have distinct layers such as the inner core, outer core, and mantle, like the earth does?
5079Why do computers freeze up?
5078What evidence do we have that continents were connected?
5072How come we have two eyes but see only one of everything?
5064Why is carbon the building block of matter?
5055How do chameleons/anoles change colors?
5053How are dryer sheets manufactured?
5043Why does the sun have black spots?
5037Why 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?
5033Why are some dishes safe to put in the oven, microwave, and dishwasher, but others aren't?
5015Why do birds bob their head when they walk?
5011How do we know how old the earth is?
5002What makes the sun hot?
5001My 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?
4926How do fuel cells work?
4924How do underwater flares and torches work, when water puts out fires?
4920What are Saturn's rings made of?
4919How does a firefly make its light?
4896Why do chameleons change color?
4849How do they put the flavor in candy?
4812Is it imaginable that an AIDS vaccine will be developed?
4793Is time travel possible?
4769After 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?
4762Why is there discussion as to whether or not glass is a liquid or a solid?
4757Why is it normal to move your arms when you walk or run?
4739I 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?
4704What happens if you go into space with a regular plane? Do you explode?
4703Why is the center of the earth hot?
4699Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark?
4690Why does the gravitational pull of the moon control the tides of the sea?
4680Can 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?
4677What is nanotechnology used for? Why do scientists study it?
4649Can lava rock be heated and turned back into lava?
4642Why 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?
4634Why do deer lose their rack in the winter?
4618Why don't you see two things if you have two eyes?
4608How does a particle accelerator work and why is it so useful?
4595How would gravity function if the earth were a torus?
4587How 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?
4573Why do the electrons of an atom orbit around the nucleus?
4549What causes the earth to rotate and why?
4548Why is vegetable oil able to be used as a power source for automobiles?
4540How exactly do catalysts lower the activation energy of bonds?
4508Why does the earth have more water than land?
4504Is AIDS the only incurable disease?
4502How are submarines able to go down so deep under the water, and then surface?
4494Why does rain fall in drops rather than gush down?
4480Where do tornadoes come from?
4473How do dreams and nightmares occur? Why do we sometimes remember our dreams, and other times we do not remember? Do we dream every night?
4396Why is it that when I hold a stick over a fire it ignites without touching the coals?
4392When a water surface reflects something (when looking from the top), does it undergo total internal reflection?
4352Why does the earth behave like a magnet?
4341What is the lowest temperature possible?
4332Can 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.
4327Why do stars twinkle?
4318Can there be hummingbirds in Croatia?
4308What about the atomic structure of a substance determines its color and/or luster?
4281How do people think? What are memories stored as? Where is it stored? How is it recalled? How can I have independent thinking?
4275How do microwave ovens work?
4274What is Jupiter made of?
4267When is dry ice a fluid?
4265What is spontaneous combustion? Is it a myth? What causes it?
4264If humans only use 10% of their brains, what is the other 90% doing?
4264Why don't birds' legs get frostbite? Because they are not covered with feathers, they could get frozen, couldn't they?
4235How do they compress oxygen into pure oxygen tanks?
4226When 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?
4213How many different kinds of dinosaurs are there?
4212Why are apes different from humans and monkeys?
4206If 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?
4205Why or how can some animals make a limb for themselves?
4195How come deserts have sand instead of dirt and soil?
4182How accurate is the VSEPR model of molecular geometry for predicting the shapes of large, complex molecules?
4157How can electricity run things?
4118Do photons have mass? If not, then how does gravity affect light (i.e. Black holes)?
4111Why, when you breathe in helium, does your voice change?
4101Why is there zero gravity in space?
4100How can information be sent on radio waves, etc? How can things that have no mass contain messages?
4098How do computers communicate with Chinese characters?
4090We 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?
4086Why do baby fawns have spots?
4081What is fire? Does it have mass?
4068Can only water evaporate or can other liquids?
4044How 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?
4030How exactly are nocturnal animals able to see in the dark?
4027What is Vitamin A and what does it do? Also, what kinds of elements are in Vitamin A?
4026Why does my milkshake stay thick even when it warms up? Shouldn't it get thinner as it melts?
4016If 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.
4005If light travels in a straight line, why is lightning crooked?
3959Is carbon dating an effective way of finding how old something is?
3959Why is a tomato considered a fruit and not a vegetable?
3954Why doesn't it rain inside a house?
3950How small is the smallest thing you can see under a microscope?
3944What is a mole?
3942What was the gas mileage for the earliest cars made?
3926What is fiber optic cable and what advantages does it have over other technologies?
3918Why do cats shed all year round even on the coldest days?
3913How come there is no thunder and lightning in the winter time?
3911Are there life forms (animals, insects) that live in underwater volcanoes?
3908What was there before the "Big bang?" Why did it happen?
3907Can 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?
3899When hydrogen explodes and combines with oxygen, where does the energy that is released in the explosion come from?
3885Who determined the speed of light and how did they do it?
3879Apparently 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.
3875What are MEMS and why are they an important scientific break through?
3871What are quasars, what causes them to be formed?
3861How do engines start?
3857How do you clean bones you would like to use in a display?
3841How do you make a rock into a metal or a crystal?
3819Why are computer chips written on silicon?
3806How can so much information be crammed into such a small space on a microchip?
3793It 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?
3788How is ink made?
3775How do we get cavities from candy and why do our teeth turn gray/blackish?
3768Why does motor oil prevent paint from drying?
3759Why do coals appear 'red hot' in a fire and is this the hottest spot in a fire?
3753What makes spider silk so strong?
3730Why does skin wrinkle and what causes it as you get older?
3723What is the highest microscope power on an electron microscope?
3722Why is the sky blue?
3722Have 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?
3710How many active volcanoes are there in the world?
3689There are many types of dwarf stars, what are they and what makes them different?
3672What 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?
3668Is the ozone layer affecting our seasons? How?
3655How does RADAR work?
3629What shape are stars?
3617Why do dogs have padded feet?
3616Can we ever make nuclear powered cars in the future?
3612How do polar bears get water in the Artic? I thought all the fresh water was frozen in the ice caps?
3597What affect will the new "gene-altered" foods have on us?
3596Can a cellular phone work in space? How far into space can you go without losing communication?
3588Why do stars form pictures?
3579How does a lens bend light to focus on a point?
3549If solids, like glass and ice, are made of tightly packed molecules, how can we see through them?
3548Why do they say there are two sides of your brain?
3536How is the equation E=mc2 carried out physically?
3513How do you make a computer game?
3510Why can't we swallow our food whole like snakes?
3499Specifically, 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?
3492Why do boomerangs come back when you throw them?
3484In 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?
3482How many types of rocks are there throughout the world?
3464Does magnetism work in space?
3453What would the result be if the acid in your stomach turned into a base? What effect would it have on your body?
3447What causes lightbulbs to be so inefficient, and how is efficiency rated?
3428How did people find out a day is 24 hours?
3402Is it possible to use electrolysis or another method to separate NaCl into sodium and free floating chlorine gas?
3401What are hydrothermal vents?
3392Why is the sky a blaze of color during sunset in Arizona?
3390Does Jupiter rotate and change place with other planets (like Pluto)?
3381Why can't fish breathe on land?
3353If the mantle can rise when weight has been lifted off of it (isostasy), then why are some islands sinking into the ocean?
3341Why do the moon and the sun seem to change colors?
3338Is Pluto small enough to ever drift out of orbit?
3335What is the exact use of the International Space Station? How long is it going to take to build? How does it work?
3326Our 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?
3297Is it possible that there is an asteroid bound for earth?
3294Is it possible to snow at any temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit? Is it ever possible for it to be too cold to snow?
3292Why is a mirror left-right reversed, and not up-down backwards?
3286What is dark matter and what kind of gravitational effects does it have on the cosmos?
3279Why do turtles have shells?
3257Is being a scientist fun? How is it fun?
3249Why does each snowflake have a different shape?
3218How efficient is photosynthesis compared to the amount of light energy delivered to the earth?
3218How does a Van De Graaf generator work and what is it made from?
3210How is it that no matter where a person stands on earth they are always upright? Why aren't people in Antarctica upside down?
3201What is in batteries that causes electricity?
3200What is a x-ray?
3197What is ceramic made of?
3189What shape can a volcano be?
3154What is anti-matter? Does it exist naturally? Does it look and feel like regular matter? How do scientists make anti-matter?
3142Why do drops of water cling to glass?
3099What 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?
3089What kinds of plants live on the bottom of the ocean?
3073What is a Green Flash?
3066How many other galaxies do we know of? Do we have the materials to make a spaceship to reach another galaxy?
3065When was the very first dinosaur on Earth?
3059Why can squirrels touch the telephone wires and not get electricuted?
3056In 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?
3055When 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?
3042Where does the chlorine from pools go when the water evaporates? Does this harm the ozone?
3026How 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?
3023How do scientists know there are such things as atoms?
3011Why has no one been able to cultivate truffles? What separates them from other fungi?
2989How is it that when powder is applied to a surface fingerprints appear?
2975How 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.
2965Is there another solar system besides ours?
2925How do bugs stick to the wall?
2922What molecular property causes certain matter to be transparent?
2913If an archeologist found a human tibia is it true that they can calculate the height of that particular person?
2913How much does the population grow a minute?
2910Why do migrating birds fly in that particular formation?
2906How are plastics made into useful products?
2892What 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?
2882Why do certain events stay in your memory for a long time whereas others vanish quickly? How does you brain discriminate between them?
2880Why is plasma classified as a phase? What is its chemical make-up? How was it discovered?
2858What 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?
2857How many rocks are there on Earth?
2854How are simple machines used in doorknobs?
2844Where does water get its strength?
2843Where are the crystals in the crystal radio?
2821I 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?
2817Why is space black?
2815Why are evergreen trees green all year round?
2779Why are the small computers of today faster than the big IBM computers of the past?
2774Why are some musical instruments still made out of wood instead of using new types of materials like plastic?
2767Why 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?
2766Why does glass weigh more than plastic?
2766I'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?
2762What makes the weather change?
2735Can candle wax become a gas?
2688How 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.
2686Why 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?
2678Do certain flavors actually make your mouth cooler? (Peppermint, Spearmint)
2674What is the history of coding?
2667Do mountains ever fall?
2648How does CGI (like in the Matrix and the Hulk) work?
2641How do lasers in machines work?
2639What is the aurora borealis and why does it occur?
2634Why does popcorn stick to your tongue or anything else that is damp?
2625I am interested in becoming a scientist. What do I need to study to pursue this interest?
2622What are clouds made of?
2603What's the most dangerous animal in New York State?
2587How is rubber made?
2583What causes the Earth to rotate?
2578Does the moon have earthquakes/moonquakes?
2568How will electric shocks to a plant effect its growth?
2564I'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?
2556How are spiders different from insects? How many species of spiders are there? How many different silks are there?
2555We 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?
2548The 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?
2545What 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?
2538Why are some lights called Halogen Lights? Do they contain elements from the Halogen group?
2538Is jello an amorphous solid? If not, what is it?
2534Why do baseballs fly farther in Coors Field in Colorado?
2532How is mercury a liquid like substance, but it does not make anything wet?
2530What would happen if I touched a cloud?
2524Why are male robins more colorful than the female robins?
2519How come ice skates slide over ice so easily when hydrogen bonds usually make things stick?
2518How do some flowers respond to stimuli such as light?
2517Why is the full moon bigger in some places than in others?
2503Why is it you can see lightning as it goes through the air, but not a laser beam?
2499In space, are solar panels being used for power? What about nuclear power?
2498At what magnification on a microscope can you actually see animal cells and plant cells?
2472Why don't explorers go to planets other than the moon?
2465Archeologists 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?
2464How are carbon nanotubes formed? Can they be positioned easily? How?
2409 Why does the earth revolve around the sun in an oval shaped orbit not in a round orbit?
2406Can you genetically change organisms like bacteria to eat garbage?
2381In biology, do you study about birds and find out what they eat and where they live and where they migrate?
2378What makes gyroscopes in airplanes orient themselves correctly in any position?
2362How do people know how to make electricity?
2362What is the smallest amount of a substance that can still have color?
2356What is the invasive zebra mussel doing to Cayuga Lake? Is it anything like what happened with the cichlids and nile perch in Victoria Lake?
2349How do you find dinosaur bones?
2349Is the Mars Rover powered solely by solar power? How long will the solar panels be able to power the rover?
2309How are electromagnets used in simple telephones?
2288What are the possibilities that there is another form of life in the universe?
2279What was the longest time a tornado touched the earth and when was it?
2278If water evaporates, then why do we have lakes, ponds, and oceans?
2278When 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?
2275What are mirages?
2271Why does the color of tree leaves change?
2270How do they measure how far away stars are?
2264If 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?
2249If you put a balloon of oxygen into liquid nitrogen what would happen to the balloon?
2248How does a sociologist apply the scientific method in the study of sociology?
2246Why does wood turn to ashes in my fireplace?
2239How do you believe the Earth and the universe originated? And how is your theory proven by science?
2221I have heard of ways to get energy through the braking of a car. How does this work?
2218How is it physically possible for a sneeze to efficiently clear out our sinuses? What happens during a sneeze?
2183Are there rainbows when it snows?
2172Why does Jupiter have a red spot?
2149What causes certain sounds to be unique even though they are on the same frequency?
2117Can you take a migratory bird and magnetize the compass paricles in its head so it can't tell where it's going?
2115What is a shooting star?
2115How do people think of the words we say?
2114Why does light travel slower in different materials (glass, water, etc.)? Also, how have scientists slowed light to "walking speeds"?
2091What is the string theory in Physics?
2082Is it possible to raise a cloned limb from the body?
2051Can 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.
2048We learned that plastics are being used as lights. Can any other ordinary products be developed in the same way?
2037What kinds of plants are poisonous?
2005What fuel will be used in future interstellar rockets?
1976Have you or will you ever try to weigh a red blood cell? If so, how would you?
1970How does gravity work?
1950How many scales do fish normally have?
1949What known effect does radar and mobile phone towers have on racing pigeons capabilities to home?
1930Won't the non-use of chlorofluro-carbon (CFC's) do more harm than good?
1929What kinds of elements are found in the oldest rocks?
1927If fog is really just low clouds, why don't they appear billowy and poofy like clouds in the sky do?
1903What further advances have scientists at Cornell made in the study of GMO's?
1898Can you find vitamins in the ground?
1872How is the milky way different from other galaxies?
1851How does two-photon microscopy work? How do the resonance patterns create a photon with half the wavelength of the parent photons?
1846Why is gold such a soft material compared to something like iron?
1834Now 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?
1830How do eye glasses improve a persons sight?
1812Why isn't the shortest day of the year the coldest?
1798When 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?
1773How many atoms are in a grain of sand?
1771How can we manage our natural resources? Will they run out?
1769What is ozone and what makes it?
1766Does gravity get stronger nearer to the ground? If so by how much?
1757How did scientists get the idea for light years?
1750Why do people have stress?
1750Does energy have mass? Does light have mass?
1745Why are eyeballs wet?
1711What 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?
1666Why 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?
1656What is a black hole and why does it suck in objects in space?
1602Is a snail faster or slower than a slug?
1590Do Praying Mantis' eat animals bigger than themselves?
1576When lightning flashes, does one see the plasma or the electrical charge?
1574What is the chemical make up of Canola oil?
1524How do magnets work?
1517How does a bumble bee know which flower it's already been to?
1502Why does the light from a sodium lamp appear orange?
1500What would cool down faster and turn to ice quicker: hot water in the freezer or cold water in the freezer?
1465If 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?
1457What is the evolutionary reason for abstract thought, art and expression?
1439Is a venus flytrap a producer or a consumer?
1398How does water boil? Why are there bubbles and how does bubbling work?
1380I 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?
1373What 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?
1364In 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?
1357What 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?
1345What causes lightning?
1244How do scientists know what the Earth's inner core is made up of?
1227Why are there different colors to lightning?
1223 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?
1216How does light travel though space if atoms aren't close together?
1215How does energy that is released as heat get reused?
1201Why do trees get new rings every year?
1184Why do people get that weird feeling in their stomachs when they go down a hill or ride a rollercoaster?
1183Why do chinese water deer have canine teeth?
1170If 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?
1145How do you make synthetic elements?
1129How do scientists determine the viscosity of lava?
1126What exactly is radiation and why is it harmful? What can it do to you? How is it made?
1120How does a microphone work?
1119My 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?
1101How is a language invented?
1086How does wind affect waves?
1033How are radioisotopes used to battle cancer cells?
1033Why do some bugs jump?
1025Can an infrared beam conduct an electrical current?
1013How do sea turtles find their way back to the same beach they were born on after traveling all through the sea?
998Why is a dandelion stem like a straw (hollow)?
990If 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?
980How 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?
980Why does the sky turn red or orange when the sunsets? Why does it turn grey during a storm?
970Does the universe have an edge?
967Why is it that when fruit ripens, it gets sweeter than when it's picked? Is there more sugar in it?
964Is there an accurate way to measure how much the planet earth weighs? If it's possible how much does the earth weigh ?
952If 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?
952Can 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?
948How do wings on birds make them fly?
941How does a mass spectrometer separate isotopes?
933Is the universe expanding? Why or why not? What theories have been used to prove or disprove this phenomenon?
918Why are dipole-dipole and London-Dispersion Forces so much weaker than hydron bonds? Why are intermolecular forces weaker than atomic bonds?
917How do you grow taller?
902Why do solar cells produce more electricity in low temperatures?
892Why do we have nightmares/night terrors? How long do they normally last?
892Why do scuba divers wear rubber?
886What 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?
886What are computers going to look like in the future?
876What are electromagnets and what metals are included?
870In 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)
860Why don't sharks have bones?
859I'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?
856How long ago were fiber optics developed?
853Why is it possible for some animals to hear certain frequency pitches of sound and why others can't. What is different about their ears?
852How come a lot of colors make the black found in black markers?
833What is the difference between fuels (Diesel, unleaded, etc.)?
826If 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).
819How does the wind blow?
817How do spaceships work?
810Do 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?
784How 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?
766Why 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?
744I 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?
736Is the human eye like a fingerprint? Can it be used for positive identification purposes?
731Who was the first scientist in the whole entire world. What experiment did he/she do?
724Why does oil float above water?
723What are a few, most effective, things we can do to protect our body's cells from becoming cancerous?
716How do planets form?
690Can you create protons? And if not, where did the hydrogen nuclei required to form a star come from?
683We'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.)
669If we had to leave earth, what would be the best planet to move to? Which one would be most like Earth?
647Why are coral reefs dying?
639What forces make a volcano erupt?
639What types of body chemicals are involved in depression? Has anyone done research on a possible connection between negative blood types and depression?
556What causes a tsunami?
547Why does hot air go up and cold air go down?
528Why is type O blood the most abundant type when it is recessive?
520Why do baseball bats sting you when you hit a baseball?
498How is hail produced?
483What was the biggest shark that scientsts found in the ocean?
443Why are the boiling points of metals with metallic bonds so varied?
409What causes a tidal wave?
400What is heat lightning and how is it possible? Is it different from lightning during a storm? If so, how?
395Why do scuba divers wear rubber?
356Does temperature effect the speed of light?
309Why do scientists say Pluto should not be a planet?
295Since there is no air on the moon, why is the United States flag waving around when you see footage of man on the moon?
278Why does water boil at a lower temperature in Denver (higher altitude) than in New York?
235How do scientists detect and measure seismic waves?
224Have 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?
203How do speakers produce more than one sound at a time (example: guitar and vocal)?
198Where have most dinosaur bones been found? Where have the most dinosaur eggs been found?
173How do mutations occur? Do they risk life?
149Can particle accelerators accurately simulate conditions that occured during the Big Bang?
136What is nanotechnology?
 
Edited on: 19 June 2007 2:36 pm