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Posts by Olin Lathrop‭

39 posts
66%
+2 −0
Q&A Does an ultrasonic air humidifier use energy less energy than a steam humidifier?

If you are already heating the space to maintain a constant temperature, and if both humidification methods result in the same eventual humidity, then the net energy used ends up the same. Any ene...

posted 5mo ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A How do I calculate which concentration of Vinegar is cheapest, before diluting it?

Let w be the price of water that I'll use to dilute. Forget that. Unless you are in extraordinary circumstances, the price of water is so low compared to the vinegar as to be irrelevant. How do ...

posted 7mo ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 7mo ago by Mithical‭

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Meta Are questions about Chemistry on topic?

No, this site is about physics, not chemistry. Whether something is on topic anywhere else has no bearing on it being on topic here. That said, there are some gray areas between physics and chemi...

posted 8mo ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Why is it forbidden for two photons to turn into one?

Think about how that is supposed to work. It seems you want two photons to somehow combine into a single photon and nothing else. That means the output photon must have the combined energy of the...

posted 10mo ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A To what extent does blender speed dissolve table salt + cold tap water?

How do I deduce which setting suffices for mixing table salt + COLD tap water? Measure it. That really should have been obvious. My gut feel is that any reasonable agitation will work about equa...

posted 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A If you're stopped and about to be hit from behind, should you brake or release the brake?

Basic answer It depends on what you care about. If you're primary concern is to minimize injury to the people in your car, then hold the brake firmly in ordinary low speed cases. This minimizes ...

posted 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A How exactly do eddy currents slow down objects moving though a magnetic field

As the pendulum swings, it experiences a changing magnetic field from the externally fixed magnets. Any changing magnetic field causes eddy currents in a conductor. Since these conductors aren't ...

posted 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A System of ODEs models in physics

Pretty much any system where the state of one thing effects the rate of another, and the state of that other thing effects the rate of the first. Surely you can think of a few of those. One examp...

posted 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Calculate inductance using laws of electromagnetism

Can we use other laws of electromagnetism to calculate the inductance of a piece of wire just like we used Gauss's law to calculate the capacitance of the 2 seperated conductors? Yes. The inducta...

posted 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Why can these Single Vision lenses slow myopia for kids, but not adults?

Why can these Single Vision lenses slow myopia for kids, but not adults? Kids' eyeballs are still growing, so there is opportunity to steer them into growing to a less myopic final result.

posted 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Meta What should this community's policy on "explain like I'm five" and similar statements be?

This site is not for five year olds. We are not kindergarten teachers. Asking a bunch of volunteers on the internet to explain physics to a five year old is a waste of time. Explanations at that...

posted 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Optically, why are circular eyeglasses lenses better than rectangular?

All refractive lenses are approximations of the ideal. This is particularly the case of single-element lenses such as in eyeglasses. It so happens that the centers of such lenses are closer appro...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Why can someone observe light, even when the light fails to illume that someone?

The light shines on everything in an unblocked direct line from the light source. This light is quite bright, so can be seen by human eyes all the way out to the horizon (until the curvature of th...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Why do markers reflect light, even when the light source fails to illumine the space between the source and markers?

It counters intuition that although a light fails to illumine the area between the source and the target, the light can still illumine SOLELY the target! The light is illuminating everything. The...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Calculating Surface temperatures of a thermal insulator

The "R value" of insulation is its thermal resistance. It tells you how much of a temperature difference is required to transfer a certain amount of heat power per unit area. The R-value you see ...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Conductivity with angle of light

We don't know the details of your setup, but most likely there was a partially reflective surface over the actual photoresistor. The photoresistor itself may also be partially reflective. A highe...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Is that electron which jumps from one stationary state to another?

The electrons by themselves don't absorb or release this energy. They do that within the context of the atom they are within. The discrete energy levels available to electrons are only there due ...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Why series springs behave like parallel? A comparison between parallel resistance and series spring.

The spring constant specifies force per compression distance. When you put multiple spring in series, the force on each spring is the same, which is also the overall force on the combined spring. ...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Are lamps, with blistering light bulbs exposed and facing down on the user, dangersome?

I'd say it's not the best design. Maybe that's why they discontinued it. However, there are also advantages. Cooling will be a little easier without a cover. But the real advantage is price. U...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Are there areas in the observable universe which surely cannot support life as we know them?

After 4 edits, it seems you are asking whether there are places in the universe where galaxies can form, but planets in those galaxies can't support life. It seems you want life to be impossible d...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Calculate Center of Thrust

The center of thrust is effectively the weighted average of all the thrust locations. The weighting for each location is proportional to how much the thrust from that location contributes to the o...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Meta Who should the temporary moderators be?

We need marketing more than moderators There is so little activity here, even one person can easily handle the rare moderation tasks. If you just need to put a name in a slot, then I'm willing to...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Should I always write units in equation no matter if it looks like variable?

You are somewhat misquoting what I said. It would help if you provide a link to the comments you are asking about, but the issue was most likely about lack of units on numeric values, not variable...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A What is Ether theory? (I think the book I read is misinterpreting Ether)

Back when what light is and how it propagates was poorly understood, people naturally related it to sound. Sound propagates thru a medium, like air. Light was therefore assumed to propagate thru ...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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Q&A Is it plausible to desire a "universal" calendar applicable everywhere in our universe?

It depends on what you want from your calendar. If you simply want a way to keep track of time, then you can base it on anything you like. The earth spinning on its axis, the moon orbiting the ea...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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