Ask a physicist anything. (2)

[pgp_protector]

Ah, so you've been to Britain then!

That or watched lots of Monty Python

 

[Chesterton]

That or watched lots of Monty Python

Yep. "During the night, ol' Perkins got his leg bitten...sort of...off".

 

[AV1611VET]

Unlikely. Age doesn't cause ionisation, and ionisation wouldn't cause spontaneous combustion.

Spontaneous combustion occurs when there's an "energy spike" in a substance's total amount of thermodynamic loss.

Since the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says we lose energy in a closed sytem when work is performed, this "escaping energy" pools in the form of Phlogiston, which ignites a substance, while at the same time contains it.

This is why a person can burn up on a couch, with a box of chocolates next to him showing no signs of thermal decay (melting).

 

[Wiccan_Child]

Spontaneous combustion occurs when there's an "energy spike" in a substance's total amount of thermodynamic loss.

Since the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says we lose energy in a closed sytem when work is performed, this "escaping energy" pools in the form of Phlogiston, which ignites a substance, while at the same time contains it.

This is why a person can burn up on a couch, with a box of chocolates next to him showing no signs of thermal decay (melting).

Your physics makes my God hurt.

 

[AV1611VET]

Your physics makes my God hurt.

--- that took some time to come up with that.

 

[catzrfluffy]

Here is a teaching tip for physics professors: When a student tries to paraphrase something you have just taught, feed her or him the following line: "I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant." This will guarantee that the student will not interrupt your class again until the next semester.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

Here is a teaching tip for physics professors: When a student tries to paraphrase something you have just taught, feed her or him the following line: "I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant." This will guarantee that the student will not interrupt your class again until the next semester.

Wise words .

 

[catzrfluffy]

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

3) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

4) What is a camel's hair brush made of?

5) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?

6) What was King George VI's first name?

7) What color is a purple finch?

8) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?

 

[AV1611VET]

I vaguely remember this on a trivia test.

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

3) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

4) What is a camel's hair brush made of?

5) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?

6) What was King George VI's first name?

7) What color is a purple finch?

8) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?

1. 20 years?

2. Ecuador

3. ?

4. ?

5. Dogs (Canids)

6. ?

7. Red?

8. ?

 

[pgp_protector]

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?

116 Years It began in 1337 and ended in 1453

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

Ecuador

3) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

November

4) What is a camel's hair brush made of?

Squirrel fur

5) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?

Dogs

6) What was King George VI's first name?

Albert

7) What color is a purple finch?

Crimson

8) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?

New Zealand

 

[catzrfluffy]

 

[Cabal]

 

[Chesterton]

Can you explain the interaction between these vibrating air molecules and my soul?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Af372EQLck

 

[catzrfluffy]

 

[Cabal]

 

[marlowe007]

Is perpetual motion/energy plausible? I'm not giving this up, it's got to be possible. If energy cannot be created or destroyed then surely it can be harnessed no? Somehow? I mean, come on, what happens when you put a small bulb on a battery? The battery's energy is transferred to the bulb and eventually lost as heat and light. What if that happens in a heat/light proof box, eh? Okay I fully understand that the entropy of an isolated system which is not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time but that's just human understanding, we need to think outside the box.

Or in it.

 

[Cabal]

Is perpetual motion/energy plausible? I'm not giving this up, it's got to be possible. If energy cannot be created or destroyed then surely it can be harnessed no? Somehow? I mean, come on, what happens when you put a small bulb on a battery? The battery's energy is transferred to the bulb and eventually lost as heat and light. What if that happens in a heat/light proof box, eh? Okay I fully understand that the entropy of an isolated system which is not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time but that's just human understanding, we need to think outside the box.

Or in it.

Entropy isn't "human understanding". The point of entropy is it's not possible to return the "lost" energy to the bulb without doing some work, meaning that you'll never even manage to break even in terms of energy production.

And harnessing energy also requires that there be some dispersed energy overall.

 

[canehdianhotstuff]

Entropy isn't "human understanding". The point of entropy is it's not possible to return the "lost" energy to the bulb without doing some work, meaning that you'll never even manage to break even in terms of energy production.

And harnessing energy also requires that there be some dispersed energy overall.

If possible all Earth's energy problems would be solved lol.

 

[catzrfluffy]

 

[marlowe007]

And harnessing energy also requires that there be some dispersed energy overall.

I mean a box that light or heat cannot escape from. When the battery is drained, all that remains is heat (where's the light gone?) which, on a larger scale, can be used to heat water that can be used to, I dunno, power a hydro-wotsit that charges a battery...