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

[User] ELI5: Why is it that when you start hanging out with someone a lot you eventually begin to talk like them, even without realizing it?

[Assistant]
Humans are social animals. Which means, unlike cats for example, we are not born with many neurological instincts on how to behave. From birth, we copy others to learn behavior. It's a crazy thing and we don't even consciously realize we're doing it. Spending a lot of time with someone will often cause is to mimic what they do because it helps us relate to each other and further a social relationship. When you find yourself talking and acting like someone else, chances are they're mimicking you as well.

Fun fact, this can also be used to your advantage. If you just met someone, mimic their movement and speech. They'll be much more open and comfortable with you.


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

[User] ELI5: Most cooks know that opening the oven releases heat which slows cooking. But on cooking competition shows, many skilled chefs check their oven often, resulting in undercooked food. Do these chefs know something we dont know, or are they actually making this rookie mistake?

[Assistant] Professional working chef here. You can open an oven when something is cooking often depending on what oven you have. Most ovens in professional kitchens have multiple fans or an advance heating method as opposed to what most people have at home with just a raw heating element. It heats up really fast so opening it and checking to see what your food looks like wont really drop the temp that much. Overcrowding the oven will mess with the heat source more than opening it a lot.


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

[User] ELI5: How in the world does zipping a file work? How can a much smaller file still contain all the same information as multiple, larger files?

[Assistant]
Large file:
    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBCCCCCCCCCC
    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBCCCCCCCCCC

Small file:
    20A5B10C
    15A10B10C

If the program (Winzip or 7zip) can interpret the small files code, it can reproduce the large file at any time just from the small files instructions.


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

[User]
What are the physical limits of eyesight, given all technology?

Is there any way to calculate what are the physical limits to eyesight/how sharp could you see, given any and all futuristic technologies? For example, could you ever, say, see bacteria from a meter away?

If this simplifies the matters at all, assume we're just dealing with the visible light spectrum and the physical size of the cyborg-eye is similar to that of the human eye.

[Assistant]
An approximate diffraction limit can be calculated as

 = 1.22 *  / D,

where  is the wavelength and D is the diameter of the entrance pupil.
For wavelength of about 400 nanometers and a maximum pupil diameter of 7 mm (7 * 10^6 nm) we get

 = 1.22 * 400 / 7000000 = 0.0000697 radians = 14.38 arcseconds.


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

[User]
What exactly is happening when a computer or other digital device "freezes," and what is taking place once it finally catches up?

I work at a distribution center, so I essentially spend my entire shift using an RF scanner. The devices freeze up quite often, and once they unfreeze, they cycle through all the inputs you made during its downtime. What all is taking place while it's having its little digital crisis?

[Assistant]
It's a classic producer/consumer problem.  There are two pieces of code, one producing data to be processed, the other consuming data.  When the producer isn't working, the consumer has nothing to do.  When the consumer isn't working, the queue gets backed up.

So, let's think of that little device.  It's running some kind of multi-tasking operating system (it's able to do stuff while other stuff is waiting, and switch between those tasks on the fly).  It's got some memory, so it's able to hang onto information in a buffer.

Alright, there's a process that runs the laser scanner.  When it recognizes an input, it puts the scan into the buffer, queuing it up for some other process to process it.  Another process takes scans from the buffer and reaches out to the server wirelessly asking info about the scan.  When it gets the info it needs, it tosses that info up on the screen for you to work with.

Now, let's say the server is having a bad day (lots of people using it, admin spilled coffee on it, etc.)  It's taking longer than usual to process the request.

The process handling the scanner is still working, even if the process handling the scans is hung up.  Each scan puts a new input into the buffer, waiting to be processed.

The server finally gets back on track, and the process puts the info on screen, but notices that there are more scans in the queue, so it sends those off to the server as well, one at a time.  The server is all caught up now, so they get processed pretty quick.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What if before Anakin was found by the Jedi, he was found by the Sith?

What do you think would change if Anakin was found by either Plagueis or Palpatine before the Jedi? Let's say he is found when he's six years old and sold to either one of them. He is trained from then on to be their Apprentice, what do you think would change? Do you think Anakin would be similar to the Vader we all know or that he'd be different? Do you think he'd be stronger (since he'd probably be suitless)?

[Assistant] He was.  They left him where they found him precisely so that he'd grow to adulthood with the necessary emotional trauma to become a candidate for Sith training.  The Sith don't train Force users from the ground up, they select candidates who already have a firm grounding in basic Force use.


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

[User]
Does the vast amount of air-conditioning units running year round have an affect on global warming? They seem like they produce more heat than cool air overall and with temperatures rising globaly they are more and more common.

Hope I used the correct flair.

[Assistant]
Air conditioning units always produce more hot air than cool air overall, this is a basic thermodynamic principle. Compare this to your fridge, which gets hot outside (on the back), but cools its inside. This is why if you would leave your fridge open on a hot day, the fridge would *warm* up your house overall.

This has no real effect on global warming though, it would only be localized effects such as heat islands in cities. The energy they use, and the CO produced, do affect climate change though.


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

[User]
ELI5: What are cow licks, why do some people have them while others don't, and why were they evolved?

By why were they evolved I mean why did us humans get them, was it for better vision or something?

[Assistant]
Hair comes out from "follicles" which are little pits in your skin that nourish the hair and make it grow.

If the follicle doesn't point straight up, then the hair growing out if it won't point straight up either, instead it will grow out at an angle.

The follicles on most people's heads are arranged in circular patterns called "whorls" where all the follicles slant in the same direction around the circle (if you have ever seen a picture of a crop circle, that's basically the same idea). Most people have several whorls on their heads.

So if you comb or brush your hair in the opposite direction from where it naturally wants to slant towards, your hair will point in a different direction than other hair near it, making a cowlick - but only if your hair isn't too short or too long, and if your hair texture is stiff enough.

You also could get a cowlick where the hairs in two whorls meet, because the hair from one whorl will be coming out of your head in a different direction from the hair next to it.

Nobody is certain why hair evolved to grow in whorl patterns on people's heads. But it probably didn't evolve to help vision since even if you have those whorls, you won't get a cowlick unless your hair is just the right length and you comb it in just the right (wrong) way - so our ancestors probably didn't encounter cowlicks enough for it to influence their survival by keeping hair out of their eyes.

EDIT: Revised paragraph explaining whorls and added paragraph saying you could also get a cowlick where two whorls meet.


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

[User]
[META] Can we please actually try to answer questions and not reinforce misconceptions?

Hey ELI5,

Now I took time to answer a question about ELI5 Occupy movement. I'm not trying to pretend my answer was the best of the bunch, but I was surprised that I was downvoted while the best answer was the typical it-was-a-hippy-movement-dude. Could we at least answer something and not just resort to over-simplified answers with resonates with stereotypes. I expected at least to find the best answer to be critique of mine while actually bettering it. These answers don't help anyone. At least have a factual answer and not an opinionated one.

[Assistant]
>At least have a factual answer and not an opinionated one.

History is all about interpretation. There is no one answer, as everyone has a different perspective. In this circumstance, someone who was not affiliated with the movement can still be equally (and quite possibly more) knowledgeable about it than someone who was camping out.

***

Also, OWS was not a huge success because there was no organization, no collective message. It was a lot of pointing fingers, a lot of "this is bad, that is bad," and a lot of victimization-- but not a lot of "we can fix this."


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Is there a limit to how far a person can Apparate? What about Portkeys or Floo powder?

Additionally, is there a limit to how much mass can be transported through Apparation or other methods?

[Assistant]
>Is there a limit to how far a person can Apparate?

Apparition distance is limited by skill; it's mentioned that Apparating between continents requires a master of the art. Voldemort needed to fly part of the way from Nurmengard before he could Apparate to Hogwarts.

>What about Portkeys or Floo powder?

We see international Portkeys used to travel to e.g. the World Cup, so they appear to have global range. There's mention of them requiring permission from the government at both ends, but this is clearly a legal rule rather than a magical one; Dumbledore breaks it, to Fudge's indignation.

Floo powder requires some kind of magical "network" linking the fireplaces you travel between. The network in Britain is controlled by the Ministry. We never see anyone use Floo outside of Magical Britain, and it's mentioned in supplemental materials that the recipe is a secret known only to the manufacturer Floo-Pow (who have their office in Diagon Alley) - this may suggest that it's entirely limited to Britain.

>Additionally, is there a limit to how much mass can be transported through Apparation or other methods?

All of these methods seem to be limited to what you can carry, but with magic you can carry entire shrunken buildings and landscapes, so mass is not a limit per se.


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

[User] ELI5: If the power grid can't store power and the amount of energy produced doesn't change, why do they ask us to limit our use?

[Assistant]
The amount of energy produced DOES change, a lot. Late at night, production can drop to half the level of the mid-afternoon peak (when people run the lights and AC both at work and at home).

The grid can only handle so much power -- usually there's somewhat more power plant capacity than grid ability to distribute it. Usually, requests to minimize use come on hot summer days, when everyone is blasting AC.

Keep in mind that we run the cheapest source, best plants first (nukes run 24/7 as "base" power), and save the most expensive plants (emergency backup plants) for the last resort -- when demand is highest. So society can keep power costs down by reducing the peaks. Run your washer/dryer/dishwasher late at night, and turn down the AC on hot afternoons.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are most jetliners painted white?

[Assistant] In addition to the paint being cheaper, the weight of the paint can actually cause the plane to use more fuel. That's one if the reasons American Airlines (used to) keep their hulls unpainted. Getting the aluminum buffed and nice looking was expensive, but still cheaper than the weight of the paint over the course of the aircraft's life.


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

[User]
Eli5: What are real and non real roots?

I keep googling it and I still don't understand what they are and their differences

[Assistant]
A root of an equation is a number where that equation is equal to zero. Some expressions, like x^2 - 4, have real roots. In this case the expression is zero when x = 2 or x = -2.

Other expressions, like x^2 + 4 have no real numbers that can make them equal zero. There are, however, complex numbers that can. Recall a complex number is a number that includes the imaginary unit i, where i = sqrt(-1). We can set x = 2i, and that means x^2 = -4. So the expression x^2 + 4 becomes -4 + 4 = 0 and we say that the expression has a complex root at x = 2i.


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

[User] [Cabin in the woods] If the corporation follows horror movie protocol as set ups for their sacrifices, how would they set up "sequels"?

[Assistant]
Drug the survivors, put em in a VR of some sorts to simulate reality, then release them back later when they think they lived through that amount of time, they will think they have moved on and they can go through the experience all over again.

OR, if we're talking about a no-survivors series then that's easy. You just have to get a new group of people and set em through the same scenario again.

Though sequels are highly unrecommended to make. Most of the time the Old Gods dislike sequels unless they were to offer something new to the original. Unfortunately, most horror sequels don't add anything new so the Old Gods hate them.


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

[User] [DC] If Beast Boy turns into a sea creature can he be controlled by Aquaman?

[Assistant]
I believe in modern day continuity, Aquamans telepathic-ish abilities can be used beyond just sea creatures and are more like telepathic persuasions that he can place in the mind of creatures (since all native earth animals evolved from aquatic organisms, aquaman can target that part of their physiology that is shared/evolved from sea life).

But it seems that the more complex, intelligent, and/or strong willed a creature is, the more difficult it is to control them. Beast boy AFAIK retains full intelligence in his other animal forms and therefore would be hard to control beyond the level that he can control any other human.


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

[User] [Mad Max] Who makes spark plugs, batteries, alternators...etc or where do we find them?

[Assistant]
Well it's a little from column A and a little from column B.
There are people with knowledge of mechanics and engineering (black thumbs) like Nux who know what they are looking for and could scavenge parts. There are also people from before who understand how these things were made. They could pass on this knowledge so that more could be made.


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

[User] Are there any major advantages to flapping wings, or are fixed wing aircraft something we have truly improved upon nature? Given advanced enough materials and power supply, could ornithopters theoretically be practical compared to fixed wing and rotor craft?

[Assistant] Short of a propulsion system powered by explosive flatulence, our aircraft design, while very efficient, is simply impractical for animals. In the same way, cars with wheels are more efficient than limbs but a living organism can't support a wheel. Our machinery is certainly simpler and requires less energy but is only practical for man made mechanisms with replaceable parts and deliberately designed with physics in mind rather than by chance powered evolution.


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

[User]
CMV: All Drugs Should Be Legal in the US

In the United States, we are facing a terrible opiod and benzo crisis. We lock up the victims while the cartels are still going strong and reeking havoc in Central and South America.  The reason MOST people are dying from these drugs is due to the cutting of drugs, improper dosage, or completely fake drugs. Obviously there are people dying from long-term use or committing suicide, but with the user knowing exactly what and how much of a given substance they are putting in there body, the OD rate across the board would decrease significantly.

Law Enforcement can also use drug usage as a scape-goat to invade the privacy of impoverished or minority families.  A very large majority of the cases of police brutality is connected to suspicion of drug usage or possession.

The increase in violence in Central and South America is connected to the production of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and others. We have families fleeing their home countries due to the violence of cartels and terrorist groups. Now seeking asylum in the United States. The violence in the countries would greatly be diminished if there biggest market for profit was gone.

The medicinal properties of marijuana, psychedelics, and mdma are listed as Schedule I by the FDA. With legalization of these substances, we would have far better treatment for people suffering from PTSD, Despression, Anxiety, and other mental health problems.

Another problem with prohibition is the gateway drug theory. A very large percentage of drug addicts start with weed. Lets say Jim wants to buy some weed and finds a guy at his local high school. Jim is now connected to the illegal drug trade and can also get coke, heroin, xanax, meth, etc. Jim gets caught smoking weed and and is getting drug tested, so he moves to a harder drug that can't be tested by a general drug test. Now Jim is addicted to K2 or something along those lines. He doesn't stop there and starts doing other drugs that his K2 dealer has. At 25, Jim is addicted to heroin and dies of an overdose of Fent.

My last point is people will always get what they want. If someone wants to get heroin, they will get heroin. Why cause all these problems so we can try to stop people from doing what they want to do? How many people would start doing heroin just because it was legal? If we had proper education and reformed our drug policy, our society would have more trust in the government. My question is how would you go about solving these problems? I'm very eager for this discussion and want to know other peoples solutions to solving these problems.

[Assistant]
If meth became legal it would allow companies to heavily market it and push it towards people who previously would not have tried it. These chemicals strongly affect peoples brains in a very negative and exploitable way. Letting companies use this is asking for trouble.

Legalize the safer drugs, LSD, weed etc, and leave the ones that are basally poison illegal.


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

[User] ELI5: if you were held at gunpoint and ordered to shoot a third person, would you be in legal trouble?

[Assistant]
yes.

There is a defense, called "duress" that allows you to avoid conviction of a crime if your life, or another's life, was threatened, and that threat forced you to commit the crime.

But, it never applies to ~~murder~~ homicide.


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

[User] ELI5: China creates 55 billion tons of artificial rain a year using cloud seeding. Why can't California use the same technology to combat droughts?

[Assistant]
Artificial rain is just water that's forced to fall out of the sky as rain by some chemical. So a plane will "seed" a cloud with this chemical, and the chemical reacts with the water in the cloud to make it form drops and fall.

It doesn't actually create any new water moisture though. So in California's case, where it's not just a lack of rain, but a lack of moisture in the atmosphere, seeding the clouds wouldn't help because there wouldn't be very much rain to seed in the first place.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do you have to pour acids into water and not the other way around?

Why do you have to pour acids into water and not the other way around? And does it change if doing two different acids, or a base and water?

[Assistant]
When concentrated acids become dilute, they release a lot of heat.

This heat can and will boil water, causing it to splash/explode out of the flask.

Heat increases temperature less the more mass there is. Furthermore, the less acid is diluted at once, the less heat is released.

So!

You have a pool of concentrated acid. You add a tiny bit of water. A lot of heat is released where the water impacts, gets transferred to the water. Then, the water boils and causes a splash.

On the other hand, you have a pool of water. You add a tiny bit of acid. Heat is released, but far less. You swish and swirl the flask, distributing the heat across the whole liquid rather than where acid enters the water. By doing so, no point of water can get hot enough to boil.

It can still end up overheating - if you're diluting a lot of acid. In such cases, you either put the flask in a ice-water bath or just wait for it to cool back down. This is especially likely when dissolving drain cleaner (sodium hydroxide - a base, but similar mechanism).


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

[User]
If Hawking Radiation is caused by the absorption of one side of a pair of virtual particles, how does this lead to a loss of mass/energy?

Unless my understanding of virtual particle theory is completely incorrect (and I have no formal training, so it most likely is), isn't it essentially the creation of matter/antimatter pairs based on the premise that energy and mass are equivalent?

My conceptual view of this phenomenon is based on the assumption that the energy at a given point in the vacuum can be equated to two complementary particles, which upon annihilation would equate to that level of energy.

If these virtual particle pairs are ripped apart near the event horizon, vacuum energy from outside the event horizon is essentially converted to matter/antimatter with half emitted as 'radiation' but the other half falling to within the black hole.

I fail to understand how this can lead to the black hole LOSING mass/energy, when it seems that the mass/energy responsible for
generating Hawking Radiation originates outside of the black hole itself and it seems that the absorption of one of these virtual particles (be it a matter or antimatter) would actually increase the total mass/energy of the black hole.

[Assistant]
You're forgetting the gravitational potential energy of the particles, which is negative. In particular, for a particle at the horizon the potential energy is -mc^2, and so the total energy is mc^2 - mc^2 = 0. If you were to create a pair, one inside and one outside, the one inside would have potential slightly lower than -mc^2 and the other slightly higher. Which means their total energies are very small negative and very small positive respectively. Thus pairs with total energy 0 are possible, and so you can tunnel through the transition: 0-energy vacuum -> 0-energy pair (remember conservation of energy **always** holds, even in virtual processes!)

As the pair is created, the particle inside has negative energy and joins the BH, decreasing its energy, while the one outside escapes as Hawking radiation of positive energy.


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

[User]
[Beauty and the Beast] Gaston decides to try and read a book for Belle...

He decides that since Belle is so interested in books he will do whatevsr he can and decides to read a whole book to better understand belle and to woo her. What book would he pick and how would it go over?

Hope this is the right sub for this, apologies if it isnt.

[Assistant]
One with pictures, if his problem with reading is that it's too boring without visual stimulus.

If he's actually illiterate, who knows.

[edit] yes, it's the right sub, I've personally seen everything from economics to politics to sex ed here and nobody seems to have a problem with it. This question has hints of sociology (pick-up culture, literacy rates) and french bibliology (since that's where the story takes place).


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

[User]
Why is an electron microscope more detailed than than a (light) microscope?

When I see images from electron microscopes it seems we are able to look at smaller objects than light microscopes. Why?

[Assistant]
To put it simply the wavelength of a light photon is much, much bigger than the wavelength of an electron, the smaller wavelength of electrons allows for more EM waves to hit an area increasing the resolution, think about it like trying to fit basketballs in a room vs ping pong balls, if the balls were coloured you could create a much clearer image with the ping pong balls than basketballs, in this case light wavelength are the basketballs and electrons the ping pong balls.

Edit: Photons have 'bigger' wavelength, not 'lower'


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

[User] Eli5: why didn't the spanish die of native american diseases but the other way around?

[Assistant] Mainly because there weren't many virulent diseases that humans in the Americas suffered from. Syphilis is the disease most commonly associated with the Americas, but even this has been disputed. One theory as to why there were so few diseases in the Americas were because of how spread out people were and that domestication of animals wasn't very common on the continent. Another reason was because, unlike Europeans, Native Americans had an actual sense of hygiene. Comparatively Europe was a giant petri dish of disease. People lived very close to one another, we're in contact with other animals (and their waste) on a daily basis, and had infamously terrible cleanliness. All these factors allowed for diseases like smallpox and plague to thrive and evolve in preindustrial Europe.


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

[User]
[CW Flash] Why have none of the Flash villains testified about his illegal prison?

Granted, he only really used it for one season, but still, he held over a dozen people in solitary confinement with no trial, and with apparent will to hold them for life.

After season 2, with metahumans being processed by the proper justice system, why have none of them testified against Flash's illegal prison?

[Assistant] This is a guy who can move too fast to be seen, who thought nothing of sticking them in tiny empty boxes with no stimulation whatsoever for indefinite periods. They're all far too terrified and traumatised to even consider speaking out.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do two images with the same dimensions and file type have different file sizes?

Do some colours take up more space or something?

[Assistant]
No, it's the relative mix of colours that do.

Have a look at this sequence of numbers.

1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-12-12-12-12

You can describe that much faster as "13 ones and then four 12's". And your computer can save storage space in its memory by saving it in that way.

Now try that with

1-2-1-1-6-5-24-1-6-2-6-1-2-14-12-12-6

Even though the list of numbers is the same length, because the numbers are all mixed up and different, its not going to save much space if you group the few pairs of numbers there. So it takes more data to store the second stream of numbers in a computer.

Stored images work the same way. The computer 'compresses' them when it can to lump same-numbered colour together so it can be saved in a smaller space on the hard drive. The more an image is made out of fields of colour that are almost identical or have less complexity, the less space it can compress the image into by grouping like numbers and doing other things.

So in the end, a simpler image with less colours such as a birthday cake with one candle in a dark room can take a lot less disk space than a same-resolution image of a sunny autumn forest that's blazing with all sorts of different coloured leaves, has branches and tree trunks and bushes, and so on.


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

[User]
Absurdism and the myth of Sisyphus

As a frenchman, I'm familiar with Camus' and Sartre's existentialist philosophies. They practically force it down your throat in school. However, after reading Camus' essay on Sisyphus, I have a few questions.

Does Camus envy Sisyphus? I cannot understand what is Camus' ideal in life: if our lives are absurd and meaningless, what course of action should we take?

[Assistant]
> if our lives are absurd and meaningless, what course of action should we take?

Camus' point is that once you accept the absurdity of the world, you're free to choose how to live.  He doesn't make a normative claim of the best way to live other than to do so consciously.  This is reflected in the line "What counts is not the best living but the most living."


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

[User] ELI5: Why does sound travel faster in helium that is lighter than air but also travels faster in water that is more dense than air?

[Assistant]
If you think about it this way. Air is mostly nitrogen and oxygen which are both heavier elements than helium. So getting air to move a certain way is going to take more energy to get things going and will also be slower in doing it. It's exactly like if you push on a car, it's not going to move much but if you push on a ball it'll roll away from you easily.

For water, the atoms are all packed in together and all but touching. The moment you hit one water molecule, the energy quickly transfers to the next because it doesn't have far to go to do it.

For another example, think about a game of billiards. Except at the start you line all the balls up in a straight row touching each other down the length of the table. Hit one end of the row and the ball at the other end pops off almost immediately. That's how water do.

Now put an inch or two between each of the balls in that same kind of line and when you smack one end it takes a few seconds before the ball at the other end starts to roll. That's how gas do. (In this case water vapor)

If you replaced the billiard balls with say squash balls or tennis balls, it should take a little less time for the far end to get moving because there's less momentum to overcome for each ball in the chain. That's how it looks for any gas lighter than water in gas form. Which is similar to how helium is "lighter" (less massive) than air.


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

[User] How does the body decide on when to use diarrhea or vomiting as a method of excreting hazardous food?

[Assistant]
First it would depend on a substances location. After it's left the stomach it doesn't have a mechanism to return. Second it would depend on it's ability to cause water to be released into the intestinal lumen.

Something like an industrial solvent  could alert your brain that something is wrong immediately and cause emesis.

There are lots of substances that can cause irritation to the intestine, eg bacterial toxins, which in turn would cause water release as your body tries to get rid of it. Alternatively, a substance could draw out moisture by osmosis eg magnesium citrate.


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

[User]
Does drinking water help break down fat?

If the human body beaks fat down into water and salt, does drinking more water prohibit or inhibit the breakdown of fat? Is some amount of the water produced from the break down of fat used for hydration?

[Assistant]
Drinking water has no effect on breaking down fat, unless you're severely dehydrated maybe.

Fat is basically long chains of CH2, and ultimately breaks down into CO2 and H2O. The H2O produced goes into your body just like water you drink.

A 65 kg (140 lb) person produces about 1 kg of CO2 and 400 grams of H2O per day from basal metabolism.


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

[User] [Marvel] How would The Punisher deal with a killer who is a child/teen?

[Assistant]
Assuming it wasn't an accident and was clearly a premeditated act of malice? He'd shoot him in the head.

The Punisher doesn't enjoy what he does. He does it because he feels it's necessary, and he has immersed himself in horror so that nobody else will have to.

If he thinks a child needs killing, he'll kill that child - not without remorse, but without hesitation.

He believes the world's right to not have bad people in it is more important than his own right to not have to do horrible things.


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

[User]
[LOTR] What if my greatest ambition is to rid the world of the one ring?

How would it go about corrupting me?

Note, I'm not saying it can't or won't. I'm legitimately wondering what would happen.

[Assistant]
Here's an important question: *why* is your greatest ambition to rid the world of the One Ring? Is it to protect the world? Is it for the fame and glory? Is it because Sauron killed your family and you want revenge?

Whatever the underlying motivation is, it's a weakness. Sure, you could protect the world by destroying the Ring, but think of how much better you would be at protecting the world *with* the Ring. Yes, you'd become famous for destroying the Ring, but you'd be even more famous if you kept it and used it to build your empire. Of course destroying the Ring would spite Sauron, but wouldn't it just drive him crazy to know that you were out there, wearing *his* Ring?

This is why Gandalf refused to take up the Ring. He knew he would use it, for good, noble reasons at first, but that it would eventually poison him.


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

[User]
ELI5 How are electric fences "safe" considering the high voltage? And why is the high voltage necessary?

I understand basically that the current, or amps, are what cause harm, but based on Ohm's law, V=IR, for the amps to be so low with such high voltage, the resistance must be very high. So why do you need such a high voltage in the first place? Wouldn't that require a transformer to step up the voltage? And doesn't such a high voltage create a safety risk, for instance if a conductor with lower resistance came into contact with the voltage source? Or arc flash? If you want low amps as not to electrocute animals/people, would it not be easier to use lower voltage?

Just curious and trying to understand. Electricity is like magic to me.

[Assistant]
You have a correct understanding of ohm's law. We need high voltage *because* the resistance of people and animals is so high. A lower voltage would not produce any meaningful current and then we wouldn't feel it.

It may need a transformer or it uses an inductor (half a transformer) to boost the voltage using a DC-DC converter.

If a conductor with a lower resistance touches the wires then it could start a fire. A good shock device should have the ability to detect when it is touching a low resistance object and either limit current artificially or shut down.


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

[User]
[Marvel] What would happen if a full speed juggernaut ran into a wall of vibranium/admantium?

Assuming he can run through the walls, how thick would they have to be to stop his momentum? (if at all)

[Assistant]
I don't think he would be able to run through an adamantium wall, maybe he could run through a vibranium wall.

It seems more likely that he would impact the wall, and if he kept moving, take the wall with him.

Juggernauts thing is that his momentum can't be canceled, right?  P=M*V, so he just gets slowed by having to carry the wall with him.


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

[User]
What does Nietzsche mean when he says "only the human being is a burden to himself! This is because he lugs too much that is foreign to him"?

...but only the human being is a burden to himself! This is because he lugs too much that is foreign to him. Like a camel he kneels down and allows himself to be well burdened.

Specifically, the reason he gives, after "this is because..."

Edit: forgot to mention, this is from Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

[Assistant]
This is an excript from one of the first stories from Thus Spoke Zarathustra, where he describes what path the mind must take to overcome itself.

First when he sees the dragon (representing religion and other moral/value system), with his shiny flakes (representing individual values themselves),  he becomes overwhelmed by dragon'a significance and his own insignificance, so he burdens himself with his values.

He takes pride in this achievement, but he is burdened greatly by it. That's where the "he lugs to much what is foreign to him" makes sense, since the dragon's values are foreign to him, and not of his own creation.

At some point the burdens becomes to great to carry, and the transformation into a lion must occur. The mind of a lion says "No" to every "You shalt" from the dragon. He destroyes the beliefs and values of the dragon, until there are none left.

Then another transformation occurs, not into the child. With genuine curiosity, openmindedness and such, the child creates his own values.

Or so spoke Zarathustra.


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

[User]
Is it true that in the US there is inequality in school education due to schools being partially funded by local property taxes?

I have heard this a lot but I think I also recall hearing that there are subsidies that almost completely alleviate this inequality.

Thanks.

[Assistant] Only about 8% of the education budget comes from the federal government. This is not enough to offset this effect. It also means that if you live in a state with a low state income-student ratio, there will be less overall funding. It's also worth noting that most federal and state programs are designed to assist only the lowest-performing school districts and bring them up.


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

[User]
[40k] are there human vs human conflicts still?

So I know humanity is mostly under the imperium. And I know there is chaos space marines.

But given all the planets in the universe. Are there wars between human vs humans. Like imperial guard vs some other military, or two human  militaries battling it out in a civil war unrelated to the imperium?

I'm still new to the 40k lore, so forgive my newbie questions.

[Assistant] Despite the Divine Light of the Emperor shining across the Imperium, there are of course those who struggle and fight against their fellow man. Civil wars for control of a local planetary government are fairly common across the Imperium, but these are largely ignored by the Imperium at large unless the tithe is interrupted, heresy and Chaos are spreading, or more planets are dragged into the conflict. As well, the majority of Chaos forces consist of human cultists, who will often attempt to take over a planet in the name of the Ruinous Powers. In these cases, the Imperium will often send Imperial Guard units to fight the traitors and reclaim any lost territory for the glory of the Emperor.


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

[User]
[Mass Effect] How do drones like Glyph or Chatika work?

Both the info and combat drone look like holographic  projections, they can change size and are practically see through. Yet they must require some sort of physical structure to house it's VI, mass effect core for firing bullets, and either rockets or some form of flame thrower. However as we can see through them we never see such an object large enough to do so.

How do these drones work?

[Assistant]
They are not projections. Omnitools can be used to fabricate small stuff. For example, the omniblade, commonly used for melee attacks, is made of silicon carbide, and suspended in a mass effect field. They can also be used to make graphite rods for the M-920 Cain particle accelerator, from other heavy weapon ammunition.

Iirc they transform omnigel into certain materials. With that and eezo, you can make a small, disposable drone.


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

[User]
CMV: birth control should be covered by health insurance

1. As a person of the female gender, I have been taking birth control, not as a contraceptive, but rather as a way to keep my menstrual cycle regular, as well as reduce my severe pains from menstruating.  In this way, birth control is a drug to keep one healthy, not a drug with any moral complications.

2.  If our taxpayer money is not going towards birth control, than I think we then must pay for the healthcare of any child born from an accidental pregnancy, whose parents don't have the means to support that child.  A child is does not deserve to die of some illness because their parents cannot afford to raise them.  A person does not deserve a shitty life simply for being born.
Here is a hypothetical: A person cannot afford birth control and therefore has unprotected sex.  They end up with a child that they didn't necessarily want.  They are still poor, and therefore unable to pay for health care for that child.  Therefore, that child is being payed for by our taxpayer dollars.  We must support that child for 18 years, instead of paying for pills, shots, or some rubber, all of which are significantly cheaper than a child.  Won't the community paying for birth control allow more children to live quality lives, while we pay less?

3.  Now, I do believe that this could all be avoided simply by people having less sex, but as of yet, that is just to optimistic, so we should use contraceptives instead of preaching abstinence.

Edit: it has been brought to my attention that I mentioned health insurance rather than general health care and widespread coverage.  I do not mean specific companies that launder your money for you, but rather the government and community as a provider of care.

[Assistant] If we have some universal coverage, it should include birth control; likewise taxpayer-funded medical assistance should cover it, etc.  But you're talking about health insurance.  The whole point of insurance is that you pay a little money in exchange for coverage in the event of rare events.  Birth control is something you can anticipate that you need every month.  When insurance companies cover it, that means that you are paying them to tell you what specific birth control method to use and what ob/gyn you should see, and to handle your money for you.  It's wasteful.  It would be more efficient to just pay for your own routine care and let insurance be insurance - a method of making sure you can afford it if you get cancer or get hit by a bus.


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

[User]
This is really hard for me to word right. We only know the "observable universe" because light passed the 13.8 billion LY mark hasn't reached us yet. Is there new light showing up all the time?

I hope that makes sense. If I were to look into a live image of the farthest known universe, would I see new light popping up?

[Assistant]
The Universe is either infinite or so damn big that it might as well be infinite as far as we're concerned. So over time we keep receiving light from new parts of the Universe, places which are so far away that their earliest light is just barely reaching us.

By the way, this will not go on ad infinitum. Because of the fact that the expansion of the Universe is *accelerating*, there are certain parts of the Universe so distant that their light will *never* reach us. This is true of anything farther away from us today than about 63.4 billion light years. As time goes on and on, we'll see the earliest light from objects which are closer and closer to that distance, called the *horizon*. But we can never see beyond it.

Why is this? It has to do with the fact that the expansion started off decelerating and is now accelerating. Roughly speaking, we'll see a galaxy (or some point in space) if it is receding from us at a speed below the speed of light. (This is a rough heuristic, so it's not exact, but it's close.) In a decelerating phase, a galaxy's velocity away from us slows down over time. That's what it means for the expansion of the Universe to be decelerating - things like galaxies are expanding away from us, but they do so at a smaller and smaller rate. So over time, galaxies above that speed-of-light threshold came below it, and as a result they came within our view - we could start to see their history.

But a few billion years ago, the expansion stopped decelerating and started to accelerate. This means that galaxies now move faster and faster away from us over time. So galaxies which we can see, which are receding from us more slowly than light, will eventually be moving away from us faster than light, and after that time (roughly) we won't be able to see them, because they'll be moving away from us more quickly than the light they emit can reach us. This means that past a certain distance, the horizon, we will never be able to see anything.


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

[User]
DC's New 52 sucks and I hate the direction they've taken certain things. CMV

Honestly, I haven't kept up too much but the stuff i've seen here and there just annoys me. I hate how superman is detached from earth and him being with wonder woman instead of Lois. I hate that Nightwing now looks like Chris O'Donnell in Batman Forever. Cyborg "graduating" from the Titans onto the League is way better than making him a founding member of the League. Having, ANOTHER Robin die seems redundant. I know Comic deaths are common and they happen, but this is the 3rd Robin we've seen die under Bruce. It's getting kind of ridiculous. No Wally West is also a huge bummer. I want to love DC Comics, but I just have a hard time understanding what they're trying to do with their characters.

[Assistant]
DC had to reboot to remain relevant in a world where they had some very convoluted storylines and too much fracturing.  Comic reboots, like it or not, are a way of life in the industry and won't change.

With that said, you say you haven't kept up much, and this might be why you don't know the good that has come from New 52:

* *Animal Man*, written by Jeff Lemire, is widely hailed as one of the best superhero comics of recent times.  It has turned what was previously a comic that wasn't taken seriously into a pretty great horror comic.

* *Swamp Thing*, as well, has been widely hailed as a great look at what was previously something that became corny character.

* *Batman*'s "Court of Owls" arc is considered one of the great *Batman* stories *period*.

* *Wonder Woman*, which arguably hasn't had a good arc since Rucka's run, is coming up with its first competent, enjoyable stories in close to a decade.

* Even *Aquaman* has been solid, being able to nod knowingly at itself as an abused character in the DC canon among fans and provide stories that actually make some sense.

* Plus, we're seeing a lot of old characters get a second look: Blue Beetle, Frankenstein, Resurrection Man, and so on.  Not all of these have been successful, but that DC was even willing to entertain a second look at these characters tells us a lot about the investment they have in *storytelling*, not just moving a lot of units.

And we can go on and on, but if you really need evidence that this was good for DC, Marvel chose a similar route in response in "Marvel NOW," which hasn't been nearly as successful.

So, ultimately, what are they trying to do for their characters?  Make the stories relevant to a modern audience by rebooting them and giving new readers a starting point without completely ignoring that core audience that drives industry sales.  Indications are that they've basically succeeded.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do our eyes see 'noise', like high ISO photos in dark rooms?

It has the same effect but only a little less colorful.

[Assistant]
Imagine you're in a crowded, noisy auditorium. You need to shout loudly just to talk to the person next to you. Even when the speaker goes up to the podium, they can't be heard above the noise of everyone speaking. However, once the speaker gets everyone's attention, everyone starts to quiet down until it's silent enough that everyone can hear the single speaker talking.

The same thing happens in our eyes. Our eyes are capable of looking at a extremely wide range of brightness from direct sunlit days down to moonlit nights. While we can quickly adjust from going from dark to light, our eyes have the downside that going from light to dark takes a long time.

When our eyes are adjusted to light, a percentage of the chemical sensitive to light (rhodopsin) is getting recycled. This recycling can stimulate the nerves that see light, providing the noise in the auditorium. If something is bright (loud) enough, you can notice it over the noise. However, when there is nothing bright enough (if you go from a bright environment to a dark one), you just notice the "noise" from the chemical recycling which can look like noise from high ISO photos. This appears to us in black and white because our most light sensitive photoreceptors in our eye can only sense brightness, not color.

After about 15 minutes, the light sensitive chemical recovers completely, resembling the time it takes to quiet down a noisy auditorium. Now, your eyes are the most sensitive to light. There still may be some noise since the blood flow through your eye can accidentally cause enough pressure so that the light sensitive cells think they see something. This also contributes to the noise you see in darkness.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How would things have turned out in Jabba's palace if Luke took his lightsaber with him instead of hiding it in Artoo?

Also, why bother smuggling it in at all?

[Assistant]
Luke was doing a Palpatine and pretty much going scorched earth on Jabba. It's the most dark side thing he's done during the trilogy.

Basically if he walked in there with his saber and instigated a fight, he'd have ended up like any other jedi during order 66. Ie. he'd have gone down in a hail of blaster fire.

Instead he plotted. He coldly used his friends as pawns, putting them in very dangerous but advantageous positions. He send in Lando as an inside guy. Then he send the droids to smuggle in the tools he needed. Then he leveraged Leaia to get Chewie close to Han. He put all of them at incredible risk if he couldn't pull of his end of the plan.

And then Luke goes in like a force of... well the force really. No subtlety, no light side, straight up dark side. He force chokes every Gammorean Guard who get's in his way. He crushes Bib Fortuna's puny mind and puppet master's his way straight to Jabba's throne.

Once there he doesn't bargain with Jabba. He makes Jabba an offer once, follows up with a threat which Jabba laughs at. And from that point on Luke pretty much proceeds to curb stomp Jabba's entire operation. By the time he's done Jabba is dead, his massive sail ship destroyed (with most of his top cronies on board) and his palace is a tomb. The entire Jabba the Hutt crime empire is over. And he did it with a smile.

Compare that to how Obi Wan always tried to do things and Luke pretty much straight up dark sided his way through.


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

[User]
Has the string theory been validated by any experimental evidence like from the LHC?

Are there better contenders for the theory of everything?

I know just the basics of what the string theory is, that is using vibrating strings and extra dimensions to explain all the different forces and particles. I come from a medical background, so please excuse any gross misunderstandings of the concept.

[Assistant]
Some required aspects of string theory have been constrained by the LHC.

1.  String theory requires more than the 4 dimensions of space time.  The size of the proposed dimensions has been constrained as if they were larger we would have seen things that disagreed with the standard model.

2.  Super String Theory requires super symmetry.  Low energy or "Natural" Super-symmetry was not found.  String theory is compatible with any energy of super symmetry below the plank scale however.  So lots of proposed models of string theory were shown to be incorrect, but not the general model of the universe.

This has caused some worry in physics as it now appears that string theory will not have any interaction with experiment for the foreseeable future.  That may change with gravitation wave astronomy, but so far there is zero experimental disagreement with General Relativity.


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

[User]
[Avatar: TLAB/LOK] Why arent the Water Tribes a maritime global superpower?

Something thats always intrigued me is the fact that the Water Tribes (or at least the Northern Water Tribe) didnt establish some sort of maritime empire akin to the British Empire. I mean, imagine if the Northern Water Tribe managed to expand its reach from the North Pole down to the northern shores of the Earth Kingdom, propping up colonies along the way. I dont know if theyd be the strongest nation but theyd be economically powerful, especially if they can control and manipulate maritime trade routes/international shipping lanes, strategic ports, canals, etc. This would give them a major economic advantage that gives them massive leverage.

Militarily speaking, Id argue that they would possess the most powerful navy in the world, leading in the realm of naval/amphibious expeditionary warfare doctrine, naval engineering, etc.

Obviously the relatively small population and lack of substantial natural resources is a major hindrance towards a hypothetical Water Empire. Their geographic isolation probably also doesnt help them with expanding. But what other reasons may contribute towards the Water Tribes to not being a global superpower?

[Assistant] They have been at other times in history. But the 100 year war decimated the Southern tribe, and forced the Northern tribe into seclusion. Even with the advantage of waterbending the Fire Navy was simply too advanced for them to hold onto control of the sea with.


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

[User]
Do insects perceive time differently than humans? Is that why they have such quick reflexes?

I heard once that time is much slower to them, which is why a fly avoids a flyswatter with such ease. Is that true?

[Assistant]
Flies avoid being swatted at because the cilia on their body is disturbed by moving air. That cilia is connected to nerves that go to their very tiny brain, which pumps out an almost immediate reaction to follow a pre-set avoidance route.

You can pretty easily trick a fly by one of three methods. The first and simplest is to use a fly swatter. Fly swatters have lots of holes in them so that they don't move very much air as they swing. This tricks the fly because it doesn't have an advanced warning.

The second method and slightly more devious, is to catch the fly. Say a fly is sitting on your desk. If you cup your hands about a foot away from the fly on each side, and then clap your hands together, you will usually miss the fly. However, if as your hands get closer to the fly, you also lift them up off the table about three or four inches, you can usually trap the fly. What you're doing is creating false information. The fly thinks your hands are moving towards it at a much lower area, so it flies upwards to avoid getting squished. Your hands end up going where the fly's predetermined it's route of escape will be.

The third method is to go very very slowly. You will disturb less air, and the fly won't respond to minor disturbances.


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

[User] ELI5: What is the difference between "&" and "and", and in what context to use one over the other?

[Assistant]
In most cases there's no difference. A good rule of thumb is to always use "and" unless there is a specific design/stylistic reason to use the ampersand.

There are industries and contexts where they can mean different things. For example, in screenwriting, "By John Doe & Jane Smith" means that the two people collaborated together on the script, while "By John Doe and Jane Smith" means that they worked on different drafts or versions of the script, and may have never even met each other.


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

[User]
[Doctor Who] Why didn't the Time War destroy the space-time continuum?

When the Doctor's TARDIS exploded it caused cracks in the fabric of the universe all across time and space.  The Doctor's TARDIS is an obsolete Type 40.  Gallifrey fought a war across time and space wherein hundreds if not thousands or more TARDIS' that were more powerful than the Doctor's were destroyed.

So, if one TARDIS going boom cause cracks across time and space why wasn't that damaged magnified a thousand and more fold by the casualties of the Time War?

[Assistant]
Several possible explanations of varying plausibilities and speculativities:

- The Doctor's TARDIS may have been intentionally destroyed in a specific, time-rupturing manner that could not, in a normal combat situation, occur.

- The manner in which the Doctor's TARDIS was destroyed may have been easily preventable by another Time Lord with another TARDIS, so as long as there were multiple Time Lords around, such a cataclysm could have been prevented.

- Most TARDISes may have been far less important in the history of the universe. TARDISes don't necessarily exist in linear time (Sexy remembered future console rooms), so the destruction of a TARDIS could cause its whole history to come undone. The Doctor has saved the universe many times over, so destroying his TARDIS and undoing his good works could have torn history to shreds.

- As each TARDIS contains an aspect of the Eye of Harmony, which is said to regulate the Web of Time itself, the Doctor's TARDIS may have contained the only remaining aspect of the Eye in the entire universe. With the main Eye sequestered away with Gallifrey and no other TARDISes containing aspects of the Eye in existence, it is possible that the violent destruction of the only remaining aspect was enough to rupture the Web of Time itself.


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

[User]
ELI5 What happens to brand new cars that are never purchased?

 If they just go to used car lots, how can manufacturers keep up with the losses?

[Assistant]
Usually, dealerships will just offer more and more discounts and deals until the car gets sold. Even if they eventually end up selling the car at a loss, at least they recouped some of the investment.

Manufacturers usually do a good job of using data from past years to figure out how many of each car model to produce, so there aren't very many unsold new cars anyway.


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

[User] [Superjail!] Where does the warden get the funding for Superjail?

[Assistant] Jared seems to handle Superjail's financials, but the exact source of income is largely unknown. The jail makes a huge profit from using inmate labor in manufacturing which can be seen in various episodes. There are a lot of drugs and crime which circulate through the jail, there may be a black market which is secretly run by Jared to help cover the enormous operating expenses. Also, many of the services provided by Superjail are run by inmates keeping worker costs minimal. Due to the extremely violent nature of Superjail's inmates, some governments contribute to its funding just to keep them incarcerated.


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

[User]
Why are excessive sleeping and insomnia at the same time symptoms of depression?

How do our neurotransmitters and brains as a whole work with regard to disordered sleep and depression? Also, how do these two seemingly opposite ends of a spectrum of disordered sleep occur co-morbidly in the depressed?

[Assistant]
Its not as simple as to be boiled down to neurotransmitters.

Depression is a complex disease, and its causes vary, though likely some combination of biological, psychological, emotional, and behavioral. This combination vary from person tocpersonZ

Why person A with depression sleeps excessively and person B is an insomniac is best explained as to what factors cause their depression and how they react to it behaviorally and biologically.

The excess sleeping may very well be a learned behavior to cope with the depression, or it may be of a biological origin. Alternatively, the insomnia may be excess chattering in the brain that a person compulsively indulges in, or the product of neurotransmitters and hormones keeping them up.

Its complex and varies from person to person.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do different human languages sound so different but the same animal from around the world sounds so similar?

[Assistant]
Human languages are learned, rather than being hardcoded into our DNA.  Most animals don't have a true language; rather they just have a set pattern of sounds that mean certain things.

Some animals, like dolphins and crows, *do* have a (learned) language, and individuals from different parts of the world can't understand each other.  They still sound similar to us, but we probably all sound similar to them.


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

[User]
[Halo] Did the UNSC have any reason to suspect a hostile alien force before first contact?

It's been a while since I read the novels, so my memory is a little fuzzy. I ask because it seems like earth and the major colonies had MAC stations in orbit around the planets before contact with the Covenant. I understand UNSC had been in a long standing war with the Insurrectionists, but as far as I remember they didn't have too much of a threatening fleet. What need did the UNSC have for so many orbital MAC stations? I can understand why the fleet was so large, they had a decent chunk of galaxy to patrol.

[Assistant]
Yes. They were already aware of Forerunner facilities, and had been researching the few artifacts they had dug up. Some of the spookier factions of the UNSC pushed for more military hardware because they were expecting first contact with a technologically superior species like the Forerunners (and they were half right).

There was also some indications that frontier colonies were trading with Covenant merchant ships. ONI desperately wanted to cover that one up because of the Covenant's policy on client races, which would have sparked an all-out revolt before anyone would have figured out the Covenant would exterminate humans rather than bring them into the fold.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Just how sentient is the sorting hat?

Would it be easy for him to giving up the life of sorting kids in their respective school groups or is he forever bound to his duty?

[Assistant] The sorting hat doesn't sort because he's been told/ordered to do it, he sorts because he wants to do it. The same way you want to do things that make you happy, the sorting hat wants to sort children because that makes it happy. While you might get tired of doing one thing all the time and try other things to be happy, the hat has no desire to do so because of how fucking much he likes sorting kids.


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

[User] What happens to oxygen (gasses in general) that get lost into the vacuum of space? Could (theoretically) we pump oxygen in space to create breathable pockets?

[Assistant]
Gravity.

You need something to "anchor" that gas locally, and only gravity can do that. To have enough gravity, you need a big enough lump of something. That's basically a planet.

TLDR: You need a planet to keep the gas from wandering off into space. EDIT: Otherwise the gas cloud just keeps expanding.


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

[User]
[Fallout] How exactly does Mama Murphy's "sight" work?

In Fallout 4, there's a character named Mama Murphy, who supposedly uses the addictive drug "Jet" to see into the future, or know things that she has no way of knowing. She calls this ability "The Sight".

She knows that the Sole Survivor came from 200 years ago, despite never being told.

She predicts the Deathclaw attack at Concord.

She knows that Nick Valentine is being held hostage underground.

She knows where Kellogg's house keys are located.

And, most surprisingly, she knows the exact deactivation code that can be used to shut down Z2-47. She recites it word for word, exactly, despite there being no logical way she could possibly know that.

Is there any logical explanation for how she gains this knowledge?  I don't have a clue.

[Assistant] Mama Murphy is most likely a "Psyker". The only other Psyker to have similar powers was the Forecaster in Fallout New Vegas with the only difference being that he had to stop taking medication instead of taking drugs to see the future.


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

[User] [Star Wars] How common are force sensitive people, and how common is it for a force sensitive person to choose the Dark side of the force?

[Assistant]
Not a complete answer, but there are force sensitive people, and then there are those among them that realise it and may choose to dedicate their lives to mastering their connection to the Force. These individuals undergo training, the two most common pathways being the Jedi and the Sith. There are off-shoots and branch paths, like the Grey Jedi.

I may be wrong, but there are probably dark side Force using normals who aren't exactly "Sith" or evil, just assholes, chanelling anger and such.


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

[User] How exactly does soap wash you hands?

[Assistant] Soap acts as a detergent. It acts to add a hydrophobic component to water, causing lipids to dissolve more easily in water and wash away. Cell membranes have a phospholipid bilayer, meaning theres a hydrophilic component sandwiched between two hydrophobic layers. Breaking up those layers can disrupt the cell membrane enough to kill bacterial cells, and may also disrupt adhesion molecules enough to cause those bacteria to detach from the surface of your hands. Warm water increases the solubility of particles in the water as well, which is why we use warm (not scalding) water to wash hands.


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

[User] [MARVEL/MCU] What happens when someone walks on the cloaking mountain disguise that Wakanda uses? Do they walk on it as if it were an actual mountain or will they phase through and fall into Wakanda?

[Assistant] They would go through it as it's just a hologram, but no one's getting that close. The border tribe is there to stop intruders. They're also there to fool outsiders by disguisng themselves as simple farmers and hunters.


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

[User]
[Fallout] So what does the rest of the world look like?

I know that information is sparse, but I really wonder how the Soviet Union, Europe, China, Japan and Australia faired the various wars that ultimately consumed the world in and around 2077. Anyone got any hard sources or conjecture? I know Tenpenny claimed to have made it out of England, so we've obviously got something resembling global travel still.

[Assistant]
***USA/Canada*** is basically the same all around as shown in all the Fallouts. In all likelihood, is doing the best post-war, even with FEV mutants running about, due to the Vault Program, and somewhat being prepared for a nuclear war. Alaska was pretty bad off, seeing as it was a war zone for nearly a decade, right up until the GW. FEV is rampant.

***Europe*** is an even greater shit hole, as even right before the Great War, it was in the middle of it's own giant conflict, leaving most of it's nations in ruins by October of 2077. (Aside from the Soviet Union). No FEV.

***Asia*** we can assume was mostly China and it's allies, or American Allies (Japan) is annihilated. Right before the Great War, US Troops were only days outside of Beijing, so China was already pretty war torn before the bombs fell. The Middle East was totally destroyed even right before the Great War, via it's war with Europe. Likely no FEV.

***Australia*** Was spared bombing mostly, except for major cities, and US/Ausie Military Bases.. However, in the months proceeding the war, a vast swath of Radiation enveloped the nation, killing most of it's inhabitants/plant life. No FEV.

***Africa*** Suffered the same fate as Australia, if not worse due to it's proximity to bombed nations.

***South America*** suffered the same fate as Australia, and Africa. The damage to Rain forests is likely horrible.


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

[User]
Dear Askscience, how small of a dose of arsenic, a day would i need to take to develop an immunity to it?

I'm a fit, Caucasian, 18 year old male who weighs about 65kgs. how much (how little) arsenic, over how long would i need to ingest for me to become immune to future assassination attempts? is there a mathematical model that can be applied? will this mathematical model work for other poisons? is it even possible to become immune to a poison such as arsenic? Thanks for your help :)

[Assistant]
Quick rule of thumb. Repeated exposure to poisonous metals makes you sicker not stronger.

This is particularly true for the heavy metals like lead or mercury that build up in your system and can't be flushed out without medical intervention.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is a metal a metal?

[Assistant]
If you zoom into a metal atom, you will see that it has "shells" in which its electrons can orbit. It's outer shell is called the valence shell, and the number of valence electrons that orbit in this shell depend on the atom.

Metals are made up of numerous metal atoms, such as copper or iron, that share their valence electrons between them in order to fill their valence shell. These valence electrons can move freely between the atoms making sure that each atom has a full shell. If a voltage is applied to the metal, a current will flow as the electrons can move freely around.

The freely moving electrons also allow the metal atoms to be easily moved without breaking the bonds between the atoms. This allows metals to be malleable and ductile.


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

[User] Does an insect, like a fly or a mosquito, have itches?

[Assistant] Yes, if their exoskeleton gets irritated. (Itch: An uncomfortable, irritating sensation that creates an urge to scratch that can involve any part of the body.) For example, put a drop of formic acid on a cockroach's abdomen, and it will rub the area with its legs to clean it as it's irritated.


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

[User] [General Fantasy] What makes a vorpal weapon vorpal? Is it the material from which its made? Is it its manner of making? Is it the enchantments applied to it? The skill of the wielder? Or some combination of the above?

[Assistant]
> He took his vorpal sword in hand,

> longtime the manxsome foe he sought

>  So rested he by the Tum-Tum Tree

> And stood awhile in thought.

[...]

> One, two! One, two! And through and through

> The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

> He left it dead, and with its head

> He went galumphing back.

- Lewis Carroll, "Jabberwocky"

The implication of the vorpal sword is that it is sharp enough to easily cut off an opponent's head; this idea of "extreme sharpness" is carried on in *Dungeons & Dragons*, where vorpal weapons are normally enchanted, but not always - the implication being it is the *sharpness* that gives the vorpal quality, not the necessarily enchantment itself. No particular material is specified for the blade, and no reference made to particular skill of the wielder - you might compare Death's scythe in the Discworld, which "exudes an aura of sharpness that extends several inches from the actual blade."


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

[User]
ELI5: what makes a leaf of lettuce more digestible than other leaves?

It's clear that our stomachs can't break down most greenery around us, like ruminants with 4 stomachs can. But what makes one leaf digestible to us and another not?

[Assistant] Cellulose. Humans lack the enzyme cellulase thus leaving us unable to digest plants that are high in cellulose. However, a plant like lettuce has a relatively low amount of cellulose compared to other natural greens and leaves, and contains a higher amount of digestible material and our body just filters the cellulose through the stomach undigested which it is able to do since the amount is low.


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

[User]
What would food look like at each stage of the digestive system?

If I were to say eat brisket for dinner tonight what would it look like when hitting my large intestine, small intestine, stomach etc?

[Assistant] Food that is partially broken down in the mouth is mixed with saliva and enters the stomach as a bolus, which is basically a mass of food that will look somewhat like a mashed up and slightly more liquid version of what you ate. After leaving the stomach the food is called chyme, which has more of a semiliquid state after mixing with the gastric juices in the stomach. Macronutrients are absorbed in the small intestines, while water, fiber, and some ions are absorbed in the colon. The material entering the colon will more or less be in a liquid form as well. Some metabolites (e.g. vitamins) are also synthesized by gut bacteria and absorbed by the large intestine.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do hairs grow longer/darker out of moles or freckles?

[Assistant] A mole is basically a benigh growth of pigmented skin cells aka melanocytes. Scientifically known as a melanocytic neavus. So any hair that outcrops from these regions are darker, thicker and coarse due to the increased presence of melanin.


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

[User] [MCU] Are the assembled infinity stones the most powerful thing in the universe? As in, could they be used to permanently defeat something like Doomsday/Darkseid/Dr. Doom/Dr. Manhattan/God?

[Assistant]
> Are the assembled infinity stones the most powerful thing in the universe?

Yes, within that universe.

> As in, could they be used to permanently defeat something like Doomsday

Yes

> Darkseid

No. Darkseid is beyond the power of a single Universe.

> Dr. Doom

Yes, provided he isn't mid-plot on taking over the multiverse again. With prep he'd probably survive it somehow.

> Dr. Manhattan

Yes

> God

If God is limited to this Universe, yes. If he is multiversal/TOAA, then no.


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

[User]
[Westworld] How did the park keep guests from harming each other, by means other than firearms?

It was common for the hosts to be stabbed, physically assaulted, blown up, etc. and we only saw the bullets not being able to go through human flesh (which still doesn't account for shrapnel or eye injuries). And it was sometimes difficult to tell guests and hosts apart. So how did the parks manage this?

[Assistant]
Guests were kept apart for the most part. On the train ride in guests would also meet other guests as a sort of meet and greet so that helped some.

The main thing is the park employees kept a very tight watch on the guests for spoiler reasons which would prevent most bad situations.


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

[User]
Can we theoretically travel forward in time by vibrating? Or rather continually moving at a high speed but only moving within a small area?

I was doing some reading on time dilation and as I understand it Time Dilation is caused by moving at higher speeds. Does that mean that if we theoretically had the ability to simple move on object or vehicle extremely fast in a relatively small area it would travel forward in time faster than everyone else? That is to say if we ignore the drops in speed that would be caused by needing to drastically turn or change direction in less than a second.
(Noting that I've mentioned speed but the time dilation formula is based on velocity, could this be the reason for why this doesn't work? As the object is not experiencing huge changes from their original position would this mean that this is not possible?)
Second time posting here so hopefully there are some thoughts on the idea!

EDIT: Wow large amount of feedback. A large amount of people have suggested that a more practical version of this would simply be spinning in a circle. If an object could keep a total constant speed going around in a circle (That is to say that the size of the object doesn't cause the outer or inner parts to come apart) would this be a more practical approach?

[Assistant]
This would work, it would just be very impractical and lethal to constantly accelerate with such a high magnitude.

The idea is essentially the same as the twin paradox repeated multiple times.  The vibrating person will experience less time than the person at rest.


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

[User] [MCU] What would happen if Steve Rogers drank the potion that gives power to the Black Panther?

[Assistant] I don't think we know. In the MCU hulk movie, the bad guy took super soldier serum and then later tried to add hulk's abilities. The scientist guy said the combination could be an "abomination," which was right. So it's not clear what the end result would be of combining the super soldier serum with other enhancements.


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

[User]
[Fallout] How is it that Dogmeat manages to stay as healthy as he is?

When not in the possession of the Player Characters, Dogmeat seems to operate mostly independently. As intelligent as he is, how is it that he manages to avoid getting infections (outside of obvious gameplay reasons) if no one is there to clean or heal him?

[Assistant]
It has been 210 years since the nuclear war and collapse of society. A German Shepherd will mature about 2-3 years old so we could be looking at around 70 generations of dogs who have had to survive in extremely harsh environments with little veterinary care.

Dogmeat is the evolutionary product of a chain of dogs that have survived and thrived in this environment. He is able to heal quickly, be minimally effected by radiation and will rarely get any kind of infection on his injuries. He's basically a superdog.


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

[User]
ELI5 why do you save fuel if you drive a distance slower.

In school we learned '' what you save in energy, you have to increase the way.''  By that rule you should use the exact same amount of energy (fuel) for the same distance no matter what speed. I've asked a few people, but no-one could give me a good answer.

[Assistant]
Two reasons -

1. Car engines do not have the same efficiency (likes gallons of gas per miles) at all speeds. In reality engine efficiency is mind bogglingly complex but manufactures  "tune" the engines they design to *most efficient* around the speed limit-ish. So outside of any other reasons, a car engine might get 20 miles per gallon driving at 50 miles and hour, 30 miles per gallon driving at 60 miles per hour and 10 miles per gallon driving at 70 miles per hour.
2. Air resistance increases exponentially with speed. Meaning there is much, much more air resistance trying to push back on a car when it drives at 70 miles per hour than there is when driving at 60. So it takes more energy (burns more fuel) to keep a car driving at 70 than it does at 60 because the car needs to overcome that air-push-back.

EDIT - to clarify what you learning in school - you're talking perfect, ideal physics. Yes, you can do physics math to calculate the energy required to move a car from X to Y. But that's the ideal, perfect, *minimum* energy required. In reality something like a car engine can only extract around 30% of the chemical energy in gasoline and then turning into motion energy in the engine with all the moving parts sucks that down, and air resistance sucks that down, friction between tires and the road sucks that down etc. etc. So when we talk about real life systems the method of getting from X to Y is very important.


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

[User]
[Superman] Can Superman drown or be poisoned? What ways can he be killed other than Kryptonite or magic, if any?

I mean, just cause his skin is impenetrable doesn't mean his lungs are, right?

Could you force-feed him adrenaline pills or something to make his heart beat so fast he has a heart attack?

Does he need oxygen to survive?

[Assistant]
Brute Force from a being as strong or stronger than him (Doomsday, Darkseid, etc).

Magic: Vulnerable to any weapon, spell, or force powered by any kind of magic (I.e. Shazam's punches, WW's weapons)

Kryptonite: Obvious

Drowning/Suffocating: Depends on the Canon. In the DCAU, Supes needs a spacesuit while in space. In most comics, he does not. It varies.

Red Sun Radiation: The sun of Krypton was red. Red Sun Light doesn't hurt Clark, but it does drain his powers as the yellow sun energy in his cells is replaced with red son energy. In Infinite Crisis, Superman & Earth 2 Superman tackles Superboy Prime through a red sun to stop his reign of terror. Clark lost his powers for a year and was essentially a normal human.

Captain Atom is a huge threat to Superman because of this since he can shoot red sun radiation at him.


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

[User] ELI5: How do trains make turns if their wheels spin at the same speed on both sides?

[Assistant] Train wheels are actually conical. So, when a train turns, it slides to the larger part of the cone on the outside wheel and the smaller part on the inside wheel. That way the wheels still turn at the same rate, but their radii are different.


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

[User]
[Doctor Who] Using a Tardis to travel into the far future, is there any useful technology to farm?

So let's assume I've got a working Tardis post Time-War, but due to the loss of Gallifrey my technical and industrial resources are severely limited. If I wanted a specific kind of tech', like anti-ageing tech', enhanced sensor suite or service robots, if I travel millions, billions or even trillions of years into the future will the technology I find be as good as or better than Gallifreyan technology?

My understanding is that the Gallifreyans never traveled to the end of the Universe because they were sure a more technologically advanced power would exist there. Is this plausible or likely?

Can I travel into the future to farm advanced technology that will actually be useful when incorporated into my Tardis? Does anyone know how far I should travel before I can find goodies like that?

Cheers for reading, thanks in advance for any responses.

[Assistant]
The 10th Doctor had trouble understanding how anything worked in 100,000,000,000,000 AD.

Human technology has cycles of rise and fall. Try aiming for the 51st century; humans had time travel and sonic weapons then.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is KFC a christmas thing over in Japan?

[Assistant]
KFC put a lot into marketing. Christmas in Japan is a fun, commercial holiday. Closer to valentine's in its seen more as an adult and romantic holiday then religious or for kids.

The marketing worked, they offered much higher quality meals on top of the normal stuff, and so people liked it and it became a thing.


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

[User] [Star Trek/General Sci-Fi] What prevents an aggressor from simply orbiting a planet in their ship and locking on to all of the inhibits hearts and teleporting said organ out of the body. Seems like an easy way to pirate planets.

[Assistant]
Easy? Even a small colony likely has a couple hundred residents. Have you ever worked with a transporter?

Even assuming you have the proper equipment, such as many banks of extra buffers, and power supply for a large scale transport job like that you still have to target all these individuals. Oh, and not just the individuals but specific organs! Even from people who may be on the opposite side of the planet from current orbital position! Yea, good luck getting that kind of range.

Hell, remove the technical limitations you're still talking about a lot of calculations necessary to get this done. Not really possible and even if it was possible it certainly wouldn't be easy!


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

[User]
Are we constantly getting small amounts of cancer cells and having our immune system kill it immediately?

A weak immune system increases the risk of cancer, so this prompted this question in my head.

[Assistant] The short answer: yes. natural-killer cells, part of the T-cell lineage, are meant to pick these neoplastic cells off before they become too numerous and cause problems. As another poster mentioned, there are numerous mechanisms within the cell that can allow the cell to correct genetic damage, and if all else fails, to commit cellular suicide (apoptosis). This may occur if things have gone wrong beyond the cellular ability to repair the damage.


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

[User] ELI5 with water's persistent and powerful erosive power, how are all rivers not straight lines from source to ocean by now?

[Assistant]
Because water has momentum. The flow around a bend digs into the far side of the curve while it slows down and deposits sediments on the inside of the curve.

The result is that curves are exaggerated over time, and can even form circular oxbow lakes. The sediment deposits close off the circle and the river continues around it.

Over geological time, the actual path of a river can change a LOT, wiggling across the land, carving new paths.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the role of a female orgasm during reproduction?

I've always wondered but never really understood if the male sperm is in any way helped by a females orgasm and vise versa. I know its a cheeky question, but would like to understand that like I am 5 cause I really dont understand it.

[Assistant]
A couple possible theories but nothing proven.
1. Helps increase uptake of sperms into the uterus.
2. Helps increase probability of male orgasm to increase chance of conception.
3. Just a byproduct of a 2 gendered species. Just like how the male nipple is practically useless, the female orgasm might just be the pairing of the male orgasm and has no practical use.


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

[User] Can X-rays be red-shifted until they're visible to humans?

[Assistant]
Sure! It's a simple Doppler calculation.

We have our initial wavelength (low energy X-Ray) at about 6 nm and a visible wavelength of yellow at about 600 nm.

Using the redshift equations:
1 + z = 600 / 6
z = 99 (This is our redshift index)

So for an object moving directly away from us, that gives a speed of:
1 + z = 1/sqrt(1-b^(2))
100 = 1/sqrt(1-b^(2))
b = .99995

So that x-ray emitter would have to be moving away from us at 99.995% of the speed of light. Which is pretty fast.


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

[User] Eli5: How does a hotel always have hot water for every occupant?

[Assistant]
Some have really larger boilers and storage tanks. Others have multiple smaller instant boilers around the building.

Essentially the system is designed to handle the load.
Residential systems are often under powered or "right sized" for the owner that installed it, but that doesn't mean that sizing works right for everyone.


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

[User]
[ELI5] The North American Free Trade Agreement

What is it for? How does it work? What are its benefits? Please eli5 or eli4

Edit: thank you all for the responses!! Im reading each one and its honestly hurting my stupid brain but they are all super helpful.

[Assistant] When a company imports or exports a product to another country, they have to pay a tax called a tariff on that product.   NAFTA was an agreement between Canada, the US, and Mexico to allow imports and exports for free.   The idea is that free trade makes it cheaper and easier for companies in one country to sell products in the other countries, thus  improving the economies of all three.  The down side is that it also makes it cheaper for companies to move their plants to whichever country provides the cheapest labor.   That was good for Mexicans but bad for the American workers who lost their jobs.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does a paused YouTube video not retain the same video quality as when its playing?

[Assistant] YouTube compresses video fairly aggressively. One of the ways this manifests itself is blocky artefacts. Normally these artefacts will blur across frames, meaning when frames are viewed at the normal speed you generally don't notice the artefacting as much, but paused only artefacts on that individual frame are seen, resulting in an apparent drop in quality.


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

[User]
ElI5: turbocharging as it relates to automobiles.

How does it work, what function do all the different components (blow-off valve, dump tube, wastegate, intercooler, hot side/cold side etc.) perform?

[Assistant]
In a normal NA engine, exhaust gasses are sent straight down the exhaust pipe and are not used.

In a turbo engine, exhaust gasses are re-routed back into the turbo-charger. The exhaust gasses spin up the charger which compresses the air which is then sent into the engine. Because the air is compressed, it makes a bigger bang, which in turn makes more power.

There are two sides to the turbo, the hot side and the cold side. The hot side is the bit which the exhaust is piped into - this is the gas which is used to spin the turbine to compress the air.  The cold side is the bit which is drawing in the cold air which is sent into the engine to make the bang.

The cold side will be plumbed into either a standard air filter or into an inter-cooler. If it is plumbed into the standard air filter then it will breath regular air. However, if you want to make more power, you can plumb in into an inter-cooler which means it will be taking in cooled air. As cooled air is more dense, there is more of it in a given area, thus it makes a bigger bang which makes more power. Out of the factory, most turbo cars have an inter-cooler. However, many people who want to modify their NA cars to add a turbo often skip the inter-cooler due to space limitations in the engine bay or to save a bit of money.

The turbo needs a mechanism to regulate the amount of compression. If you have too much, it can put more air into your engine than its designed to manage and cause serious damage. Therefore the turbo includes various mechanisms to regulate the boost pressure. The wastegate is an example of this, its purpose is to act as a control valve so that should the pressure reach more than your pre-defiend acceptable level, it will enable excess air to escape thus keeping a managable level of boost. The wastegate sits in the pipework between the engine and the hot side of the turbo and can release excess pressure before it gets to the turbo.

Many people who modify their turbo cars to make more power do so by stopping the point at which the wastegate dumps air - this increases the boost pressure beyond the manufactures level and is an easy way to make more power. The downside is that it comes at a risk of if you set it too high, the engine blows up.

A blow off valve / dump valve (same thing) sits on the pipework leading to the cold side of the turbo. This is often confused with the wastegate but its a different thing as its on the cold side rather than hot side. Its job is to dump any excess pressure when the driver lifts off the throttle (eg gear changes) to ensure that any back-pressure which is built up which could mess with the turbos compressor is dumped rather than goes into the turbo. Some dump valves are pretty much silent and they re-circulate this air back into the system, others make a 'tsschhhh' type sound which is when the compressed air is being dumped into the atmosphere. Most cars come as standard with the silent recirculation type but its a fairly easy modification to swap it too the louder one if thats your thing.


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

[User]
According to Foucault, what factors led to punishment shifting from public torture to more humane and private forms of punishment?

Im reading through Discipline and Punish and am finding some of it quite dense. A brief summary of some of his arguments would be very helpful :)

[Assistant]
In Discipline and Punish, Foucault appears to put forward the proposition that, while judicial respect for the humanity of the criminal certainly draws support from the empathic inclinations of the psyche, the transition from excessively brutal public executions to highly constrained and inconspicuous legal procedures resulted mainly from the necessity to maintain social order, during the unprecedented growth of technologically-complex economies.

That is to say, in relation to the health of economic and political structures, the unmitigated power of the sovereign, manifested in the barbarous acts committed on the judicial scaffolds, was as destabilising a force as the criminality it intended to suppress, due to its despotically inconsistent nature and the empathy -induced anarchy that it tended to elicit among the witnesses; therefore, an increase in economic complexity, lead to the necessary development of an increasingly differentiated and consistent judiciary.


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

[User] ELI5: Does the President of The United States actually get to relax when he is on vacation?

[Assistant]
Oh dear god no.

I mean yes... he can try... but you don't get to relax when you have that much weight on your shoulders.

Its the same for most CEOs, Actors, and anyone else who is in the public spotlight.  Its impossible to fully relax because you are always either on call... or on camera.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Please explain how gravity in the Death Star works.

The Death Star is plenty large enough to create all the gravity that those aboard would need. But it would seem that the Empire is using an artifical system to counteract and over power the natural system. When standing on any level of the station one's feet should be pointed towards the core but no, insted the are aimed at the souther pole (or rather the plane the the pole would sit on). The best visualization if this is when ships dock and depart. The aim for the center of the station and pull in nose first and land flat without changing orientation. So what kind of artifical gravity is being used? And more importantly why?

[Assistant] Actually, the Death Star is not massive enough. For the small radius it has, it would need to be insanely dense. It has a low gravity like that of a medium-sized moon, but that isn't viable for a space station. The core levels had a reasonable amount of gravity and used concentric decks with the floor facing the core, but outside of those first few levels artificial gravity was used and oriented towards the "south" pole. The gravity itself was created by standard artificial gravity generators that can be found in any ship larger than a fighter. There were quite a few of them all hooked up in a matrix in order to make the gravity uniform throughout the station.