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

[User]
Are Neutrinos not faster than light?

Scientists keep proving that neutrinos do not travel faster than the speed of light.
Well if that is the case, in case of a cosmic event like a supernova, why do neutrinos reach us before light does?
What is obstructing light from getting to us the same time?

[Assistant] The supernova really starts around the core, releasing a burst of energy in light and neutrinos. The light gets scattered inside the star, continually being absorbed and emitted taking a random walk to get out. Neutrinos dont interact with matter much so basically pass right through. In a vacuum light is always faster, but it needs to escape the star first so the neutrinos get enough of a head start to reach us first.


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

[User]
What would happen if you smoked a cigarette on the ISS?

I just accidentally watched Event Horizon (1999) instead of the reputable science fiction movie Interstellar (2014) that I meant to. Half of the space crew in this movie are smoking. What would really happen if someone was to smoke a cigarette on the ISS? What if people chain smoked on the ISS as they do in Event Horizon (1999)?

Would these chemicals ever dissipate enough to avoid detection? or would they forever be detectable within the air supply and monitoring systems?

[Assistant]
the ISS has what's called a TCCS. A snippet from Nasa's website. These are designed specifically to filter smelly things in the air.

**TCCS traps them in replaceable beds.**

**Major components of the TCCS include an activated charcoal bed, a catalytic oxidizer assembly, a lithium hydroxide sorbent bed, a fan, and a flow meter. Although the TCCS removes most atmospheric contaminants with the charcoal bed, the high temperature catalytic oxidizer is required for removal of lower molecular weight compounds, such as methane.**

**TCCS inlet air is drawn directly from the open cabin atmosphere into the activated charcoal bed by the TCCS fan, which is downstream of the charcoal bed. The charcoal bed is impregnated with phosphoric acid, which enables it to absorb ammonia. Downstream of the fan, the process air is split into two flow streams; one going to the Catalytic Oxidizer Assembly, and one to a bypass line. The flow rate to the Catalytic Oxidizer Assembly, measured by a flow meter, is used to control the speed of the fan to provide a specified rate of flow to the oxidizer. The remaining flow is sent through the bypass.**

**A regenerative heat exchanger and a resistance heater are used to heat the air entering the oxidizer to approximately 400 C. The catalyst oxidizes the organic compounds to CO2 and water, and converts the inorganic compounds to acidic gases such as hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, and sulfur dioxide. Air leaving the catalyst bed is cooled in the regenerative heat exchanger and is circulated through the LiOH sorbent bed. This bed removes any acid by-products produced during the oxidation process. The air exiting the sorbent bed combines with the unprocessed bypass air and returns directly to the ducts.**


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

[User]
When was it first known and/or confirmed that Mars was another planet and not a star?

In everything I've read trying to answer this question, Mars is referred to as either a heavenly body or a planet. When did Mars go from being a bright spot in the sky to being recognized as another place like Earth?

If there's a big dumb obvious answer for this that I'm missing, the same question would apply to Venus.

[Assistant]
This really depends on what you mean by the term *planet*.

The word "planet" comes from the Ancient Greek for "wandering star." It was recognized since antiquity that Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all moved differently than the background stars, sliding across the fixed constellations. The ancient Babylonians developed relatively sophisticated models to predict their locations perhaps as early as 2000 B.C. In some sense, then, you could say it was known that Mars was a planet 4000 years ago.

However, that may not really get at the spirit of your question, namely that these were not just stars that moved differently than other stars, but actual separate worlds. The odd thing here is that the last planet visible to the unaided eye to be recognized as a *planet* was Earth itself. It wasn't until Copernicus (roughly 1530 A.D.) that we realized that like the rest of these planets, Earth was in motion through the heavens, circling around the Sun just like the other planets. It was only then that the connection started to be made that if Earth was just another planet, so in turn these planets known since antiquity were also worlds onto themselves.

This was further confirmed by Galileo (1610 A.D.) when he first peered through a telescope at Jupiter and Saturn and saw that these objects were not just points of light, but clearly showed a disc, suggesting they too were substantial worlds.


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

[User] ELI5: How is sound stored in a file and reproduced back?

[Assistant]
Sound is a waveform and anything that is a waveform can be described by numbers. Think of a simple sine wave. If you walk along the x axis you can measure the wave in terms of numbers - x and y. The number of steps you take across the x axis is your resolution and the height of the y axis is your amplitude.
There are programs called codecs - code and decode - they take the sound coming in over the microphone and convert it into numbers (coding). The numbers are stored in a file. The file format is specific to the codec (.wav, .mp3, .avi etc) . The same codec takes the file and does the reverse. It converts the numbers back into sound vis the speakers.


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

[User]
[DC Comics] Does Nightwing Have Contingency Plans?

Okay we all know that Batman has contingency plans but does his first Robin have contingency plans. We know that's Jason, Tim and Damian all have contingency plans so it would be weird if Dick was the only Robin without any contingency plans.

Plus you would think of it wouldn't stuff Dick has seen like: The betrayal of members like Terra, other members going rouge like Raven, the return of Jason Todd and etc. You would think this would convince Dick to make contingency plans.

I think there might be some evidence that he does have contingency plans.

1)His Red X alter ego had gear specifically designed for the titans. Yes sure you can say that Robin isn't Dick Grayson but it is
-He becomes Nightwing, yeah Jason became Robin for a short period of time but its manly Dick Grayson
-Larry's (the 5th dimensional being) real name is Nosyarg Kcid, with is Dick Grayson Backwards
-Robin has a flash back of a circus and sees the silhouette of two people falling to their deaths from a trapeze. Which would only be significant to Dick.

2) Nightwing puts nano trackers in water that he gives Impulse in Young Justice

3) After the Tower of Babel storyline, the Titans team accuse Dick of having contingency plans. And Dick never denies it.

4) You would think Bruce would say something about Dick not having it. Something like "Dick doesn't need contingency plans, he trust people"

5) When he discovered that Tim and Damian had Contingency plans he didn't freak out. He never told them "you can't be like Bruce, you have to trust your Teams"

But to be fair those are very very small points but thats why I'm asking you guys.

[Assistant]
When he finds Tim's contingencies he does say "there's a stubborn logic to your thinking, but this approach bit Bruce in the butt more than once".

Which suggests he understands the need for contingency plans but finds them very unsavoury. He also tells Tim to at least make his password harder as he's concerned someone could access & use them for the wrong purposes.

He probably finds them personally unpleasant as a breach of trust & dangerous because of the potential for misuse. As secretive as he is, even Bruce's plans were stolen.

I imagine he has some broad strategies himself but keeps them in his head rather than meticulous plans laid out in writing.


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

[User]
[MCU, Thor] So how exactly do the nine realms work?

Are these "Realms" literally in different states of existence? Like alternate universes? Does that mean Midgard is *just* Earth, or the entire dimension in which Earth is located.

Does the realm of Asgard have an entire dimension in it, filled with countless planets and people? If so, why do they give a shit what happens in Midgard?

Are they just simply different places in the Universe connected somehow? So why are there just *Nine* realms, out of countless millions?

[Assistant] The Nine Realms appear to be in the same physical universe (in the MCU at least). When the Dark Elves were on Earth battling Thor, Mjolnir attempted to follow Thor on a direct spatial path after Thor would pop in and out of the realms during the convergence. That strongly suggests that the Realms are all in the same universe, just many light years apart.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is there no tall buildings that use lightning and move it to an electrical storage place, then use it to cut costs on electricity?

[Assistant]
There are two big problems we face here.

The first is that lightning is unpredictable - we would be investing in a system that might occasionally help, but equally might do next to nothing for long periods and overall end up costing money to maintain without generating many gains.

The second is that we just don't really have the technology to capture and store that amount of electricity quickly enough. Those car batteries that take 20 minutes to charge with a fast charger? We are talking about needing a way to capture and store multiple times that amount of energy in a fraction of a second. The current technology we have just doesn't work that quickly.


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

[User]
How does the immune response that causes hay fever differ from the immune response that is utilised by COVID vaccines? (And why don't antihistamines affect the latter?)

I always have a rough time aroung grass pollen season, and recently got the Moderna vaccine. I've been assured that taking my usual antihistamies won't have any effect on the vaccine working, and I believe that, but I'd love to know why.

Since allergies are an immune response, and antihistamines suppress them, what is different about other kinds of immune response that means antihistamines don't disrupt them?

[Assistant] The answer is in the word. Anti-histamine inhibits histamine (inflammatory protein) from being released by specific immune cells, mainly granulocytes (basophils, eosinophils, neutrophils). Vaccine immune response is focused more on lymphocyte specialization, sensitizing B-lymphocytes to antigens which then become plasma cells that produce antibodies to previously encountered antigens. Of course this is a very simplified explanation of immunology.


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

[User]
If Jupiter was condensed, how big would it be compared to Earth?

So from what I understand, Jupiter is entirely made of gas. I know that gases like helium have an expansion ratio, which is how much space it occupies when it evaporates.

Is it possible to get an average expansion ratio for Jupiter and therefore a measurement of how large Jupiter would be (in physical dimensions e.g. diameter) if we cooled it enough to condense?

[Assistant]
The problem is that the compositions of the planets are very different. The best way to do this would be to compare the masses.

Earth = 5.972E24 kg

Jupiter = 1.898E27 kg

If Jupiter's density was made to be the same density as Earth, it would be 1.898E27/5.972E24 = 317 times the size of the Earth in terms of volume.


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

[User]
[DOOM Eternal]How did Humanity's armies do so poorly against Hell?

When it's shown that human weaponry can hurt a demon just fine? Is it because the slayer is walking around with a permanent quad damage on his guns or something?

[Assistant]
a lot of humans were transformed into zombies, so half your army is now on their side.

demons can teleport in anywhere, so fortifications generally doesnt matter.

and demons can just teleport more in from hell, while every soldier of yours that die stay dead. (if you are lucky)

add in to that with UAC activling working against the human race, and you now got your largest and most advanced coopertation in the world turning against you.


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

[User]
[Independence Day Resurgence] Why no capital ships?

Twenty years after the war of 1996 humanity has the ESD, they have a base all the way out on Rhea a base on the moon and a massive fleet of fighter craft.

 So why no Capital Ships?

[Assistant] They didnt need them. They had no FTL engines so they would have all been around Earth anyway, and the fighters + satellites + stations were thought to be enough for planetary defense. Now they have more information about the Galaxy theyll probably make some though.


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

[User]
[Frankenstein] What would happen if Dr. Frankenstein had published his work?

What if Victor Frankenstein (from the original novel) made his work public? How does this affect early 19th century Europe? Are more creatures made? What purpose would they serve?

[Assistant] I think the creature was more of a proof-of-concept that the dead can be reanimated. It likely would have gone much better on a recently deceased individual, rather than a monster made up of cut up cadavers. The most useful application might be the ability to perform complex surgery on a dead body before reanimating them. Not having to worry about killing someone during a surgical procedure opens up all kinds of possibilities for early surgeons, and likely advances medical science much more quickly than  our timeline.


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

[User]
ELI5:Year 2038 Problem

What does this mean? And legitimately explain Like I'm a 5 year old, no techno mumbo jumbo. please!

[Assistant] Unix time is defined as the number of seconds that have elapsed since 1 January 1970.  The way a lot of computers store this number (as a 32 bit signed integer, but you said no techo mumbo jumbo), the maximum value is around 2.147 billion seconds, which equals ~68 years.  1970+68 = 2038, so at some point in 2038 those systems' clocks will tick past the maximum value. In the best case, the computer suddenly thinks it's suddenly 1970.


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

[User]
[LotR] How would the quest to destroy the ring have fared if Frodo chose to go to the Gap of Rohan or continue through the mountain pass?

What would have happened if Frodo chose to follow Boromir's suggestion to make for the Gap of Rohan? What if he supported Gandalf and refused to turn back from the mountain pass? How much impact did Frodo's decision here have on the course of history?

[Assistant]
Isengard is literally sitting at the entrance to the gap. (Hence isengard because it's guarding the river Isen).

They would be pretty much handing the ring to Saruman who would either pass it to Sauron or try to use it himself.

The mountain would have killed them.


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

[User]
How can the relativity principle and time dilation coexist?

I am an observer on the ground watching a moving train's clock and record the time as dilated. A passenger, who from their perspective is stationary and the ground and I are passing by, records my time dilated by the same amount. This is not correct, but why?

[Assistant]
No, you got the gist of it. Time dilation is not in conflict with relativity, rather time dilation is a *consequence* of relativity.

*Both observers see the each other's clocks running slow.*

This comes about (along with length contraction) that both observers must agree on the speed of light. This is how our universe ensures that.


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

[User]
What determines whether or not a substance has a strong scent?

For example, why does an ester have such a strong smell?

[Assistant]
In short, there are 2 main factors:

1. Volatility of the substance. In order to be detected by your olfactory system, molecules of the compound must reach your nasal cavity, and that generally means they need to be either gaseous or suspended in the air or captured in the moisture in the air. Esters smell strongly because they are volatile compounds (they have weak intermolecular forces) so they reach your nose easily.
2. Sensitivity of your nose. Your olfactory system has evolved to detect certain molecules very well, others less well, and still others not at all. The more sensitive your nose is to a substance, the less is required to get a response.


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

[User]
[LotR] If our world is modern Middle-Earth, is there still a way to reach Valinor, and aside from that, are Gandalf and the Elves still hanging out there to this day?

What are they even doing?

[Assistant]
The world was flat until near the end of the Second Age, with Valinor being the uttermost western edge of Arda. After the world was made round and Valinor removed, a Straight Road was left, following the line of Arda as it used to be. This is the path that the Elves took West, and it should still remain today.

The Elves and all the Ainur (including Gandalf) should still be there, as they are bound to Arda until its ending.


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

[User]
Does gravity affect the measurement of time or the actual passage of time itself?

There's are two cars on Earth that are placed on treadmills. They both accelerate to the same speed and hold the speed indefinitely. One of the treadmills is then transported to Jupiter. Assume all environmental parameters between the two sites are the same, same car/air density/etc. Let's also assume communication between the two cars are instantaneous. Once the treadmill lands on Jupiter, both treadmills are stopped and the cars shoot out at whatever speed they were traveling at prior. After 1 hour as measured on earth, both cars are instructed to stop immediately. Has the car on Jupiter gone a different distance because time passes at a different rate or that its speed was different as time was measured at a different rate.

[Assistant]
Forget about instantaneous communication (which can't be considered consistent with relativity anyway) and treadmills and cars. You can only compare clocks when they are right next to each other. So suppose someone takes an extended vacation to Jupiter while someone else stays back on Earth. They synch their clocks when they separate. The person on Jupiter eventually comes back. When the two clocks reunite, they stop them and compare readings. The clock that went to Jupiter reads a lower elapsed time.

(Now in this example, the relative difference will not be very much at all. But you can replace Jupiter with your favorite supermassive black hole and have the vacationer orbit the black hole for some period before coming back. If the orbit is close enough and the mass of the black hole large enough, the relative difference between the two clocks at reunion can be very large, like the difference between weeks and years.)

Time dilation is not illusory or some contrived consequence of how we measure time. It is real and describes actual differences in elapsed time.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it so hard to breathe when theres air blowing directly in your face?

Ive found that its hard to breathe when theres fast air blowing in your face (high winds outside, blow dryer). Why does this happen?

[Assistant] The wind creates a lower pressure around your nose. This lower pressure means a smaller pressure difference when inhaling. This means it requires more diaphragm energy to take in the same amount of air.


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

[User]
ELI5: When movies make hundreds of millions, whats an accurate picture of where this money comes from and where it ends up?

For example: Skyfall has already made over $ 500 million around the world. Where do they get that figure from? Where does this money come from? How much do the studios get? What about the theaters? The advertising agencies?

[Assistant]
Typically, a writer/producer develop the idea for a film. They take this idea and 'sell' it to a studio for, let's say, 10 $.

The studio will now hire actors, writers (maybe even the same one), producer/directors, sets etc etc etc and spend 50 $ on this all to make a final/finished movie. Since they've spent (50+10) 60$ now, they sell this finished product for a 150 $ to the distributors.

The distributor will now market the hell out of the movie, do ads, trailers, sponsorships, interviews etc etc and will make it look like 'The Next Big Thing'. This cost them 100$. Now cinemas and theaters and 'showers' want the film. They all pay 50 $ each to the distributors to get a copy of the film. Suppose the distributors manage to sell it to 66 cinemas 'WorldWide', so they earn ((66x50)-100)=3200$ from all the cinemas all over.

The cinemas now want people to see the film, so they set the ticket price at 1$ and manage to get 300 people to see the film over the course of 3 weeks at their 20-seat cinema, so they've earned (300 x 1) 300 $ from the film.

The people? They just spent 1 $ and got to see Emma Watson smooching Cristian Bale in IMAX format.

tl;dr

* Idea originator spends effort/time - earns 10. Net +10$
* Studio spends 10 + 50 - earns 150. Net +90$
* Distributor spends 150 + 100 - earns 3300. Net +3050$
* Cinema spends 50 - earns 300. Net +250$
* Audience member spends 1 - earns a movie.

Note: Scales massively distorted for clarity.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40k] Where would the Emperor be in 2015 and what would he be doing?

He would be about 10,000 years old now. What would he be doing in the present?

[Assistant] The beauty of the Emperor's design is that we'll never know. He's been standing behind history from the beginning, subtly guiding humanity from its infancy to reach his ultimate goals. He's not the famous leaders, scientists or celebrities of any time period, but he has had contact with many of their lives. He could have been an inspirational teacher, a kind passerby, or a frightening criminal that scared someone into changing something dramatic about themselves. And the best part is, with his ability to psychically change his entire appearance, nobody would ever be able to make the connection between anyone's extraordinary encounters with humanity's guiding light.


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

[User]
CMV: We are living in the golden age of the internet right now

My view is that even though internet speeds and tech will undoubtedly improve year after year, the user experience of the internet will degrade over time.

Sure, we have times when a video won't buffer fast enough or require a program that doesn't exist yet for whatever super-specific task we need to do. But we have torrents, anonymity, free movies, free shows, free books, free music, free games. All at the ends of our fingertips. We can discuss things today without fear of being prosecuted or tracked or outed.

I believe that laws will keep getting passed that take these things away little by little. Torrents will soon become illegal. Tor might stop working as soon as the government has their own new better network so they won't have to upkeep the onion network for us.

Bitcoin will become regulated, happening even now where you have to declare it on your taxes.

Speech: we see in European countries that the internet is now being monitored for hate speech and police are actually called on the 'criminal.' This will spread to America, especially with mounting social pressure to force people to become more tolerant.

Customization: many programs are simplifying their settings menus for the common user which leaves power users unable to customize our work environment the way we want it.

To CMV: maybe argue that even though the government has trillions to spend on digital authoritarianship, hackers will always prevail.

[Assistant]
To what extent do we have to buy your ideas about what's good and bad?  Plenty of reasonable people think the anonymity you champion leads to trolling and abuse; plenty of reasonable people think torrenting leads to a devaluation of artists; plenty of reasonable people think bitcoin is a joke.

Maybe it'd help if you said what you think is so good about these things.  Is it just a matter of what you consider authoritarian?  If so, can you explain what falls into that category and what doesn't?


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

[User]
Why does applying a little pressure to my earbuds make the bass sounds so much louder?

I am using the stock Ipod headphones, so they're very lame. Normally, they have almost no bass. Almost as bad as my laptop- 90% treble. However, if I press on them a little bit, it's like adding a subwoofer to my headphones. I considered the fact that simply the added volume makes it easier to hear the bass, but the high notes don't seem to be affected really. Just the low ones.

If this question makes sense to anyone, do you have an explanation for it?

[Assistant]
All sound waves are based on changes in pressure. Low frequency (that we hear as bass) have a longer time between the high and low pressure points of a wave.
When you press the ear buds into your ears, your forming a better seal, so the air cannot escape. So the low frequency seems louder because your not allowing any of the pressure to escape from your ear canal.
High frequency doesn't react in the same way since there is not enough time for pressure to leak out.
You might want to try a different sized ear-bud, or a different sized rubber tip to them, that fits your ear better.


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

[User]
How does a gear train increase torque?

Inspired by the Brick Experiment Channel, I've been playing around with my old Lego Technic, and gears just seem like magic to me.

If I attach a rotating arm to an electric motor, the motor can barely lift the arm. But when I convey the rotation through a series of paired gears (small->large), the motor suddenly can easily turn the heavy arm, as if I'm generating free power out of nowhere. How does this work? Is it something to do with leverage?

[Assistant]
Its not free energy, you discovered mechanical advantage.

Torque is measured in distance*force. Increasing the force or distance increases the torque, making it easier to turn things.

You can intuitively understand this if you think about increasing the length of a lever. Increase the length of a lever, and its easier to move or turn things.
You can think of a gear as a series of levers around a point. A large gear is the same thing as a long lever.


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

[User]
Could Mars have had a rich, earth-like flora even when we now can't see any hint of it?

When we talk about life on Mars we usually talk about microbes or other simple and small life forms. I wonder if there could once have been plant life, forests with huge trees without seeing any evidence today.

Like, could they have been completey destroyed after Mars lost its atmosphere? So that not a single tree trunk or something like that survived (as a fossil) ouf of billions of trees all around the planet? Because all we see on pictures from our satellites and rovers today is basically wasteland.

Or is the lack of any evidence today a strong hint that if there ever was life on mars, it never was much more developed than microbes.

[Assistant]
We haven't really explored Mars on more than an extremely superficial level yet, and we know from earth's history that it doesn't take very long for obvious, large-scale signs of life to disappear following a mass extinction. So in that sense, it would certainly be possible that we just haven't found evidence of complex life on Mars yet because we haven't looked very hard.

However, we also need to consider how long Mars has been in something resembling its current state. It took Earth nearly 4 billion years from the time the planet formed until the emergence of flourishing complex life. Since Mars has resembled its current state for a very long time, complex life would have had to evolve far faster on Mars than it did on Earth...which seems unlikely.


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

[User] ELI5: Is fear of Death an instinct or a learned behavior?

[Assistant]
Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably cant. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.

- Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper

While other animals certainly mourn the loss of other group members when they die (e.g. chimpanzees, elephants, bonobos), it is unlikely they understand the more abstract concept of their own mortality and death. Thus fear of death is not an instinct, but learned through a higher cognitive understanding of the workings of life. Fear of things that cause death is instinct, because fear and pain are essential for survival.


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

[User]
[Spider-Man 2] How exactly would Doc Ocks fusion reactor be any effective even if it worked the way he intended it to work?

Even if we ignore all of the problems it displayed throughout the movie(pulling metallic objects into itself, realising plasma beams all over the place, nearly blowing up New York etc) I really dont understand how it could be any effective even if it work the way Doc intended it because of one thing: It requires a very finite resource to work.

Doc said that he needed Tritium to fuel the reactor and it is statuses that within the movies universe only about 25 pounds of it on the whole planet.

If thats the case how great could this reactor really be?

Given how finite this resource is it would mean that it wouldnt be possible to build that many of these reactors. Meaning that you wouldnt be able to build one reactor for every major city etc.

Also what if you had to shut down the reactor for maintenance of something? Would the Tritium be reusable again? It didnt look like it when Spider-Man shut the first reactor down: the sun along with the Tritium just vanished meaning Tritium would eventually run out pretty quickly given how finite it is.

But lets assume that one of these reactors would be  powerful enough power a whole continent for centuries with no maintenance or something then you would still need to build power cables across the continent to make it possible connect It to cities in different states/countries hundreds of miles away from each other. Also what if one of these reactor was sabotaged or something? Then a whole continent would lose its power.

Could someone explain to how the reactor would be effective?

[Assistant]
It seems like once the small amount of Tritum can keep it going *indefinitely,* or at least indefinitely for all intents and purposes. You just need to switch it on once and then it keeps making massive amounts of energy constantly for the duration of the lifespan of a star with no further fuel needed.

While, as you say, it has unique problems to go with that- as all power methods do- that's a pretty impressive feat, and well worth looking into as a powersource.


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

[User]
What would happen if I drop a cubic meter of solid iron into a gas giant type of planet?

Would it just stay "floating" at a certain density region or would it continue to drop?

[Assistant]
It would melt, in Jupiter's case at least. Iron's density is around 7g/cm^3, and Jupiter's mean density is around 1.3g/cm^3. HOWEVER, the core temperature of the gas giant is approximately 33000C, WAY higher than the melting temperature of iron.

If anyone could give relative density gradients, I'd be appreciative... At what point does it, if ever, reach that of iron?


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

[User] Can animals tell if others of their kind suffer from significant mutation, and does it affect how they socialise?

[Assistant]
Yes. Animals can absolutely tell if others of their kind suffer a significant mutation. The key word here is Significant.

Many mutations are neutral, they neither hinder nor help the organism. Sometimes, the mutation is deleterious, and damages the fitness of the organism. Rarely, a mutation is beneficial, and helps the organism.

The vast majority of mutations will not be recognized by any animal, as most mutations won't have a visible affect on the organism.  That being said, a SIGNIFICANT mutation would drastically alter the appearance and/or behavior of the organism, this would undoubtedly result in an inability for the organism to function socially.

The reason for this avoidance from an evolutionary standpoint is that a mutation that changes the form or function of an organism is almost always a change for the worse. So species have become selective with regards to acceptance and mating, if an animal senses something is wrong with another, it will shun it, or even attack it in some cases. This is to protect the genetic integrity of the population, not by conscious decision, but by instinctual influence.

Humans are not immune to this, our history is rife with stories of malformed babies being abandoned at birth. It is a common genetic theme.

Edit: TLDR Yes, other animals can tell, and yes it would have an affect on social interaction, provided the mutation was significant enough.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do medications for things like ADHD or other disorders that are just chemical imbalances in the brain have side-effects? Why can't they just supplement the missing chemical and leave it at that, not causing side effects?

[Assistant]
Not all chemicals just go into your bloodstream as-is (unless specifically injected into the bloodstream.) For example, we can't just drink a little vial of endorphins and get happy feelings. This can happen for a variety of reasons like but not limited to:

* The digestive system destroys the chemical.
* The digestive system can't absorb the chemical.
* The chemical reacts with too many things in food to stay intact.

So we have to find another chemical that can get absorbed properly and causes changes to the body that increase the production of the chemical we want. But *those* changes aren't necessarily limited to just producing the chemical we want, sometimes it causes other changes to the body we don't really want.

A lot of medical treatments involve tradeoffs. Sometimes it's worth increased risk of high blood pressure to be able to function more normally.


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

[User] [Spiderman] What would happen if Electro was in the proximity of an EMP?

[Assistant]
An EMP is a short duration massive pulse of electromagnetic energy. it's only real danger is to electronic circuitry and objects that are sensitive to the flow of electricity as suddenly there's a lot more flowing through them that they were constructed to handle.

Electro doesn't have issues with handling electromagnetic loads. An EMP would probably be like doing a line of cocaine to him.


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

[User]
Why does an alternator turn slower, or resist turning more when under load?

I noticed this in my car when I would activate something that draws electricity like window motors, the engine RPMs would drop slightly until I let off the window motor button. Is this a stupid question and I'm totally wrong about what's actually happening to cause the engine RPMs to dip while there's an electrical load? Thank you for any useful input!!

[Assistant]
There's different levels you can look at it from. The simplest is conservation of energy. If it didn't turn slower under load, you'd have more energy when you give it a load than when you don't. It could be creating energy, or it could be destroying it when you don't use a load, but either way that's not conserving energy.

But looking at the underlying physics itself, it's because when it's under load, you have a magnet moving through coils to generate electricity, and the electricity moving through those coils generates a magnetic field in the opposite direction.


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

[User]
[Marvel] I want to help Punisher. How would I go about my work without getting punished myself?

I'm an aspiring copycat that wants to help Punisher rid the city of criminals, but I'm also aware of what happens to sloppy copycats that don't follow his rules.  How would I help him in his work without getting myself punished for breaking a rule I don't know about?  Could I ask him? Shadow him on several missions to learn on the job?

[Assistant]
The only way to be a copycat and not earn Frank's ire is to be utterly and completely professional. Absolutely **NO** civilian casualties, only killing actual criminal scum and not just people you don't agree with, and making sure you do it like a damn professional.

Castle is alive and so effective as the Punisher because of his training and tactics. He isn't some loose cannon who *just* shoots up a place. He plans all of his operations with laser focused, military grade precision. If you can possibly come close to that level and not do anything stupid, you *may* have a chance of him accepting your work. He won't like you, but you'll be less likely to get punished yourself.


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

[User]
ELI5: The differences of a Solid State Drive and a Hard Drive and why SSDs can have much smaller data sizes and yet be much more efficient.

Exactly what it says on the tin.

[Assistant]
SSDs are like warehouses where each bit is stacked on a shelf in neat rows.

HDDs are like DVDs or records.  All of the bits are stored on a line in a big spiral. The spiral moves really fast so a "needle" can read the data from the spiral.

SSDs don't have any moving parts and use less power. No spinning spiral means an SSD can read all of the data at almost the same speed, and also extremely quickly.  SSDs are expensive right now, and harder to make than HDDs, so the ones you can buy are a lot smaller than their HDD counterparts.


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

[User] [30Rock] how is doctor spaceman well respected?

[Assistant]
Why? Two words - warm hands. And he can forge a prescription faster than you can say "oxycontin".

Esteemed "doctor" Leo Spaceman has forgotten more about medicine than any lesser medical practitioner could hope to learn in a lifetime. Literally, he has forgotten. Fortunately though, he fully understands that "science is whatever we want it to be".

He comes from a long line of prestigious doctors, in fact his father - Dr Harold (Heinrich) Spaceman was the personal surgeon of the Fuhrer himself - it is often said that his prescription amphetamines kept Hitler motivated and allowed him to put in the long hours needed to keep the German war effort going long after it became clear that defeat was inevitable. Harold Spaceman was also one of the first to see the incredible medical benefits of cigarettes, such as how nicotine and tar were necessary for developing a baby's skeletal system.

With a father like that, it's no wonder Leo Spaceman got a head start in medicine. A graduate of the esteemed Ho Chi Minh School of Medicine, Leo furthered his father's work and, recognising the incredible weight loss potential of cigarettes, made a name for himself with his best selling book *The Cigarette Diet*

He pioneered a medical technique that guarantees male orgasm, bringing long sought after sexual satisfaction to 49% of the population, very magnanimous considering he has problems using the techniques himself following that unfortunate scuba accident.

Dr Spaceman is willing to admit his own failings though. He's "not afraid to make mistakes, especially on someone else". Unlike other quacks, who profess to know where the human heart is *even though it is different for every person* Dr Spaceman will admit that he doesn't know, not willing to endanger a patient's life by administering an adrenaline shot to some other part of the body that might be in the chest cavity, like a liver, spleen or brain.

He continually strives for perfection. Even with his busy schedule of medicine, surgery and recording love-making albums, Dr Spaceman continues his research into a cure for a woman's mouth, hoping to make the world a better place.

He is the personal doctor to such luminaries as Kenny Rogers, ALF and Ted Kaczynski, who he personally instructed in how to write a proper manifesto.

And finally, you don't get to be Surgeon General of the United States without being a respected medical practitioner, and how could you not respect the Surgeon General of the United States?


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

[User] [Harry Potter] Did Harry face ANY consequences, for his use of Unforgivable Curses? Where'd he learn to cast them, anyway?

[Assistant]
Harry learned the Unforgivable Curses from Barty Crouch Jr who disguised himself as Mad Eye Moody who was teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts class in year four.

Did Harry suffer any consequences? Nope. The only people he used them against were Death Eaters who weren't exactly in a place to take Harry to court and a Goblin Who isn't even human anyways.


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

[User] ELI5 What are brainwaves and whats the difference between for example beta and alpha waves?

[Assistant]
brain waves are patterns we find in our neurons firing.  They're correlated with different mental states.

alpha is associated with being awake but not really actively focused on anything.  It's what happens when you're awake, but you're not really focused in on a task.  These occur at about 9 to 14 hz.

beta is also associated with being awake, but it's correlated with active effort and concentration.  It typically occurs in bursts and is about 15 to 40 hz.

So basically if you're taking a walk in the park reflecting on the day you'd be in alpha.  Someone drops something that makes a noise you'll switch into beta for a short period of time as you react to that.

Theta waves are between 5 and 8 hz and Delta are below 5 hz.  Both are associated with various stages of sleep.  Theta is associated with a "medium" sleep (stage 2 out of 5) while delta is associated with deeper sleep (stages 3 and 4 out of 5).


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

[User]
CMV: I feel that wealthy should pay a flat tax rather than the current progressive US tax system.

I'm moving to Singapore in the coming months and discovered that they have basically a flat tax system (much lower rate than US) on income and have heavy luxury taxes on items like cars and brand named clothing. Many employees in my company are relocating to different parts of Asia because their tax burden is too heavy especially in European countries. High taxes seem to be causing an exodus from certain countries which creates loss of tax income. Places like Dubai and Singapore are benefiting greatly from the tax challenges faced in mature economies. MNC have been doing it for years, individuals are starting as well now.

[Assistant] So you're suggesting that governments should participate in a race to the bottom, hoping wealthy foreigners will move in? For one country that may be very smart, but if all do it ... The only winners are the people who already won. And the rest will pay for it.


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

[User]
Average grade in Ph.D. from Germany and took long. Can I get a post doc in the US or Canada?

I did a Ph.D. in an interdisciplinary social science subject in Germany. Funding ended in 2012, and since then I have struggled with odd jobs and no support from my supervisors. This year, I completed my Ph.D. and will defend in January. My supervisors who insisted I give in my first draft as the final has now given me the second-to-lowest grade in Germany, cum Laude (There is rite, cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude.) In Germany, usually for post-doc work, you need a Magna. I come from a very poor Third World country and my family depends on me. I need to find a job that requires a Ph.D. and usually, people get a Magna and go on to do post-doctoral work which gives them permanent residence. This option is now very unlikely for me. I cannot return home empty-handed either.

If I apply for a post-doc outside Germany would (a) the long time I took to finish work against me? (b) would the grade work against me? (c) I can ask for recommendation letters, but the fact that I took so long and got an average grade remains. The work is good (multiple other readers who I gave it to read said so and I was very surprised that they gave me the cum laude, especially after they had refused to comment or read it). I have published articles though from 2012. How likely is it that I can find a postdoc in Canada or the US?

[Assistant] I dont see a future in academia for you with that long of a PhD, neither in germany nor outside. Luckily, academic jobs are not the only way to succeed and support your family. Accept that academia is not for you, and start looking for employment that makes use of the skills you learned in your PhD. Drop the self-limiting notion that only staying in academia means success; you can find better paid jobs outside of universities that will - quite frankly - exploit you less as well.


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

[User]
What is it that is keeping us from having "wireless" electricity?

There are ways to charge certain small electronics via inductive charging, but why haven't we gone "completely wireless," to the point where we even need to plug things in anymore?  What's the roadblock, and when will it conceivably be overcome?

[Assistant] Electromagnetic waves spread throughout space and weaken with increasing distance from the source.  A wireless signal can be weak as long as it is amplified upon being received.  If you want to send a large amount of energy, and not just information, then you're stuck.  Even most information today is actually sent by wired signal through fiber optic cables.


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

[User] ELI5:How middle names came about.

[Assistant]
In most cultures, names are for

A) Identifying an individual

and

B) Identifying the individual's lineage.

So for example, in Pakistan, a person called "Mohammad Adil Abbasi " is generally so named because

- his father's name was Muhammad

- his name is Adil

- he is from the "Abbasi" family or tribe

so it's kinda your own identifier.


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

[User] ELI5 The differences between Socialism and Communism.

[Assistant]
I grew up in Soviet Union, and in school they actually had to explain the difference to 5 year-olds. According to the Soviet propaganda, Soviet Union was a socialist country, striving to become a communist country, and here is the difference:

In Socialism - everybody gives as much as he can, and receives as much as he deserves.
In communism - everybody gives as much as he can, and receives as much as he needs.

Doesn't make much sense, but people ate it.


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

[User] Eli5: how do radios with a scanning option know the difference between static and a station that comes in?

[Assistant] Radio signals are electromagnetic and a radio works by receiving this energy from the air using an antenna, filtering to a desired frequency and then amplifying the audio. There will be more energy picked up when the radio is tuned to a frequency with an active broadcast signal vs when it's tuned to white noise. This means the signal level can be measured on each channel and the radio can be made to stop scanning when the signal level is high enough.


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

[User] ELI5: What is the difference between energy attained from sleeping and energy attained from food?

[Assistant]
You don't get energy from sleeping. Your body gets energy from food. What sleep does is repair damage to your body and allow your brain to rest. When your brain doesn't have enough rest, it stops working as efficiently. But without food, your body won't have enough energy to do anything.

Think of food as the gas you put into your car, and sleep as the occasional oil change you need to keep your car working properly.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why isn't Earth creating rings from space junk like Saturn from dust and stones?

Would be convenient to collect it.

[Assistant]
Saturns rings arent created from random dust and stones. At least, the majority of them is not. They are created by shredding moons that get too close.

To understand why those moons got shredded, youll first want to understand the Roche limit. Large objects like moons, planets, asteroids, and stars are held together primarily by their own gravity. The strength of gravity reduces when the distance between two objects decreases. If a small object like a moon approaches a larger object like a big planet, the gravity from the planet will eventually be pulling on the surface of that moon stronger than the moons own gravity does. When this happens, the moon falls apart. We can mathematically calculate the distance where the gravitational effects of the planet on the moon will be equal to the gravity holding that moon together. This distance is called the Roche limit.

When there are many moons around one planet, these moons pull on each other and some of these moons can get pulled closer to the planet. If they get closer than the Roche limit, then the moon falls apart and it will form a ring. Saturn has a lot of moons, and it used to have a lot more than it does now.

We dont see this around earth because weve only got the one moon, and its slowly drifting further away.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are Hiroshima, Nagasaki and many of the Pacific Islands used for nuclear testing safe to live in today, but the area around Chernobyl isn't?

[Assistant]
Essentially Hiroshima and Nagasaki were an explosive release of a tiny amount of radioactive material, atomizing and blowing the little bits that were left across a pretty huge footprint, kind of like  a pinch of dust in front of a table fan.

Chernobyl saturated its entire surrounding area with TONS of the stuff and much of it settled out in the immediate area. So someone poured a bucket of sand on that same fan.


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

[User]
What happens if you inhale a piece of food into your lungs?

Does the food dissolve? Can it grow moldy/ spoil in your lungs?

[Assistant] It's fairly rare that a piece of food would make it down in to your lungs, but it's certainly possible.  Given a solid piece of food in the lungs, a doctor can go in with a bronchoscope (a long tube that goes down your trachea and into your lungs) and remove it.  A complication that could arise is known as aspiration pneumonia, which is a type of pneumonia which generally occurs when some foreign object is introduced to the bronchial tree.  All of this is pretty rare in a healthy person, and usually there are other medical issues involved that impair the swallowing mechanism.


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

[User] [Highlander] How do the immortals who are at least centuries old function in modern society? How could they acquire birth certificates, SS#s, drivers licenses, buy or own assets etc..?

[Assistant]
This was specifically addressed in the movie.  They would simply fake their own deaths and take on the identity of child that died in early infancy.  Get their birth certificate, use it to get a SSN, and with those 2 documents, you can get a drivers licence, passport, anything else you need.

In the first film, Connor Macleod, as of 1985, was living as Russell Nash, who in reality was the son of a young unwed mother who died in childbirth and who himself died shortly thereafter.  In those days, it would just be a matter of going to city records, pulling the birth certificate, and moving forward from there.  He likely had the process started around the kid's actual birth, and already had his next false identity already in the works.  In the film we even see a dozen prior identities that owned the building he was in going back to before the revolutionary war.

Today it would certainly be harder, but prior to computers, it would not have been that hard.


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

[User]
Bill Gates, in his 1996 book 'the road ahead' says that 'a signal doesn't move any faster through a fiber-optic cable than it does through a wire', is he wrong?

I understand electrons move at cm per second (really slowly) and I sort of know about the impulse of electricity. Electrons cannot travel at *c* because they have mass. So if you had a wire stretching from the earth to the sun and back and a light bulb with a switch on either end, and a laser pointing at a mirror on the sun, if you flipped the switch on both the laser and the bulb, what would occur? From my current understanding, the laser will take approximately 16 min to make the journey. When would the light bulb on earth switch on?

Am I right in imagining the flow if electrons as a tube of ping pong balls; you stuff one in and the one in the end pops out? Is it affected by 'squishing'? Surely the transfer of a binary message this way would not be instant if, when sent by the laser, it would take distance/*c*to arrive.

I'm in my final year studying law, and got a bit side tracked with my internet law reading. Also I love physics :)

[Assistant] The speed at which electric signal travels through the wire has little to do with the speed of electrons. It is the speed of the electromagnetic wave that matters. And it can be very close to *c*, but in your average cable it's around 66% of *c*. You would think that fiber optic signal travels at *c*, but in reality the speed of light is slowed by about 35% in an optic fiber depending on its refractive index.  So Bill Gates, if that quote in fact belongs to him, was right.


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

[User]
how do databases maintain connections so reliably?

i can leave a connection open for more than 24 hours, an individual query can run for up to an hour, scanning terabytes of data, and transferring dozens of gigabytes. while failures during these operations are very rare. it seems a lot more robust than all but the most advanced web sites.

[Assistant]
I think a large part of it is simply due to the fact that we _need_ databases to be reliable. If a database messes up, data can be permanently altered. If a website has a bug (frontend at least), the user is mildly annoyed until it is fixed. There's more incentive/necessity to create a reliable database, so more tests are written, code is scrutinized harder, and there are higher bars to check in code.

There's also a not as controllable factor. For the most part the the data being processed in a database is physically very close - either in the same machine or over fast and reliable network connections in the same datacenter. Websites on the other hand have to be able to serve data across thousands of miles of wires or through the air, hoping all the right bits stay in place.


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

[User] ELI5: When watching a movie or playing a videogame on my TV, the people sound like they speak in whispers but the anything that isn't talking is loud enough to break my eardrums?

[Assistant] Sounds like you have a mismatch between your audio configuration and your actual speakers, or your center channel is turned way down. If, for example, you're set up for 5.1 but only have stereo speakers, the dialog is being sent to a center channel speaker that doesn't exist.


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

[User] [Assasins creed] How can you jump from 100 ft into a hay bale and survive?

[Assistant]
The answer lies in the name: Faith.  It's a demonstration of the Assassin's Order lack of a fear for death.  In the first game one of the junior Assassins breaks his legs attempting it, undoubtedly due to his fear of dying.

I don't think there's really a solid answer in the canon.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why is amazon so cheap?

How is I can buy something on amazon and have it delivered the next day for less than it would cost me to go to a shop and buy it?

[Assistant]
Amazon consists of sellers who buy products at wholesale prices. Most of these sellers don't have physical stores so they save on business costs (rent, paying many workers etc) associated with running a store so they can afford to sell lower than physical stores.

Even if they do have a store its always cheaper to buy online.


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

[User]
CMV:The Paleo Diet is based on flawed evolutionary arguments.

The paleo diet essentially argues that our bodies are still genetically designed to eat and digest the foods that our ancient human ancestors consumed.  This includes meat, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and some oils.  While I agree that abstaining from certain foods can be healthy and beneficial in maintaining a healthy weight, the scientific evidence that this diet is based on seems flawed to me.  Our ancestors ate what they were able to hunt and gather.  They did not specifically choose their diet; they just ate what was available to them.  In fact, many of the foods that our ancient ancestors consumed are not even available to modern humans in this day and age.  After hundreds of thousands of years of evolving, intellectually and physically, different food sources and different methods of preparing these foods were discovered and mastered.  I do not see how trying to mimic this specific diet is beneficial when we now have many other healthy food options available to us.

I have found two major flaws in the science behind this diet.  For one, it is argued that we are still genetically and biologically identical to our primal ancestors.  This is not the case.  Human genetics are continually evolving.  It is scientifically invalid to argue that all modern humans have the same genetic makeup as our ancestors from tens and hundreds of thousands of years ago, and therefore scientifically invalid to argue that our bodies are still genetically designed to only digest and thrive on certain foods of the past.  The second point that confuses me is this: why, out of the millions of years of human evolution, was it decided that this hunter-gatherer like diet was the best fit for humans?  Why not the diet developed right after agriculture?  In fact, why not just eat the diet of primates and chimps?  I cannot find a logical argument explaining why this certain time period in human evolutionary history had the best diet for our species.  I understand how the foods this diet promotes may be very beneficial to some people in weight loss and maintaining a healthy lifestyle; however, I do not see how this is the best diet for all humans.  I am very interested in this topic and would love to hear your opinions.  Change my view!

[Assistant]
You're largely correct. The human diet is very flexible, which is why so many different cultures have thrived on radically different diets.

That being said, there are some aspects of the "paleo" diet that do ring true. The best example is sugar. We eat far more sugar than we ever have before, which leads to oxidative stress, obesity, organ damage, etc. The same goes for processed grains (which quickly gets converted into simple sugars). In other words, there are many aspects of the Paleo diet which are mostly-correct (or at least, not *totally* wrong).


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

[User] ELI5: What the hell are birds doing screaming at 5am?

[Assistant]
There are multiple theories but the most accepted one is that it allows the song to travel farther. The morning air is cooler and drier, meaning sound can travel at a higher range.

As for why they are singing it's likely male birds establishing their territory and warning other males away.


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

[User]
What is electricity made out of?

I figured since it goes through wires, that there has to be some kind of atoms, but what kind? Is it a chemical? Are there even atoms moving though or just electrons? If it is electrons, where do they come from?

This is for wall outlet type electricity. I know it's a plasma, but that's about it.

[Assistant]
Electricity is the motion of electrons. Plasma is the motion of entire atoms.

Think of a copper wire as a pipe, but electrons move through the space between atoms instead of water flowing through the pipe. Voltage is the driving force causing the electrons to move, much like a difference in pressure causes the water to move. Electric current is the flow rate of electrons moving through the wire.


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

[User]
[MCU] What questions were The Hulk and Tony Stark asked when they each use the gauntlet?

When Thanos uses the gauntlet he has a mystical encounter where he is asked if he got what he wanted or if it was worth it, I don't remember the exact question, so what mystical encounter question were the hulk and Tony Stark asked when each of them used the gauntlet? And what did they answer?

If the mystical encounter wasn't a question, what form did it take for each of them?

[Assistant] I think they weren't asked but just told them. It works by not responding to something but by thinking what you want and snapping it once your mind is clear, or maybe stones give you an ideal in your head based on what you want and by doing the snap you are finalising it.


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

[User]
[MCU] Did Dr Strange willingly let himself get dusted?

So during Infinity War we saw Dr Strange get snapped away but I feel like he could have done a number of things to survive.

1. Astral Projection, weve seen him leave his physical body and turn into a ghost even while he was dead for that moment in his movie. We also saw the Ancient One as a ghost after she died from a failed surgery.

2. Body Possession/Mind Transfer, now although is is mostly a comic thing I doubt MCU Strange cant do it. I feel like if Strange wanted to he could of taken control of Thanos mind to reverse the snap and if he couldnt do that then take control of Starks mind or at least just hang out in his subconscious for a while.

3. Resistance, in an interview with the Russo Brothers they said that the reason Spider-Man lasted the longest was because of his will to stay alive. I think if Strange concentrated hard enough he could hold off the snap or at least until all of the other beings alive have died and the gauntlet focuses on him, enough time to tell Tony what to do without giving away the plan.

4. Healing Factor, another reason Peter survived for so long was because his healing factor was trying its hardest to slow the snap. All Strange had to do was put a spell on him the made him heal at an extreme rate.

Anyways let me know what you think because this has been on my mind for a while.

[Assistant] It is possible that all of the scenarios you mentioned existed in the 14 million possible futures Dr. Strange saw. The way it went down was the best way it could have gone, and anything he tried to do to change it may have either ruined it in unforseen ways, or in ways he saw and could not win using.


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

[User]
Are pictures of Galaxies really what Galaxies look like?

I'm talking about the shape. Suppose you have this picture of a Galaxy in 3 quarter profile. Then the 'front' of that galaxy must be thousands of lightyears closer to us than the back end. Since light takes time to travel and all that, the front stars and especially their position must be thousands of years younger/more recent than the back.
So does that mean the shape of a galaxy as we perceive it through out telescopes is not at all what it's really shaped like or just that I'm an absolute idiot?

[Assistant]
The diameter of a galaxy is relatively insignificant relative to its rotational period.

In the case of the milky way, the galaxy rotates every 15 million years, or more, while the galaxy itself is only around 120,000 ly across, so you will have a small amount of distortion, but not enough to completely invalidate how we observe other galaxies.


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

[User]
What are some metaphysical questions that are not ontological?

My understanding of the distinction between the two is as follows: Ontology is a sub discipline of metaphysics. Metaphysics is the study of what exists. Ontology is the study of being.

I presume there is subtlety that I missing. What is the difference between existence and being in this context?

Is there consensus on the topic?

[Assistant]
Im not sure there is any consensus on how to make the distinction.

Often ontology refers to the question of what exists. So one does ontology when one argues whether numbers or properties exist.

Asking what the world is like, then, would be a metaphysical question that isnt ontological. So given that properties exist, what are they like? are they tropes or universals?


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

[User]
Can sound waves be polarized?

I understand sound waves are longitudinal compared to transverse electromagnetic waves, so I would guess there might not be a directly equivalent property to polarization. However, is there any theoretical (or practical) analogue in sound that has similar properties?

[Assistant]
Sound waves in a fluid (liquid/gas/plasma) are longitudinal, and so the concept of polarization doesn't really apply. This is because fluids do not support shear waves, only compression.

Solids are a different story, though. Transverse mechanical waves in solids can also be considered to be sound waves, and can be polarized in much the same way that light can. In seismology, these waves are referred to as S-waves, with Horizontal polarization denoted as SH and vertical polarization as SV. Elliptically polarized surface waves are known as Rayleigh waves, and are sometimes described as "Ground Roll."

I hope that answers your question.


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

[User] ELI5 why weighted blankets make people feel better?

[Assistant] I probably won't explain this well but it has to do with proprioception, or the "6th sense", one's awareness of body position in space. Things like pushing and pulling create propreoceptive input. When you see babies jumping in seats it's not only that they have too much energy or strengthening muscles, they're providing input to their brains- their feet hit the floor which puts pressure on their knees and hips. If you feel antsy and taking a walk helps you feel better, part of that is the propreoceptive input, same with crossing your arms tightly in front of you. Pressure is a good word to use. Straighten your arm, grab your wrist and push towards your elbow, or walk around on your toes and feel the increased pressure, that's proprioception. The blankets activate pressure points which increase serotonin and decrease cortisol which means decreasing stress and activating relaxation.


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

[User] When the antibodies are created against coronavirus, or any other similar special diseases, do they stay in body for lifetime? Or would they get destroyed when not in use?

[Assistant] Antibody titres will eventually decrease. However, the cells that produce them (B-cells) should persist in your body for much of your life. They will slow down antibody production over time, but will reactivate, and proliferate should they detect a similar infection.


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

[User] [Marvel] How well is Spider-Man liked by the other heroes?

[Assistant] The science minded heroes (Stark/Mr Fantastic) appreciate his intellect, the more earnest heroes respect his good nature and honor (Cap), , the grittier heroes think he's a goody two shoes pest, but all-in-all it usually comes down to how much they like his sense of humor.


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

[User]
ELI5 - What people mean when they claim the Civil War was not about slavery.

Ok - so I get that one of the main reasons for the Civil War was that the Confederate states were fighting for State's rights. But wasn't slavery the biggest State Right the southerns wanted to protect? Slaves becoming free would have put a huge dent in their cotton market because they would have to pay for workers.

So why else do I see Confederate flag stickers that say "If you think this is racist, you need a history lesson?"

Edit 1: Wow, I didn't expect such a great response. I will read through these Monday. Thanks to everyone. I have always wanted to be educated about this. I realize it wasn't something that can truly be a ELI5 because of it's complexity, but I still thought this was a great place to put it. Thanks, again!

[Assistant] As the north became more industrialized the south became more and more a one crop economy-cotton- which depended heavily on slave labor to be popular.  Balancing the needs of two such different economic systems became almost impossible especially as most of the newer states were free states.  So yes, it was about slavery, but more from an economic point of view than a moral one.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What caused Revan and Malak to fall to the Dark Side and seek out the Star Forge? How did they find out about the Star Maps/Forge in the first place?

During the Mandalorian War, Revan and Malak led some Jedi to fight against the Mandalorians. Afterwards, they fell to the Dark Side and saught after and found the Star Forge. What spurred them to do this? What made them go from heroes of the Republic to its enemies? And how did they even know to look for the Star Maps and Forge?

[Assistant] After defeating the Mandalorians they found out a force beyond the outer rim was influencing them. Being the heroes they were they went searching for it, and found a hidden Sith Empire led by Sith Emperor Vitiate. Vitiate twisted their minds and turned them to the dark side and then sent them on their quest to find the Star Forge.


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

[User]
My old lab director writes the most exaggerated, self-involved reference letters and I'm worried mine won't be taken seriously

I (undergrad) worked in a neuroscience lab for over a year and saw several other undergrads come and go. I've had a chance to see letters of recommendation written by the scientific director of the lab and they are...well, let's just say that everyone in the lab constantly compared her to Trump and her letters sound exactly like something he would write. They largely fluff up her lab, while also using exaggerated compliments to describe the RA, and little substance. Something like:

*"Bobert made absolutely extraordinary contributions to our groundbreaking one-of-a-kind research laboratory, truly emerging as one of our most invaluable undergraduate assets. He adapted to our state-of-the-art neuroscience and motion-capture technology with unbelievable speed and intense focus. I was in absolute awe of his extraordinary work ethic and commitment to our lab's world-renowned research. He grew enormously under my mentorship and you will be stunningly blessed to reap these rewards."*

I'm worried that this kind of letter won't be taken seriously if I ask her for one, but I worked really hard at the lab, did good work, and a letter from her would really help me out in internship applications. Are my concerns justified?

[Assistant]
It would be nice if you include a short list of topics you want discussed in the letter (e.g. persistence, command of the literature) so that your letter stays on topic.

That said, if your director writes like this, and your field knows her writing style, if you have a subdued letter from her that could reflect poorly on you.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it said that Florida, Arizona, and Nevada could only grow with air conditioning when many of history's great cities flourished in similar climates long before the invention of A/C?

Havana, New Orleans, Charleston, Santo Domingo, Cairo, Baghdad, Ahvaz, Shibam, Zanzibar, Angkor, Hue, and Singapore all were prominent world cities long before mechanical air conditioning was invented.

[Assistant]
Most of those cities also had great reasons to exist. Like trade routes, road junctions, ports, rivers, lots of arable land, etc. Phoenix ain't got shit. It is a huge, worthless desert not near anything of any note. It's only attraction is that it's pretty, and most people don't want to live with 100+ degree temps all summer just for pretty.

When air conditioning got cheap enough for home use places that were pretty and had inexpensive land but totally shit weather got a lot more attractive.


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

[User]
If the "goto" statement is such a bad thing, why is it even allowed in many programming languages?

My professors have always told me to never use goto statements in my programs because they make programs very unreadable. People online also say that goto statements should not be used for the same reason. But this begs the question, if these goto statements are so bad, why do they still exist in programming languages?

[Assistant] Two things here - most such "truisms" are basically reasonable opinions with provisos, often parroted to the point that the original context has been lost. Secondly, most modern mainstream languages do not actually have `goto`. C and C++ have due to historical circumstances. Java doesn't, Python doesn't, JavaScript doesn't, Rust doesn't, Haskell doesn't, Swift doesn't, and so on.


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

[User]
Why is relativity of simultaneity a consequence of special relativity?

Take for example the famous situation with the train and the embankment, when two lightning bolts hit the front and the rear of the train. The person on the midst of the embankment will see both flashes at the same time and think they're simultaneous (since both flashes are equally far removed from him). The person in the train however would see the flash in the direction the train is moving towards first because the train, from the person on the embankment's perspective, is moving towards that flash while moving away from the other.

I don't think I have any trouble with this situation, but I don't see how this isn't derivable from the physics before special relativity came along. It appears to me is that all you need to know about is that the speed of light is finite and the Galilean principle of relativity, both which were known before special relativity came along.
So the question being: why do we need special relativity in order to explain relativity of simultaneity? Thank you.

[Assistant]
As written, your question mischaracterizes the issue with simultaneity.

It's not a question of the two observers PERCEIVING or SEEING things differently; things are actually different in one frame vs. the other.

In the example you give, even after the observers "correct" for the finite speed of light (which gives a delay between when the flash happens and when it reaches their eyes), the events that are simultaneous for the embankment viewer would not be for the person on the train.

This is inconsistent with Galilean relativity.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] What if Voldemort had targeted Neville Longbottom and his family instead?

The perfect overheard by Snape could have meant Harry or Neville, if Voldemort had instead decided it wasn't Harry that the prophecy had described but instead that it was Neville.

To start, Severus Snape does not betray Voldemort as Lilly Potter is not the target, Voldemort murders Frank and Alice Longbottom. Does Neville survive? If so, Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange attempt to retaliate by targeting Lilly and James Potter to find the whereabouts of Voldemort. Is Snape aware of this and can he warn them of the plan? Do the Potters get tortured into insanity? If they do Harry goes to Sirius as he is not a criminal.

How do the lives of both these characters change and how do the events of the 7 books change?

[Assistant]
Neville doesn't survive, and even if he did, Bellatrix, BC Jr. and crew wouldn't go after the Potters. There were a very specific set of circumstances that set off the protection magic that stopped Voldemort the first time. Voldemort's attack on the Longbottom's would play out differently enough that Neville wouldn't receive that protection. The protection magic that saves Harry is triggered by a sacrifice.

Basically, Neville's parents were Aurors, and apparently good enough at their jobs to earn the respect of people like Barty Crouch Sr. and Mad-Eye Moody. Harry's parents were kids. When Voldemort attacked, James Potter had left his wand in another room. Lily ran upstairs with Harry. Both of them put themselves between Voldemort and Harry, and neither of them resisted Voldemort magically. Neville's parents would not have been unprepared, and would have fought Voldemort. They would have died fighting, and thus Neville would not receive the same protection Harry did.

But the prophecy ISN'T about Neville. This is kind of a key point. The part that Snape overhears could apply to Harry or Neville, but he's discovered before he hears the final part: Voldemort will mark his equal. Harry is half-blood, just like Voldemort. By Voldemort's appraisal, this makes them equals. The prophecy isn't fulfilled by Voldemort killing the Potters, that's where it begins.


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

[User] ELI5: Drinking glasses - why we use certain shapes for certain drinks. Why not drink red wine out of a whiskey tumbler? Does the thickness/quality of the glass matter?

[Assistant]
For wine glasses, they are very shallow and wide at how deep you pour wine as to increase surface, allowing the wine to "breathe", i.e. react with oxygen to improve the taste.

For whiskey, there are so-called "nosing glasses" which have a round bottom part and a relatively slim upper part; this allows the whiskey to evaporate and be sniffed at a concentrated intensity. These are for enjoying good whiskeys; tumblers are for a more everyday usage.

I don't think thickness and quality of the glass matters.


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

[User] [The Sword in the Stone] I am not worthy of pulling the sword out but want it anyway. I have time, tools, and money. Is there any reason I can't just start breaking down the stone until there's nothing left to pull the sword out of?

[Assistant] It's unclear who's power is holding the sword in the stone until the true King can pull it out.  It may be The Jeudo Christian God, it may be the power of fae magic, it may be a manifestation of England herself.  Either way all of thier magics are more powerful then a jack hammer.  You would need a force more powerful then the enchantment placed on the stone.


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

[User] What if the size of the matter that is about to enter the black hole alot bigger than the hole of the black hole itself, would the matter entering the black hole be broken down or would the black hole expand in some sort of way or what?

[Assistant]
The way a solid object stays together as one solid object is because of the forces between the atoms and molecules inside the object. If you push or pull one end of it, that pushes or pulls the bit next to it, which pushes or pulls the bit next to that, and so on and so on until the whole object appears to move together.

However, it actually takes some time for a push or pull on one side of an object to reach the other side. This is actually much slower than the speed of light - it's the speed of sound. This means there's no need for the entire object to get pulled in at once - one part could cross the event horizon before the other end even knows what's happening.

Also, this strength is of course not infinite - if the strength of the bonds in the solid object are weaker than the tidal forces of the black hole, the object will get ripped apart.

So the short answer is that it would break down whatever is falling into it.

The black hole would also expand a bit, just because it's gaining extra mass. But it's not like it's opening its mouth to suck in something bigger than its diameter.


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

[User] ELI5: How a "growling" stomach is linked to our hunger?

[Assistant] When the stomach has no food in it, it will cycle out the old mixture of acid and enzymes in order to add new, fresh stomach juice. This only happens all at once when you have no food in your stomach, and the amplification of the sound by your empty stomach doesn't hurt either. Thus the growling noise used to indicate hunger by all manner of fiction, especially in visual media.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can every cell phone carrier claim that they have the nation's best coverage?

I see ads for both big and small carriers saying that they have the largest coverage and are most dependable in the U.S.  Are these claims actually investigated?

[Assistant]
The way that networks test for reliability can be different. These tests depend on the phone used, the places tested, the method of testing, etc.

After all that, you still have the subjectivity inherent in the word "best." How do you define the most reliable network? Is it the least number of calls dropped in a specific area? Is it the area of their coverage? Is it the strength of their coverage in a city?

All major carriers have a test that considers them "best." The claims are worded such that they're legally ambiguous and you'd have trouble claiming that they're not the "best" by some metric.


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

[User]
ELI5: What does "ironic" mean?

I see people complaining about others using "ironic" wrong, and I don't understand any dictionary definitions. What does "ironic" actually mean, and how would you use it?

[Assistant]
the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

basically its a situation that you would expect the opposite of.

rain on your wedding day is NOT ironic,

BUT, rain on your wedding day, if you were a meteorologist and specifically chose that day because you predicted it wouldnt be rainy *is* ironic.

other examples:

A roofer with a leaky roof.

There are roaches infesting the office of a pest control service.

A plumber spends all day working on leaky faucets and comes home to find a pipe has burst in his home.


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

[User]
ELI5: Can I get sick from undercooking a vegan burger or eating it raw?

I bought some beyond burger patties for dinner and I noticed on the packet it instructs you to not eat the product raw and that it must be cooked through before it can be eaten. Given it is a fully plant based burger, I thought maybe it would be safe to eat under, or even raw. Could you actually get sick from eating the raw vegan burger straight from the packet?

[Assistant]
Yes, you can still get food poisoning.

The environment for germs and bacteria in meat products is much much much better, but the absence of meat doesn't mean that germs and bacteria are absent.

You just get different germs and bacteria.


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

[User]
Why are the cracks on glass opaque?

If the air is see-through, and the glass is too, why are cracks not?

[Assistant]
Light moving between different mediums (air, water, glass) gets a little bit bent; this is why drinking straws look bent when put into a glass. When the glass pane is smooth, the bend is minimal, since it only transitions twice (in and out). When it breaks, the glass becomes super rough, and air and glass get jumbled up. Now light is making that transition hundreds of times, so it gets all bent out of shape. All of the colors sort of blend together, giving a white appearance. This is also why snow is white.

Edit: Polar bears have black skin and transparent hair.


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

[User] ELI5: What happens physically to your body when you get the wind knocked out of you?

[Assistant] Having the wind knocked out of you is caused when the diaphragm (the muscle that pushes up and down on your lungs allowing you to breathe) is temporarily paralyzed.  It's very similar to hitting your funny bone or having someone give you a "charlie-horse" and causing your arm to go numb.  The sudden impact on the muscles and nerves just causes a temporary miscommunication between the muscles and the brain.


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

[User] How do patients that wake up from a prolonged coma eat? Doesn't their digestive system atrophy because of lack of use?

[Assistant]
We actually keep these patients nourished using a feeding tube if possible. They are given a formula through the tube that usually provides the right amount of calories, carbohydrates, and fats that they need.

We aggressively try to use the digestive system for nutrition if there is no contraindication (like gastrointestinal bleeding, recent bowel surgery, dead intestines, etc.). Like you said, the digestive system will atrophy if it is not used. This can lead to severe infections because the intestinal lining will die off, allowing bacteria in the gut to translocate into the bloodstream.

It is usually the case that patients wake up from a medical sedation rather than a "coma." As long as there is evidence that the gut is working, and the patients do not have trouble swallowing, they can eat relatively soon. There are studies that we do that can tell us how well a patient can swallow. We also look at stool production and tube feed residuals (how much formula being given is actually moving through the digestive tract) to let us know if the intestines are working.


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

[User]
CMV: you can believe in evolution and the big bang and be christian at the same time

So I noticed whenever someone is trying to argue against christianity, the most common go to argument is pointing out flaws in the bible. Likewise christians (more so during the gay marriage legalization era) tend to list off bible verses as arguments. Both of these are dumb in my opinion, the bible is nearly 3000 years old and written by people, thinking that events/ideas recorded then would be accurate is illogical. My pastor once told me he believed that evolution and the big bang were real but a result of God. Funny enough he used the bible as evidence against its own credibility by saying that plants were supposedly created before the sun. Just like anything the bible should be taken with a grain of salt and perhaps instead of reading into every line just get the main idea of not being a jerk.

[Assistant] I think for you thats true, and thats good. You clearly have a rational view of your religion. However a lot of people dont. They take the Bible literally and that is in direct conflict with most everything we do in society today.


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

[User]
If they put golf-ball dimples on bullets, would they shoot farther?

And if so, why don't they?

[Assistant] No, a golf balls velocity is in the 'critical region' i.e. it flies at a speed where it experiences a reduction in drag by inducing turbulent flow. Bullets fly so fast, and are so far past this point, that adding dimples would increase the drag.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] Why is Slytherin House under the lake and all dark and slimy and gross? Shouldn't a house filled with Pure Blood elitists be a little more sophisticated?

[Assistant] Slytherin isn't slimy and gross, it's calming and relaxing.  All manner of creatures swim by, and it's got some kick ass couches with some expensive dark wood cupboards.  Sometimes the giant squid swims by because he knows the cool place to hang out.


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

[User]
Why do so many very different species all have red blood? how far back in our evolutionary timeline can we be sure that things had red blood?

Fish, reptiles, mammals. All of these have red blood. Is there a reason for this? semi-related question, what was the first organism we know had blood like ours?

[Assistant]
The colour red is mostly due to the heme prosthetic group (forming haemoglobin, a globular protein) which carries a ferrous ion (Fe^2+) in its center, which will take the oxygen molecule (or CO2, CO, HCN, etc.), converting into the ferric ion (Fe^3+) until it releases it somewhere else. That's why we need to consume iron.

Certain animals, such as crustaceans and cephalopods (octopi, cuttlefish, etc.), instead of having the hemo prosthetic group, they have the cyano prosthetic group, which carries a copper atom instead of an iron atom, and that gives their blood a blue colour. Functions the same by being in a cupric ion state (Cu^2+), just that the atom is different, and therefore so is the colour.


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

[User] Why do many mental illnesses, such as Bipolar, have an average age of onset in the 20's, as opposed to younger?

[Assistant] There are a few reasons. Usually the late teens to early twenties tend to bring independence and thus extreme lifestyle changes and increase in stress. Also, the end of puberty means a big shift in hormones. Not to mention, drug and alcohol exposure surely contribute. Bottom line is, the longer youre alive, the more likely you are to encounter environmental factors which predispose you to such illnesses.


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

[User]
Are there known philosophers that did drugs?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a history and philosophy student but sometimes I can't keep myself from thinking 'was this dude high or...' because sometimes the things they wrote or said are so meta and so far fetched i can't even get my head around the train of thoughts they have written down. So I thought there maybe were philosophers that actually philosophised on drugs?

[Assistant]
Sartre's use of mescaline is well-documented (by himself). He reports that he saw crabs following him around, and they became his constant companions.

Williams James did some nitrous oxide and said it helped him understand Hegel.

Freud was known to do some cocaine.


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

[User]
[The Fly 1986] Was the Original Brundle dead from the moment he teleported himself?

I know this is a big problem with teleporters in Science Fiction, but The Fly seems to be more on the side of it actually being a definite case of it being a case of "Original version destroyed, copy replicated on other side".

For example, when Brundle replicated the steak, it tastes artificial.

It is the computer's version of a steak.

Sure, Brundle teaches it to be "crazy about the flesh", and the steak winds up tasting like steak, but that's like comparing a dot-matrix printer to a modern printer. It's still not the original.

If I were to send you a fax, and it shredded the original up, and destroyed it completely to the atom, it would appear that the paper had been recreated on the other side, but it was destroyed. It is a copy, not the original.

[Assistant]
It's still tied up with the definition of self that all teleporters have.  Are you the physical matter that makes up your body?  Are you the pattern that matter is arranged in?  Are you the collection of memories you hold?

I don't recall that Brundle tried to tackle those questions, he just seemed pretty sure that he'd still be him on the other side.


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

[User]
[Marvel]Would Bruce Banner be as dangerous if the Hulk were gone?

I know that Banner has a lot of issues, and the gamma bomb just gave him the physical means to lash out, but considering how smart he is, how dangerous would he be alone?

[Assistant] I think there's a comic where they manage to shut down the Hulk and piss off Banner at the same time. He quickly makes them wish they were fighting the Hulk as he goes against them with the full force if his gamma based inventions. As Hulk, he is pure rage and lacks focus but as Banner he can calculate and build weapons to take down most foes. Plus nuclear and radiation is his stuff.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are fossils and ruins always found underground? Does land just grow up overtime?

[Assistant] Wind and rivers will constantly deposit material in lower areas. So yes, he land does grow up over time covering features that once were on the surface. But what about things that are on higher ground? They do get worn down by wind and rain and do get lost to history. So in another way, the fossils and ruins we find are the one that have gotten burried by sediments and dust.


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

[User] [Silmarillian] You read about how, when humans first appeared, they could take on Balrags by the score, wound Melkor, and scare Sauron. Later, after having been gifted their island, they lived longer and stronger lives than current humans do. Were humans tougher back then or was that survivor bias?

[Assistant]
I don't think there is any human that did those things. Those are all attributed to *Elves*, not Men. Don't get me wrong, Men did great things, but nothing along the lines of what you describe.

The Numenoreans were so great because they were explicitly gifted as reward for remaining true in the War against Morgoth. And, yes, they were - in almost every way - better than contemporary humans. It was basically an entire race of Captain America's, with the line of Elros specifically even more gifted.


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

[User] [Star Trek] How are days on a ship calculated? If they are 24 hours, how do non-Earth species cope? And, how does any species adapt to an environment of artificial light?

[Assistant]
It depends on the ship honestly. For most Starfleet ships, a 24 hour "day" split into 3 ships was standard. However that can be adjusted depending on the needs of the vessel, the makeup of the crew, and the command style of the captain. For instance due to the proximity to Bajor, Deep Space 9 had a 26 hour "day" split in to 4 shifts.

As it turns out many planets have a similar day period, Vulcan was almost 27 hours, Bajor had 26, Q,onoS is 24 like Earth.

For those who have difficulty adapting their circadian rhythm to a ships schedule, there are treatments available.


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

[User]
ELI5: Once we are able to 3d print records (vinyl) will it be digital or analog?

My 17 year old son just asked this question and I have no answer.

[Assistant] Analog. There's nothing digital about the records themselves beyond the fact that a digital file was used to print the record. Which is a pretty inefficient and expensive way to make a record. It's no more digital than vinyl records produced today being initially made from audio tracks recorded digitally.