Science
Exploring "Why" questions about Science
484 articles
Why is it when people see an incredibly cute baby one of the reactions is to ‘eat’ the baby? Or bite at it?
_URL_0_ Take a read of the article above. To put it basically it is because the smell of the baby activates the same receptors of the brain as smelling nice food.
Why does light have speed? Why isn’t it instantaneous?
Light is still an electromagnetic wave and takes time to propagate through space. It is more technically accurate to think of c as the universal speed limit and just know that lights *happens* to trav
Why isn’t internet content offered “pay as you go”? Why is everything either ad-supported or subscription-based?
This is called "Micropayments", and it has been suggested as a method to finance websites for at *least* a decade. However, methods of implementing it were not really widely available. If you had to s
Why do lightning strikes leave a branching pattern on whatever they strike?
In the air, lightning initially [branches out all over the place](_URL_1_) searching for a path to the ground. Air is normally a bad conductor of electricity, but once the electricity starts flowing t
Why Does Water Soak Upwards, Appearing to Ignore Gravity?
So you understand that gravity is pulling it down. The 'problem' is that it isn't obvious what exactly is pulling the water up! Your answer is the capillary effect.
Why do Electric Dryer Cords not just plug in like every other power cord?
It has to do with building codes. Let me explain Dryers and homes can have two different main types of plugs for dryers. A 4-prong and a 3-prong.
Why is it that when I get a cold, I feel cold.
Your hypothalamus usually tells your body to be around 98.6 degrees (more or less). That's what your thermostat is set to. If your body is less than 98.6 degrees, you feel cold.
Why do car batteries last a long time, but go flat if you leave the lights on over night?
It's a rechargeable battery. When the engine is running, the alternator is able to use the power from the gasoline engine to recharge the battery. If the engine if off, the alternator is off, and the
Why does diffused/reflected laser light appear to have a grainy texture?
This grainy look is a product of the laser light waves bouncing off the surface and interfering with one another on your retina. Where two or more waves cancel each other out, you see a dark(er) spot.
Why isn’t the temperature of a vacuum absolute zero if there is nothing to store the heat energy?
It would be if it was absolute vacuum (0 kpa). But we cannot get true 0 pressure even in laboratory conditions. Just like temperature we just try our best to get very close.