CULTURAL QA 12-2023-08 Allthe BELOW QA are from Quora DIGEST to me on 08-12-2023.
QUORA ANSWERS NEED NOT BE 100%CORRECT ANSWERS. Compiled and posted by R. Gopala Krishnan, 80, on 08-12-2023. Q1 What are some interesting facts aboutphysics? A1 Deepaktopzone, Mon #1The LEGEND of anapple falling on Newton is wrong. We’ve all heard thestory of an apple falling on Isaac Newton's head, but few know it was a myth.In reality, Newton drewinspiration from apples, not because one hit his head, but because they fellstraight down and not sideways. This observation helped him develop thetheory of universal gravity. #2The higher you are (building-wise), the faster time willgo. Time is a hard concept to understand when you look at itthrough the lens of physics. A couple of seconds while standing on the ground will go slowerthan for someone who sits on a high building, like the Empire Statebuilding. It is best explained by Einstein and his famous theory of relativity. #3The screens of smartphones work thanks to the electriccharges leaving our fingers. Touch phones work thanks to the physics behind the humanbody itself. When we touch the screens with our fingers, we let out a small number ofelectric charges that register with the mechanics and allow us to interact.For this reason, things like rubber, fingernails, and others don’t register My note- Touchscreens in ATMs work on this principles. When we touch the cones behind areactivated. #4It’s nearly impossible to sink in the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea ispopular for the number of tourists that visit it, but also for having a large amount of salt in it. Salt is not only good for food, but also a good way of making the watermuch denser. There is so much of it in that sea thatpeople who swim there have little to no chance of drowning. Of course, it is stillimportant to keep things safe. #5Wind casts an invisible shadow. Shadows are not always cast by objects, and winds can doit too. The only problem? We can’t see themwith the naked eye. Wind, a movement of a gas that varies from a smallgust to full-on thunderstorms, can cast a small shadow only visible with thehelp of machines and physics. #6Light gets much slower in water. Water is not only arefresher at the end of the day, but also a great stopper for thewavelengths of light. Light travels through air at a very high speed,and that is thanks to its small density. Water, however, is thicker. Since every molecule hassurface tension, light gets distorted due to the amount of energy needed topass through. My note- Alsoenergy loss occurs. Physics studied in the 1st year about Refractionof light. #7Galileo Galilei proved his theory of free fall with thehelp of the leaning tower of Pisa. While Galileo Galileimight have created the theory of free fall, he had to prove it byexperimenting. He did it by throwing two cannonballs of the samematerial, but different masses, from the leaning tower of Pisa. His theorywould be further supported by missions to the moon. #8The universe is growing every second. The universe isalready a vast space full of planets, stars, and other celestial bodies. But itis still not big enough. Theuniverse is growing at a high rate every second, expanding in every direction,getting colder and faster at the same time. This expansion has been going onfor billions of years. #9Water can boil and freeze at the same time. At the sametemperature, water can either boil or freeze. A triplepoint is a point where the temperature, pressure, and pressurevalue allcoincide. Thefact that all three states—liquid, ice, and water vapor—are present at thistime allows water to boil and freeze at the same temperature. MURAD ŞAHİNOĞLU· Thu Addition to #1: I knew it! I also know Einstein invited “Time” to his wedding and “Time” came. Because “Time” is relative…😁 Addition to #3: Youcan use to tap on your touchscreen phone. Addition to #5:Fire also casts a shadow but some people keeps insisting on that it doesn’t… Q2 What are some things every Indian shouldknow about Indian history? A2 Siddharth Godbole, I love learning abouthistory, and know a bit myself! 13h Every Indian should know of the beautiful community ofParsis, whohave lived up to their millennia-old promise to do no harm and bring all good. The Parsis, known around the world as the Zoroastrians, are an ethnoreligious group from present-day Iran. They follow the religion of theancient Persians of the age of Alexander, a beautiful and tolerantculture. In the 7–8th centuryAD, the Muslim Rashidun Caliphate conquered all of Iran. They set out toIslamify the country with one motto in mind: Convert, or die. This was a terrible time for theParsi community, and many were forced to convert to save their lives. However, a large diaspora of Parsistook the courageous journey to leave their homeland and travel east. In thismigration, they ended up in the Kingdom of Gujrat, headed by King Jadi Rana. Jadi Rana was aHindu king who had a reputation across the subcontinent as a wise and fair man.When the Parsis arrived in hislands, they requested asylum, agreeing to learn the local language and adoptthe local clothing. However, Jadi Rana said that he could not in goodconscience accept such a large diaspora of people, as there was a risk ofoverpopulation in his kingdom. What happened next is one of my favorite partsof history in the world: Jadi Rana motioned to avessel of milk filled to the very brim to signify that his kingdom was alreadyfull and could not accept refugees. In response, one of the Zoroastrian priests added a pinch of sugar to themilk, thus indicating that they would not bring the vessel to overflowing andindeed make the lives of the citizens sweeter. Jadi Rana gave shelter to the emigrants and permitted themto practice their religion and traditions freely. To this day, theParsis have followed through on their promise. They have caused no religious or military disturbance,and have peacefully assimilated into all facets of Indian society. Theymake up some of India’s greatest artists and exports (Freddie Mercury was aParsi!) and are also a crucialpart of India’s economy (Tata was founded by Parsis). I will leave youwith one last story. During the partition of India, while the British wereleaving, they tried to give the Parsis special treatment and warn them about the large Hindu majority (the Parsis and British gotalong well). In response to this, it is said that the Parsi leaders told the British that for thousands ofyears, they have been like family with the Hindus. Why would that changenow?So forever remember the Parsis, and what they have done for Indian society! My note- I had a Parsitraining mate from Delhi for a new technology training in Chennai in 1992’s. He was my roommate.I recollect the incidentof sugar adding to milk filled to edge of glass toldto me by him. Q3 How did Lake Baikal end up with so manyendemic species? A3 Gary Meaney, passionate fan of all thingsanimal3y So, for those who don’t know, Baikal is an enormous lakein Siberia, equivalent in area to Belgium. In fact, by volume it’s the largest body offreshwater in the world, containing some 26,000 cubic kilometres of H2O.And it happens to be a hive ofbiodiversity, housing thousands upon thousands of species - most of which arefound nowhere else. Its most well-known endemic is the Baikal seal, or nerpa - a majestically globular creature which is the world’s only species offreshwater seal and the smallest pinniped alive today. I wrote on its mysteriousorigins before, here: Gary Meaney's answer to How did a population oflandlocked seals manage to establish itself in Lake Baikal, of all places?, The lake also has three whole families of endemic fish. Ofthese, the most common and interesting one is the golomyankas. Also known as Baikal oilfish, they have no scales, noskin pigment, no pelvic fins, no swim bladders, and no cone cells in theireyes. About 70% of the fish in Baikal are either of the two species ofgolomyanka. Almost 40% of a golomyanka’s bodyweight is just fatty oil, which is used in place of a swim bladder to regulate buoyancy. In myopinion, they’re easily the strangest freshwater fish in the world. I should also mention one of the lake’s most aliencreatures - the acanthogammarids. These are anendemic family of large, spiny amphipod crustaceans, and they look downrightbizarre. There are many moreendemics in Baikal which I could go on about, but I must address the mainquestion - why does this lake have thousands of endemic species?Part of the answer is isolation. Lakes are to aquatic creatures what islands are toland-dwelling ones - surrounded by an impassable “sea”. So, when populationsof organisms end up in the lake, very little genetic admixture occurs withtheir counterparts outside the lake. Before long, a new species emerges and itcannot leave Baikal, because of isolation. It also helpsthat Lake Baikal is the oldest lake in the world. It formed about 25–30 millionyears ago, when the Eurasian plate drifted apart from the Amur plate, creatinga rift in between which was filled with water. Thus, the lake has been isolatedfor a very long time, time enough to accumulate countless species. Secondly, there’s the factor of depth. Baikal holds many world records - not only is it the most voluminous, the oldest and also one of theclearest lakes in the world, it’s the planet’s deepest as well. Itsdeepest point is some 1,642 metres below the surface, which is incredible. The thing with a very deep lake is that as you move down,the pressure increases rapidly. If a fish finds itself under more (or less)water pressure than its body is adapted for, it dies. Since a given species can only survive in a certain band of depth,deeper lakes always have more species. In short, a combination of isolation from land andincredible depth breed the perfect conditions for endemism in Baikal. I’ll leave you with one last fact - of all the surface freshwater onEarth, one-fifth of it is found in this one lake. That’s more than all the GreatLakes combined! Q4 Why is it that the Sun does not affect thehuman body? A4 Ken Saladin, Author, Anatomy &Physiology—The Unity of Form and Function Wed Where did you getthat idea? Good and bad effects of the sun on the human body: Vitamin D synthesis, bone health, calcium balance Folate degradation,infertility, birth defects, prenatal death Thermoregulation,body temperature, hyperthermia Destruction ofimmune cells of the skin, lowering defense Dermal collagendamage, photoaging of the skin Suntan and sunburn DNA degradation,mutation Skin cancer Retinal stimulation, vision Melatonin secretion,mood variations, sleep cycle effects Numerous circadianrhythms of physiology Cataracts Postnatal changes ineye color Melanization;evolution of human skin colors Good versus badeffects are a matter of intensity and duration of solar radiation. My note- I have read elsewhere long back, ifone look at the bright sun for 2-3 minutes opening a defective eye (closing fully the other), vision of that eye will increase little by little. Q5 What are some psychological facts thatpeople don't know? A5 Karen Collins, Health Psychologist｜Life Coach2h If a person speaks less, but speak fast, they keepssecrets. When someone says Ihate you, it really means “you hurt me”. If we cook when we are hungry, our hunger willautomatically decrease. 70% of people willnot show interest in success if we tell them about it. We can forget aboutdaily activities when we fall in love. Having eye contactfor more than 6 seconds without looking away or blinking reveals a desire foreither sex or murder. Most of the people hate their own voice on video or on aphone call. Being able to instantly respond with sarcasm to a sillyquestion is a sign of a healthy brain. You can fool yourmind into thinking that you are happy and smiling if you put a pencil inbetween your teeth. People who love blackcolor have the most colorful minds. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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