[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Dc] what is Batmans opinion on the death penalty?

I know he doesnt kill but he also doesnt have much hope for the law system seeing as he dresses as a giant bat and fights crime. But what is his opinion on the death penalty?

[Assistant]
The no-kill rule doesn't even apply to all sentient beings.

He has and would kill parademons, vampires, werewolves, etc...

He doesn't kill humans partly because he doesn't want to spiral into the Punisher, but also because he believes that he can pretty much handle any human opponent, even if it pushes him to his limits sometimes. But if it was someone like Darkseid, Batman would preemptively kill him if he could.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[LOTR] Who actually protects the Shire?

Like I mean, there does not seem to be any army, fortifications or police force present in the Shire.  I mean, its pretty evident that there are a lot of threats in Middle Earth, from Goblins, Orcs and Trolls to bandits, and human armies.  I mean, the Nazgul, who pretty clearly had ill intentions, literally just strolled in.

Despite all this, the Shire seems incredibly peaceful.  How does this work?

[Assistant]
You could say the Shire has three layers of defences that have allowed it to remain peaceful despite all of the other problems that Middle-earth experieces.

The first and foremost layer of defence is the Shire's location, as well as the nature of its inhabitants. The Shire is small, and far from any of the major conflicts of Middle-earth. Along with that, Hobbits are pretty insular, so they usually don't leave the Shire, nor does anyone (apart from the occasional Elves or Dwarves) enter the Shire. As a result, most people don't even actually know where the Shire is. When Sauron and the Nazgul were told that the One Ring was in the Shire, they didn't even know where to look. They searched through Rohan and even the Vales of Anduin, and the only reason they ended up finding the Shire was because they came across Grima Wormtongue, who gave away the location. So if Sauron and the Nazgul don't even know where the Shire is, chances are most other evil folk don't know either. Can't invade a place if you don't know about it.

The second, and probably the most practical layer of defence is the Dunedain (the Rangers of the North). They've been protecting the Shire (as well as places like Bree) ever since the fall of Arnor, and have likely turned away most of the threats that the Shire may have faced. Considering the Shire's prosperity, they're usually very effective, but not infallible. Orcs and Wolves have managed to make it into the Shire at certain points, and the Nazgul would break through the Rangers' defences at Sarn Ford in the prelude to the War of the Ring. Saruman's success in eventually taking the Shire is largely due to many of the Rangers being tied up by other issues.

The third layer of defence is the Bounders, the Shire's "police force". They wouldn't be able to stand up to a proper invasion, but they're brave, and certainly aren't pushovers. About 250 years before the War of the Ring, a warband of Orcs were defeated by the Hobbits led by Bandobras Took in the Battle of Greenfields. The Bounders ended up being pretty ineffective when Saruman took control, but a large part of that was due to internal betrayal by Lotho Sackville-Baggins.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Is using mouthwash products such as Listerine actually beneficial to your gums? Are there any adverse effects?

I was googling this and there were a lot of articles arguing both ways, some saying that it kills the bad bacteria but also killing the good bacteria as well.

Other articles were saying how it actually contributes to making bad breath even worse, also damaging your tooth enamel.

[Assistant]
Dental student reporting in:  what I've been taught is that most mouthwashes don't do very much aside from making your breath smell nice.  One important exception is Peridex (chlorhexidine) which is the last resort stuff prescribed by dentists when patients really need to have better hygiene and nothing else is reliable.  Also, Peridex turns teeth brown.  Mouthwashes with fluoride have been shown to have some beneficial effects for remineralizing very small cavities (ACT brand has fluoride in it).  Alcohol containing mouthwashes are kinda iffy in that alcohol can contribute to oral cancer (alcohol works synergistically with smoke).  Specifically in terms of benefits for your gums: regular flossing, mild stimulation with a brush, and a cleaning every few months are more than adequate solutions to gum disease.

Sources: Mouthrinses for the treatment of halitosis
Zbys Fedorowicz, Hamad Aljufairi, Mona Nasser, Trent L Outhouse, Vincius Pedrazzi
Editorial Group: Cochrane Oral Health Group

Fluoride mouthrinses for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents
Valeria CC Marinho, Julian PT Higgins, Stuart Logan, Aubrey Sheiham
Editorial Group: Cochrane Oral Health Group

Tl;dr: Mouthwash does not appear to really help your gums that much and alcohol containing mouthwashes like most types made by Listerine appear to have adverse effects.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Marvel] What was the message that The Sentry left for Reed Richards in his diary?

Did we ever find out?

[Assistant]
Wasn't it just a bunch of references to a hero that didn't exist, but yet did? He was able to manipulate a comic book being made of himself. He could quite possibly be the strongest telepath the world has ever seen.

But to answer your question more directly, he asked to be put in the vault. That peaked Ricgards' interest.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Bionicle G1] What did the inhabitants of Ta-Metru do with all the masks they made?

Ta-Metru is described as being a district of forging and building, and one of the things they made was kanohi. But apparently they made Great and Noble Kanohi in addition to the powerless masks the Matoran wore. So since Matoran can't use kanohi with power, what did Ta-Metru do with so many masks that the population of Metru Nui couldn't use, and why did they keep making them?

[Assistant] Back then, there were a lot more Turaga and Toa. You only see Lhikan because there was actually a secret extermination campaign against the Toa during that time. During the heyday of the Toa, plenty of Great masks would be sent to Toa teams all over Mata Nui's body.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [The Boys] If Homelander was transported to the DC universe how long will it take for someone to notice the fucked up shit hes doing and stop him?

[Assistant]
Pretty much instantly. Homelander is only the monster he is because of vought covered for him for so long until he learned how to hide his perversions himself. Him popping up in DC Batman and Amanda Waller would be watching him like a hawk. First instant he steps outta line he would be smacked down hard. And he's weaker than superman so he would easily be taken out. But Homelander is pretty intelligent so he would most likely end up hooking up with lex Luthor or some other powerful individual to find his footing in the world while having resources to protect himself.

And small caveat there's a difference between the tv show version of Homelander and the comics version. Comics version has a god complex and is homicidal but not to the extent that people like butcher consider him to be since there's a major spoiler about all the infanticide and rapes committed. Tv show version seems to have the spoiler parts incorporated into him already with season 2 promising to explain his methods more with the exception of rape and infanticide removed.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [SW] Yoda remarks that arrogance is a trait more and more common among Jedi. What other notable Jedi were as arrogant as Anakin?

[Assistant]
**Plenty**

While Anakin's arrogance is obvious, given his high opinion of himself, there are more subtle examples all over the Jedi Order.

From Mace Windu basically making every important decision on the Jedi council himself over Qui Gon dismissing the Gungans because of one annoying member to their general attitude towards those they have sworn to protect.

Just think about how most Jedi treat people outside the order, they come into the room and instantly demand respect and authority without you being allowed to ask why.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
I'm a beekeeper, and recently saw the damage a bear did to a friend's hive. How are bears THAT tough?

A human, even one with clothing covering most of their body (face and hands exposed, for example) would get seriously messed up just opening a grumpy hive--it's well within the realm of possibility they'd even be killed. How can a bear rip a box of 30,000 angry bees to shreds and then have a leisurely snack on honey and larvae amongst the homicidal swarm without their eyes and nose *at least* getting absolutely destroyed? Are humans just hyper-sensitive to bee venom? I've heard that even veteran beekeepers who never wear gloves and shrug off daily stings with complete ambivalence are occasionally hospitalized when they get cocky and make a bad mistake.

[Assistant] As anecdotal evidence (the best kind), I've seen a bear get shot three times within a few seconds. After the first shot it started paying attention. After the second shot it got mad. After the third shot it got scared and ran off over a hill.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Honey I Shrunk The Kids] It's been 30 years since the discovery of size-altering technology. What does the world look like now?

30 years ago Wayne Szalinski discovered that his prototype shrink ray was viable. A few years later, and after some extensive R&D and an incident in Las Vegas, the world learns of size-altering tech. What has happened since?

[Assistant]
See the based-on-a-true-story movie "Downsizing" for an overview.

Basically, the technology doesn't come to market until much, much later, and other factors end up taking precedence over this otherwise world-changing technology.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] How much mixing is there between layers of the Earth? Is a molecule 4,000 km down ever going to reach the surface?

[Assistant] Almost certainly not. The amount of material brought to the surface by volcanic activity and plate separation is minuscule compared to the volume of the material in those layers. Short of a huge collision with something like the moon, that molecule is unlikely to see the light of day before our core stops churning.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
CMV: Religion should have stricter boundaries or regulation

A little about me, I grew up in a very Evangelical home in Texas. My mom and pretty much everyone around me was on the far right. Democrats were effectively in league with the devil and pretty much anything that wasn't explicitly Christian was of the devil. In 2004, pastors told us you were not a strong Christian if you didn't vote for Bush. I would like to include that this wasn't a small cult meeting in a strip mall. When I left the church, it was at about 12,000 members (I think it's north of 20,000 now). Southern Baptists in Texas are pretty fucking bizarre.

I went to private schools most of my life, not because the education was better but because they didn't teach you about things like sex and evolution. I left the religion and see myself as an agnostic atheist. I don't know that I can say with 100% certainty that there isn't some kind of higher power out there or what the nature of it is. However, I believe all religions on Earth are man-made and not divine in the least.

I just wanted to set the stage on where I am coming from. So I fully believe in the freedom of religion and believe that people should be free to practice. That being said, I feel that in the USA, we tend to give carte blanche to religions, especially Christianity. They are allowed to act in misinformation campaigns to prop up their religion.

For example, they are against pre-marital sex. One common tactic they use is to lie about biology. They may tell you that you can only get an STI if you have sex outside of marriage and God will protect those who have sex with only their spouse. While technically true (if both you and your partner have only ever had sex with each other, chances of having an STI is slim) it is built on the idea that you are guaranteed to get an STI if you have sex. They even tell you that condoms don't work and safe sex is a myth where medical science wholly disagrees. The key is to have a realistic discussion around sex and proper contraceptive use but instead, abstinence only is their approach backed up by fear tactics.

Let's talk a bit about televangelists. I don't see how they are any different than any other scam. "Give me your last dollar and you'll receive ten times the blessing." If you don't get the blessing, well it's just not your time. Keep the faith and keep sending me money.

Let's also talk about how they prey on people with mental health issues. Many televangelists and pastors talk about demons as if they are real things and they pose a real threat. If you are a sane human being, you will likely say "what the hell is this dude talking about?" I do think they prey on people with some form (if not mild) of psychosis. These people should get some kind of assistance to improve their life and not be preyed upon. The church has had a terrible history with mental health. While they are SLOWLY changing their tune, many pastors will tell you that therapy is a waste of money, get your heart right with God (things I was literally told growing up).

Gay conversion therapy. Now this one is different as many states are finally stepping up but many are not. We are allowed to essentially torture people because they don't fit a religious definition of acceptable. Medical exemptions such as those with blood transfusions and vaccines. these effect lives. These are just a few examples of the stuff we allow religion to get away with.

Now while this is a can of worms, I fully believe that there should be a line (or set of lines) that religion can't cross without legal repercussion. Basically when the religion can cause public or self harm, you should get in trouble. While it won't completely stop the problem, it will discourage con-artist pastors from engaging in misinformation campaigns and otherwise harming vulnerable people. It is fine to believe in Jesus or whoever and components of teachings but using the religion as a way to harm people is wrong.

[Assistant]
Tax exempt status should not be determined by what anyone in the church **says** (this is debatable, and the whole bringing politics to the pulpit is another matter). Primarily though, it should be dependent on what they **do** with the tithing.

Other secular non profit organizations can get the same tax exempt status that churches do.

The difference is that non religious groups must open up their financial books to review by the IRS in order to get that tax exempt status.

Religions, on the other hand, get a "free pass". It's assumed outright that because they are a religion, they are doing good. And so, churches do NOT need to open up their financial books to the IRS.

That is what needs to change. If the churches want that tax exemption, demonstrate that they are actually doing good with the money. This would go a long way to weeding out the televangelists and the mega church pastors who collect tithes that go towards the "pastors" 2nd yacht, instead of going to help people, like it should. If the church actually is doing good with their income, fine, they can keep their tax exemption. We just need to level the playing field and eliminate these little "perks" that religious groups get without question.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Spiderman] How would Jameson react if Spiderman got killed off, only for him to realize Spiderman was also his star photographer?

I'm sure this would depend on the version since sometimes he just hates spidey and in other universes he actively tries to get him killed, and also depends on how much he actually likes Peter as more than a source of photos.

Still, I have a hard time believing that JJ wouldn't bat an eye at the kid who worked for him biting the dust while fighting some supervillain.

[Assistant]
J. Jonah Jameson has canonically learned Spider-Man's secret identity twice. The first time was when Peter revealed his secret identity to the world during Civil War. Jameson is furious at this. He believes that his relationship with Peter was a lie and that he worked at the Bugle as part of a sick game. Jameson felt humiliated and would have sued Peter for every penny he is worth. This was all undone in the One More Day retcon, and Jameson learned Spider-Man's secret identity in recent issues of Spectacular Spider-Man. This was after the death of his wife Marla and the loss of his father Jay, who had married May Parker, making Jameson and Peter brothers-in-law. Jameson at this point was a broken man, and Peter in a somewhat foolish gesture of goodwill after heated argument with Jameson as Spider-Man, revealed his secret identity. Jameson was enthusiastic this time and has since attempted to be Spider-Man's sidekick.

So how Jameson would react would depend entirely on the when and how Spider-Man died. He could see him as a hero or menace.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: do workout supplements (such as pre-workout that claims to increase the ability of your blood to deliver oxygen to muscles) actually work, and if so what actually happens to your body?

[Assistant] Somewhat. They work by increasing levels of nitric oxide in the body, which regulates blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels. You can't supplement nitric oxide directly, but two amino acids, L-arginine and L-citrulline, cause the body to produce it. While L-arginine is a popular product, it is poorly absorbed by the body, so L-citrulline is the better choice of the two.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Marvel] How can Quicksilver ever be beaten by anything less than a speedster/ reality warper?

No matter who he fights they should never be able to touch him since he perceives Everything so slowly time is almost still. How does he get beat?

[Assistant]
Stamina. Dude gets tired.

Someone like Thanos or the Hulk has nothing to fear from his attacks.

He often is used for the greater good, in a team context. Huge debris flying towards an occupied building -- he's the only one who can save the occupants in time. When he's done, he's very nearly overextended himself.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] What is a physical task that humans are really good at compared to other animals?

[Assistant] Throwing. A human can pick up an object with an arbitrary complex shape and hit a small target at huge ranges, often killing something large with a single projectile. There are other animals like chameleons or those fish that spit water on insects with comparable aim, but those don't have nearly the same flexibility.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[MARVEL] Do people just call both Peter and Miles Spider-man?

This is something I have wondered for a while because while I have read a lot of Spider-man comics (both Miles and Peter) and some Spider-verse stuff, I don't think I have ever read any of the more recent stuff where both of them exist normally in the same universe.

Are they both just Spider-man to the public? How do people in-universe make the distinction?

[Assistant]
As far as I've gathered, yes, for the public they're both just Spider-Man.

Kinda funny in hindsight, but Peter and Miles actually rarely seen together, so there's no real issue for the public to confuse them, and most of the Spider-family knows each other identities, so they often just call each other by names in supposedly private conversation.

I think only in animated shows Miles tried to get another hero name - mostly in Ultimate Spider-Man. In the movie he still was just Spider-Man, since his universe Spider-Man  died, and Marvel's Spider-man kinda sidelined the whole team a lot, so he never really even got called "Spider-Man".


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Avengers] How was Ironman able to survive underwater in the suit but not in space?

If he could breath underwater, why couldn't he breath when he brought the missile through the portal?

[Assistant]
His suit ran out of power which caused the life support system to fail.

When Fury calls him, he tells Jarvis to save what power he has left 'for the turn' (in other words, turning the missile upwards towards the portal). He then rides the missile in to the portal.

Although, you would think, he would have a few minutes of air in the helmet, the loss of power may also have affected his heart. Though the suit isn't powered by the arc reactor in his chest, he may have risked his own life further by diverting power from it to ensure the missile safely made it through the portal.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Subnet masks. I just don't get it.

[Assistant]
Imagine you send lots of letters between yourself and others around the apartment block, your city and the world. Your address could look like:
World.UK.London.120 Fleet Street.156

Let's say the postman is *really* lazy and doesn't want to waste time reading your full address every time; He suggests using a subnet mask. If you wanted to send a letter to someone else in your apartment you'd send to the address:  ...298. The postman assumes it's the same country, city, etc and delivers it to room 298 in the same apartment block.

If you had to send a letter outside your apartment block, you'd send the letter to the full address. World.UK.Manchester.1 Deansgate.1A and the postie would know to route it outside the apartment block.

Imagine sending millions of parcels every minute, using subnet masks can relieve traffic load and congestion :)


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Why didn't bees evolve a defense mechanism like wasps so that they don't die when they sting?

[Assistant]
Most bees don't die. It's only honey bees that die.

The reason it hasn't been selected out by natural selection is because the bees that die are female worker bees, whose job is to collect nectar. They are not involved in reproduction - therefore, even if their own genes made it possible for them to survive, they'd never get passed on to another generation.

Solitary bees, which are involved in reproduction and, unlike honey bee queens, don't spend most of their time inside the nest, *are* capable of stinging without dying.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: How does the scissor glide when you cut a paper and why does it glide only after youve cut a little bit?

[Assistant]
**TL;DR:** *A loosely held paper edge has some thickness, so hits scissor blades with too many paper fibres at once and causes more of a crushing than cutting action; tight paper and scissors that are already traveling create lots-of-scissor-blade-edge-to-little-bit-of-fibre contact and replace that with clean, slicing force instead.*

*- - -*

Take a really close look at paper and you'll see that it's made up of closely interwoven fibres. Better paper has more and longer fibres, but most of it is a mesh of randomly stuck-together incredibly thin pieces of, well, wood. And it has a little thickness to it, not much, but a little.

So if you grab a pair of reasonably sharp scissors and put them at the edge of a piece of loosely held paper, there's not a very clean contact at that edge where the fibres of the paper move along the scissors' shearing edge to the point where they get cut. It's kind of like cutting steak by pressing your knife down on it instead of sawing; the meat gets squashed a little rather than severed because too many fibres in the meat are interacting with too little edge of your knife. Same with the paper because even though it's very thin, it still has SOME thickness to it. So it's hard to get your scissors and gliding motion started, and you end up with a crinkled little ripped area on your paper.

Two ways to fix this are to hold the paper taut, so there's a very clean contact between both the top and bottom fibres at the paper's edge and the two cutting surfaces of the scissors, or to make a small cut and have the scissors build up some velocity and then carry that through into a glide. Either way causes the fibres at the top and bottom of the paper sheet to travel ALONG the cutting blade surfaces of the scissors while preventing too many fibres from jamming against the cutting surfaces all at once.

Now you are getting LOTS of cutting surface handling a LITTLE bit of paper fibres at once, so they can slice rather than crush, and that's much much better for cutting. And then you get that satisfying *whi-i-i-i-ish* of the scissors travelling effortlessly in a perfect straight line, and the crowd goes wild!

P.S. this is also why scissors with a little damage to the blades really suck at glide-cutting. Even the tiniest of dents in the cutting surface becomes a place where lots of fibres can clog up, and suddenly you're ripping things worse than a competitive event at an all-you-can-eat chili buffet.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Avatar - TLA] How did Aang unblock the final chakra at the end of season 2 and still able to love Katara anyway?

In season 2 - The Guru episode, the guru tells aang that if he leaves to save Katara before unblocking his final chakra (which forces him to leave his earthly attachments and let go of Katara), he will never be able to access the avatar state.

However, when pressured in battle with zuko, azula, and the dai li, aang is able to unblock his chakra so easily. Doesnt this contradict what the guru said?

Furthermore, in season 3, we dont see any ramifications of this. His relationship with Katara is no different and it doesnt seem as if he let go of her at all.

Is there some plot hole about this or somehow I just missed a crucial detail?

[Assistant] I don't think he had to stop loving her, but to unblock the chakra he had to stop obsessing/worrying about her. If something would have to happen to her, that would be sad, but he had to remain calm and not lost control, keep his balance.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: If there is an infinite number of universes with alternative realities, how come there isn't one where a form of travel has been created allowing them to contact us?

[Assistant]
An infinite number of universes wouldn't mean that there's definitely one where inter-dimensional travel is possible.

Think of it like this. There's an infinite amount of numbers between 1 and 2, but none of them are 3.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] How fast does something have to move through our field of view for the movement to be noticeable?

[Assistant]
This question is impossible to answer with a single number. The threshold for motion detection changes as a function of:

1. Object contrast. Higher contrast objects are more easily noticed.

2. Size of the object. Larger objects are easier to detect.

3. Light level. Motion detection is more sensitive in rod circuitry (low light) than in cone circuitry (bright light).

4. Retinal eccentricity. Objects in peripheral vision need to travel a greater distance to be detected than objects in the fovea.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: If fracking can trigger small earthquakes, would we use it to "alleviate" pressure along major fault lines and prevent bigger quakes?

From an article I just read fracking triggered a 4.6 magnitude quake. 4.6 isn't bad at all in California, and much more manageable than the 7+ quakes. From what I understand a quake happens when there's too much built up tension and something gives way. If we could alleviate tension at designated "earthquake" times, could that prevent a much larger unforeseen quake?

[Assistant]
It is a good idea and might work. No one is going to try it. To put it another way it would have to be a Federal or State project. Only they have sovereign immunity which would be needed. People would be suing for it causing heart attacks or anything else.

Major fault lines can run for hundreds of miles. We have proved we can cause small earthquakes. But scaling up to relieve all the stresses along a major fault line without triggering an immensely damaging major quake is beyond what we can do.

It is hard to imagine how we could scale up to it.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Thor Ragnarok] Why didn't Hela take the space stone?

[Assistant]
Take it? She had it. Asgard was hers, so as far as she was concerned the Tesseract was in her hip pocket. She just didn't have an immediate use for it since she was still "cleaning house" and wasn't expecting Thor and Loki to scuttle Asgard by reviving Surtur. She might have made a nice glaive out of it when she was ready to go conquer more planets. Or maybe another hammer, just for fun... Anyone else might have become obsessed with it on sight, but Hela's power level is so high it was just a "good get" for her.

Edit: If she *had* siezed the Tesseract immediately she might have been able to defeat Surtur or escape Asgard without being destroyed or left powerless, but she saw her dominion as a foregone conclusion. She just underestimated her brothers and carelessly left herself vulnerable.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Captain America, MCU] Did the US government legally own Captain America? How about after he was woken up from the iceberg?

In addition to the MCUs version, Im interested in the various comics.

[Assistant]
Well, you can't own a person. But a name can be trademarked, certainly.

It does seem plausible that the US government had the Captain America identity trademarked. After Steve Rogers' disappearance, they brought in multiple replacements to wear that mantle (the in-universe explanation for how there are 1950s Captain America comics, supposedly set after he went on the ice), but eventually this ruse was discovered and the identity retired.

Under US law a trademark must be used continuously (in "ordinary commerce", whatever that means for a special government agent) for you to maintain the rights to it, so presumably once they retired Captain America for good, Steve won the right to wear the costume without consulting them. Rather handy, since he thawed out a good bit of time later.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: What is an itch? Why are some itches so intense that you need to scratch them immediately?

[Assistant] Itching is perhaps best thought of as complementary to pain. They involve similar neurons and chemicals. Importantly, though, while pain makes you withdraw from whatever's causing the pain, itching makes you want to scratch the area. (Also significant: Pain inhibits itching.) The strong desire to scratch is possibly evolutionary--parasites cause itching, and scratching may help remove them.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Lord of the Rings] Is there any actual difference between Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White?

[Assistant]
Yes - while Gandalf remained similar in personality and such, Gandalf the White was sent back significantly stronger in order to complete his task.

The thing we always have to remember is that magic and power in Middle-Earth are subtle things - it's not like Gandalf the White can summon bigger fireballs or anything, that's not generally how power manifests.  But the significant thing is that he was sent back as the *White* Wizard - taking the place of Saruman, who failed in his mission.  So while Gandalf the *Grey* was a bit quieter, a bit less self-confident (as humble as a wizard can be at least), Gandalf the *White* was a leader - he spoke with command, he was more willing and ready to impose his will onto others, and he had the confidence and power to lead, rather than just to advise.  He took on some of the aspects that were given originally to Saruman alone.

One of Saruman's greatest powers was his voice, and the power of command that he was able to place into it.  And we see several times that Gandalf the White has a similar power - able to heal and inspire Theoden, and able to stand against Saruman, ignore his commands, and speak words of power to break his staff, and able to command and hold off the Witch-King momentarily, even though it was the Witch-King's most powerful hour, where he was empowered by Sauron.  Gandalf the White rarely shows his power through more dramatic actions, but he is able to save Faramir twice and stand up to the Witch-King, which Gandalf the Grey either couldn't do or wouldn't do.

Gandalf the Grey, though able to lead the Fellowship, was largely an advisor - he was there to inspire the greatest of Elves and Men to great deeds, while keeping out of the forefront of the war unless absolutely necessary.  But Gandalf the White, while still possessing that power of inspiration, was made a *leader* as well, along with all of the magical benefits needed to do that effectively.  Instead of being a servant of the Powers in Middle-Earth, he became their prime emissary, and was empowered to do just about anything necessary to win the way.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[BTTF]When Marty drove the Delorean back to 1885, there was still a Delorean in that timeline hidden in the mine. Was the train stunt really necessary?

When Marty drove the Delorean to 1885, he ripped the fuel line and spilled all the gas so they had to rig a train to get to 88mph.
Surely the Delorean that Doc arrived in 1885 in and hid in the mine (it would still be there) would have had some gas left in it?

[Assistant]
Gas actually doesn't last very long before it gets really gunky.  It also releases volatile fumes that will build up over time.   For this reason the common recommendation for anyone that is putting a car into long term storage is to drain all the liquids from the car.

The lack of paved roads is another real problem.   Even with fuel getting the car up to the right speed without spinning out would be difficult.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Star Trek] Why does the Prime Directive make you wait until they have warp? What's wrong with contacting an industrial-ear species?

[Assistant] By the time a species has warp drive, their contact with other warp civilizations is inevitable. Prior to that it's not. Non-Interference goes out the window once non-interference is no longer possible.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5. Why are large passenger/cargo aircraft designed with up swept low mounted wings and large military cargo planes designed with down swept high mounted wings? I tried to research this myself but there was alot of science words... Dihedral, anhedral, occilations, the dihedral effect.

[Assistant]
Military cargo aircraft use high mounted wings because it allows them to use unprepared or hastily prepared runways. Keeping the engines up high helps with not sucking in a bunch of dirt and rocks. Passenger aircraft operate pretty much exclusively from well maintain airports, so that isn't a big deal for them.

Upswept wings make a plane more stable in a roll. The aerodynamics work out so the plane's natural tendency is to want to roll back to wings-level. This makes the plane easier to fly, and generally more comfortable, but limits the rate at which it can roll.

High-wing large transports usually already have quite a lot of roll stability, so downswept wings are used to give them slightly more responsive handling, which helps when landing in adverse conditions.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Futurama] Two questions: why did no one check where Fry's last delivery was, and how did the building he was a frozen in stand the test of time?

[Assistant]
The last delivery was likely not recorded, just jotted down on a piece of paper and given to him. His boss wasn't the sharpest pencil in the toilet.

As for wht the building remained, it was a cryogenic chamber and likely was build to withstand war. What we see is only a fraction of the new york city, while we know that it wasn't fully destroyed (such as fry's old neighbourhood).


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Warhammer 40K] From the perspective of an average Imperial citizen, where is the best place to live?

Which planet would probably be the best place to live within the Imperium of Man if you were a average Imperial citizen?

[Assistant]
I've always thought that it would be best to provide some sort of luxury service to Imperial elites on a paradise world. Ideally it would be in a heavily defended sector, with little chance of alien or chaos invasion.

But, being 40k, there is likely some Necron tomb buried in the planet's crust...


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: How does a sextant work ?

[Assistant]
Sextants are designed to accurately measure the apparent angle between two visible objects.  The key component is a semi-silvered mirror that allows half of the light through and half the light to be reflected.  The reflected part is bounced off a second mirror that you can rotate.  The idea is that you rotate the mirror until two objects are aligned.  The angle scale on the bottom allows you to read off the angle between the two objects.  Even though the mirror rotates through about 60°, the scale reads double the angle, i.e., up to about 120°, because the angle of reflection is double the angle of the mirror.

For navigation the directly viewed object is generally the horizon and the reflected object is the sun, moon, planet or star.  For the sun and moon there are dark filters that are used to avoid damaging your eyesight.  Those objects are obviously also large, so generally you measure the angle to the bottom of their discs; trying to guess where the centre is is not precise enough.  Sextants usually have a small, low-power telescope to view through but this is not essential.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Is the Christmas tree in my living room right now dead, alive, or somewhere in between?

On the one hand, it's alive because it's taking in water and keeping its needles looking fresh, which would cease if you took away the water. But on the other, it's dead because it wouldn't continue to grow in these conditions.

So what is it? When does it "die?"

[Assistant]
It is in the process of dying. It is only alive in the sense that it's still respirating and carrying out activity at a cellular level, but there's a biological limit to how long it can keep that up--since it's lacking roots to draw nutrients from soil that it can use for its cellular processes, it's being forced to use carbohydrate reserves that are stored in stem and needles for the energy to carry out those cellular processes of life.  When those energy stores are all used up, it will die, same as a cut flower.

It's "dead" when it's no longer carrying out cellular activity, and in plants this is generally indicated by turning brown and crispy as the cells no longer pump water through the plant and it dries out.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5:What is ISIS' goal?

[Assistant]
They want to restore the caliphate.

The caliphs were both the spiritual (religious) and temporal (military) rulers of Islam. They carved out a huge empire in the first two centuries of Islam, when Arabs conquered the Greek/Roman world across the Middle East and North Africa.

The caliphate became less and less important historically as different Muslim areas broke away, until it was totally abolished in the early 20th century.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[DnD Forgotten Realms]Dead Souls eventually lose their memory and identity and merge into the plains of their afterlife. Except for special exceptions and divine favorites. Given that fact, is it really immoral to use the souls of condemned criminals as a necromantic power source?

The afterlife kind of sucks. If you are sufficiently evil to go to the hell's or the abyss, have fun with that. Everyone else for the most part eventually becomes a husk devoid of its original identity until they eventually merge into the essence of the plane of their afterlife.  A husk which has none of your thoughts, feelings or emotions is not you anymore then your skin or hair cells are you after they fall off.  There are exceptions, Divine Servants of the Gods who make them happy and other special exceptions. But those are exceptions. The above is the general rule.

Obviously it would be immoral to inflict pain upon a soul and cause it to suffer. But there are many powerful necromantic spells which use souls as a power source in a destructive manner, destroying the soul in the process. Therefore I pose this question to you.  Given the fact that criminals condemned to die justly for terrible crimes will in short order cease to exist anyway, why shouldn't mortal necromancer's use the arcane power contain within their souls as a power source for the betterment of society?

[Assistant]
In DnD, preventing a soul from going to its rightful destination is an evil act.

This doesn't have to do with the consequentialist results of actions, but that all undead register as "Evil" by the spell Detect Evil.

If this is confusing, imagine that "Good" and "Evil" aren't moral calls but useful names for allegiance to either the extraplanar forces that are native to the positive energy plane or to the forces of hell and the abyss.

Could you still make a necromancer who is a virtuous person and views it morally good to use condemned criminals souls as a power source? Sure.

Are the gods associated with the positive energy plane going to approve? Hell no.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
If you had a bucket, and it was filled with bacteria, what would the substance look like?

Would there even be anything visibly there?

[Assistant]
Do a Google image search for "bacterial colony".  What you see is literally just that - a big pile of bacteria cells.  Generally they look like white slimy goop.

You can also grow bacteria in liquid culture.  You start off with very clear (usually yellowish) liquid, and after you inoculate it and let it grow, it becomes very cloudy, but still yellowish.  You can then spin it in a centrifuge to get all of the bacteria out of solution, and you'll be left with a whitish lump of goo.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Is falling in love an evolutionary advantage?

Why do humans fall in love when clearly the best way to ensure the survival of the species is to spread a male's seed to as many partners as possible? Why do we develop strong feelings to want to stay with one partner even though sometimes their physical traits may not represent the best choice from an evolutionary standpoint? (Not strong, no confidence, no attractive features, etc.)

**EDIT: I think I understand now. Things also need to be viewed from a female perspective. Thanks for the help, evolutionary biologists/future evolutionary biologists/knowledgeable people of Reddit!**

**EDIT 2: I'm still keeping this as explained because of the dozens of reasonable explanations I've received. However it is clear this is a much more complex topic than I previously thought. The many points/counterpoints are all very interesting to read and follow. Thank you for the help with this subject everyone!**

[Assistant]
You're looking at it from the male's perspective.

The female perspective is that she wishes to find a mate who will settle down to help raise offspring, thereby increasing the survival rate.

So it seems like there is absolutely an evolutionary advantage in "falling in love". The advantage is that the offspring has a higher chance for survival since there are two parents to take care of the child, instead of just one.

So it is more advantageous for a man to "spread his seed", but it is severely disadvantageous for a woman to hook up with a guy and to have him leave her all alone to raise a child.  So there is a bit of a tug-of-war effect happening.

It would make sense that children who are raised from two parents have a much greater survival rate than children who are raised without a father.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] Why don't we launch a probe axially out of the solar system instead of always radially? Wouldn't we reach interstellar space relatively quickly?

[Assistant] Probes often use the gravity of other bodies in space, like moons or planets, to slingshot faster out of the system by falling toward them, sorta. The acceleration from Earth axially out of the system would have to be all of its own power.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: We are made of atoms. But atoms are not alive, yet we are. How come we are living beings if we are made of non living things?

[Assistant]
Because there are such things as **emergent properties**, where the whole can have properties the individual parts do not.

For example, steel sinks in water.  But you can arrange pieces of steel into a ship, and the ship floats.  Floating is an emergent property, not possessed by any of the parts.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
eli5: Why is it that unhealthy foods taste so good(chocolate, soda, candy, fried foods etc.) despite it being bad for us while healthier foods (veggies, whole grain etc.) taste much worse in comparison?

Wouldnt our bodies recognize which foods that are most beneficial and demand to have more of that?

[Assistant] Our bodies evolved for about 2 million years to crave the most energy efficient food - because when you run into something energy dense like sugar, it can mean a difference between life and death for a hunter/gatherer who hasnt eaten in 3 days while stalking a herd of prey animals. So sugar cravings are hardwired in our physiology. Because sugar was rare, and hard to obtain. Same story with fat - when most of things you eat are nutrient poor, like grass, berries, roots, random meat you had to run down on the savannah, an occasional bite of fat could power you for days. But again, finding that fat was rare and hard work. Now, fat is easily available....


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Why are children especially vulnerable to measles?

Is it because of a general lack of antibodies, or perhaps because the immune system isn't as well-developed?

[Assistant] In the modern world, almost all adults have been immunized against measles.  In the old days, everyone caught measles as a child and either died from it or became immune, so they didn't get it as adults.  In populations where adults aren't immune (like Native Americans just after Columbus), adults died from measles like crazy.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Why is it "bronze > silver > gold > platinum" the scale used when awarding something? Why aren't other metals used?

[Assistant]
Silver, gold, and platinum are used because they are precious metals and since awards are decorative it makes sense that you would use a decorative metal to represent them.

On the other hand, bronze has also been used because it's cheap and durable, so it makes sense to use as an award for someone that is fairly common.

The order represents the relative scarcity, expense of that metal which is typically aligned with the magnitude of the award.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: How do gas relief drops for babies work?

My wife and I just had a little girl, and on days when she's really fussy or can't seem to burp we can give her some "Little Remedies Gas Relief Drops" that help her pass gas. How do antigas drugs work? The label says it uses Simethicone.

[Assistant] In order to burp out gas from the stomach, the gas needs to burst out of any bubbles that are holding it in. The larger a gas bubble in the stomach, the easier it is to burp out.  Imagine trying to pop all of the foam bubbles in a sink full of soapy water vs popping a single or few larger bubbles containing the same amount of gas.  Simethicone decreases the surface tension of bubbles, allowing small, foamy bubbles to combine into larger bubbles that are easier to burp out.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Why can't phones be able to shoot landscape photos while being held vertically? Alot of people are complaining about videos being shot in portrait mode, don't phone companies take this into consideration?

[Assistant]
Some phones record video properly no matter how you hold them, but shoot photos in both landscape and portrait modes.

Photo sensors aren't square.  They are rectangle.  If you shoot landscape mode (wide) against a sensor oriented for portrait (tall), you would only be using a very small portion of the sensor which means that you would get a much lower resolution.

Since video shoots at a lower resolution, using just a portion of your sensor wouldn't be a big deal until you tried shooting in low light situations.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Star Wars] Blaster bolts seem way more humane and survivable than the gunpowder weapons we use. The bolt lances through your body and cauterizes on its way, preventing death from internal bleeding. How do people die from a blaster impact unless they're hit in a vital organ? Do you die from shock?

[Assistant]
Blasters are much more devastating than that. The blaster bolt contains an enormous amount of energy that is contained magnetically until it hits you. After that it enters your body but instead of cauterizing and passing through, it releases it all.

If you are shot in the shoulder you may be lucky and have only a toasted shoulder inside, but a blast in the chest is lethal. You can expect a totally charred heart and lungs. It's instant death.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[DC Comics] Why aren't supervillains and rogues galleries executed?

Yeah, this starts with Batman. We know the Bat himself doesn't kill - but why haven't various states or even the US Government tried criminals like The Joker and executed them through due process?

It seems like the continued existence of a lot of villains is a continued mortal hazard to the civilian populace, and a lot of them have committed whole slews of capital crimes either directly or as a part of their schemes.

So why does the law sit quietly and let these costumed menaces continue to endanger and terrorize the public?

[Assistant]
Most of them claim insanity. And the others (Like the Penguin) keep their hands clean enough that its difficult to convict them of anything that could get the death penalty.

Also, Gotham's state doesn't have the death penalty.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: How do hand-drawn animation studios keep a frame-by-frame consistency in art style with so many artists?

So for big movies like "The Princess & The Frog" or hand-drawn cartoons like Adventure Time or Stephen Universe, or even anime, every production has its own unique art style, the way characters and environtments are drawn, etc. But if you have a studio with 50-100 animators working on a project (I have no idea on the actual number of artists that work on these types of projects) how does each frame end up looking like it was done by one artist, as opposed to 50 different people drawing the same character? I guess I mean to ask how does a studio account for individual differences between artists when making a uniform production?

[Assistant] Being able to emulate any given style is simply a bsic skill that a professional artist in many areas has to learn. Additionally there are lead animators and animation directors whose job it is to enforce a consistent style.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5:Why do Sony/Microsoft leave so much money on the table during the initial launch of their game consoles? Supply and demand would allow them to charge much, much more at the start then lower the price as the initial demand surge abated.

[Assistant]
You'd think so, but the PS3 was crippled by it's $500 launch price last generation. It took years, even after a price drop, before it would catch and eventually outsell the 360.

 You think they can drop the price that quickly, get the word out with marketing that quickly, *and* avoid the massive PR damage from the inevitible cries that they "screwed the early adopters"? Not a chance.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
How do capacitors work?

How would they be placed in a circuit and what effect would they have on that circuit? Could anyone also give me a good idea of a circuit that would demonstrate a capacitor? I'm just don't know what this component really does. I know that it stores charge, but that's about the limit of my knowledge on capacitors.

Help please?

[Assistant]
Okay so imagine you have the simplest circuit. Current flows around a simple loop of wire. Now, you cut the wire. The electrons are still in motion, so one end of the cut gets a little bit depleted of electrons, and the other one gets an electron pile-up. But this won't last too long, since the depleted end now has a positive charge, and the pile-up end is negatively charged, the electrons will be pulled in the opposite direction somewhat.

A simple analogy is like a circular pipe of water that's got water flowing around through it. Imagine you were to cut the pipe *and* seal the ends simultaneously. There would be a back pressure at one end, and a low pressure at the other end, causing the flow to slow down and stop. (neglecting some other effects we'll get to in a bit like "ringing")

So what if you wanted the effect to last longer, to take a bit longer before the circuit slowed to a halt, what could you do? Well you could take the ends of each wire and add more and more metal to them, giving the electrons more space to spread out on the pile-up end, and more electrons to draw from on the depletion end. (we'll call the pile-up end the negative plate, and the depletion end the positive plate from now on). And if those plates were closer together, the electrons would "see" the opposite plate more easily and so not feel the effect as strongly (ie, electrons travelling toward the negative plate and being repelled would also be attracted to the positive plate just slightly beyond it, and so the overall repulsion would be relatively less).

So that describes our basic "parallel plate capacitor:" The amount of charge you can "store" in the capacitor, its 'capacitance' is proportional to the area and inversely proportional to the distance between the plates. C = k A / d (where k is just a constant to show proportionality).

---

Now let's look at the next step. We have these plates of charge, one positive and one negative. The current has stopped. well since we have a potential difference, that's going to drive a current in the opposite direction, no? The electrons on the negative plate are going to be pushed off of it and pulled onto the positive plate. But since they can't cross the gap between the plates (deal with this a bit later) they have to go the opposite way of the current that charged the plates up; they are 'discharging.'

---

So now let's put a little more into it. Clearly if you just pushed the electrons harder, you could push more electrons onto the plate, so we can also make a new equation Q=CV, where the charge Q is given by the structure of the capacitor itself (how it distributes charges) and the Voltage (how strongly charges are being pushed onto the plate).

Furthermore, we'd like to see how these plates change over time, right? Well, the amount of charge being added or removed from the plates is going to relate to how much charge is already on the plates, right? If they're really charged up, there are going to be very few new charges added to them (if we're charging) or a *lot* of charges leaving them (if we're discharging). And if we want something where the rate of change is proportional to the value at that moment, we want an exponential. Some kind of e^t function.

Well let's consider discharging full plates. They start with some charge Q0 and get rid of a lot quickly. But as time goes on, there's less pressure to push new charges out, so they lose less charge. So if we look at e^t, we see that it goes from 0 at t=-infinity, passes through "1" at t=0 and then climbs high after that. What we'd like to do is flip that graph around the t=0 axis, right? So that it starts with some value and trends toward 0 after very long times. Flipping about that axis takes t to -t. So we can say that Q(t) = Q0 * e^-t .

Now let's think of charging. Again we know that to start there's no charge, so we want rapid change. But we also want it to level off to some constant value, where the "back-pressure" from the charge on the plates is equal to the "forward-pressure" we're using to charge it with. So we look at our e^t again. Well that won't work since it goes up to infinity, which isn't reality. We try flipping it about the t=0 axis again (e^-t ), since that at least levels off. But this graph is decreasing charge, and we want increasing. So we multiply the whole thing by a -1, giving us -e^-t . Well the charge is increasing from a negative 1 to zero... that's not right either, since it starts at 0 and goes to some steady value. So let's add 1 to it, and we get 1 - e^-t . It starts at 0 and increases to 1 in a way that's proportional to the amount that's on the plate. That's nearly what we're looking for. If we just multiply the whole thing by its steady constant charge (Q0) then we'll have it. Q(t) = Q0 * (1 - e^-t ).


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
In Special Relativity if an object has no mass then it is predisposed to travel at c. Why is that? Or is it an assumption?

I don't know if no mass requires an object to travel at the speed of light is an assumption built into SR or if it is derived from other basic principles. If it's derived, what from? (Don't be afraid to use some maths.)

[Assistant] I like to think of it as the only way for it to exist. If massless object could travel with speed less than c, then it would exist the frame of reference where it stands still. If something stands still and doesn't have mass, it has no energy and objects without energy cannot exist.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: What are the physical signs of a clinically dead human that indicate they are beyond saving via CPR or defibrillation

Let's say a disaster happens and life-saving resources are scarce. Rescue workers and paramedics must choose which clinically dead victims they apply their time and strength on. What are the signs that indicate there's is/isn't a chance?

[Assistant]
One of the biggest situations that every emergency personnel dreads is having to play god.

Situations you are talking about are what we called MCI's (Mass Casualty Incidents), where there are more patients than the available units can handle.

Under normal circumstances, what happens is, the technicians on scene begin to triage the patients based on four colors; Green, Yellow, Red, Black

Green = Stable patient, can walk on his/her own, minor injuries, nothing life threatening (cuts/bruises)

Yellow = Slightly unstable patient, probably can't do much on their own, significant injuries, although maybe not life threatening (broken bones)

Red = Critical patient, requires immediate interventions, highest priority to be treated (active major bleeding)

Black = Dead. No pulse, no response, no attempts to resuscitate, as the resources can be used elsewhere.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Should Marginal Utility be equal across individuals?

I think the answers definitely No, but would like someone to confirm it for me and also if possible give some reasons to support why not?

This is for a Presentation of mine in my Economics Class.

[Assistant]
Ask yourself: what is the equilibrium condition in the market relating prices to marginal utility? Review Varian, *Intermediate Microeconomics,* chapter 5.

Does that equilibrium condition hold for all individuals?

Don't want to give away the whole answer to what is essentially a homework problem.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Why should I make art?

Hello!

I am a double bassist/composer, and I appreciate a lot of philosophy, too. My question is about the necessity and justification of art in today's world. This is because perhaps, with so much poverty, people in precarious situations, etc., there is no need for art, given that there are countless other priorities. Did a philosopher write about this? Is this problem a topic of analysis in philosophy or am I exaggerating?

Thank you. Thank you. I hope that my question is not vague and that it is relevant enough :)

[Assistant]
There *is* a need for art though. We are a creative  species by nature: The tool makers.  Art and design keep busy hands that might instead be tasked with creating weapons. Art is a intregral outlet for mankinds creativity that, one way or another, will be put to a purpose.

And then the very nature of artistic expression is a meditative excersise in peaceful relation with our world. We can extract materials to meet any purpose, and when we make marble or pigment into art we communicate a playful aspect of our being, and its evident that our work is intended to explore and come to understand our world,  our predicament. Art, in short , comes in peace.

And peace is a companion to prosperity, so it serves our interests well to be friends with our neighbors, our brothers. Art serves an invaluable function in our modern,  M.A.D, world.  Art can communicate  things words cannot explain. Breathtaking works of deep emotional resonance result from artists obsessive attention to meticulous detail., thier lifelong pursuit of greatness, speaking to all, whatever thier language. The human experience is shared, the space between us bridged, and we are less alone when we see that others too understand our pain, joy, love, awe , or desire.

Weapons of today are incredibly sophisticated works of amazing ingenuity. Better that those skills  be used to to make art. No one  ever created an art piece intended to kill a village.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: What does 'remastered' mean in terms of music recording?

Especially with older artists and bands, the word 'remastered' seems to come up a lot. Since I find this term to be a bit vague, could someone explain what this means? What is changed in a remastered recording, and how is it done?

[Assistant] It can mean a variety of things depending on who is doing it. Remastering an album in a general sense means that the tracks are adjusted from the ground up.  Cleaning up background noise, adding or subtracting particular effects, maybe even re-recording certain sections in some cases.  It can be a good thing or a bad thing, because in some cases, certain dynamic contrasts and effects make the songs sound less full or interesting compared to the original tracks.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Star Wars] Spoilers for Force Awakens: Empire/First Order and Death Star/Starkiller

If the First Order is basically the remnants of the Empire trying to rebuild themselves, how come they can afford to build the Starkiller Base, while at the same time spending manpower and resources gaining political influence and military might (re: kidnapping orphans and raising them to be soldiers) throughout the galaxy? I seem to remember that it took the Empire 20 years to build the first Death Star and that was when they had pretty much total control of the galaxy.

[Assistant]
The remnants of the Empire took off for the Unknown Regions and regrouped there. Since the majority of those regions were unexplored and had little contact with the rest of the galaxy, a lot of places were easily exploitable.

They slowly but steadily built up their forces - they didn't have to worry about policing the galaxy or the Rebellion out there - and they focused on developing more advanced technology rather than mass quantities - hence why their TIEs have shields, and their 2-man variant TIE has a hyperdrive.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[DC Comics] How exactly does Magic work in the DC Universe?

So, Im a bit confused on how magic works in DC, even after reading some comics. The origins, the rules to use it,  how people learn it, who exactly are the top tiers are Like, for the how people learn it example, if you were to ask John Constantine how to do Magic, he probably go on a list of deals you have to make with demonic forces, and how dealing with magic does more harm than good. But then theres Zatanna Zatara, who just needs to speak backwards to do magic, and has literally never had to make deals with devils to do things that have literally let her go against Gods  (I imagine Constantine drank himself into a drunk stupor when he learned this). And then theres the origins, it seems like there are about a dozen different ways magic came into being, like some would say it came from Hecate and that place all the Otherkind exist, some would say humans, some (Dr. Manhattan) would say its just glitches in reality, .

I guess what Im asking is what exactly is the magic cosmology of DC? Like, if you were to ask an expert what the origins, history of magic users, and how people learned to do magic was, what would be the most concise answer they can give?

[Assistant] You want concise?  All magic, including all magical beings like gods (but not The Source) come from The Dreaming.  Doing magic, whether it's by speaking backwards or making a pact with a demon is about tapping into The Dreaming in various ways.  Yes, the same Dreaming that Morpheus rues over and that humans enter when they dream.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Deadpool 2] Just how powerful does Dominos luck ability make her ?

The way she is portrayed in the movie she seems pretty much invulnerable.

[Assistant]
It seems like the limit on her power is her own hubris.  As you see when the Juggernaut is let loose, she chooses to run from the fight.

That seems to show that there isn't always a "lucky" option, or even the lucky option could be her getting horribly injured as opposed to being killed.

As long as she neither tries and find the limits to her luckiness, nor always assumes it will work, she is pretty much invulnerable.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] Would solving a previously unsolved high level mathematics problem, such as the collatz conjecture or reimann zeta function, guarantee admittance into a graduate math program?

[Assistant]
Either of your examples would guarantee a lifetime job in a cushy position. Fuck admittance, you'd be a celebrated professor.

If you think you solved something like that, you are mistaken, because you definitely haven't.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Why do video game soundtracks lack dynamics (variability in loudness and softness)?

In many JRPG and platformer video games, dynamics in their soundtracks seem to be completely taken out of the equation. Why is that so?

[Assistant] Games can tailor the volume of the sound track to the events within the game. Look at the most recent Doom game and you can see that the metal music is synchronized to the player and will change due to their activity. In the games you reference they may desire to increase or decrease the volume based on the scene but not know where in the soundtrack it will be at the time.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Would the increased albedo of an ice age significantly impact a planets orbit over time? [physics]

I was reading about the asteroid deflection technique of painting their surface white, using the solar radiation pressure to change the orbit enough to miss earth.  The process was estimated to need 20+ years of exposure to have the desired impact.

This got me thinking about ice and how reflective it is, and a quick google later i had a rough figure of ice being about 10 times as reflective as water straight on with no difference at near right angles.  There are lots of studies about the impact of the albedo change on temperature and climate (tldr; big impact), but I was curious about how much of a long term impact albedo change might have on a planets, Earth for instance, orbit.  I couldnt find any info on that.

Would the increased solar radiation pressure caused by the increased albedo of an ice age impact the orbit of a planet (Earth) over a period of decades, centuries, mellenia?   Is the opposite true, meaning does a decreased albedos lower relative solar radiation pressure have an impact?

[Assistant]
Not really, earth is way to heavy. It only works for small objects that have a greater ratio of surface area to volume. That's because inertia/gravity is proportional to mass and therefore volume, but the radiation pressure acts on the surface area.

Let's do a simple calculation:

Sun's radiation hit the earth with about I=1321 W/m. From this intensity you can calculate the pressure that the photons exert when completely reflected (albedo=1) with the formula

P = 2I/c

with c being the speed of light. This gives us a radiation pressure of

P = 2 * 1321 W/m / (3e8 m/s) = 8.81e-6 Pa.

If we assume the earth to be flat, perpendicular to the suns incoming light, an area of

A = 127e12 m

is hit by the flux, creating a force of

F = P * A = 8.81e-6 Pa * 127e12 m = 1.12e9 N

The suns gravitational force on the earth is 3.6e22 N, so it dominates the pressure by a factor of 32,000,000,000,000 and makes it completely insignificant to the earth's orbital dynamics.

If we colored earth black and all photons were absorbed (albedo=0), the exerted pressure is exactly half of what we calculated previously. Any albedo between 0 and 1 will interpolate these two pressures linearly. Given the earth's real albedo of 0.3, you'll get more impact from coloring it white than black.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
I think that the argument "Humanity shouldn't expand into space until we stop harming Earth" is utter nonsense. CMV

This argument is heard frequently in discussions of government funding for space exploration. It assumes some universal standard of fairness and natural duty, and that since we're failing to manage Earth  we are therefore unworthy of having anywhere else to play. It's a very parental sort of argument, akin to "You can't have any dessert if you don't eat your vegetables".

This is nonsense. If we are to learn any lesson from nature, it is that survival matters most. And homo sapiens has a much better chance of long term species survival if we have members in as many different locations as possible, since changing local conditions (solar flare, asteroid, epidemic) could wipe out a local population (like a single planet). Which means that getting genetically viable populations of humans off of Earth should be a higher priority than protecting Earth, since the state of planet Earth is irrelevant to human survival in the long run.

[Assistant] If we establish a functioning colony off-world, the human race will be able to survive disasters such as asteroids which cause mass extinctions on Earth every hundred million years or so.  However, politicians and colonists will also be able to survive man-made disasters such as massive nuclear barrages.  This ability to survive the destruction of the Earth's humans makes a massive nuclear strike much more likely to occur than 1:100 million.  And then the colony's likelihood of survival may be far from 100%.  So by colonizing other worlds without any solution to nuclear war other than "strike first", we may actually make the extinction of humanity more rather than less likely.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Citing someone that cited someone

My thesis supervisor gave me someones PhD thesis to take a look at their results.

Im looking through their references and  one is cited like this:
Wohler Grundriss der Organischem Chemie (1840), cited by R. Bunsen, Ann. Chim. Phys. (1848)

Why not just put R. Bunsen, Ann. Chim. Phys. (1848)?

[Assistant]
Citing R bunsen would be incorrect, because the original citation is Grundiss.

The reason it's been done like this is almost certainly because the person doing the citing either couldn't access the 1840 paper, or couldn't read it in German, so are relying on a translation or description of the findings made by Bunsen. So Grundiss did the work, but the Bunsen papers interpretation is what's being used.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] Eli5: How is honey made by bees?

[Assistant] Bees suck up nectar (sugar water made in flowering plants) from flowers. Go back to their hive and throw it up in a wax bowl. Cover it with more wax. People come take it a couple days later, after the hive of bees have filled up a bunch of these wax bowls.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Do larger blacks holes have a stronger gravitational pull? Could a larger black hole suck mass off of a smaller one, similar to what a black hole does to a star? Could an infinitely powerful bomb magically placed at the center of a black hole disperse it?

Sorry for all of the questions!

[Assistant] The bomb in the black hole would have no effect other than adding to it's total mass. Once the bomb passes the event horizon, the total mass + energy of the bomb is now a part of the black hole and indistinguishable from it.  An infinitely powerful bomb would create an infinitely massive black hole.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Legend of Zelda] What did the pieces of the triforce actually do?

I know they make you wise/courageous/powerful but is that all they do? All three wielder seem to abilities besides that.

[Assistant]
The triforce of courage is believed to grant some degree of protection against dark magic and mind enchantments. Ganondorf's darkness attack failed against Link. In the twilight he managed to resist being transformed into a mindless beast.

It's believed that the triforce of wisdom grants some degree of magical ability. Zelda regularly uses spells and telekinesis, so this one grants knowledge of how the universe really works.

The triforce of strength is believed to grant physical and mental enhancements, boosting a person's strength, durability, and magical power.

They have some degree of sentience, allowing them to speak to their users or move to rejoin.

Their precise powers depend somewhat on the user. It enhances your existing attributes, as well as having power independent of that.

They can of course also combine to grant wishes.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Why is hydrofluoric acid (HF) so corrosive if it is only a weak acid?

From what I understand, the H-F bond is very strong, meaning that there is a very low level of dissociation in solution, making it a weak acid.

What other factors are at play to make it so corrosive?

[Assistant]
The "weak" and "strong" acid designation can be confusing - here, these words mean how much it dissociates (breaks apart into H^+ and the counterion) in solution. A "weak" acid such as HF remains more in the molecular form. This means that a certain concentration of a weak acid will not have as low a pH as a strong acid.

What this terminology doesn't tell us about is the reactivity of the compound, or what it might do other than releasing H^+ into solution.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: What happens to make an entire night pass in the blink of an eye?

On numerous occasions, I will go to bed at night, close my eyes, and then open them again and BA-BAM, it's daytime. My brain says two seconds have passed and I feel like I got no sleep at all. This is commonly referenced both online and in stories. How does it work?

[Assistant]
Others are coming with correct responses but are not actually getting to the core of what your asking.

When you get enough sleep, you feel as though time has passed, because part of getting enough REM sleep cycles per night, your brain will records some fragments of memories and/or dreams.  That's why you sometimes remember parts of a dream, or have an instinct to know that you were rolling around.  Usually not with a high detail, but enough for your brain to at least keep track of time passing.

If you fall asleep and feel like you woke up a moment later, but hours DID in fact pass, it's a sign that you're probably not getting a deep enough / long enough sleep for your brain to do the multiple REM cycles it needs each night.  You might be getting zero or one REM cycle in max before you're woken up.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[JOJO DIU] would kira have been a good father if he manage to stay hidden

lets say kira was able to control his killing instincts long enough for the main crew to think that he moved to another town, or the more likely scenario where he kept his mouth shut and Hayato didn't overhear him. do you think he could've been a good father, he seemed to adjust to the married life quite well with Shinobu. and with time i think hayato will chalk it up to a mid life awakening.

[Assistant] I think he couldve been a passing husband but a terrible father, worse that kosaku. Kosaku was just an asshole from being overworked, but Im sure he loved his son. Kira, while showing some minor affection for shinobu, absolutely does not like hayato. The only reason he likes shinobu is because shes basically throwing herself at him and he has no choice but to accept it, and Im sure deep down he actually likes the attention for once. Shes quite attractive, and a good cook and tho we never see him comment on her hands its likely he at least enjoyed them. Hayato one the other hand (hah) offers none of these things. To a psychopath like Kira, its all a balancing act, and hayato is a small boy with nothing to offer but trouble. Not companionship, not food, not sex. And worst of all, hayato is CLEVER. Hes nothing more than a loose end that can someday blow his cover if he starts poking his nose where it doesnt belong. If kira truly wanted to settle down with shinobu and get back to killing, he wouldve had to take hayato out at some point. He had no feelings for hayato except anxiety.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: How can nightclubs have "ladies night" and charge different prices for different gender?

[Assistant] It definitely says something about our culture.  Not only do men have to pay more, but for the ladies, consider this saying: when you're not paying for a service there's a good chance you're the product being sold. It's meant to attract men this way.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Why did Chairman Mao kill so many people including teachers? What could he have been trying to accomplish?

[Assistant]
He was trying to purge China of The Four Olds as these were seen to only further the exploitation of the classes. The Four Olds are old customs, old habits, old culture, and old ideas.

A lot of teachers were executed publicly, monks were humiliated in the streets, a great number of Kung Fu masters took to the hills or left China altogether. These were all seen as part of the Old China that the Cultural Revolution was meant to be burning off.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Why does our brain remaind us cringe memories at night?

Like, you're trying to sleep and your mind goes back to that day when you said the dumbest thing of you life. Why does it happen?

[Assistant]
It's beneficial in terms of a learning standpoint to remember your past mistakes because you are less likely to make them again in the future.

As social species we have evolved especially to pay attention to social interactions as getting kicked out of a tribe could mean death, so seeing something you've done as cringey means you understand it was a social interaction mistake that you don't want to repeat so it means you are actually growing.

If you didn't have any cringey memories it just means you don't identify any as such, but what if others did, just imagine how many cringey moments you might have had but just don't see them as cringey because you have yet to grow even more.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Why do organs like our heart get stronger under stress like working out, but organs like our kidneys get weaker under stress like doing drugs drugs?

[Assistant]
Because the word "stress" means different things in those contexts. The heart is a muscle and muscles are designed to get stronger the more they are used. Therefore working out causes your heart to work faster and harder and thus it gets stronger.

Your kidney is a filter. By running more/harsher substances through it, it damages the filter more/quicker.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Starcraft] Are Zerglings edible? I'm thinking about opening a "Lings Over..." franchise starting with Lings Over Korhal. Is this viable?

My marketing angle is that now citizens of the Dominion can dine on the very creatures that have terrorized us for years, giving the common man back his sense of superiority on the food chain.

I wonder what the best cuts of Ultralisk are. Or hatchery for that matter, I wonder if we could just keep a Zerg Hive and take cuts off of it like a shawarma skewer.

[Assistant]
Zerg are not good eating, trust me.

The hardest part is getting through the carapace. Shit's like steel. Once you expend the effort to get through, what little meat there is, is tough, stringy and mostly muscle.

Now Protoss, there's some good eating. A big slab of Zealot rump is lovely.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] Eli5: Why/how do we not pee in our sleep?

[Assistant] Because there are certain things our body does automatically (like breathing) and peeing or not peeing is one of the things we learn to control. Despite being asleep, the subconscious part of our brain stays active. So, it reminds us to keep our pee inside. Unless you really need to go and your brain won't wake up. Then you have the toilet dream.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] Why do the gold flakes in Smirnoff Gold neither float nor sink, but instead remain suspended in the liquid? Even if you move the bottle, they don't really move.

[Assistant]
The special thing about gold foil is that it can be made to be amazingly thin- sometimes descriptors like 1 atom thick get thrown around. That means the gold foil essentially has no weight. While gold is denser than lead and would sink very easily, with gold foil the resistance from the water dwarfs the force of gravity on the gold causing it to sink so slowly that it appears to be suspended.

An analog might be tissue paper in air- if you have a big block of tissue paper, it falls very quickly, but a single piece falls slowly. It's the same effect except the water has much stronger resistance than air.

If you wait long enough without disturbing the bottle, the foil would settle on the bottom.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Supernatural] Why build a devil's gate?

Samuel Colt builds a devil's gate in Wyoming and protects it with a giant railway devil's trap. The colt is the key to the gate, Samuel did not just make the trap around it. Why? Why make a doorway to hell that demons can escape from and start the apocalypse?

[Assistant] Ive always thought/assumed Colt found a gate (essentially a open portal/hole to hell) and built the doorway and trap around it to close that open portal. Not sure theres a definitive canonical answer!


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5:Why is it when you pour beer at the correct angle there is little to no foam?

[Assistant] Aeration.   Basically when you pour beer directly into the bottom of a glass it splatters around and gets agitated, mixing it with air and releasing CO2.  When you pour it gently down the side of a tilted glass you are keeping this to a minimum.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[40k] Can the Orks abstractly understand other races?

I should preface by saying I know nothing of this particular universe beyond what I've read on this sub, so mayhaps I am demonstrating a gross misunderstanding of the lore by even coming here to ask this question.

I am puzzled where it comes to Ork psychology. As I understand it, the Orks fight because they enjoy fighting; they wage war not to achieve victory or to seize control of a material resource, but because the act of war is inherently worthwhile to them. I have seen it said many times that they possess a form of psychology so radically different from that of a human that we could never fully understand each other.

I can accept this. I'll never understand a crocodile or a hornet, after all. But I am capable of abstractly understanding that Orks want different things from life out of me, and I am even capable of respecting that about them. I would be more than happy to leave Ork planets alone to wage their indefinite wars. Heck, I'd even be happy selling them bigger and better weapons if they agreed to only use them on beings that *want* to keep fighting them.

Bottom line is: I may not be able to understand the mind of an Ork, but I can understand what it does, the gist of what it wants, and I can work to come to an agreement that benefits both sides. I can do this because I am a sapient being. If Orks are also sapient beings, why can they not likewise understand that some races do not wish to wage war on them? Are they truly so inferior to humans in intellect that they're unable of even this basic level of empathetic abstract thought?

[](/sp)

[](/heretic)

[Assistant] Orks don't have different beliefs, culture or psychology. Orks have different purpose. They were designed and created strictly as a weapon for a war on galactic scale by the Old Ones. It's not that enjoy war because that is how their culture evolved, they enjoy war because they are quite incapable of doing anything else.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
How can nuclear reactors work without steam?

There are spacecraft in space right now that are powered by onboard nuclear reactors. Surely they don't use steam to spin a turbine like a normal land-based nuclear power plant. That's a lot of extra weight to carry into space. Turbines are heavy.

So how do these reactors work? Have we found a way to convert heat *directly* into electricity?

[Assistant]
Well there are no spacecraft in space **right now** that is powered by a nuclear reactor. All the nuclear powered spacecraft operational now are powered by RTGs (radioisotope thermoelectric generator). Other can explain the difference better but the basic idea is that a RTG is a purely passive device that produce heat from the natural decay of some radioactive material. In a nuclear reactor the fission is controlled and can be shut off completely. About 35 real nuclear reactors where ever launched in space between the 60 and late 80's (nearly all of them Soviet, 1 American).

RTGs and nuclear reactors all use thermometric converters relying on the Seebeck effect. It's the same thing used in thermocouples (or Peltier devices). The idea is that two different metal at different temperature put in contact will produce a little bit of electricity. It is super convenient for space applications because it has no moving parts. The issue is that it is super inefficient, you usually get less than 5% of the thermal energy converted into electricity. It is also fairly expensive which is why it's not used much on earth.


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[User] ELI5: Viagra and alcohol are both vaso-dilators so how come they have opposing effects?

[Assistant] Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. Even though it does have some vasodilating effect, the suppression of your CNS is much more pronounced. You need your brain to tell your little buddy it's time to go, alcohol makes this more difficult.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[MCU] Does the gov know Tony basically created Ultron? If not, how did Tony keep it under covers?

It's never mentioned in Civil War (as far as I remember) but one would think it would be one of the reasons for establishing the Accords.

[Assistant]
It's called the Sokovia Accords. Sokovia was the country Ultron attacked. They made the connection.

One of the specific statues in the Accords is that the creation of any artificial intelligence is strictly prohibited. They go into that aspect on *Agents of SHIELD* with Aida.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Why does hiking Mt. Everest continue to be such a deadly challenge with modern equipment?

It's so common to sustain terrible frost bite and even die when ascending the mountain. Hasn't the gear (i.e. Air supply tanks, thermal body wear etc.) improved vastly in the past several decades? It sounds ridiculous, but couldn't people wear the likes of a spacesuit?

[Assistant]
Here's the thing... Reaching the summit of Mt Everest isn't that challenging when conditions are right, and it's not dangerous if you just follow orders.

But! Practically everybody who dies do so trying to reach the summit while ignoring conditional hazards.

Climbing the mountain is the goal of everybody who goes there. People pay a lot of money to have the possibility to do so. Having the peak within eye distance and having to turn around because it's getting late is a really difficult thing to do. You're so close, yet so far.

Sadly a lot of people ignore the warnings and proceed anyway. Having to spend just 30 extra minutes on the mountain can be the difference between life and death.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Star Wars] How well could a secret force user integrate into the Empire?

I'm working on a plotline for a Force and Destiny game where the players will work with an imperial officer who has managed to conceal the fact that he is a force user, similar to how Palpatine did the same back in the days of the Republic.

What I am curious about is how easy it would it be to hide in the Empire as a force user? Assuming there are no records identifying him as such, like Jedi temple enrollment or such, would Inquisitors be able to detect him passively? Also, what would likely happen to an otherwise loyal imperial officer if he was found to be a force user? Would he be executed or recruited by the Inquisition?

[Assistant] Don't use it and avoid being around Vader/ the Inquisitors/Palpatine as much as possible. They're probably going to be busy with something else whenever you see them anyway. We see in Rebels/Fallen Order/Kenobi/the Vader comic that the Inquisitors are very competitive, self-sabotaging, and often incompetent. The whole reason they're on Nur in the first place is Palpatine kicked them off Coruscant because they got into a high speed chase and killed a high-profile Senator in the process.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
How far from earth do you have to be when you change from perpetual free fall going around the earth to being in zero gravity?

If such a point even exists.

[Assistant]
It's not exactly about distance - it's about speed, or kinetic energy. But beyond some distance, the speed you need becomes very small.

If you are above escape velocity, then the Earth's gravity will never be enough to pull you back down. Even though the gravity is constantly pulling you, it gets weaker as you continue to go further away, and it never adds up to enough to pull you back.

As you go further away, the escape velocity you need to escape Earth's gravity becomes smaller. If you are 4x more distant from the centre of the Earth, you need half as much speed. On the Earth's surface, you need to go quite fast - about 11 km/s - to escape Earth's gravity, even if you don't count drag from the atmosphere. From the Moon's orbit, you only need to go 1400 m/s, or about 5000 km/h. Once you get to Jupiter or Saturn, this gets down to 100 km/h, which is much lower than the speeds that planets and moons are moving at. And once you're a light year away, the escape velocity is about 1 km/h.

This is quite a big distance. If there were no other objects in the universe, you would have to get to a significant fraction of a light year away before escape velocity gets to around walking speed. But of course, we live in a universe with other stars and planets, and these tend to move at 10s to 100s of km/s relative to each other. Earth's gravity stops being important mostly because you're closer to something else that is providing far more gravity, or you're moving so fast that Earth's gravity doesn't have time to add up to much.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[DC Comics/Batman] If the FBI suddenly took a serious interest in arresting or exposing the Batman and his Batfamily, what are some things that Commisioner Gordon and other sympathetic members of the GCPD could do to impede the FBI's efforts without getting themselves into serious trouble?

A new director for the FBI has been appointed, and he just so happens to be a former Gothamite who has always detested Batman's style of justice.

One of his first actions in-office is to assemble and deploy a well-motivated and well-funded Anti-Bat task force to set up in Gotham and arrest or at least expose the identities of as many Bats as possible. The task force will be working day and night, meaning that they will be trying to root out the Batfamily's secret identities using detectives by day, and they will try to capture Bats mid-patrol using SWAT teams by night.

However, not everyone approves of this. The entire Gotham City Police Department, from Commissioner Gordon all the way down to the humble beat cop, is opposed to this intiative, and sees it as an intrusion. They do not want to see the Batfamily laid low by the FBI.

Since the GCPD and the Batfamily are long-time allies, **my question is**:  What are some ways, however minor, that members of the GCPD can resist and obstruct the FBI's efforts without getting themselves imprisoned for O*bstruction Of Justice* or some similar offence? If the FBI ever did make a very serious effort to take own the Batfamily, would Batman truly need the GCPD's help to avoid their efforts?

[Assistant]
Nothing.

There is nothing Gordon can offer that the smartest, and near-richest man on the planet, can't already obtain for himself.

Besides, the government already knows who the Bat is. We have satellites looking at every square meter of the surface of the planet. You really think they don't see the Bat Jet leaving the cave behind Wayne Manor? You really think they haven't figured out how the Bat affords all of those wonderful toys?

At the bare minimum, Amanda Waller and ARGUS know who he is ... and they've decided that it's better to keep him on the side of the angels than to try and antagonize him.

That's what will shut down the FBI. Someone is a plain dark suit, with plain black sunglasses and a plain back briefcase, will show up one afternoon and inform Mr. FBI that his crusade is over, and all of his case files have been classified at a level he cannot access.

And all of this is assuming that the FBI agent isn't a mole planted by one super criminal or the other. If that were the case, the Bat would feel free to simply remove the agent himself.