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So, what's this duck? It's on a small lake in southern England, in a relatively rural setting. The same lake has a handful of common moorhens, at least one Eurasian coot, and the usual large collection of mallards. However, it's certainly not a mallard of any form, it doesn't look much like a coot or a coot chick, and juvenile moorhens are apparently not grey (plus it's quite large - I estimated it about the size of an adult one).
The legs are clearly like those of a moorhen, as is the body shape and beak, but the colouration (see also this) seems wrong. Any idea? Is this just a moorhen of unusual plumage? Shimgray | talk | 01:01, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
My daughter often asks me sciencey questions at bedtime. Tonight, she asked me what the difference was between the sugar in sweets/candy and the sugar in fruit; I said "nothing, I think they're both fructose pretty much these days" ( we're in the US). I asked her what made her wonder, and she told me another relative had told her that fructose that's actually in the fruit was "better" somehow; I said I'd go and ask them and get back to her. When I tracked the said relative down, they told me that HFCS is "refined" and therefore worse for you than "raw" sugar in the fruit. Is this true? I've looked at Sugar; what the relative called "raw" appears to be "natural sugars", and HFCS certainly isn't "refined sugar" as defined in that article, but I can't find anything that says that n grams of HFCS is worse for you than n grams of fructose (or even chemically different, other than whatever percentage of glucose it also contains). I stopped chemistry at GCSE, unfortunately. Can anyone give me a clue as to what to tell my daughter? Marnanel 01:43, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Well, I do like the idea of being green, but I also like the idea of being reliant on myself, so I was thinking about going (at least somewhat) self-sufficient. I figure the easiest way to do this without a huge lifestyle change would be to create a sturdy, economical, efficient, and eco-friendly house (i'm looking at a monolithic dome, which fits at least three of those), use natural power, and use all electrical appliances. That takes care of 99% of things, but I do have questions on that:
And then of course, to be more self-reliant, I'd have my own water and food supply. I figure gardening isn't too hard, and i'll probably still get most things from a supermarket, at least at first, but how would I handle water? I figure I'd need a well, is there any way to get this automagically? as in, have it made with the house, so it handles your water supply? And how would you purify it? I'm going to have a water purifier even for a government tap, I can't stand hard water, but I figure this makes it more complicated. Am I just being silly, and should I get a water line, since it would be impossible for me to be truly self-sufficient? thanks for reading all this, -- Phoeba Wright OBJECTION! 02:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
I think winnipeg has the "windiest corner in North America" [2] so, if you built there, I think wind power might prove effective. Edmonton is also high ranking in terms of hours of sunshine if you'd rather go the solar route, but land around that city's crazy expensive.
Above there is a thread about "shoes/skis" that float on water...what about ones that work on land? They would essentially be frictionless, or floating a few inches off any ground. Lean in the direction you want to go, and a sensation similar to running and sliding on a patch of ice would occur, moving you long distances with little effort. How would this be accomplished technologically? 140.180.11.227 03:03, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
You could hold a lot of helium baloons, and therefore reduce the force pulling you toward the ground. This would reduce friction a lot. If you had enough balloons
If you're falling feet first into a black hole and you're past the event horizon, could you look down and see your feet? Or would it be a slightly delayed image of your feet (until your eyes could overtake the light rays)? How far could you see down into the black hole? Could you even see the singluarity, or would your eyes actually have to be on it to see it? It's a very large one, so you don't have to worry about spaghettification :) -- froth t 03:40, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
In your opinions, what are the leading universities in the world in terms of biochemistry research? Aaadddaaammm 04:05, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
A few years ago, I recall reading, or possibly hearing in a lecture, that some species of rodent (?) had shifted its behavior due to collision with cars. This species previously ran in a randomly shifting path, but generally in a line. This strategy worked well for evading predators, but not so much for cars. In recent times, repreated collisions with cars had selected for a more linear evasion path. My question, does anyone have more information on this, possibly even a species or (blessed be) a citation? Many thanks, -- TeaDrinker 04:49, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
it is seen that when a person exposes his skin long time under sunlight his skin becimes darker . my question is how is this possible while his gene remains the same ? is this process reversible ? what can one do to regain the skin colour that he had while he born ?
Well, you seem to be puzzeled that it's in the genes but depends on sunlight. Have a look at Regulation of gene expression. 84.160.208.134 18:29, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
By what age do children develop an understanding of conservation of mass?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.169.10.154 ( talk • contribs)
Dear Wikipedians,
Wat is the acidity of a human vagina?
What would happen if a nuke was hit by lightning in mid flight?
lightning is trying to find the easiest way to the ground, so I doubt it would hit a flying object, even if it is much higher than any trees/buildings around it :) HS7 17:28, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Can I make a functional marx generator with only a 35 volt DC power source? Or is that voltage too low to make a working spark gap?
Kindly let me know the method of pollination in the above two flowers(Jasmine and Rose). Please tell me if in these plants seeds are produced? Where are thwe seeds found? Can new plants be grown from these seeds? Are these seeds sold? 202.71.137.235 16:12, 17 May 2007 (UTC)Hemchandra
Please tell me are Ashwagandha leaves used for weight loss? And please tell me the different types of Ashwagandha plants?
Ramdev baba(Yoga teacher) says that when the leaves of this plant are consumed weight is lost but when thw churan(powder)of this plant is eaten weight is gained. Is it True?
how long does morphine stay in blood system?
hi, recently i came across torch testing, wud really be helpful if anyone cud explain what is torch testing in software testing scenario??
So I have basically decided there are clearly no quantitative tests for starch. You could have told me a few weeks ago then I wouldn't have wasted my time. But nevermind. I still need to test for starch quantitatively, but it appears I will have to use iodine to do it. So, are there any ways that I can do something to the iodene so that it only reacts a little bit to the starch, so that I can see how much starch there is by how much or how quickly the iodine changes, without it all going dark blue as soon as it gets near any starch? I really need help here and as soon as possible.
A little bit of starch makes a lot of darkness with iodine, and it's a fairly fast and complete reaction. If you want gradations visible to the naked eye, your best bet would be to use very small or dilute samples. DMacks 17:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Small samples of starch? I don't think I can do that. Basically I have a leaf, and I need to know how much starch there is in it at a specific time.
Would cutting a very small bit off of the leaf, and only testing that for starch help :) I really wouldn't know as I am not a very good scientist, (as any regulars here will tell you) :( HS7 17:19, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
I think something like (testing a small cutting instead of a whole attached leaf) that would have to done anyway...I think the iodine test is a destructive test on the sample. DMacks 17:31, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
I do have lots of leaves I can test if each one gets damaged. How small would it have to be for the starch to not change totally?
I am going to go with cutting a very small bit off. Someone tell me quickly if this is wrong.
I have no idea "how much" of the things you'll need here to get a good visual gradation. I guess that's why they call it an experiment. DMacks 18:04, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
One final last thing would I be able to test for starch without boiling the leaf for a few minutes first? Would it continue photosinthesizing during this time? How long will it take to prepare a leaf for the test?
A few minutes is unlikely to make a huge difference in your detection data...since you're looking for (I assume) differences among different leaves, you'll still see the same differences as long as you are consistent in your timing and preparation process. A few minutes probably won't affect the data that much; if you're concerned about having photosynthesis stop at a precise time (vs continuing during the prep), do the prep in the dark (or very dim light) and get the leaf into very hot water very quickly (destroy the biological starch making and using processes). DMacks 18:18, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
This might well be totally wrong, but could you test the leaf without boiling it, therefore making it difficult for the iodine to get into the leaf, and thereby making the test take longer :? Would the Iodine acyually be able to enter the leaf through stomata and the cut edge :) HS7 18:21, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Can anyone explain me The mechanism by which could a capacitor absorb sunlight-generated heat and convert it to electricity? Jammie Jammiefungt 17:47, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Have a look at Thermoelectric effect 84.160.231.206 18:41, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Ok. Is there nothing pther than solar panels? A Thermo-Transducer or something simpler as to not make-up words?
Can a lake have two outlets? So that it creates an island in between? Why or why not? -- Spoon! 19:10, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
I posted this a few weeks ago without success in identifying it. I had suggestions of foxglove, snapdragon, and Texas Bluebonnet, none of which quite seems to match. Can someone help identify it? J Are you green? 20:35, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Penstemon?
I think it is Angelonia--try googling name as image
Your picture seems to match exactly Angelonia angustifolia Angel Mist Dark Rose (google image), so I don't think there is any doubt about your image being Angelonia-- 63.201.4.254 23:27, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
If an object is going at or close to the speed of light and another object is going in the opposite direction at the same speed.
Wouldn't the second object be going faster than the speed of light relative to the first object or vice versa? -- M.A.D.M.D. 21:49, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
is there a material that reflect 100% light and absorbs nothing from it ?
what would a mouses nipples look like if its suckeling babys because ive never seen what a mouses nipples look like normal compaerd to a mouse that isnt suckleing young i would rather have a image thank u for your time -- Sivad4991 23:00, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Science desk | ||
---|---|---|
< May 16 | << Apr | May | Jun >> | May 18 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Science Reference Desk Archives |
---|
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
So, what's this duck? It's on a small lake in southern England, in a relatively rural setting. The same lake has a handful of common moorhens, at least one Eurasian coot, and the usual large collection of mallards. However, it's certainly not a mallard of any form, it doesn't look much like a coot or a coot chick, and juvenile moorhens are apparently not grey (plus it's quite large - I estimated it about the size of an adult one).
The legs are clearly like those of a moorhen, as is the body shape and beak, but the colouration (see also this) seems wrong. Any idea? Is this just a moorhen of unusual plumage? Shimgray | talk | 01:01, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
My daughter often asks me sciencey questions at bedtime. Tonight, she asked me what the difference was between the sugar in sweets/candy and the sugar in fruit; I said "nothing, I think they're both fructose pretty much these days" ( we're in the US). I asked her what made her wonder, and she told me another relative had told her that fructose that's actually in the fruit was "better" somehow; I said I'd go and ask them and get back to her. When I tracked the said relative down, they told me that HFCS is "refined" and therefore worse for you than "raw" sugar in the fruit. Is this true? I've looked at Sugar; what the relative called "raw" appears to be "natural sugars", and HFCS certainly isn't "refined sugar" as defined in that article, but I can't find anything that says that n grams of HFCS is worse for you than n grams of fructose (or even chemically different, other than whatever percentage of glucose it also contains). I stopped chemistry at GCSE, unfortunately. Can anyone give me a clue as to what to tell my daughter? Marnanel 01:43, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Well, I do like the idea of being green, but I also like the idea of being reliant on myself, so I was thinking about going (at least somewhat) self-sufficient. I figure the easiest way to do this without a huge lifestyle change would be to create a sturdy, economical, efficient, and eco-friendly house (i'm looking at a monolithic dome, which fits at least three of those), use natural power, and use all electrical appliances. That takes care of 99% of things, but I do have questions on that:
And then of course, to be more self-reliant, I'd have my own water and food supply. I figure gardening isn't too hard, and i'll probably still get most things from a supermarket, at least at first, but how would I handle water? I figure I'd need a well, is there any way to get this automagically? as in, have it made with the house, so it handles your water supply? And how would you purify it? I'm going to have a water purifier even for a government tap, I can't stand hard water, but I figure this makes it more complicated. Am I just being silly, and should I get a water line, since it would be impossible for me to be truly self-sufficient? thanks for reading all this, -- Phoeba Wright OBJECTION! 02:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
I think winnipeg has the "windiest corner in North America" [2] so, if you built there, I think wind power might prove effective. Edmonton is also high ranking in terms of hours of sunshine if you'd rather go the solar route, but land around that city's crazy expensive.
Above there is a thread about "shoes/skis" that float on water...what about ones that work on land? They would essentially be frictionless, or floating a few inches off any ground. Lean in the direction you want to go, and a sensation similar to running and sliding on a patch of ice would occur, moving you long distances with little effort. How would this be accomplished technologically? 140.180.11.227 03:03, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
You could hold a lot of helium baloons, and therefore reduce the force pulling you toward the ground. This would reduce friction a lot. If you had enough balloons
If you're falling feet first into a black hole and you're past the event horizon, could you look down and see your feet? Or would it be a slightly delayed image of your feet (until your eyes could overtake the light rays)? How far could you see down into the black hole? Could you even see the singluarity, or would your eyes actually have to be on it to see it? It's a very large one, so you don't have to worry about spaghettification :) -- froth t 03:40, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
In your opinions, what are the leading universities in the world in terms of biochemistry research? Aaadddaaammm 04:05, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
A few years ago, I recall reading, or possibly hearing in a lecture, that some species of rodent (?) had shifted its behavior due to collision with cars. This species previously ran in a randomly shifting path, but generally in a line. This strategy worked well for evading predators, but not so much for cars. In recent times, repreated collisions with cars had selected for a more linear evasion path. My question, does anyone have more information on this, possibly even a species or (blessed be) a citation? Many thanks, -- TeaDrinker 04:49, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
it is seen that when a person exposes his skin long time under sunlight his skin becimes darker . my question is how is this possible while his gene remains the same ? is this process reversible ? what can one do to regain the skin colour that he had while he born ?
Well, you seem to be puzzeled that it's in the genes but depends on sunlight. Have a look at Regulation of gene expression. 84.160.208.134 18:29, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
By what age do children develop an understanding of conservation of mass?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.169.10.154 ( talk • contribs)
Dear Wikipedians,
Wat is the acidity of a human vagina?
What would happen if a nuke was hit by lightning in mid flight?
lightning is trying to find the easiest way to the ground, so I doubt it would hit a flying object, even if it is much higher than any trees/buildings around it :) HS7 17:28, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Can I make a functional marx generator with only a 35 volt DC power source? Or is that voltage too low to make a working spark gap?
Kindly let me know the method of pollination in the above two flowers(Jasmine and Rose). Please tell me if in these plants seeds are produced? Where are thwe seeds found? Can new plants be grown from these seeds? Are these seeds sold? 202.71.137.235 16:12, 17 May 2007 (UTC)Hemchandra
Please tell me are Ashwagandha leaves used for weight loss? And please tell me the different types of Ashwagandha plants?
Ramdev baba(Yoga teacher) says that when the leaves of this plant are consumed weight is lost but when thw churan(powder)of this plant is eaten weight is gained. Is it True?
how long does morphine stay in blood system?
hi, recently i came across torch testing, wud really be helpful if anyone cud explain what is torch testing in software testing scenario??
So I have basically decided there are clearly no quantitative tests for starch. You could have told me a few weeks ago then I wouldn't have wasted my time. But nevermind. I still need to test for starch quantitatively, but it appears I will have to use iodine to do it. So, are there any ways that I can do something to the iodene so that it only reacts a little bit to the starch, so that I can see how much starch there is by how much or how quickly the iodine changes, without it all going dark blue as soon as it gets near any starch? I really need help here and as soon as possible.
A little bit of starch makes a lot of darkness with iodine, and it's a fairly fast and complete reaction. If you want gradations visible to the naked eye, your best bet would be to use very small or dilute samples. DMacks 17:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Small samples of starch? I don't think I can do that. Basically I have a leaf, and I need to know how much starch there is in it at a specific time.
Would cutting a very small bit off of the leaf, and only testing that for starch help :) I really wouldn't know as I am not a very good scientist, (as any regulars here will tell you) :( HS7 17:19, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
I think something like (testing a small cutting instead of a whole attached leaf) that would have to done anyway...I think the iodine test is a destructive test on the sample. DMacks 17:31, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
I do have lots of leaves I can test if each one gets damaged. How small would it have to be for the starch to not change totally?
I am going to go with cutting a very small bit off. Someone tell me quickly if this is wrong.
I have no idea "how much" of the things you'll need here to get a good visual gradation. I guess that's why they call it an experiment. DMacks 18:04, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
One final last thing would I be able to test for starch without boiling the leaf for a few minutes first? Would it continue photosinthesizing during this time? How long will it take to prepare a leaf for the test?
A few minutes is unlikely to make a huge difference in your detection data...since you're looking for (I assume) differences among different leaves, you'll still see the same differences as long as you are consistent in your timing and preparation process. A few minutes probably won't affect the data that much; if you're concerned about having photosynthesis stop at a precise time (vs continuing during the prep), do the prep in the dark (or very dim light) and get the leaf into very hot water very quickly (destroy the biological starch making and using processes). DMacks 18:18, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
This might well be totally wrong, but could you test the leaf without boiling it, therefore making it difficult for the iodine to get into the leaf, and thereby making the test take longer :? Would the Iodine acyually be able to enter the leaf through stomata and the cut edge :) HS7 18:21, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Can anyone explain me The mechanism by which could a capacitor absorb sunlight-generated heat and convert it to electricity? Jammie Jammiefungt 17:47, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Have a look at Thermoelectric effect 84.160.231.206 18:41, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Ok. Is there nothing pther than solar panels? A Thermo-Transducer or something simpler as to not make-up words?
Can a lake have two outlets? So that it creates an island in between? Why or why not? -- Spoon! 19:10, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
I posted this a few weeks ago without success in identifying it. I had suggestions of foxglove, snapdragon, and Texas Bluebonnet, none of which quite seems to match. Can someone help identify it? J Are you green? 20:35, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Penstemon?
I think it is Angelonia--try googling name as image
Your picture seems to match exactly Angelonia angustifolia Angel Mist Dark Rose (google image), so I don't think there is any doubt about your image being Angelonia-- 63.201.4.254 23:27, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
If an object is going at or close to the speed of light and another object is going in the opposite direction at the same speed.
Wouldn't the second object be going faster than the speed of light relative to the first object or vice versa? -- M.A.D.M.D. 21:49, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
is there a material that reflect 100% light and absorbs nothing from it ?
what would a mouses nipples look like if its suckeling babys because ive never seen what a mouses nipples look like normal compaerd to a mouse that isnt suckleing young i would rather have a image thank u for your time -- Sivad4991 23:00, 17 May 2007 (UTC)