1

New Theories / Re: what is temperature?

« on: Yesterday at 17:47:27 »

The two conductors would be carrying equal and opposite currents which at that low frequency would lead to effective cancellation with the earth(ground) wire performing no function in the absence of a fault. What minute amount of radiation results could be eliminated by a screened feed cable. As you say, who cares?

2

New Theories / Re: what is temperature?

« on: Yesterday at 14:31:29 »

That is absolutely ridiculous, EMF from a filament lamp. Whatever minimal 50/60hz EMF the lamp produces would not be affected at all by any earthing(grounding) protocol unless the lamp was encased in metal, which would render it useless. Where the hell do these infantile videos come from?

3

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Are Black Holes Real? Is Time Travel Possible?

« on: 17/01/2025 20:40:05 »

Very interesting, ES, but I have to admit that I understood only some of it. I found the wiki article that you linked to be very informative- I have always been troubled as to how anything could actually fall into a black hole rather than getting stuck at the event horizon. I did find the reference to a "white hole" disturbing to my matter of fact nature as such an entity could only have a very transitory existence as opposed to a black hole which can last for multiple billions of years.  More studying needed!

4

Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 25.01.24 - Does chewing gum cause tinnitus?

« on: 17/01/2025 20:22:24 »

I would not have thought so, as tinnitus is generally considered to be caused by damage to the hair cells in the inner ear. I cannot see how chewing could have an influence on these structures but obviously I cannot disprove such a conjecture.

5

New Theories / Re: What is corruption?

« on: 16/01/2025 21:43:02 »

This is a science forum, maybe an ethics forum would be more suited to your requirements?

6

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Are Black Holes Real? Is Time Travel Possible?

« on: 16/01/2025 21:36:24 »

One can travel forward in time but going back is never possible.

7

Just Chat! / Re: Why do women have so many clothes?

« on: 13/01/2025 20:16:46 »

I have a shirt that the boss bought for me 40years ago, still ok but getting a bit limp. It probably does not have much useful life at this stage but I do wear it occasionally.

8

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Is Aspartame Safe And Healthy To Eat?

« on: 13/01/2025 14:11:38 »

Quite correct, BC, many natural substances are way more toxic than some synthetics. The thing that concerns me with, say for example sucralose, is that it is a synthetic substance that mimics a natural substance, ie sucrose. A lot of chlorinated organics have been found to be toxic and the list of withdrawn substances is formidable. I am not suggesting sucralose is toxic but I would take a simple dipeptide(ignoring the silly methanol scare) any day in preference to a chlorinated sucrose.

9

Technology / Re: Does cold weather damage the batteries used in an EV?

« on: 13/01/2025 13:50:38 »

There is probably nothing incorrect in that ode to the EV but it paints a misleading picture. Okay, an ice will max out at ~40% but the other 60% is available for heating the vehicle whereas an EV which is already 40% down in these cold temperatures will have to use a lot of battery power just to maintain a survivable environment- just what the range will be I don't know but it will be impaired. I cannot imagine fuel consumption increasing during a cold snap unless road conditions prevent the vehicle from reaching an efficient speed/gear ratio. Cold dense air generally improves the efficiency of an ice.

10

Technology / Re: Does cold weather damage the batteries used in an EV?

« on: 12/01/2025 16:39:36 »

The Ford Pinto, a petrol(gasoline) car was prone to self cremation, as far as I remember.

11

Technology / Re: Does cold weather damage the batteries used in an EV?

« on: 12/01/2025 09:46:44 »

Hi ES, I have never worked with battery tech and apart from a primitive understanding of how batteries work I find I have little to add. The ever increasing stored energy in these batteries and the potential for sudden release of this energy does alarm me- I raised this concern before to mixed replies. I am sure you have seen some of the fires involving lithium batteries.

12

Just Chat! / Re: Is there a universal moral standard?

« on: 11/01/2025 20:53:01 »

If you decrease the efficiency of a diesel engine with the criterion of reduced nox then the downside is increased co2 and particulates in the exhaust and increased fuel consumption, for a given amount of work. I don't know which is worse, nox or these sooty nanoparticulates which seem to be implicated in a lot of health problems. You just can't win

13

New Theories / Re: what is temperature?

« on: 10/01/2025 16:51:26 »

Glass does not have an mp as such, it progressively softens as the temperature rises. Glass behaves as a supercooled liquid rather than a solid.

14

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Is Aspartame Safe And Healthy To Eat?

« on: 09/01/2025 14:30:06 »

This is a common misconception beloved of by the "alternative" health brigade. Methanol itself is not toxic but it's metabolites, formaldehyde and formic acid are. We are exposed to methanol on a daily basis through fruit juices, various foods and fermented drinks to a far greater extent than that which comes from the hydrolysis of aspartame. I should point out here that I am talking about reasonable use- consuming hundreds of grams of aspartame per day would likely have toxic implications. Small quantities of formaldehyde/formic acid will combine with folate and add to the body's one carbon transfer system. Formaldehyde and formic acid are bulk poisons, requiring a threshold level to be hazardous, as opposed to trace poisons, the latter being hazardous at any concentration.  Personally I would consider aspartame to be preferable to some of the other sweeteners, saccharin, acesulfame and sucralose as these are synthetic substances which may have long term health implications while aspartame is a peptide ester.     

15

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Acclimating to temperature: how do we get used to the temperature?

« on: 09/01/2025 14:08:39 »

Or K?

16

Just Chat! / Re: Is there a universal moral standard?

« on: 09/01/2025 14:05:00 »

A couple of days ago in the southern counties of Ireland where the weather had been particularly severe there were reports of commuters stuck in their cars for up to four hours. I think this will have changed minds on the practicality of electric cars as keeping the heating on will see one's range anxiety grow with each passing minute.

17

New Theories / Re: Where does quantization of energy of electromagnetic radiation come from?

« on: 08/01/2025 12:18:59 »

The near field 1/r squared and 1/r cubed fields are induced magnetic and electric fields that are not transmission in the accepted idiom, ie em radiation.

18

New Theories / Re: Where does quantization of energy of electromagnetic radiation come from?

« on: 08/01/2025 10:10:55 »

You did ask could such a low frequency be TRANSMITTED. That to me means the far field 1/r component. As an aerial(antenna) becomes electrically short it becomes harder to transmit energy efficiently as the radiation resistance falls and a capacitive reactive component becomes a real problem for impedance matching. Some submarine low frequency transmitters can have an output of 100Kw yet only manage an erp of 1Kw due to the inefficiency of a short aerial(antenna).

19

New Theories / Re: Where does quantization of energy of electromagnetic radiation come from?

« on: 07/01/2025 18:21:02 »

You would need a rather long aerial(antenna), about 300000000000000000m long to get efficient radiation(dipole) and with that length conductivity would be a problem. That would give a radiation resistance of ~70ohms.

20

General Science / Re: Can Human Consciousness Be Uploaded?

« on: 06/01/2025 14:12:39 »

The basic problem with all these speculations is, as Alan and I have said, that consciousness is an inscrutable concept. Until one comes up with a definition that can be widely acceptable it is pointless talking about uploading that which is entirely a subjective phenomenon. Consciousness is so different from tangible everyday ideas that I doubt we even have the necessary language to define it in any useful manner.