Nature
Exploring "Why" questions about Nature
487 articles
Why are the seas and oceans salty?
The salt comes from dissolved rock salt, that's why it's there. So perhaps the question is, why aren't lakes and rivers generally salty? The answer is the water cycle.
Why are clouds grey when raining, but white otherwise?
Thickness. When clouds hold a load of moisture, they appear darker. When they are whiter, they don't have as much moisture, so they aren't dark.
Why would a twin at sea level age faster than a twin on a tall mountaintop?
Time is relative to speed. The faster you go the slower time appears to go from your perspective. That's why there's a universal speed limit of the speed of light, because the closer to the speed of l
Why is the VA (Veteran’s Administration) so dysfunctional and inefficient? What are the reasons for the current scandals over patient care?
The people who run it have the wrong incentives. The Congressmen who oversee it all want more money spent in their district, so money doesn't get spent where its needed. In governmental agencies, imag
why do thunders rumble?
When lightning strikes, the air long entire path of the bolt is superheated, creating a pressure wave which is what we hear as thunder. Lighting bolts may stretch out pretty long with some parts of th
Why does Windows 10 recommend I use a four-digit PIN over an x-digit password?
The PIN only works for logging in from that one device. Your Microsoft account password works from anywhere. Needing that one device acts as additional security, like how you need both a debit card an
Why can’t the weather be predicted with 100% accuracy?
Greetings from your friendly neighborhood meteorologist: The short answer is chaos. The weather is physics, and the only way you can perfectly predict physical outcomes is if you can be sure of practi
Why did Russia invade Ukraine?
Ukraine had a pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych who sparked massive protests when he turned down a deal that would have brought Ukraine closer to the EU in favor of closer ties with Russia. Afte
Why are there more air quality alerts in the summer?
Warmer air is able to hold more "stuff" than cooler air. That's why 100% humidity at 55 degrees is fine, but 100% humidity at 90 degrees is absolutely dreadful.
Why was windows ’98 so good?
You probably don't remember windows 3.1.. when windows 95 came out shit was forever changed. When win98 came out, everything wrong with win95 was fixed (for the most part).