Nature
Exploring "Why" questions about Nature
485 articles
Why does _URL_0_ say there is a 0% chance of rain right now, yet it is absolutely pouring outside?
A big part of it is where the sensors are. I'm in DC, but my understanding is that all of the weather reports are based on measurements being picked up at Dulles which is an airport a few miles into V
Why do antidepressants take several weeks to “kick in”?
After you take a drug, it starts getting eliminated from the body. When you take repeated doses before the drug is completely eliminated from your body, the concentration in your blood keeps increasin
why do steps have plateau after every 1 to 12 steps?. Eg in train stations.
Giving climbers a place to rest can certainly be one of the reasons (and is part of the reason why they are called "landings"). They also are required to create most stairs that change directions, whi
Why do thunderstorms occur less in the morning ? (Not during the night)
Thunderstorms are caused by rising columns of warm, moist air. Since the sun mostly heats the ground (not the air directly), there's more rising warm air during daylight.
Why don’t desalination plants sell salt for cities to use during Winter.
Not all desalination plants are set up to also harvest salt, but those that are DO sell it. Mostly to grocery stores and restaurants as sea salt but also for salting roads. It does offset the expense
Why do southern states freak out over a little snow?
There is essentially no infrastructure to deal with snowfall in southern states because it happens so rarely. Roads are not salted or plowed so they are covered in ice, and nobody has snow tires or mu
Why do rainbows appear as a smooth arch and not some irregular pattern?
The rainbow is actually a cone pointing toward the sun. The tip of the cone pokes the viewer's eyes and it looks like a circle from your perspective. The best way to explain this to a five year old wo
Why is it hard to walk in the same direction as the train is accelerating?
Walking forward requires force. When the train is accelerating, it is forcing you forward (by moving your feet). This is like walking up hill, where you not only have to move yourself forward but you
why is the Grand Canyon so wide if the river that carved it out is so small?
Well, the thing is that the river probably wasn't always a river. The true history of the canyon is the subject of some debate, and the most extreme data sets put its age somewhere around 70million ye
Why is the weather usually pleasant after a thunderstorm?
Thunderstorms generally occur when a cold front moves in a warm area. The way fronts work is that the colder ones shove the warm air mass upwards since cold air is more dense. In this same way, the wa