961

General Science / Re: Why is mains electricity 240v AC?

« on: 25/09/2016 20:42:38 »

The MRI chiller motor was manufactured in Germany to the EU specification. As for manufacturing MRI in the UK, we haven't done so since 1985.

The UK was, of course, and still is, a member of the union that limited the consumption of domestic vacuum cleaners to 1600W, allegedly "to save energy". Fact is that the newest members of the Union have domestic mains limited to 7 amp sockets, so in order to give their manufacturers access to a genuine single market, the market had to be restricted to 7 A x 230V = 1610W. Politics, not physics, rules the EU.

The giveaway is the proposed limit on hairdryers, kettles and lawnmowers to - you guessed it, 1600W. The official reason is half honest: reduced power (not energy!) consumption and fewer imports into the EU. It's bloody obvious that when it comes to heating or evaporating water, the energy requirement has little or nothing to do with power consumption: indeed a low power kettle will require slightly more energy to heat through a given temperature range because the surface loss rate at any given temperature is the same.   

"The MRI chiller motor was manufactured in Germany to the EU specification."
So, either it was built to run on 230V as in Germany, or it was built to the EU standard in which case it would have run properly on the bottom end of the EU range.

Or, it just wasn't up to the job- It's not clear how leaving the EU would stop German manufacturers making duff motors.

Could you expand on that for us?

This "As for manufacturing MRI in the UK, we haven't done so since 1985. "
only matters if the only business in the EU is the manufacture of MRI machines.

Whenn everyone has finished grumbling about power limits they don't really understand, we will be using less energy to vacuum our carpets (and saving money in the process)
It's a counterpoint to the daft state of affairs where cleaner manufacturers were playing the same silly "numbers game" that PC makers did with clock rates a decade or so back.

The energy used by a cleaner is the product of the power and the time taken. A 10KW vacuum cleaner doesn't mean you can walk round the room in a 20th of the time it takes to walk round with a 500W one

Meanwhile, on the morning of the Brexit the UK lost a lot of money- something like the value of the Greek economy.
Also, that morning,  their main spokesman Mr Farrage, admitted that he had lied about the biggest factor they were able to put in favour of leaving (The lie about funding the NHS).

However I'm still waiting for an explanation of how us leaving the EU will improve the regulations (It seem that both you and I were involved in the rules- you implement them and I was involved in drafting them)
There's no way round the fact that UK manufacturing industry will still have to stick to the EU regs for much- probably most- of their market.
Now they won't have any representation on the drafting of those rules.

How is that better?

962

That CAN'T be true! / Re: Do viruses exist?

« on: 18/09/2016 14:33:42 »

Look up the etiology of neonatal meningitis.

Then try applying your warped theory.

Not happening.

Still don't get what you are on about?

Try using more than two words to describe something. It should work wonders for you! lol!

It doesn't matter how many words we use- because you ignore them anyway.
Perhaps you should go and work in a field hospital treating people with Ebola or some similar viral infection. Since there are no viruses, you won't need any protective equipment. You can turn up with lots of vitamins and, shortly afterwards, you will either be proved right- or (in all sensible probability, you will die.

963

Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Re: Will plastic eating bacteria evolve

« on: 05/09/2016 21:30:47 »

I guess it depends on the time scale you are talking about.
Given long enough it's quite likely.
On the other hand we might manage to kill ourselves by choking the oceans before that happens. Life doesn't need to worry- but we might.

The big problem is that biology is essentially the study of dirty water (for example, we are typically about 40 Kg of water and 30 Kg of other stuff) and the plastics are often completely insoluble in water so, at best, only their surface can be attacked by  biology.

964

Chemistry / Re: What is a zeolite catalyst ?

« on: 04/09/2016 13:33:02 »

"So, does this mean hydrated aluminium oxide can increase hydrothermal stability?"
No

"How can the zsm-5 catalyst produces low aromatics/high density jet fuel from coal ?"
The simple answer is that, if you take straight distilled petroleum like fuels and heat them until they start to fall apart, then let the mixture of bits cool down they settle into different chemicals from what you started with.
The petroleum distillates will be largely long chain molecules. the products from smashing them and putting the bits together are branched chains so they take up a bit less space .
That lets you get more weight of fuel into a given size of tank.

The trick with the zeolite catalysts is that they provide a "framework" for the  bits to reassemble onto which favours the production of the sorts of molecules you want (aromatics and branched chains).They also provide strongly acid sites that help break up the incoming hydrocarbons.

965

General Science / Re: For relativity, does the mass of a moving object increase in all directions?

« on: 03/09/2016 22:38:28 »

What does this "does the mass of a moving object increase in all directions?" actually mean?

I have a mass of about 70Kg. It's not in any direction; it just is. Mass is not a vector quantity.

966

Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Re: What is the effect of disinfectant on HIV?

« on: 03/09/2016 13:41:16 »

HIV is an internal problem caused by bad diet, alcohol, drugs, lack of vitamins, sleep deprivation etc. Using external cleaning agents will be ineffective. Note - There are no viruses involved in HIV.

So, would you be content to be injected with a suspension of HIV?
Or are you not that sure of yourself?

967

Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Re: What is the effect of disinfectant on HIV?

« on: 31/08/2016 22:22:53 »

"kills" is a tricky concept in the world of the virus. A virus isn't alive.
However like a lot of living things it works because it has a particular arrangement of component parts. Disrupting either those parts or the arrangement will inactivate the virus.

Bleach- as an example will destroy proteins.
Ultraviolet light will destroy the DNA or RNA of the virus.
Exposure to air will have a number of effects.
One is that it will dry out- most viruses will need some water to hold their structures together .
It also allows the virus to be exposed to UV light.
And it also exposes  the virus to free radicals- shattered bits of molecules that exist - typically in small concentrations- in the air.
Those radicals are very reactive and- much like hydrogen peroxide- they randomly react with bits of the virus and tear bits out of it.
In the long run, it doesn't matter. The virus gets torn to bits or too mangled to "work".

968

Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Re: What is the effect of disinfectant on HIV?

« on: 30/08/2016 21:03:27 »

Thanks again!
Do you have access to any pictures of what a dead (HIV)virus exposed to the environment compared to a dead virus from disinfectant would look like.  Would they look the same??  As you can tell, I didn't take many courses in microbiology. I can not convince a student that they are wasting their time using lysol on  doors, shopping carts, etc.  when dealing with HIV.  She thinks it will KILL it more!

I doubt anyone has a picture of a live virus.
Almost all virions are far to small to see, even with a light microscope. You need an electron microscope to see them.
But, in order to see something with an electron microscope, you need to expose it to a high vacuum- and it's quite common practice to plate it with a (very) thin layer of gold.
The virus wouldn't be viable after that.

969

General Science / Re: Have I built the worlds first human memory erasing machine.

« on: 28/08/2016 21:22:07 »

"Have I built the worlds first human memory erasing machine?"
No.
For a start you have not built anything for a finish, as far as I can tell you have not learned about scattering of gamma rays. Collimating beams isn't as easy as you seem to think.
For an encore you don't seem to have taken account of the damage done by the beam before it reaches the target.
I think you are suggesting that if you use many beams than only the part of the brain at the point where all the beams line up will get the maximum dose.
That's true but each time you add another beam you add more damaged tissue because the beam has to go through the brain to get to the intersection point.

970

Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Re: Does legionella have the chance to grow in combi/mains water systems?

« on: 17/08/2016 19:57:42 »

Legionella thrives at "moderate" temperatures.
I think the best bet us to mix cold (below 20C) and hot water (above 60C) to get water near 37C.
However, don't take my word for it: there must be lots of people facing the same problem and they will have found solutions  and heard the recommendations of people who (unlike me) know what they are talking about.

971

Technology / Re: Could Plasma be used to propel a space shuttle?

« on: 15/08/2016 20:35:47 »

Plasma is used to propel the space shuttle.
Any hot gas will be (at least partly ) ionised- even a candle flame is a weak plasma.

The problem with your system is that the battery would need to be very heavy and it wouldn't produce enough thrust to lift itself very far.

972

Chemistry / Re: What medications could you isolate from plants in your backyard?

« on: 13/08/2016 14:00:15 »

Strictly, you can get salicylic acid from willow, but not acetylsalicylic acid- which is aspirin..
It's perfectly possible to grow opium poppies in your garden.
I had a look through the list. As far as I can tell you can get these
Oxygen
ephedrine (f ephedra sinica)
Atropine (atropa belladonna)
Morphine (papaver somniferum)
Codeine  (papaver somniferum)
Hyoscine (hyoscyamus niger)
senna (Senna alexandrina)
Penicillamine (derived from penicillin from various fungi)
magnesium sulphate (possibly- it's present in some mineral waters so you might be able to get it if you have a mineral spring in your garden)
Ivermectin (Indirectly from Streptomyces avermitilis)
amoxicillin along with the penicillins and Cephalosporins, chloramphenicol etc (Again, indirectly, from some fungi).
amphotericin (Streptomyces nodosus)
Artemether (Indirectly from Artemisia annua )
quinine (Cinchona officinalis)
Asparaginase (from Escherichia coli which isn't a plant- but there's probably some in your garden anyway)
Bleomycin (possibly- it depends on finding the bacterium Streptomyces verticillus in your garden)
dactinomycin (Streptomyces)
Doxorubicin (Streptomyces peucetius)
paclitaxel (Indirectly from taxus baccata)
Vinblastine (Catharanthus roseus)
vincristine (ditto)
vinorelbine (ditto)
folic acid (almost anything with leaves)
phytomenadione (ditto)
warfarin (possibly as rat poison- but also possibly from mouldy clover)
digoxin (digitalis purpurea)
Streptokinase (Streptococcus)
simvastatin (indirectly from Pleurotus ostreatus)
mupirocin (Pseudomonas fluorescens)
calamine  (if you happen to live somewhere that this mineral occurs)
salicylic acid (from willow (and distinct from aspirin))
Benzyl benzoate (in the essential oils of hyacinth etc)
barium sulphate (Again- it's a mineral an you might be lucky)
ethanol (by fermentation of pretty much any fruit by Saccharomyces species)
mannitol  (lots of fungi, and bacteria: also Fraxinus ornus)
Spironolactone (well it looks like a biologically derived molecule to me, but I can't easily find the source)
Gentamicin (Micromonospora purpureochromogenes)
Pilocarpine (Pilocarpus microphyllus)
Ergometrine (Claviceps purpurea)
glucose (most plants)
water (well- a well)
nicotinamide (meat, nuts + mushrooms)
(And similar stories for the other vitamins)
caffeine (A number of plants notably coffee, tea and cola)


Not a bad haul.
There are others that are not directly derived from plants but are synthetic analogues of plant products. for example the local anaesthetics are based on the anaesthetic aspects of cocaine but without the psychoactive aspects
The streptomyces seem to be worthy of a special mention
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptomyces

973

Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Re: Why would ants want toenail clippings?

« on: 13/08/2016 12:31:58 »

It's well documented that some fungi can digest keratin and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%E2%80%93fungus_mutualism

974

Technology / Re: Could FMRI, PET, CT, EEG, and MEG be more advanced, but it would take more Cost.

« on: 07/08/2016 09:30:22 »

This thread seems to assume that progress is not being made.
Is there any reason to suppose that is the case?

975

New Theories / Re: Can we store negative air ions ?

« on: 03/07/2016 16:45:03 »

Why bother?
"Despite numerous experimental and analytical differences across studies, the literature does not clearly support a beneficial role in exposure to negative air ions and respiratory function or asthmatic symptom alleviation. Further, collectively, the human experimental studies do not indicate a significant detrimental effect of exposure to positive air ions on respiratory measures. Exposure to negative or positive air ions does not appear to play an appreciable role in respiratory function."

from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3848581/

976

General Science / Re: Why does unhealthy food taste so good?

« on: 22/06/2016 22:10:32 »

The things we like -broadly fatty, sweet, salted foods are only unhealthy because we can easily get too much of them.
In moderation they are actually very good food. If you were starving these sorts of things would exactly what you needed.

977

Chemistry / Re: Could we make a translucent human?

« on: 22/06/2016 21:30:15 »

If the light wen through your eye without stopping, you would be blind. If it stopped then you would be opaque.
i'm prepared to put up with being seen as a price for being able to see.
Of course, if youo picked a different wavelength range...

978

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Do scientists actually prove anything?

« on: 18/06/2016 00:45:35 »

Do scientists actually prove anything?

Proof if it exists can be temporary and replaced by a more accurate proof Isaac Newtons Maths held up for a few hundred years and was then proven incorrect by Albert Einstein followed by quantum theory etc?

Alan

Define "proof" and "scientist".
Or, don't bother, it's not as if t will help.

979

Chemistry / Re: Theory on new periodic table for radio active elements(actinides)

« on: 01/06/2016 21:20:46 »

As you go to heavier and heavier transuranic elements the half lives get shorter.
For the 7th period, a lot of the "chemistry" is already very uncertain because the elements don't last long enough to check.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flerovium#Experimental_chemistry
How do you plan to check what the elements of the 8th row do?
How do you plan to show that the current periodic table is "wrong"?

980

Technology / Re: Are cellular telephone towers safe to install in schools?

« on: 01/06/2016 21:14:33 »

On a weight for weight basis I suspect that children also emit more microwaves than adults.