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Physiology & Medicine / Why do medics persist in talking of "blood thinners"?

« on: 07/08/2022 16:37:24 »

Anticoagulant  therapy reduces the chance of blood clot formation and does not result in "blood thinning". Yet this spurious description seems to be almost universally used. Actual blood thinning just might have some value in conditions like polycythaemia vera but otherwise it would have a negative effect on oxygen bearing ability which could be disastrous for a compromised patient.

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Just Chat! / alancalverd, hope you recover quickly

« on: 31/07/2022 22:43:14 »

The title says it all. My infection seemed to recede after about two weeks at which time my wife became ill and tested positive. A few days later(last tues) mine returned with a vengeance. It was about the roughest I have ever felt, I sincerely hope your's does not emulate mine.

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Physiology & Medicine / How are lectins absorbed without degradation?

« on: 23/07/2022 06:31:17 »

On a different thread the subject of protein absorption arose and it got me thinking about the toxic lectins abrin and ricin which are obviously able to bypass degradation, at least to some extent. The mycotoxin amanitin is a cyclic peptide with some unusual constituents and I can understand this being able to dodge digestive enzymes but the lectins are regular proteins. Is it due to unusual amino acid sequences, given that proteases tend to be specific about cleavage sites?

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Chemistry / Why does austenitic stainless steel fail to burn?

« on: 10/07/2022 12:13:12 »

If one wants to cut regular grades of stainless steel options are limited, in comparison with carbon steels. A grinder will eventually do the job by abrading rather than burning. An oxy/acetylene torch is virtually useless. I don't know if the same applies to ferritic and martensitic stainless steels.

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Why can't i understand the andromeda paradox?

« on: 05/07/2022 12:30:50 »

Recently "eternal student" made reference to the "Andromeda paradox". I don't get it, maybe i'm too thick or passed my sell by date! Two observers speculate on a distant(spatially+temporally) event with contradictory opinions, lets call them A and B. A could be correct with B incorrect or B could be correct with A incorrect. There will always be uncertainty about future events-what am I missing?

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Just Chat! / The coronation of "eternal student", why was i not invited?

« on: 05/07/2022 10:13:00 »

I just noticed this morning that "eternal student" has been crowned with the regal title "naked science forum king", a most auspicious honour that he(she) did not desire. Regardless of that, why did I not receive an invitation to the coronation ceremony and the subsequent food and drink debauch?

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Just Chat! / What is the value of spam?

« on: 04/07/2022 14:18:33 »

What is the value of spam, either to the spammers or the spamees?. It seems to be arising at a disconcerting frequency, thankfully with a short shelf life. As for myself, being largely vegan, it has no appeal.

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Chemistry / Is sodium azide hygroscopic or deliquescent?

« on: 27/06/2022 11:09:18 »

I purchased 500gr of sodium azide(£80 at the time-ouch!) about 45years ago and have used only about 10gr in that time. I have always kept it well sealed and safely stored but I still worry about moisture ingress and possible hydrolysis with it's age. I have never detected any aroma on opening the container(hn3 smells really bad). A lot of sodium salts are hygroscopic or even deliquescent, certainly compared to their potassium counterparts.      Very late edit: I have looked extensively myself for this info myself, in vain.

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Why is inflation needed in the bbt?

« on: 24/06/2022 13:25:29 »

I am curious to understand the need for inflation in the big bang theory. I have in the past heard a dissertation on the subject but it seemed rather vague to me and I can't remember any of it.

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Just Chat! / would it be a good idea to truncate endless pointless arguments?

« on: 21/06/2022 15:41:24 »

Without mentioning any names, some poster's questions, having been answered in exquisite detail, are repeated again and again and this goes page after page. I don't know if this is a lack of comprehension or deliberate trolling. I am of the opinion that these threads are of very limited value and are annoying to read through(in case there might be some gem of wisdom buried within). Should a thread that is going in endless loops with no hope of progress be terminated? looking for opinions.









 

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That CAN'T be true! / can deuterium depleted water improve health?

« on: 14/06/2022 15:55:46 »

This particular scam seems to be a recent occurrence. High concentrations of deuterium are harmful, the amount in regular water is insignificant. I have even seen one site offering super expensive "deuterium depleted water" with the claims (1) that it promotes longevity with an implication that deuterium is responsible for the ageing process and (2) that the absence of deuterium protects one's dna from the radiation that it would otherwise be exposed to!! My guess is they are selling tap water fraudulently.

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Just Chat! / how can intelligent people be trump supporters?

« on: 13/06/2022 15:25:35 »

A recent comment by alancalverd on this subforum triggered this question. It is beyond my comprehension how anyone with more than a hint of grey matter could support this goon. It is blatantly obvious that he is an inveterate liar, a narcissist, a positive danger to democracy and an utterly selfish man of quite low intelligence.

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / how do you differentiate between members of p. oxytona?

« on: 11/06/2022 10:44:27 »

I am looking for definitive differentiation of the morphology of papaver bracteatum, papaver orientale and papaver pseudo-orientale on a flowering specimen. I do realise this may not be possible.

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That CAN'T be true! / hydrinos!

« on: 10/06/2022 21:07:04 »

Randall mills claims he can lower the ground state 1s electron of a hydrogen atom to a lower level producing energy in the process(gasp!!). The new entity he calls a "hydrino". Lots of crazy claims crop up on a regular basis but this has been going on for 30 years and has been funded to ~$100000000. Commercialisation is always one year away(jam tomorrow, but not today).I am lost for words, how can people be so stupid?     Mods: mills is apparently litigious and if there is any worries about this post, feel free to scrub it. 

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Chemistry / What is the odour of charging la batteries?

« on: 10/06/2022 18:19:25 »

When working in the vicinity of large lead acid batteries on charge i have often noticed an unpleasant aroma, difficult to describe but not any sulphur compound I know of. I am wondering could this be stibine(sbh3) produced by cathodic reduction.

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Just Chat! / quick question on being timed out

« on: 09/06/2022 12:43:46 »

I have lost several posts due to being timed out by the time I submit it. Is there any way back after being told "you are not allowed etc  please log in" without retyping the whole thing?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / What are the properties of space?

« on: 09/06/2022 11:35:08 »

What are the properties of space? I can only think of two, C(itself a composite of permeability and permittivity) and G. In thermodynamics two independent properties can define a system(in equilibrium), is there any correlations here. Right, this is wooly thinking, no doubt about it. However I have often been asked an utterly stupid question and in the process of untangling what the other person actually wanted to know I have learned a new perspective on the matter in question. Any ideas?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / What is the mechanism of Hawking radiation?

« on: 08/06/2022 12:10:40 »

In hawking radiation, virtual particle pairs separate with positive mass/energy particles emanating into space and their partner particles falling into the black hole neutralising a fraction of the  black hole's mass/ energy . What is the nature of the "negative" particle? Also why should only one species of the particle pair fall into the black hole? I suspect there is not a simple explanation without going deep into quantum theory.

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Chemistry / Why is Armstrong's mixture so sensitive?

« on: 07/06/2022 13:10:24 »

Armstrong's mixture is an insanely sensitive explosive consisting of a roughly stoichiometric mix of red phosphorus and potassium chlorate. It can be triggered by a gentle tap and the mechanism behind such extreme sensitivity is a bit puzzling. I can understand highly sensitive molecular explosives such as nitrogen trichloride or ethyl perchlorate where bond weakness allows for low activation energy. Potassium chlorate needs about 300c to release oxygen. I wonder is it a case of embedded p4 molecules in the red phosphorus. Any ideas? PS I have never done this nor do I intend to-I find my hands to be useful.

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Just Chat! / appreciation

« on: 06/06/2022 15:46:40 »

 I often see an addendum to another person's post expressing thanks for their contribution. How does one do this?