Technology
Exploring "Why" questions about Technology
491 articles
Why can I use headphones as a microphone and not a microphone as a speaker(s)?
You can if the mic is a dynamic (electromagnetic) mic. Most mics are electret condenser mics. If you do try to use a dynamic mic as a speaker, you will get very little sound and will burn out the coil
Why did a leap second break the internet?
The leap second itself didn't do anything. It's that some computers had the leap second implemented while others hadn't, so the time stamps in the packages made the one computer think "wow, these pack
Why is the D.A.R.E program so ineffective?
Having experienced it as a child, I would say the number one reason it is ineffective is it paints all drugs as equally bad and immediate life destroyers. So when one of your friends smokes pot and is
Why do companies like Nikon sell cameras that around 16 megpixels but phone companies like sony and Nokia sell phones that have 20 to 40 megapixel cameras?
Resolution is only one aspect of what makes a picture good. And once you can't see the pixels any more, increasing the resolution doesn't help (for reference, the 4K "ultra-HD" TVs they're selling now
Why does the hot water out of the tap look cloudy?
Yarr! Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELI5: Why does hot water out of the tap look cloudy.
why when moving a file on a PC does it take so long? Is the computer actually physically moving the location of the data on the disk, if so why?
It depends on whether you're moving between logical disks (C:, D: etc.) or between locations on the same logical disk. The latter is usually much quicker, since the OS doesn't move the data, just the
Why do most smartphones not have built-in FM receivers? (When they have many other technologies like WiFi, GPS, 4G, etc.)
It completely depends on the market. In India and China it's an important feature so manufacturers go out of their way to include it as consumers look for it. In North America, it has so little intere
Why do laptops have “waves” going across the screen when looking through a phone camera, but they are not seen by our naked eye?
It's called aliasing, or more exactly moire pattern: both camera sensors and LCD screens are made from pixels. Pixels are not contiguous but are made to either display (LCD) or capture (sensors) speci
Why should I install anti-virus software and a firewall?
Do yourself a favor and download this and scan your computer: [link](_URL_1_) If it says you're free of viruses, then feel free to continue as you were.
Why are some videos framerates 23.976024 fps (as opposed to exactly 24)
Basically it solves the problem of fitting 24 fps source material onto a 29.97 fps NTSC video signal. 23.976 fps is 80% – or four fifths of 29.97 fps, which is the frame rate of the NTSC video signal.