Nature
Exploring "Why" questions about Nature
487 articles
Why do sunsets look incredible after nasty thunderstorms?
The refraction of light from all the water vapour in the sky due to cloud cover and high humidity means brighter and more dramatic colours for us as the sun sets. Each water molecule acts kind of like
Why do some peoples’ joints ache before it rains?
From my undergraduate-level understanding of physics and engineering, atmospheric pressure drops when it rains. When atmospheric pressure drops, your joints will swell because the fluid around them ex
Why can bugs fall from such a large height relative to their size and walk away fine?
THe [Square Cube Law](_URL_0_) basically if you increase your height 2x you increase your weight 4x, that means your bones will only be twice the diameter but will have to support 4 times the weight.
Why do deserts exist? In a world with so much water, and plenty of air currents, why are there such dry, empty wastelands?
Most deserts exist in places opposite a mountain range from the direction of the prevailing winds. The reason is that as air is pressed "up" the mountains it generates the conditions for precipitation
Why our bodies are more sensitive to wind when we are wet.
We sweat to release heat from our body. Sweat evaporating takes heat with it. When we are wet, the water is taking heat from our body, too.
why would anyone deny climate change
Because the certainty of losing your livelihood now is more important to you than the possibility of consequences decades from now. If you working in the fossil fuel industry, and you have kids and a
Why is condensation on a windshield in the morning so much harder than rain for the wipers to remove?
What do you mean? The condensation should be on the inside of the screen, not the outside.
Why can’t we repopulate lands and deserts with trees with all the technologies we have available these days?
We can, but it is expensive and would have a lot of other effects that we don't want. For example, sand blowing across the ocean from the Sahara is responsible for replenishing the soil of the Amazon.
Why does a sunrise light up the sky differently than a sunset?
During the day, you've got a number of things happening. The sun is beaming down and evaporating water from various sources, lakes, rivers, oceans and rain. When you combine the haze from this with th
Why is it more difficult to wake up when its raining/cloudy outside?
Your body produces a hormone called Melatonine, and the production of this hormone is tied to the day/night cycle, or more explicit to your exposure to (day-)light. If it gets dark, your body starts p