1

Technology / Re: Has a hole-seeking golf ball been built?

« on: 15/10/2018 02:05:36 »

Just a thought, but couldn't you change the direction that a golf ball moves by having an internal mechanism that changes its center of gravity?

Redistributing the weight inside a non-spinning ball wouldn't change its flight path : no change in momentum.

If the ball was spinning in air, and you changed the center of gravity, that could change its trajectory  ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_effect

Ideally one would program the GPS coordinates of the golf course in, so one might be able to force it to change flight path slightly. 

I assume if one induced a right/left spin on the ball, one might be able to get the ball to curve ever so slightly.  Or, perhaps one could induce a slight amount of extra lift.

Assuming the ball has the basic outside shape unaltered, and no wings, then all changes in motion would have to be based on momentum, and location of the center of gravity. 

That means that your steering mechanism in the air and on the ground may be very different.  That could be problematic when your ball hits  the ground.  So, say using momentum, one had the core spinning clockwise at 500 rpm and the shell spinning counterclockwise at 500 rpm.  Suddenly when the ball hits the ground, that side-spin shoots the ball off to the side somewhere, and you'd have to regain control of the rotation of the ball before you could control it.

Now, if one could penetrate the surface, then in the air, tiny wings, water jets, or even air jets could do significant changes in motion and perhaps lift.

2

Technology / Re: Is higher education outdated in the age of the Internet?

« on: 20/07/2018 08:28:42 »

Facts have been available since printing was invented. Education isn't about learning facts, it's about learning how to use them.

Yep... 
Actually, it is about accumulating some facts, as well as learning how to apply those facts. 

Life will change in the future as huge databases of information are being built and at one's fingertips.  But, a person also has to be able to make connections between very different information. 

Think about basic physics, and the relationship between distance, velocity, and acceleration.  All the equations are there at one's fingertips, but it would be easy to get lost if one doesn't even know which questions to ask.  Integrals?  Derivatives?  Constants?  etc.

And, also knowing how to communicate between individuals is important.  I.E.  learning the language of the field of interest.  Again, the information is available, but one has to know how to look for it.

But, say writing a novel, or a research paper takes practice, and probably a fair amount of training too.

3

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Why do some lottery combinations seem impossible?

« on: 20/07/2018 07:59:31 »

An interesting thing about odds... 
Say there are 6 numbers from 1 to 50, no repeats.

Then if one summed the numbers:
N1+N2+N3+N4+N5+N6

The minimum sum would be: 1+2+3+4+5+6 = 21
The maximum sum would be: 50+49+48+47+46+45 = 285

The probably of each sum from 21 to 285 is NOT the same. 

There is only one way to get a sum of 21, and a sum of 285.
One way to get 22: 123457
Two ways to get 23: 123458 & 123467
Three ways to get 24: 123459 & 123468 & 123567

I assume the most common sum would be near the middle of the range, or about 153 which one could arrive out in a bunch of different ways.

4

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Is it possible to increase muscle mass by doing endurance training?

« on: 18/07/2018 23:03:48 »

I do a lot of cycling which is an aerobic exercise. 

Certainly one gets well formed leg muscles.  Bulk?  Hard to say. 

Perhaps the aerobic component is the key.  No sense in growing huge muscles when one can only provide oxygen to a small portion of the muscles. 

Thus, to some extent, one's aerobic muscular growth may be cardio-pulmonary limited. 

But, one may be able to improve one's cardio-pulmonary fitness with exercise.  Plus, the more time at one's aerobic threshold (or just beyond into anaerobic exercise), the more one would maximize the muscular response.

I'm not a fitness walker, but pushing that aerobic threshold may dictate what type of exercise one chooses.

5

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Why do some lottery combinations seem impossible?

« on: 18/07/2018 11:09:03 »

Own up has any correspondent to this forum ever bought a lottery ticket if so why ?

After a few weeks of losers, there is a point that the lottery frequently reaches where the expected payout is greater than the odds. 

So, say there is a 1 in 10 Million chance of winning, but an estimated $15 Million payout.  Then the cost/benefit becomes ambiguous. 

Of course, the odds of winning that $15 Million is still mighty slim.

The true payout is likely less due to taxes & fees, and perhaps accepting an annuity.  Nonetheless, it is a good starting point. 

6

New Theories / Re: Is a rose a rose?

« on: 18/07/2018 00:06:22 »

You might look at the fractal nature of the universe.

Say one takes the galaxy, and has thousands of stars orbiting a massive core. 

Then the next level of magnification, planets orbiting a star.

Then further magnification, moons orbiting the planets.

Perhaps further magnification would show circular storms and weather patterns on the planets.

& etc.  Down to protons and electrons, although as chiralSPO suggests, electron orbits are far more complex than the simple electron shell diagrams might suggest.

Of course, none of this is related to spectral line analysis, at least not in the sense we're used to talking about it.

Perhaps it would be better to just consider it as multiple levels of abstraction.

7

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Is it possible to increase muscle mass by doing endurance training?

« on: 17/07/2018 05:09:19 »

Can't say if you will start speaking with a slur and looking like Sylvester Stallone.

However, the more you exercise, the stronger you will get.

However, you need to incorporate medium and high intensity exercise, including the muscle groups you are interested in.

8

General Science / Re: VACCINES INTERVIEW

« on: 16/07/2018 21:55:34 »

There are some vaccines that cause disease at either a more mild form, or lower incidence rate than the wild disease. 

For example, OPV (one of the primary Polio vaccines) rarely will cause polio. 

However, since beginning a global eradication program, we've gone from about a half million (estimated) cases of polio down to 12 endemic wild type polio cases and 14 circulating vaccine derived polio cases this year.  Yep, a big chunk of the current cases are a result of the vaccine, but the total number of cases are only a tiny fraction of what we had pre-vaccination.

Other vaccines target specific side-effects of the disease.  HPV vaccines appear to be efficacious at preventing long-term development of cervical cancer. 

The Rubella vaccine has been effective at reducing disease associated pregnancy complications.  Obviously men don't get pregnant, but there are benefits of immunizing everyone and reducing the disease incidence in the population as a whole.

9

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Re: Is this Petrified Palmwood, Wood or Bone?

« on: 15/07/2018 21:17:19 »

To me, your photos look like a fibrous wood or husk, and not bone.

I wonder if a local university would be able to give you a better description, especially considering what would typically be found locally.

10

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Did a close encounter with a comet wipe out the dinosaurs?

« on: 15/07/2018 00:13:25 »

Aren't the annual meteor showers related to comet debris?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseids
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonids

Without extinction events. 

Yet, the density of the debris showers following a comet impact would be higher, as the nucleus would directly impact, the coma would hit a broader area, and the densest part of the tail would sweep across the planet.

Nonetheless, the major damage would be the impact of the comet nucleus, and the dust & debris stirred up by it.

11

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Did a close encounter with a comet wipe out the dinosaurs?

« on: 14/07/2018 18:06:19 »

I would think that an actual impact would be relatively quick...

WHAM

Although, I suppose the comet tail may end up sweeping across the earth for a while so there might be some non localized effects.  But, once the particle density drops, very little would impact the surface of the Earth.  I.E.  spectacular meteor showers burning up in the sky, but little impact on the ground.

The direction of impact may not be directly into the Earth, but more of a tangential impact, or perhaps a curve with the air slowing and fracturing the comet until the main parts fall to earth.  So, perhaps some non-localized effects.  But, the atmosphere is relatively thin, so there would be very few trajectories where it would deeply penetrate the atmosphere without skipping off or directly impacting.

12

General Science / Re: How do people allergic to H2O deal with their saliva as it is 99% water?

« on: 13/07/2018 16:24:06 »

I suppose there can also be psychosomatic responses. 

One might be able to do a blindfolded skin test to test for this.  Assuming the reactions are reasonably localized.

Cover the eyes, and drop a drop of water in one place, and a drop of oil another.  Saline?  Juice, etc?  Do they all illicit the same reaction?

13

General Science / Re: How do people allergic to H2O deal with their saliva as it is 99% water?

« on: 13/07/2018 16:15:56 »

The problem as you have noted is that your body is mostly water. 

So, blood is mostly water, cells are essentially tiny bags of water. Lymph, spinal fluid, etc...  all mostly water. 

So, H₂O can not be directly reactive.

The juices the people are drinking are also mostly water.  Even solid foods will have a certain moisture content.

Many topical skin care creams also have water int them.

Even air has humidity.  I.E.  WATER.

Sweating with exercise?

So, the question then is why one type of moisture would cause a problem, and another type would not. 

So, one option presented is that there is some unknown factor either on the skin that is activated/transported by the water, or something else in the water.  A mineral?  But, apparently the people have reactions to pure distilled water, so that would probably not be it.

Thus, the question about osmotic gradient.  Cells tend to have salt water inside and out.  Add pure water, and one can get bloating of the cells.

Even the salt water isn't uniform, so there tends to be more potassium inside the cells and more sodium outside, a gradient which is critical with neurons (and thus pain receptors).

Anyway, I'm thinking it isn't actually the water, but rather a change in homeostasis when water is added to the skin and membranes.

14

General Science / Re: How do people allergic to H2O deal with their saliva as it is 99% water?

« on: 13/07/2018 08:25:44 »

Odd...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquagenic_urticaria

It appears to be a "real" problem for some people.  As per Wikipedia, whether it is the water, something in the water, or something on the skin, nobody quite knows.

However, to answer the OP's question, there are several types of skin, from the thin skin covering most of the outside of our bodies, thick skin on our hands and feet, and various types of mucosa on the inside of our bodies.

It is quite possible that each type of skin would react differently.  So, for example, the woman might be able to walk on water, just touching the soles of her feet without a reaction, while getting the water on the arm would cause a reaction. 

Likewise, a reaction may occur on the external skin, but not on the internal mucosa. 

Drinking orange juice, but not water is odd, but it is possible that one couldn't drink pure water due to an osmotic gradient, but water+a buffer would be less of an irritant.  Unfortunately, one can't just drink salt water...  thus she is drinking a sugar water as an osmotic buffer.

of course, saliva, urine, & etc, are never quite pure.  But, it could be an issue to get it on the external skin, but not internally.

15

General Science / Re: How well are we built for sitting down?

« on: 11/07/2018 10:50:01 »

Hmmm...  can you drive/ride in a car for 100+ miles?

Sit in a lounge chair?

Perhaps you could describe what you find uncomfortable about your chair, and someone could give some suggestions for adjustments. 

Height and weight?  Other fit characteristics?

16

Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 18.02.11 - How does size affect death from falling?

« on: 30/06/2018 19:57:26 »

I have to wonder if there is also an evolutionary effect. 

So, for example, cats and squirrels climb trees...  and presumably occasionally fall out of trees.  Survival would be of great evolutionary benefit.

A dog (small dog?) doesn't naturally climb trees, and thus might not be expected to fare as well from a fall.

If the theory holds true, then one might expect animals such as mountain goats and mountain sheep to also fare reasonably well with falls.

Monkeys and related animals climbing trees?

17

Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Re: Where did the first virus come from?

« on: 30/06/2018 11:43:56 »

With the huge diversity of viruses, including DNA viruses and RNA viruses, it is quite possible that they evolved independently multiple times. 

Bacteria have a couple of methods for directly sharing DNA including direct environmental DNA sampling, as well as transferring looped DNA called Plasmids through a couple of methods. 

It is quite possible that some plasmids evolved into infectious baceriophages (viruses) by adding a protein shell, and better ways to inject genetic material.

18

Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Re: How many cells do bacteria contain?

« on: 30/06/2018 10:55:28 »

While a bacterium is a single cell, I believe some of them form colonies with some organization, and cellular adhesion. 

19

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: How do Hydraulics work?

« on: 12/06/2018 20:20:28 »

Note a hydraulic pump would have a very small cylinder that pumps a lot of times. 

So, say a pump has a cylinder that is 1/4" x 1/4", or abut 1/16 square inches. 

Then if it can generate 100 pounds force, it can generate 1,600 PSI.

20

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: How do Hydraulics work?

« on: 12/06/2018 16:54:28 »

Perhaps you could think of hydraulics as a Liquid Lever. 

Say you have 3 hydraulic cylinders.

Master: 1 square inch area cross section.
Slave-A: 1/2 square inch cross section
Slave-B: 2 square inch cross section.

Apply a 100 pound force to the Master (100 PSI), and you'll get a 50 pound force at Slave-A (100 PSI for 1/2 square inch), and a 200 pound force at Slave-B (100 PSI for 2 square inches).

Move the Master 1 foot, and Slave-A will move 2 feet.
Move the Master 1 foot, and Slave-B will move 1/2 foot.

This would be essentially the same if you had a lever with Master at say 10 feet from the fulcrum, and Slave A at 20 feet from the fulcrum, and Slave B at 5 feet from the fulcrum.