Why is an atomic clock so accurate? Atomic clocks are accurate because atoms oscillate at a stable and predictable frequency. All clocks work by using the number of movements of something to calculate the passage of time. They do this by knowing how many movements of something equal a second and working from that. Mechanical […]
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What is junk DNA? Junk DNA is DNA that doesn’t seem to do anything. It is not part of our coding DNA. DNA is in the cell nucleus of all of our cells. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. The deoxyribo part is sugar. The nucleic acid part is a long chain like molecule. Inside the
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What is the difference between conduction, convection, and radiation? The difference is that they are three different ways of transferring heat energy. I think we first need to look at what heat is. Heat is defined as “the transfer of thermal energy from one physical system to another system, or from one region in a
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Could a perpetual motion machine be possible? No, because any perpetual motion machine would break the laws of thermodynamics. The definition of a machine is a device used to perform a task. Any perpetual motion machine has to be able to perform work to be a machine. There are a lot of people that say
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Does the ozone layer still have a hole? Yes, the ozone layer does still have a hole, although it is slowly repairing itself. The ozone layer is not very thick, but it is vital to our survival on this planet. We talk about a hole in the ozone layer, but it is not an impenetrable
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What is Prince Rupert’s drop? Prince Rupert’s drop is a small, tadpole-shaped glass bead that is incredibly strong but incredibly fragile. Prince Rupert’s drops have been around for a long time and there is some thought that they were first discovered by Roman glassmakers two thousand years ago. They were first brought to Great Britain
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Why are some materials brittle? Materials such as glass and ceramics are brittle because their atoms are held together by strong bonds that cannot slide past each other. If you have ever dropped a jar of something on a hard floor, you will know that glass is very brittle and shatters when impacted. Or, if
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How does a self-cleaning surface work? There are two basic ways to make something self-cleaning. You can make it superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic. Both of these methods will use water to clean the object. Self-cleaning surfaces are very useful for places that are difficult to get to and manually clean, such as the windows on the
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Does the placebo effect work? The placebo effect works for things that are directly affected by the brain, but not for actual illnesses. Nobody understands exactly the mechanism behind the placebo effect, but there are some pretty good theories. The word “placebo” comes from Latin, and its origins give a clue to what it does.
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Why does an oxyacetylene torch get so hot? An oxyacetylene torch gets so hot because the particles in acetylene hold an enormous amount of energy that they release when they are exposed to oxygen. Most of us will never have used an oxyacetylene torch. They are used by metal workers to weld or to cut
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