Our Most Recent Quickie Questions
This page contains answers to questions that are considered quick to answer (i.e. they don't require our scientists to do research into the wee hours of the night!). Older questions are archived in our categories below...
| Date Answered | Questioner (age, location) | Question | Answer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| January 27, 2010 | july (age 18, philippines) | what is the size of each kinds of volcano? | Cinder cones reach about 1,000 feet above their surroundings while composite volcanoes can grow up to several thousand feet. Shield volcanoes are large, up to several tens of thousands feet. Lava domes are relatively small because they typically copllapse and has to rebuild itself. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 27, 2010 | stefano (age 56, ITALIA) | .I see that there is a relation between the activity cycle and the rotation speed of a star. Couldn't be that there is a relation between the activity cycle and the mass of a star too?Thank you very much.Regards.Stefano |
Although the total mass of a star is the principal determinant in its evolution, I don't believe there are significant mass changes during a star's activity cycle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 27, 2010 | cindy (age 12, n.c.) | what is neptunes circumfrence | In geometry, circumference is the curved line that encloses a curved plane figure. This concept is not applied to shapes with volume. There are other data that are useful to describe a planet. For Neptune: Diameter: 49 493 km (30 760 miles). Mass: 102.4 x 1024 kilograms (17.2 x Earth's mass). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 27, 2010 | Nancy (age 13, tooele) | Why do our constellations have myths anyway? What good will that do? | Since long ago, people around the world have associated the heavens, the stars, and the patterns they make in the sky with their gods and goddesses. Links from this page will take you to descriptions of the role of selected stars, star patterns, and related gods and goddesses in various cultures | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 27, 2010 | Nikki (age 26, colorado) | What experiments have led scientists to describe the shapes of orbitals that compose the atomic sublevels? | The experiments with cathode-ray tubes, oil drop experiments, Rutherford's á-particle experiments, Moseley's X-ray experiment, and Chadwick's bombardment of 9Be with á-particles, were all very important for the definition of the modern atomic structure. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 27, 2010 | Jade (age 11, north carolina) | how miuch water does a large tree put back into the water cycle per day | A large oak tree can transpire 40 000 gallons (151 000 liters) per year, at an average of 110 gallons (414 liters) per day. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 27, 2010 | SHIVAM (age 19, INDIA) | How to decide the poles of a magnet kept in space? | The same way we can identify poles on earth,following the lines of force of the magnetic field. The lines always come out of the north magnetic pole, and go into the south magnetic pole. They can be observed through the interactions with the solar wind. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 27, 2010 | james (age 78, canada) | Is it possible to say the mantle is perpetually cooling, and the crust and/or surface is either cooling or warming depending on changes in the atmosphere? | It could be said ina very general sense. More than "depending on changes in the atmosphere", the crust superficial temperature is a function of the latitude and seasons. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 25, 2010 | isabela (age 13, Philippines) | does the atmosphere of today have the same composition than it did 400 million years ago? Explain | It has been calculatd that Earth's atmospher reached the oxygen level of 20% about 400 million years ago. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 25, 2010 | Lory (age 34, Guam) | What are the names of the planets and how many are there? | Our web page Our Solar System responds your questions and offers much more information on the planets, moons, comets, etc. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 25, 2010 | Lory Ngirailild (age 34, Guam) | What are the names of the planets and how many are there? | Our web page Our Solar System responds your questions and offers much more information on the planets, moons, comets, etc. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 25, 2010 | Debra (age 55, MD) | Relative to the known size of the universe, what is north, south, east and west of the universe? | To define cardinal directions a reference frame is needed. This means that cardinal compass directions, like latitude and longitude lines, are just an imaginary referents to define object locations. In other words, there is no intrinsic cardinal directions in space. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 25, 2010 | Dante (age 11, Pennsylvania) | Is there an effect on evaporation rates when forming crystals from sugar and sugar substitutes? | Yes, once dissolved, sugar is very difficult to re-crystallize because the water hangs on to the sugar molecules. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 25, 2010 | Caitlin (age 13, New Zealand) | Are the eels that i catch from our pond poisonous? we live on a farm so i mean our farm pond.The colour of the eels is a very light brown some times with spots.hope you can reply.....it would be a great help to know if we can smoke them to eat!! thankyou. | For your own safety it would be better if you contact a local biologist to clarify your question. It could be a university department or a goverment office for wildlife or similar. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 25, 2010 | kate (age 13, france) | which statement is true about the creation or begining of the univers | Most scientists currently accept the theory of the Big Bang as the most likely origin of the universe. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 25, 2010 | Anisha (age 10, Memphis,TN) | How many Jupiters can fit inside the sun? | In the most efficient way, a little over 900 Jupiters could fit inside the Sun. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 21, 2010 | saiannice (age 9, florida) | how many years on Earth is 800 light years? | A light-year is a unit of length. It is defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one Julian year (= 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 21, 2010 | chrissy (age 31, wisconsin) | my son wants to know if it has been proven that peoples personalitys changes in a unusual or strange way during a full moon? | While superstitions assert that lunar cycles affect human behavior, scientific studies find nothing to support them. This interesting article discusses this topic. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 21, 2010 | Ron (age 70, B>C> CANADA) | Is it possible that the BIG BANG was followed by one or more smaller bangs? | In a way that is the case. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months. During this short interval, a supernova can radiate as much energy as the Sun could emit over its entire life span | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 21, 2010 | Mia (age 11, Canada) | What do diagnostics do to see inside the sun? | Helioseismology is the study of the Sun interior by studying the propagation of waves in its body (in a similar fashion to geologists learning about the interior of the Earth by studying seismic waves.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 21, 2010 | Chris (age 38yrs, Rivers state,Nigeria) | Why is it that sceince has not made it to the inside of the sun? | But it has! Scientists are "looking" inside the Sun through helioseismology. Helioseismology is the study of the Sun interior by studying the propagation of waves in its body (in a similar fashion to geologists learning about the interior of the Earth by studying seismic waves.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 18, 2010 | kee (age 10+, singapore) | How does car smoke affect animals? | Carbon dioxide is one of the main component of car exhaust, it is also one of the most important greenhouse gases, responsible of the Global Warming effect. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 18, 2010 | jamuna (age 20, india) | which gas is not a constituent of green house gas? | Greenhouse gases are atmospheric gases that absorb and emit radiation within the infrared portion of the spectrum (Thermal). The main greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Oxygen is not considered a greenhouse gas. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 18, 2010 | Steve (age 49, Virginia, USA) | If our universe is supposedly in an expansion phase as a result of the theorized "Big Bang", then initially there was a "Big Crunch" at some point that all matter and energy existed in one point. Did time exist during this event? If this event was considered just that "an event" then did time exist before the universe began? Even before the "monobloc" phase? Or does time begin to exist when an event is "observed"? | The "Big Crunch" and the "Eternal Universe" are different options offered by Cosmologists for the future of the Universe. This is a still an open topic. The following articles offer a good discussion on these issues, http://skyserver.sdss.org/dr1/en/astro/universe/universe.asp, http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/cosmology/expansion.html, and http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/Cosmos/ExpandUni.html. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 18, 2010 | DAVID (age , ) | Close to a trillion barrels of oil have been extracted from the ground since drilling began, an insignificant amount when compared with the Earth's total mass (5.98 x 1024 kilograms or 6.5 x 1021 tons). The crust, where all the oil is found, accounts for less than half a per cent of the total mass of the Earth. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 18, 2010 | Tom (age 45, Massachusetts) | I recall a science teacher (professor?) saying that adding extra weight to the back of a vehicle actually does not improve traction in snow. This makes sense to me because the extra weight would cause more friction between the tires and the snowy or icey road. This friction to overcome in order to achieve forward motion. Thank you and happy holidays to you. | And I agree with you. It is obvious, from day-to-day experiences, that heavier vehicles are less prone to slide (although, once out of control, they are harder to stop). In the case of a pick-up truck, with an uneven weight distribution, the addition of extra weight in the back will provide a better traction. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 15, 2010 | Lawrence (age 62, Texas) | How did the Romans / Greeks produce fire? | There are some indications that they used hitting stone against stone or flint against metal to generate a spark (the latest is still commonly used nowadays in gas lighters). Often the fire was kept running all day, like in churches or goverment places. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 15, 2010 | Lawrence Childress (age 62, Texas) | How did the Romans / Greeks produce fire? | There are some indications that they used hitting stone against stone or flint against metal to generate a spark (the latest is still commonly used nowadays in gas lighters). Often the fire was kept running all day, like in churches or goverment places. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 15, 2010 | Jalil (age 12, Madison il) | What is the earth most earthquakes? | Earthquakes happen when rock moves suddenly. Usually this happens along cracks in Earth’s crust called faults. There are many faults at the breaks between Earth’s tectonic plates. Our web page Where Do Earthquakes Happen? includes an animation that will help you to visualize where are this faults. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 15, 2010 | mayra (age 16, C.A) | HOW much sunlight does uranus get? | Sunlight intensity decreases by the inverse square law. Earth is 1 AU from the sun while Uranus is 20 AU. Uranus gets about 1/202th = 1/400th of the light from the sun as the Earth. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 15, 2010 | Graham (age 12, GA) | What causes surface currents? | The basic cause of surface ocean currents is the greater heating of the ocean and atmosphere at the equator than at the poles. The combination of the movement due to the raising of warm air (and water) and the one due to the spin of the earth causes air to move around, and the resultant movement takes warm air to toward the poles and back again in a close path. The wind blowing over the water surface is the main factor driving the ocean currents. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 15, 2010 | antoine (age 7, alabama us) | how many miles to travel until you reach the exosphere | Very high up, the Earth's atmosphere becomes very thin. The region where atoms and molecules escape into space is referred to as the exosphere. The exosphere is on top of the thermosphere which extends from about 90 km (56 miles) to between 500 and 1,000 km (311 to 621 miles) above our planet. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 15, 2010 | miya (age 11, Michigan) | what r 2 constellations scientific name and nikname that i could c n Michigan? | There are many, for example, the constellations that form the Northern Circumpolar Sky are Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 15, 2010 | Olivia (age 9, WV/USA) | How could measuring the orbit of a comet help scientists understand when it will next be visible from earth? | Because comets, as planets, follow periodical orbits around the Sun. These orbitas are controled by KEPPLER'S LAWS. Use our Interactive Comet Animation to some things about how comets work. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 15, 2010 | Alexey (age 19, USA) | What fourth dimmension look like? | This is a hard one! Better than to try to explain a fourth-dimension space, I will let one of the best science promoters, Dr Carl Sagan, do it. See here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 14, 2010 | isabel (age 9, newyork/usa) | was there ever life on Mars? | Scientists have not found any trace of life outside Earth, but the search continues. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 14, 2010 | joshua (age 10, michigan) | listen up you people ! Is it possible that a proton would push away a positron answer the question I want results | That anti-electron particle is called the positron. It is the same size and weight as an electron, except it has an opposite charge. Altough the rules for the interaction between matter and antimatter are very complex and still not completely known, it is a basic principle that particles with the same charge will reject each other. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 14, 2010 | arelii (age 14, dallas tx) | is it true that it rained frogs some where? | Well, I haven't witness one myself, but read this article! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 14, 2010 | Mitchell (age 10, United States) | When is Pluto going to have an actual picture? | You can find some in our web page Pluto Image List . | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 13, 2010 | swati (age 15, india) | how do the UFO's look like? are they circular in shape or triangular?? do you think that there are/were aliens in area 51?? | See my previous answers to similar questions in our sction Quickie Questions - Alive and Living - Extraterrestrials . | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 13, 2010 | Torgen (age , ) | I was searching for the classification of our sun... i couldnt find it wich surprised me... im probably not looking hard enough or am to dumb so could you please answer this? | The Sun is a as a G2V type star (which might be interpreted as "a 'yellow' two tenths towards 'orange' main sequence star"), a yellow dwarf and a main sequence star. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 13, 2010 | Lexy (age 12, USA) | What provisions are needed in space for people? spacecraft? | There are many! Humans need oxygen, water and food. They also need to keep their muscular strengh through exercise because the lack of gravity would weaken them. They have to be protected from dangerous radiations and from energetic particles, their body wastes have to be recycled and stored, a estrict hygiene has to be kept, etc. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 13, 2010 | Vinny (age , ) | Let's look at a particular motion of Earth's axis, the precession or axial rotation (Earth wobbles on it axis as it spins, completing a full wobble every 23 000 years). This was explained by Newtonian physics. Earth has a nonspherical shape, bulging outward at the equator. The gravitational tidal forces of the Moon and Sun apply torque as they attempt to pull the equatorial bulge into the plane of the ecliptic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 13, 2010 | Andrew (age 10, Lubbok,Texas) | How long does it take the moon to go through one of its phases | If we considere the 8 Phases of the Moon and keep in mind that the moon finishes a full cycle in about 30 days, then it is just a matter of division, 30/8 = 3.75 days for each phase. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 12, 2010 | PHYLLIS (age 16, U.S.) | What are the relative sizes layers of venus? | The outermost layer of Venus is the crust made up of silicates. Underneath is the mantle (also formed by silicates), and the core, made up of nickle-iron. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 12, 2010 | kyra (age 11, new york) | why is halley's comet famous | Halley comet was the first periodic comet identified. It is clearly visible to the naked eye every 75 to 76 years, and for this reason easily identified in the observations. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 12, 2010 | Frank (age 18, ILL) | is there a specific number for the earths magnetic field and can you repell a magnet using the opposite number of the magnetic field's number? | The average magnetic field strength of the Earth is 50 µT = 0.5 Gauss. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 12, 2010 | natasia (age 15, north carolina) | what evidence shows that the universe is expanding? | It was Edwin Hubble, during the 1920's, who first provided evidence that we live in an expanding Universe. Hubble's observations showed that the greater the distance to a galaxy, the greater the redshift in its spectral lines. These measurements strongly indicated that galaxies appear to be moving away from us with speeds proportional to their distance. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 12, 2010 | esther (age 11, fl) | why does the moon changes the way it appears throught the moon ? | The different "shapes" of the moon are related with the changing position of the Moon with respect to the Sun that leads to lunar phases. Our web page Phases of the Moon explains the reasons for these phases. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 12, 2010 | naja (age 11, north carolina) | how would a human be fare on Uranus? | Although gravity on the surface of Uranus is not too diferent from Earth's (8.69 m/s2, 0.89 x Earth's), temperatures are, -200oC ( -oF) at cloud tops. There will also be a lack of oxygen and water, essencial elements for human life. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 12, 2010 | Anna (age 16, California) | What is the time of sunset for the longest and shortest days of the year in San Francisco? | The shortest day corresponds to winter solstic, December 21 in 2010. The longest is the Summer solstice, June 21, 2010. You can obtain the times of sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset,etc. for any day and location here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 12, 2010 | Gabbi (age 10, Colorado) | what is special about constellations | Constellations are formed of bright stars which appear close to each other on the sky, but are really far apart in space. The shapes you see all depend on your point of view. Many societies saw patterns among the stars with gods and goddesses or stories from their culture. More information can be found in our web page Constellations. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 12, 2010 | erin (age 12, PA) | What is the high and low of jupiters temouture? i need this as soon as possible please! | The Average Temperature at Cloud Tops in Jupiter is -150oC (-101oF). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | (age , ) | If gravity were to disappear completely from the Universe would the Universe reach its maximum entropy as a result of that? | This is a question better answered by a expert in Cosmology, but here are my two cents: I don't believe that this hypothetical condition (an Universe with no gravity) will imply a maximum entropy condition. There is still the kinetic energy of the system available for work. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | Shiana (age 11, MICHGAN) | Is there any more sites for biomes??????? Pales respond! | Our web page Biomes and Ecosystems and the links therein cover lots of detail about biomes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | Paige (age 17, Colorado Springs/Colorado) | What are some latin sources for the Roman myth of Sagittarius, and were can I find them? | Some information can be found in our web page Sagittarius and in Sagittarius in Myth. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | Cameron (age 23, ) | What is the scientific name and full classification of an orange? | Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis): Family: Rutaceae, Genus: Citrus. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | Corey (age 16, Pennsylvania) | What is the Spectral Class of the three Brightest stars in the andromeda constellation | The three brightest stars in the Andromeda Constellation are Alpha (Alpheratz, Spectral type B8IVpMnHg), Beta (Mirach, M0IIa), and Gamma (Almaak, K3IIb+A0V). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | Mary (age 11, USA) | What is the effect of chemical weathering on a rock? phyical weathering? | The processes involved in chemical weathering are CARBONATION (dissolved carbon dioxide in rainwater or moisture in surrounding air forms carbonic acid and reacts with the minerals in the rock); HYDROLYSIS (chemical reaction between the minerals in the rock and hydrogen in rain water); OXIDATION (oxygen combine with water and minerals in the rock forming iron oxide. The iron-oxide crust crumbles easily and weakens the rock); SOLUTION (minerals in the rocks dissolve directly in water); and HYDRATION (minerals in the rock absorb water and expand, creating stress which causes the disintegration of rocks). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | Mary (age 11, USA) | What is the effect of chemical weathering on a rock? phyical weathering? | The processes involved in chemical weathering are CARBONATION (dissolved carbon dioxide in rainwater or moisture in surrounding air forms carbonic acid and reacts with the minerals in the rock. This process weakens the rock thus breaking it down in the process); HYDROLYSIS (chemical reaction between the minerals in the rock and hydrogen in rain water); OXIDATION (oxygen combine with water and minerals in the rock. When iron reacts with oxygen iron oxide is formed. The iron-oxide crust crumbles easily and weakens the rock); and SOLUTION (minerals in the rocks dissolve directly in water); HYDRATION (minerals in the rock absorb water and expand, creating stress which causes the disintegration of rocks). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | rachael (age 10, ohio) | I you were in a space ship looking down at the earth would you see the earth rotate? | Absolutely! It will complete a full rotation in 24 hours! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | Richard (age 37, Colorado/United States) | Why does your soft-drink can "sweat" more in the summer and than in the winter? | Because warm air, due to its higher energy, "hold more moisture" (it is better to say that it is a more conducive environment) for gaseous water than cold air. When warm air is in contact with a cold surface, like a bottle of soft-drink, there is more moisture to condence. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | Richard (age 37, Colorado) | What determines the location and magnitude of poleward energy transport? | The main driver is the radiative imbalance at the top of the atmosphere, the difference between the net downward shortwave flux and the outgoing infrared flux, which is larger than 70 W m-2 near the equator when averaged over longitude and season (Hartmann, D. L., 1994: Global Physical Climatology. Academic Press, 411 pp.). For more specific details see http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/bibliography/related_files/ih0101.pdf. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | Becca (age 12, UK) | Whereabouts is the Solar System in our galaxy? | Our Solar System is about 26 000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is about 80 000 to 120 000 light-years across and less than 7 000 light-years thick. The solar system is situated within a smaller spiral arm, called the Local or Orion Arm, which is a connection between the Sagittarius Arm and the Perseus Arm. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 11, 2010 | nishakumari (age 23, india) | there is no magnet inside the earth.yet magnetic lines of force exist.how? | In a very simple way, the Earth is a giant magnet. Its hot liquid core contains iron, and as it moves, it creates an electric curent that causes a magnetic field around the planet. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 8, 2010 | MICAH (age 12, WASHINGTON) | If the Mesosphere eats meteors how do rockets, and satelites get threw the Atmosphere? | Not all objects going through the atmosphere burn out. It depends on several factors, size, speed and composition (what is the object made of) among them. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 8, 2010 | Anne (age 13, India) | why is earth's temperature going? and why is global warming taking place? | We, humans, are the main culprit. Our web page Global Warming offers lots of information on this topic. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 8, 2010 | shirley (age 10, BC Canada) | Is the International Space Station finished already? Thanks | No, the ISS still has a long Assembly Sequence to go. See the NASA's Space Shuttle Flights and ISS Assembly Sequence for more details. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 8, 2010 | Jeeva (age 21, india) | I think long distance planet have high gravitational force than other planets like earth.my imagine correct or folse tell me sir/madem | The gravitational force that a given mass m1 exerts on an object of mass m2 is proportional to the product of the masses (m1 * m2) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the objects. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 8, 2010 | yy (age 11, oklahoma) | what color is eris's moon | See by yourself this picture of Dysnomia, the moon of Eris. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 8, 2010 | Ellia (age 16, Las Vegas) | What factors besides pH affect the corrosion of zinc metal by citrus juices? | There is one important factor, how long is the metalic object exposed to the acid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 8, 2010 | (age , ) | If gravity were to completely disappear from the universe would the universe reach its maximum entropy as a result of that? | This is a question better answered by a expert in Cosmology, but here are my two cents: I don't believe that this hypothetical condition (an Universe with no gravity) will imply a maximum entropy condition. There is still the kinetic energy of the system available for work. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 8, 2010 | ibrahim (age 13, uk ) | will life on earth end oneday? when will that day be? does evrtthing have a beginning andd an end? explain life on earth? will it end or survive? |
Well, a star with a mass similar to our Sun and in the last phase of its life is a red giant. At this point, the Sun will have expanded to cover all the interior planets, including the Earth. But before that, in about 1.1 Gyr (1 100 000 000 years) from today) the Sun will be 10% brighter and this extra solar energy will cause the Earth's atmosphere to dry out. Under such conditions, surface life on Earth will probably be exterminated. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | Madison (age 11, USA) | How fast does Pluto rotate???:) | Pluto's Rotation Period about Axis (length of Pluto's day) is 6.387 Earth days. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | Kaniha (age 14, New Jersey, USA) | Dust tail tends to ____________ the comet's orbit so it doesn't always point away from the sun. What would the black be? Please help me! Thank you very much. | The usually brighter dust tails are broad and diffuse and curve slightly, lagging behind the radial direction. I assume the word you are looking for is "follow". | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | jj (age 18, us) | what are the properties of plasma? | From our web page The Plasma State: Almost everything is made up of atoms (your dog, your science book, this computer...). The atom has a nucleus which has a positive charge. Electrons orbit the nucleus. The electrons (which have a negative charge) are attracted to the nucleus. Remember, opposites attract! But sometimes something comes along that sets the electrons free from orbiting the nucleus. Really hot temperatures can do this! When electrons are no longer trapped in orbits around the nucleus, we have the plasma state. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | lauran (age 15, texas) | which scientist discovered molds? | Molds are fungi that are found virtually everywhere. No a single scientist discovered them. One of the most important discovery related with molds was the discovery of penicillin, attributed to Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | divya (age , mauritius) | what is cosmic inflation? | Cosmic inflation is the theorized exponential expansion of the universe at the end of the grand unification epoch, instants after the Big Bang. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | L.Prashanth (age 17, Karnataka/India) | If not even light can escape a black hole,it means that they are invisible. Then how do we know that there are black holes ?? | Black holes can be observed through its interaction with other matter, for example, by tracking the movement of a group of stars that orbit a region in space. This animation is a simulation of gravitational lensing caused by a black hole. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | L.Prashanth (age 16, India) | Does the SINGULARITY of a black hole have any mass and is the universe infinitely vast ?? | According to the theory, at the center of a black hole lies the singularity, where matter is crushed to infinite density. More information in our web pag Black Holes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | pancracio (age 21, philippines) | when and how was the universe formed | The Big Bang is the prevailing scientific theory about the origin of the universe. According to the theory, the universe was created (between 10 and 20 billion years ago) from a cosmic explosion that threw matter in all directions. Visit our web page The History of the Universe and links therein for more information on this topic. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | Lauryn (age 10, Britain) | The Earth tilts on it's own axis at 23.5 degree's. The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are 23.5 degree's from the equater. Is there a connection? | The tropics include all the areas on The Earth where the sun reaches a point directly overhead and a point directly underneath at least once during the solar year. This only happens between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Outside this band of latitud, AND DUE TO THE TILT OF EARTH'S AXIS, the sun is never directly overhead or directly underneath. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | arundhati (age 12, trivandrum,india) | why the planets are tilted towards a certain side ? | The most widely accepted theory is that during the formation of the Solar System objects of significant masses, probably protoplanets, collided with them, causing the tilt of the axis. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 7, 2010 | TILAAGAN (age 10, MALAYSIA) | WHICH WEAPON DO A SCIENTIST USE TO DESTROY A ASTEROID | None has been used yet, but this article discusses the option of sending a spacecraft to change the trajectory of an asteroid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 6, 2010 | Rosanna (age 15, Australia) | Do the moon affect the change of season and temperature on Earth? If so how? | No in any important measure. Our Moon main influence is seen in the ocean tides. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 6, 2010 | Junyi (age 8, Australia) | why doesn't earth have no gravity? | It does! It is the force that keep us on its surface! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 6, 2010 | Brenna (age , USA) | What is a Harvest Moon? | The harvest moon is the moon at or about the period of fullness that is nearest to the autumnal equinox. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 6, 2010 | Victoria (age 13, Michigan) | What is the average winter temperature in North America? | In the contiguous United States, the average winter temperature for the 20th century was 33.4°F (0.7°C). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | Sam (age 12, Kentucky) | How did scientists come up with the big bang theory? | It took manny years and many amazing minds to develop the Big Bang theory. This article offers a good general explanation of this topic. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | John (age 48, Wisconsin /USA) | 2012 is really getting a lot of attention. I've heard that on 12\21\2012 the earth and the sun will line up directly with the center of the milky way galaxy. Will this event possibly change the rotation or the axis of the earth? | There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades, Earth will not cross the galactic plane in 2012, and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence. Much more about the 2012 hype on this NASA page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | Callie (age 11, Washington) | Which layer of the atmosphere is currently the greatest interest to most meteoroligists? | meteorologists study the troposphere, the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. The troposphere starts at Earth's surface and goes up to a height of 7 to 20 km (4 to 12 miles) above sea level. Most of the mass (about 75-80%) of the atmosphere is in the troposphere. Almost all weather occurs within this layer. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | Vaneh (age 28, pennsylvania) | What is a Jovian planet? | Jovian planets are also known as gas giants. There are four Jovian planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They are the outer planets. The term Jovian came from Jupiter. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | Sanjiv Bridglal (age 13, Trinidad) | What happens in the Thermosphere? | Temperatures climb sharply in the lower thermosphere (below 200 to 300 km altitude), then level off and hold fairly steady with increasing altitude above that height. Solar activity strongly influences temperature in the thermosphere. The thermosphere is typically about 200° C (360° F) hotter in the daytime than at night, and roughly 500° C (900° F) hotter when the Sun is very active than at other times. Temperatures in the upper thermosphere can range from about 500° C (932° F) to 2,000° C (3,632° F) or higher. Although the thermosphere is considered part of Earth's atmosphere, the air density is so low in this layer that most of the thermosphere is what we normally think of as outer space. In fact, the most common definition says that space begins at an altitude of 100 km (62 miles), slightly above the mesopause at the bottom of the thermosphere. The space shuttle and the International Space Station both orbit Earth within the thermosphere! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | Hassan (age 13, USA) | if a black hole speeds up time in a way that if i went near it and didn't get sucked in ( impossible feat by the way) time would speed up but to me it would feel as though little time passed what would happen to atomic clock ( since it supposedly adjusts to different time speeds because of the speed atoms move differs in space and clock adjusts to it) would it move very fast near a black hole or would it move at regular speed ? | Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity states that as you approach a black hole your time slows down. The closer you get to the black hole the more you appear to be in slow motion as seen by Earth. If you were to change your mind right before crossing the event horizon and return to Earth you would find it in the very distant future.More information on our web page Black Holes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | priscilla (age 11, california) | is it true that when astronuts r in the spaceship once theres no more gravity they all of a sudden they start flowting? | Yes, the lack of gravity made the astronauts weightless, and they float inside the ships. See how much fun they have in this interesting clip. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | Valerie (age 17, NC) | Is Pluto apart of our solar system? | Yes!, Pluto was just reclassified as a Dwarf Planet. More information in our web page Pluto demoted - no longer a Planet!. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | josue (age 14, california) | what is infrastructure | Infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | Krisha (age 13, Florida US) | what was the impact caused by the invention of the xray? | X-rays were discovered in late 1895 by W. C. Roentgen, a German physicist. Today x-rays are widely used in medicine and security applications (like airports). They are also a great tool for observing celestial bodies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | Mike (age 12, Wisconsin, U.S.A.) | Do you believe that aliens are really here on Earth somewhere? | See my previous answers to similar questions here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | Mike (age 12, Wisconsin, U.S.A.) | Do you believe that aliens are really here on Earth somewhere? | See my previous answers to similar questions here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | randal (age 12, kansas,usa) | what does it take to be a scientist?????????? | Please, visit our web page to learn about the wide range of interests and specializations that the team of scientists, artists, educators, programmers, and library and museum professionals working on the Windows to the Universe project have. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 5, 2010 | ramshah (age 17, pakistan) | as our sun only contain hydrogen as feul which is converted into helium by fission reaction and it is said that earth and other planets of our our solar system are the part of sun then these scaterred pieces of sun should also contain hydrogen or helium only why it contain more elements? | Although the sun and the planets all come from the same solar nebula, the evolution of a star is quite different of the evolution of planets. And keep in mind that there are other elemets in our star.
Elements in the Sun
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| January 5, 2010 | lauren (age 15, england) | do protists eat and if so what do they eat? | Protists eat by phagocytosis. Plant-like protists (e.g. algae) produce their own food. Animal-like protists ingest bacteria, other protists, and particles they find in the water. Fungal-like protists feed on dead or decaying organic matter, bacteria, and sometimes other fungal-like protists (found on: http://www.lanesville.k12.in.us/LCSYellowpages/Tickit/Carl/protists.html and http://www.microbeworld.org/htm/aboutmicro/microbes/types/protista.htm). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | Brenda (age 50, Georgia) | Can the southern cross be seen from Jamaica/ Cayman Islands or while you are in the ocean south of Cuba? | Yes!, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you must be south of latitude 30 degrees to begin observing Crux, one of the smallest, but most easily recognized constellations in the sky. Crux lies along the Milky Way and is surrounded by Centaurus, the Centaur, on three sides. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | manjunathan (age 18, INDIA) | can we live in other planet | Other planets conditions are extremely harsh and not suitable for human life. They can be transformed or space bases can be built at enormous cost, but there are still a long list of question about how such endeavour would affect the human body and mind. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | Alexia (age 10, az) | Does the constelation of Cetus still exist today? | Yes, it does! Visit our web page Cetus for information on this constellation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | Melissa (age 18, Trinidad) | how does water pollution affect the coral reef | There are different ways in which pollution affects coral reefs. For example, runoff from land "often carries large quantities of sediment from land-clearing, high levels of nutrients from agricultural areas and sewage outflows, and pollutants such as petroleum products and pesticides. These land-based sources of pollution threaten coral reef health." (http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/visions/coral/side.html). But there is also the effect of Air Pollution on reefs: The carbon dioxide air pollution, when absorbed by ocean waters, causes “ocean acidification” which adversely affects the health of coral reef systems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | Patrick (age 16, Ghana) | do tall buildings resist thunder strike? if yes how | Yes, they are protected by lightining rods, a metal rod or conductor mounted on top of buildings and electrically connected to ground through a wire. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | Juri (age 10, I live in Japan) | Which of comets,asteroid,or meteors have slightly elliptical orbits? | Comets, as planets, have elliptical orbits. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | Matthew (age 13, North Carolina) | Why do we have thunder and lightning? | Lightning is the most spectacular element of a thunderstorm. In fact it is how thunderstorms got their name. Wait a minute, what does thunder have to do with lightning? Well, lightning causes thunder. Lightning is a giant spark. A single stroke of lightning can heat the air around it to 30,000 degrees Celsius (54,000 degrees Farhenheit)! This extreme heating causes the air to expand at an explosive rate. The expansion creates a shock wave that turns into a booming sound wave, better known as thunder. Thus the name thunderstorm. Don't miss our web page Lightning Formation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | jahnavi.s (age 10, india) | who gave the stars these strange names? | Most of the names we use for the stars are Arabic, Egyptian or Greek in origin, and are often tied to mythology. They generally originate from ancient times. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | jahnavi.s (age 7, india) | what is exobiology?;how is milky way born? | It is defined as the branch of biology concerned with the effects of outer space on living organisms and the search for extraterrestrial life ( wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | jahnavi (age 11, india) | is there waste in the space? | Yes, our aticle Junk in Space! describes this increasing problem. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | Siobhan (age 14, America) | What are the steps in which proteins are made in cells? | In a process called translation! Before this, a mRNA is created using DNA template (transcription). The mRNA then binds to the two parts of ribosome, tRNA, and translation allows the amino acids made in this process to bind to each other to form proteins, which can go through additional configurations in order to be active. More information can be found here and here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 4, 2010 | Jill (age 13, United States) | How did all the planets(except mercury,) come to have an axial tilt. I need an exact explanation. | I don't think there is an exact explanation. The most widely accepted theory is that during the formation of the Solar System objects of significant masses, probably protoplanets, collided with them, causing the tilt of the axis. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Archived Questions
Search Archived Questions (using keywords!)
Wow, we sure are getting lots of questions! We have reached a point here at Windows to the Universe where we just won't be able to answer all of the questions we get! Our Ask-A-Scientist staff will continue to monitor questions, and will answer those that we think are of most interest to our audience as a whole (you will be notified by email if your question is answered on our site). Please be sure to search through previous questions before submitting your question, and please limit your submission to one question. Would you still like to submit your question?
Last modified October 14, 2003 by Jennifer Bergman.
