Ask Science

halfwaythere , in Can someone explain what the various parts of this picture of atoms are?

Each of the orbs are the atoms. The brighter orbs that are nearest each other at the Praseodymium (Pr) atoms and the less prominent orbs are the Scandium (Sc) atoms. The space between is just that, the space between the atoms. They are all in a lattice pattern due to how they are attracted to each other.

Glowstick , (edited ) in Can someone explain what the various parts of this picture of atoms are?

Atoms are almost entirely empty space. And electrons themselves don't really occupy a specific dot in space, they're more of a blur that fuzzes out in a "large" region of space around the nucleus. So what's shown here is most likely a visualization of the area that the electrons occupy.

But I'm no physicist and i didn't read the article, so take this with a big grain of salt

EDIT

Another person here said the round things are actually the nuclei, and they sound like they know what they're talking about. So while the informational stuff i said is right, it might not actually be a description of the image we're looking at

catloaf , (edited ) in Do we have any estimates as to how long it takes for a species of bacteria to go technically extinct entirely via genetic drift?

Speciation is really a judgment call. We don't really have objective criteria that says "99% or more genetic similarity is the same species".

But that assumes that there is evolution happening in the first place. Plenty of organisms are quite happily living in the same form as they did hundreds of millions of years ago. The nautilus, for example, evolved about 500 mya, and remains largely unchanged today (though many of its siblings are extinct, and the nautilus itself is endangered). For simpler organisms, you can probably find examples much older.

Edit: forgot to answer your question directly. It could be "never".

Telorand , (edited )

If I could add, it's likely impossible to say, because evolution is driven by selection pressures.

If the original strain AA has descendent strains AA, AB, and AC, we can't know with any certainty which is more fit to survive, because it could be one, two, or all of them simultaneously.

Edit: typo

catloaf ,

Yes, natural selection isn't really survival of the fittest, it's survival of the good enough.

(Also I assume you meant descendant; decedent is someone who is deceased.)

Telorand ,

Ah, goddamn autocorrect! Yes, that's what I meant.

Kalkaline , in Certified online course for learning STEM subjects?
@Kalkaline@leminal.space avatar

I'd probably look at edX/Coursera or check the university you graduated from and see if they have online courses you could take.

SubArcticTundra OP ,
@SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml avatar

I'll have a look at edX and Coursera, thanks 👍

SubArcticTundra , in Does anyone know about fluid dynamics?
@SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml avatar

Let me guess, is it about the shape of the stream it makes when you pee? I saw a paper on this recently.

whostosay OP ,

Close, but it was closer to extraterrestrial contact.

Leviathan , in Why does melted cheese just taste better?

I spent the last couple of years selling and eating fancy cheeses and I'd say that isn't true. Some are better melted, some I let come to room temperature long before eating and some (almost none, though) I prefer cold.

Trust me, some cheeses will turn into an oily puddle when melted.

My guess is your experience is with young, semisoft, and American cheeses?

spittingimage OP ,
@spittingimage@lemmy.world avatar

I'm thinking specifically about cheddar. I've never had an American cheese.

Leviathan ,

Yeah so young cheddar then, the aged stuff separates pretty badly and weeps oil instead of melting properly.

MudSkipperKisser ,

My god you are living the dream! Well my dream anyway

Leviathan ,

Were living* unfortunately.

I left to work for a non-profit a little bit ago. I seriously miss getting invited out to visit cheese, beer and wine (and whatever else local) producers. I spent my vacations just going from place to place.

My dream is to produce goat cheese, so maybe someday I'll be back in the life.

Worx ,

Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you're producing it, then it'll be human cheese not goat cheese

Leviathan ,

Gasp!

foggy ,

Trust me, some cheeses will turn into an oily puddle when melted

Oh I trust you. I just think you underestimate my desire to consume a sandwich whose bread has been smothered in puddles of hot cheese oils.

Leviathan ,

You know what, that is totally valid and I'd do the same.

uienia , in Why does melted cheese just taste better?

Very much depends on the cheese. Most American type cheeses? Yeah, probably. But there are so many great aged cheeses out there, which are infinitely better not melted.

infotainment , in Why does melted cheese just taste better?
@infotainment@lemmy.world avatar

The best cheese temperature is fresh out of the refrigerator and I will die on this hill!

Person264 ,

What about soft cheeses like brie and camembert?

nis ,

That's a funny way to say "I make terrible pizzas".

Isoprenoid , in Why does melted cheese just taste better?

Temperature affects the taste of many foods. Temperature change doesn't affect the specific basic flavours (e.g. salty, bitter, umami, sweet) in the same way. So increasing or decreasing the temperature of a food item will change its taste profile.

The source I found says that it is difficult to tell if temperature change will make a food taste "better" or "worse". It depends on too many factors.

In your case it seems that increasing the temperature of cheese makes it taste better for you. It'll probably be because you like the taste profile of melted cheese over solid cheese. Maybe try and perceive what specifically it is about the taste profile that changes for you. Maybe you perceive it as more or less salty, more or less umami.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236241/

GregorGizeh , in Why does melted cheese just taste better?

I would think that the heat releases flavors or causes chemical processes in the cheese that produce additional aromas not present in the normal state. I have no idea and am not qualified in any way.

Source(s):

  • my ass
catloaf , in Why does melted cheese just taste better?
distantsounds ,

Doesn’t Maillard refer to the browning/toasting of foods though? I know there is some overlap like cheese browning on a pizza, but room temp cheese tastes better than cold. Genuinely curious and couldnt find any info myself

Jimmyeatsausage , (edited )

I'll see if I can find any supporting articles, but IIRC, it has to do with the fats being softer or more reactive with your taste buds at warmer temps.

Edit: it's mostly pop sci articles, so maybe it's BS but seems the fats and amino acids get locked in the proteins when cheese is cold.
https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/melted-cheese-tastes-good

stalker , in Is it possible to receive an electric shock when you *stop* touching something?

I am not expert, but seems plausable. Shock comes from high voltage electric charge jumping from metal to skin. If you press it, you are part of the electric charge. If you are far away, charge cannot jump. Problem is only when you are couple of centimeters close to it. AFAIK, this is not current, but electric discharge, I think it cannot kill you (it is just very unpleasant), but maybe someone else knows better?

TotallyHuman OP ,

Thing that confuses me is that when you let go, you should have the same charge as the generator. No charge difference, no arc. Unless I'm wrong about something, which I probably am (hence my confusion).

catloaf ,

The generator is generating a difference. Even if you have the same potential when you're holding it, as soon as you let go, that ends.

TotallyHuman OP ,

Does the human body rapidly discharge into air or something?

catloaf ,

Enough for a change in potential to cause arcing, as we can see. I'm sure you could find relevant experimental studies, or even conduct them on yourself with a proper transformer and voltmeter.

Kolanaki , in Is it possible to receive an electric shock when you *stop* touching something?
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

If you're in some kind of science experiment where you're being conditioned to not stop touching something: Yes.

nickwitha_k , in How long will the Great Lakes last?

Until they become the Alright Lakes.

nis ,

This is askscience. We need a standardized scale for this.

Great should obviosly be near the top. But is Ok above or below Alright?

nickwitha_k ,

Point taken. I'd suggest something along the lines of this scale:

great > good > alright > ok > adequate > meh > fair > subpar > unfortunate > abysmal

myrrh ,

feeble < poor < typical < good < excellent < remarkable < incredible < amazing < monstrous < unearthly

...based upon how my elementary school teachers used to grade assignments, great is just above excellent, so they'll diminish to excellent lakes first, then good lakes, then typical lakes...

xkforce , in How long will the Great Lakes last?

At the current rate of sediment accumulation in lake Erie, it would accumulate enough fine grained material
to fill its volume
in less than 70,000 years.

This assumes a lot i.e that we wouldnt dredge material, that something else doesnt wipe them out first etc.

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