Science Game Thread

[NikolaiI]

I thought of a wonderful game, that I think most people might like :)

It goes very simply: you ask the person below you a question about science, and they have to answer without looking it up on the web, or in a book somewhere.

I think it'd also be a good rule that if no one gets a question within a week, anyone can say we give up, and then post a new question of their own.

Of course if people want to change the rules, that's cool. .


So I'll go ahead and start. . .


Name one modern animal that can reproduce both sexually and a-sexually, and tell a (short) bit about them. (otherwise we just have name!)

[Dreamwoven]

Answer: Humans are one obvious example, using artificial insemination.

Question: Is there a society for the study of social science?

[NikolaiI]

Actually Dream, as I understand it, artificial insemination still counts as sex on a biological level because it's still combining the DNA of a male and female. A-sexual would have to be just one organism's DNA used to produce offspring.

[Dreamwoven]

What I meant was that artificial insemination implies a form of consent to becoming pregnant. But feel free to ignore my post as I absolutely was not trying to sabotage the entire thread, apologies if thats how it looked.

[Calidore]

FWIW, Dreamwoven, your answer was the first thing I thought of also.

[NikolaiI]

Of course not Dream :) I'm just here to learn and have fun, I hope it is like that for anyone else..

In fact I got the question wrong, I'm really not sure if there are any animals that do, but aphids and aspens both can.

[Dreamwoven]

I think your question/model is very interesting, NikolaiI. It would be pity to abandon the idea altogether. Can I suggest you start again with a new question?

[papayahed]

How about an easy one: What are rainbows?

[NikolaiI]

I think your question/model is very interesting, NikolaiI. It would be pity to abandon the idea altogether. Can I suggest you start again with a new question?

Thanks :)
Today I planned to mention, the thread's open to any new question.


Nice question Papaya :)

I can't pinpoint it so don't count this, but I believe they usually are a full circle... as I understand it, regular light contains all the colours, but we don't usually see them.
And I don't exactly know why they are all separately visible when a rainbow occurs, so, anyone?

[Dreamwoven]

I also understand rainbows to be a full circle. You can sometimes see this if conditions are right. Here are some images (http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/photos/10-stunning-images-of-rainbows-and-their-less-famous-cousins-4).

Are the colours all separately visible? I have never thought about this question before, just assume they are there even if we can't see them separately visible

[The Atheist]

Rainbows are white light broken down into its constituent parts - exactly as in a prism. The uneven angles forces the light into the different colours, two of which are invisible - ultra-violet and infra-red, on opposite sides of the rainbow.

The rain acts as a prism & the refracted light stands out against cloud.

One rainbow.

You often get them so bright they double (or even triple) up, with the second (& 3rd) being a reflection of the main one.

[Calidore]

Here's a related one I've always been curious about: A single droplet will separate light as a prism. A rainbow is many droplets, each refracting its own rainbow. At what point does the collective go from refracting x rainbows to one big one, and why?

[NikolaiI]

Okay, a week has gone by so I say Calidore has stumped us. :) Care to ask another?

Name an animal whose hearing is so good, it can detect movement under the snow.


By the way thank you for your answer TA. May I ask you if you've ever read Newton's stuff about light? Personally.. though it's interesting.. I'm just more likely to read something less dated and more current understanding, such as Feynman or someone.

[Dreamwoven]

a mole?

[108 fountains]

No idea about the snow-sound sensitive animal, but just thought I would mention a book about the previous topic – light. I read the book several years ago and hope to re-read it soon. It’s Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind by Arthur Zajonc published in 1995. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. He explores the history of human perception of light (in fact, we cannot “see” light directly; we can only see objects that light is hitting. If we looked directly at light, we would see nothing) and fills the book with interesting historical anecdotes and observations. He has an entire chapter on rainbows, which as I remember, includes the answer to Calidore’s question. What I liked best about the book us that it explains the science in layman’s terms.

[Sospira]

A cat? They have good hearing.

[Calidore]

Thanks for the book recommendation, 108 fountains! I'll have a look for it at the library.

[NikolaiI]

a mole?

Well, that does fit the question, but I was thinking of two that are above the snow.


A cat? They have good hearing.

I can't say they can't, but I haven't heard of them doing so... there are two that I know of.


That does sound like an interesting book, Fountains :)

For a purely physics perspective, Feynman's Six Easy Pieces is an enjoyable and comprehensible work.. I seem to remember some good info about light

[Sospira]

Snow leopard

[NikolaiI]

That's one that I thought of, but I haven't heard of it having the ability to detect movement under the snow but I'm not an expert... I'll go look it up.


I did a little reading and it looks like they don't... their ears are small, to conserve heat loss, and I didn't see anything to indicate they hunt under the snow.


Like I said I know of at least two that do.. one of them may surprise you, as it's not a mammal :)

[Dreamwoven]

I don't have an answer, but this narrows it down on one of the two answers you seek, to a bird (penguin?) or a fish. Reptiles don't really function in freezing conditions.

[Calidore]

I'm trying to think what actually moves under snow and what would eat it, but I'm drawing a blank.

[NikolaiI]

Well, there are plenty of rodents... I really like this game, it tends to point out holes in my knowledge and I can go and look up things.. like, I learned to-day that subnivean is the term for a habitat under the snow. Also seals do spend time there, in fact that kind of indicates whale as an answer... and, as far as I can tell, technically a perfectly acceptable answer :)

But there are still two others I had in mind, both non-aquatic, and yes, Dreamwoven, one of them is a bird, but not a penguin

Ringed seals have dens and polar bears also have their cubs in ice caves.

[Dreamwoven]

…and Beluga hunt under water, coming to get air from A blow-hole. I wrote that, then deleted it. Doh.

Penguin surely do? There are dozens of different sub-species, too. rodents are, I believe mammals...

[NikolaiI]

Foxes and owls can

Your turn :)

[Dreamwoven]

What are the pillars of creation and why are they so called?

[NikolaiI]

Good one! I am stumped. . . I actually gave up and looked it up, so I won't say anything - I bet The Atheist probably knows this one ;)

[NikolaiI]

Atheist you're supposed to come like Beetlejuice :) I guess that's once more someone has to say your name.

[NikolaiI]

Okay I'll give a hint; it's related to a hobby Dreamwoven first became interested in back in the 60's.

[NikolaiI]

Okay it's only been 2 days but it got pushed all the way to the bottom :p

The Atheist -

there, that's the third tme. You've got to show up and save the day :)

[Dreamwoven]

What are the pillars of creation and why are they so called?

I don't think anyone can guess this, so the answer is that it is a nebula, a cloud of gas and dust out of which new stars are born. See:
The Pillars of Creation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Creation) and for what they are made of see Nebula (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula).

The Pillars of Creation was one of the top ten images from Hubble (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope).

I suspect this is the wrong forum to discuss space matters in. This is, after all the literature network forums.

So I suggest we keep to literature issues. Here is my new question, also space but in a literature context:

What scientific fact was mentioned in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver's_Travels) concerning the moons of mars?

[NikolaiI]

I don't think I could possibly express how much we need scientific literacy in this country, Dream.

This thread is a very wonderful way to have fun and learn... as far as I can tell... It's very enjoyable so far.

It was very special when you said Pillars of Creation, personally, because the picture was taken on my birthday... that was just very nice... The day I turned 7.

Anyway... please don't change the thread to something else. We discuss everything on this forum - like, literally, everything. Every single topic. That exists in the whole world.


I wish for this to be a learning and fun experience... so far it has been, and especially since you asked that last one.. Like I said - very good one... That's just part of the game, sometimes there will be a question nobody gets the answer to -

Of course somebody could dig up a physical society journal and ask some obscure question, but you weren't trying to do that obviously - nor was I with my asking to name an animal that can hear under the snow.

I understand that when you think of science, you think of space primarily, whereas for someone else, it may be evolution, biology or physics. The point is - they're all open here. So let's just stick to science, ok? It's a pretty big enough universe as it is... I mean, science is pretty far-reaching.

I was being a bit silly with my naming the Atheist as if he were Beetlejuice- just having fun. The idea of this game was to enjoy learning and have fun, but being serious is okay, too.

Anyway...



How about - whenever you answer your own question, then it's open to anyone... and you can answer your question whenever you wish. Does that seem like a good rule?

[Dreamwoven]

Yes, that would make it easier. I don't want to change the forum thread into something else, if you got that impression then I apologise, It isn't intend it so. I'll answer my own question if no-one knows the answer. I am not sure its easier than the question before anyway.

I'll give it a couple of days then give my answer, if no-one knows.

[NikolaiI]

Oh it's all good, no worries. I'm glad you're interesed enough to participate :)

Can we leave it open after someone answers their own question?

[NikolaiI]

Okay, it's been a couple days, so maybe I'll go and ask a question..

The reason I think it's a good idea to switch is because it could get boring if one person asks questons over and over.. it's funny... like.. so funny because - would anyone try to only ask impossible questions? I just was thinking and got stuck on that thought.. that's a hard question to answer.

Also, there certainly aren't any winners or losers at this game. It's only about having fun learning... that's probably the most necessary skill in existence.


Oh, so I thought maybe you can ask more than one question if you want, if you have kind of tough questions. I have three, one is kinda easy - well, actually I guess that is entrely relative, nevermind. Here they are:



a) What is the name of the animal that has to eat every three hours, or it will die?

b) Name an animal that lives at the bottom of the ocean and can give a multi-coloured light display on its skin.

c) A Komodo Dragon's venom and bacteria mixture will act to kill a water buffalo in a matter of hours, days, or weeks?



if you answer any of them correctly you can ask the next question, or, in 2 or 3 days or whenever if nobody gets it.

[Sospira]

What was the answer to Jonathan Swift question? Was it about gravitational attraction between large objects which keep them in their orbit?

[Dreamwoven]

It was much more specific than that. He specified two very small moons (Deimos and Phobos) and orbits and size: this is from Wikipedia Moons of Mars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Mars);

Perhaps inspired by Johannes Kepler (and quoting Kepler's third law of planetary motion), Jonathan Swift's satire Gulliver's Travels (1726) refers to two moons in Part 3, Chapter 3 (the "Voyage to Laputa"), in which Laputa's astronomers are described as having discovered two satellites of Mars orbiting at distances of 3 and 5 Martian diameters with periods of 10 and 21.5 hours. The actual orbital distances of Phobos and Deimos are 1.4 and 3.5 Martian diameters, and their respective orbital periods are 7.6 and 30.3 hours.[5][6] In the 20th century, V. G. Perminov, a spacecraft designer of early Soviet Mars and Venus spacecraft, speculated Swift found and deciphered records that Martians left on Earth.[7] However, the view of most astronomers is that Swift was simply employing a common argument of the time, that as the inner planets Venus and Mercury had no satellites, Earth had one and Jupiter had four (known at the time), that Mars by analogy must have two. Furthermore, as they had not yet been discovered, it was reasoned that they must be small and close to Mars. This would lead Swift to making a roughly accurate estimate of their orbital distances and rotation periods. In addition Swift could have been helped in his calculations by his friend, the mathematician John Arbuthnot [8]

Voltaire's 1750 short story "Micromégas", about an alien visitor to Earth, also refers to two moons of Mars. Voltaire was presumably influenced by Swift.[9][10] In recognition of these 'predictions', two craters on Deimos are named Swift and Voltaire.[citation needed]

[NikolaiI]

Ok but again, that's not really a science question, more of a literary trivia question.

[Dreamwoven]

You are right. The context was that I tried to put a science question that had to do with literature. So not a good question.

[Sospira]

I just wanted to know the answer. Sorry. Thank you Dreamwoven. its cool the craters were named after them.

[Sospira]

Are we allowed to use google to look up the answers?

[NikolaiI]

No no, I am the one who should be, I felt dumb for saying that again immediately after I posted it; apologies, folks.

[NikolaiI]

Well I had original thought not to, but I don't mind.

[Dreamwoven]

I have to confess that in retrospect my question about Swift's comments on the moons of mars was far too difficult without googling. But then the same might be said of the pillars of creation. The three questions by Nikolai are also difficult, at least for me, I could not answer any of them:

a) What is the name of the animal that has to eat every three hours, or it will die?

b) Name an animal that lives at the bottom of the ocean and can give a multi-coloured light display on its skin.

c) A Komodo Dragon's venom and bacteria mixture will act to kill a water buffalo in a matter of hours, days, or weeks?

But someone with an interest in the subject may be able to. It will vary depending on people's interest in the subject.

Of course, all this doesn't matter if the time rule is followed.

[NikolaiI]

Hehe, well one of them is at least multiple-choice :)

If no one gets one by tomorrow morning, I'll write the answers I was thinking of, and it'll be anyone's choice for the next one.

[NikolaiI]

a) The common shrew, or Eurasian shrew. Doing a little research, I found the American pigmy shrew would starve to death if it doesn't eat for an hour.. American pygmy shrew (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Pygmy_Shrew)
Also, the Etruscan shrew is the smallest terrestrial mammal in the world, as far as we know..

b) The Cuttlefish is one. Wiki page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuttlefish) . . Sepia Cuttlefish (http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Sepia_(genus)) (nice picture)

c) It takes the Komodo dragon's venom weeks to bring down an adult water buffalo. They only need to bite it once, and then they wait around it until it finally dies.


Okay, thread's all yours, whomsoever wishes to post a question, feel free.

[NikolaiI]

Okay I have three again, answer one right - question 3 I admit could stir some controversy LoL :)


1) True or false:
Genetics research can help with understanding and finding a cure for cancer.

2)

"When we no longer look at an organic being as a savage looks at a ship, as something wholly beyond his comprehension; when we regard every production of nature as one which has had a long history; when we contemplate every complex structure and instinct as the summing up of many contrivances, each useful to the possessor, in the same way as any great mechanical invention is the summing up of the labour, the eperience, the reason, and even the blunders of numerous workmen; when we thus view each organic being, how fare more interesting-- I speak from experience -- does the study of natural history become!"

the above quote is by

a) Percy Shelley,
b) Charles Darwin,
or c) Benjamin Franklin


3)

"As chimps are much better than baboons at collecting termites, so some preindustrial humans who reoutinely eat termites are much better than the chimps. They dig open the termite mounds, or fumigate them, or flood them with water. One of the more elegant practices is -- with the tongue on the palate, or two pieces of wood gently touched to he mound's surface -- to imitate the sound of raindrops, which entices the termites out of their nest. Chimps have never been observed to use these techniques. Probably they're not smart enough. Probably their brains are too small.

"What we find most interesting is the overlap. Some chimps lack even probe technology, and are no better at catching termites than baboons are. Other chimps are armed with a well-developed if rudimentary technology, many steps having to b done correctly and in the right sequence for the method to work -- as good as many human cultures, although nowhere near as good as some. There are human cultures barely up to the highest chimpanzee standards of termite catching, and others only on a par with the baboons. No sharp boundaries are apparent here separarting baboons from chimps, or chimps from humans."

The above quote from Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors, by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan, is

a) definitely true
b) probably true
c) equally likely to be true or false, or undetrmined
d) probably not true
e) definitely not true

and for what reasons?

[NikolaiI]

I mean answer one correctly and then ask one of your own.