1

Physiology & Medicine / Are face masks actually beneficial?

« on: 14/05/2019 16:21:51 »

Nia has a question about skin care

Are face masks actually beneficial?

Can anybody help clear this one up?

2

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / What is this sparkly rock that contains golden flecks?

« on: 14/05/2019 16:08:04 »

Laurie needs some help with a rock

My husband has found a big rock that was buried in the ground. We saw gold sparkles in this beautiful rock...a piece broke off so we were able to see it better. My assessment is that it may be white quartz not totally convinced but looks like flecks of gold....fools gold?

Can anybody break this one down for them?

3

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Could dark matter be slow photons?

« on: 14/05/2019 16:00:48 »

Izak has a great question:

Could dark matter simply be light photons either moving very slow or stationary? This would account for the gravity needed to keep things together and causing the expansion. If gravity can cause light to bend, surely over the billions of years light travels it can be slowed down.

Can anybody help illuminate things?

4

Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Composting toilets?

« on: 13/05/2019 16:04:36 »

Paul has a question about composting toilets:

I was thinking of composting toilets as a way of reducing water consumption, but I am not sure how they work and there are other concerns. If a tenant who is on drugs (legal or illegal) uses a  composting toilet, I am worried that his or her drugs may not  be broken down and when applied to a garden might have a deleterious effect on plants or those who ate them.

Can anybody break this one down?

5

Technology / Waste energy harvesting

« on: 13/05/2019 16:01:38 »

Ahmed has a question about thermo-electric generators:

How can the TEG transfer the waste heat to electrical energy ?

Can anybody help?

6

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Communications based on entanglement?

« on: 13/05/2019 15:59:09 »

Dalton has a question about quantum entanglement

Why aren't we looking for advanced communication systems that employ entangled particles and don't suffer from the inverse square law? It has to be nearly impossible to filter out the background noise in RF, whereas it could be very possible to generate wave lengths of light that are not part of a solar spectra and easily separated from the ambient light generated and scattered throughout space (prisms and diffraction grating)

Can any help untangle this one?

7

Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Where do birds sleep?

« on: 03/05/2019 16:48:34 »

Naked Scientists Katie has a question:

Where do birds head to at night for sleeping? I've never seen a bunch of birds snoozing in a tree!
Do city birds make use of urban structures for roosting in?

Can anybody help her out?

8

Just Chat! / Why are we putting so much effort into looking for intelligent life?

« on: 26/04/2019 15:38:58 »

Geoff has a bit of a stumper:

Why are we putting so much effort into looking for intelligent life on other planets when we can't find it on Earth?

I'll admit I'm scratching my head on this one...any thoughts?

9

Technology / What could make a coffee table explode?

« on: 18/04/2019 09:20:43 »

Charles has an explosive question:

Good day, a freakish thing happened today when a glass coffee table in our office about 1 m sq x 15 mm thick exploded with a terrific loud bang. It exploded outwards we have realized as there was a delicate hour glass on the table which just dropped to the floor and is still intact. Can you possibly explain why this happened?

Anybody got a guess?

10

Physiology & Medicine / Which cells survive best without oxygen?

« on: 18/04/2019 09:06:18 »

Donald has a slightly morbid question:

I understand braincells are amongst the first to die without oxygen. What are the last to die? And how long till they lose their membrane potential? Room temperature, natural death, no drugs or alcohol. I suspect it determines tissue/organ donation potential.

Can anybody help out?

11

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Why are there different sizes of stars?

« on: 16/04/2019 15:51:39 »

George has a stellar question:

My question relates to the varying sizes of stars: If it takes a certain amount of matter, compressed to a certain pressure to have a start begin fusion/burning, why are there different sizes of stars? Wouldn’t the process always start when the same amount of mass is present?

Can anybody help?

12

Technology / Were Spiders Nature's First Engineers?

« on: 16/04/2019 15:47:21 »

David has a creepy-crawley question:

Were Spiders natures first Engineers - Being able to construct complex webs?

Can anybody spin up an answer?

13

Technology / Where is the sweet spot on a baseball bat?

« on: 15/04/2019 14:27:43 »

Ethan has a question about sporting goods?

Where is the sweet spot on a baseball bat

Won't anyone be a sport and help him out?

14

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Do magnetic fields effect the flow of time?

« on: 15/04/2019 14:25:52 »

David has a timely question:

Within the boundaries of a Magnetic Field (say if you were positioned on top of the magnetic north pole) would time increase or decrease or remain the same?

Can anybody help?

15

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / How do we measure the circumference of a black hole?

« on: 12/04/2019 10:10:10 »

Michael is in the dark about this one:

I understand we can measure the circumference of a black holes event horizon, but as the singularity bends space, can we accurately measure the diameter? Does the hole's circumference and diameter bear the same ration as other physical 'spheres'?

Can anybody help shine some light on it?

16

Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Are bees harmful to humans?

« on: 12/04/2019 10:02:26 »

Abby's question is sure to get a bit of a buzz going:

Are bees harmful to humans?

Does anyone have an intere-STING response?

17

Physiology & Medicine / Why do optometrists dilate our eyes then do the exam?

« on: 05/04/2019 16:05:03 »

Jon has a question:

Why do optometrists dilate our eyes then do the exam? When they dilate my eyes I cannot see hardly anything...how is that a good time to determine what prescription one would need? Seems like it would be better to do the eye exam as our eyes are in a normal state when we walk in from the street.

Can anybody help Jon see clearly on this one?

18

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Why do neutrons weigh more than protons?

« on: 05/04/2019 15:57:49 »

Jeff has three partic-ularly puzzling problems:

1) I would expect protons to have greater mass than neutrons, because protons have a positive charge, which should involve mass to confer the charge, and neutrons have none.  Why do neutrons then have greater mass?

2) The speed of light is always given "in a vacuum".  Why that qualification?  What causes light to move at a slower speed when passing through matter?  Don't the photons mostly pass through empty space between nuclei and electron rings?  Is light actually slower, or just bouncing around until it's absorbed?

3) What happens to the electrons that are stripped off atoms in order to make a plasma?  Where do they go?

Has anyone got the answers?

19

Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Do all birds hop?

« on: 05/04/2019 15:52:41 »

Paul has an avian inquiry:

Of all the different bird species in the world what percentage hop vs those that walk

Can anybody help?

20

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / How far can we see in space?

« on: 04/04/2019 12:02:29 »

Joy has an astronomical question:

With the technology that we currently have, would we be able to detect ourselves if we were on a planet a thousand light years away???

Does anyone have any insight?