Long lists of some amazingly weird facts can be found in different websites, but they don't provide in-detail explanations behind them.. Me too was neither bothered nor had much enthusiasm about unveiling those hidden mysteries behind them! But as an author of this blog, I should come up with something new, something original.. which I can claim as my own creation! So here my quest's begun - In space, a frozen pea will explode if it comes in contact with Pepsi
Main ingredient of Pepsi is carbonated water. And space is subjected to weightlessness. Even I heard that spacemen within spacecrafts use "tang" (non-carbonated soft drinks) because carbonated soft drinks are particularly problematic because in a weightless environment bubbles of carbon dioxide remain randomly distributed in the fluid rather than rising to the top. Because bubbles aren't buoyant in weightless environment. The result can be a foamy mess when an ordinary can is opened. Even bubbles can randomly spread throughout the fluid even after swallowing. (By dispensing carbonated soft drinks in a collapsible bag instead of a bottle, however, the pressure around the fluid can be constantly controlled, preventing a messy explosion). So frozen pea denoting a soft, fleshy substance under low temperature would cause reaction with dissolved CO2 in Pepsi.
- The increased electricity used by modern appliances is causing a shift in the Earth's magnetic field. By the year 2327, the North Pole will be located in mid-Kansas, while the South Pole will be just off the coast of East Africa
This reminds me of A.D., our beloved Professor who used to teach us Physics in H.S. Anyways, it won't be a bad idea if I start explaining from Lorentz Force or Faraday's Law of Electromagnetic Induction.. but I guess, then laymen will instantly leave my blog unread! But it's relevant to discuss the fact that an electromagnetic field is produced (with some specific orientation) when current is passed through a conductor. Now increased electricity on Earth is eventually forming a magnetic field so strong that it's repulsion with Earth's own magnetic field can cause a shift in North & South Magnetic Poles!
- Human saliva has boiling point 3 times that of regular water
When we add salt in water, it boils at higher temperature. Saliva contains 98% water, rest 2% is composed of various enzymes and other chemicals. So the logic is simple!
- The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting
The cracking sound we hear when we pull on our fingers is caused by the release of negative pressure within the joint. Technically, this is called cavitation. Inside every joint in the body, a glue-like substance called synovial fluid coats the surfaces of cartilage to protect them. Just as two discs coated with mineral oil stick together and can only be pulled apart with a bit of force, so it is inside the joint. When you pull, you break the vacuum seal created by the synovial fluid and the breaking of that seal causes the popping sound -- from the bursting of bubbles of gases (mainly nitrogen) dissolved in the fluid.
Couldn't find the true answer. My guess is: chemical composition-wise, bauxite contains 56-60% aluminium oxide (Al2O3). Ruby is also chemically Al2O3. Under pressure and proper application of heat, ruby liquefies into a red colored viscous fluid, which looks like blood (but not human blood with organic substances.. there would be no RBC, WBC or platelets)!
- An Astronaut can be up to 2 inches taller returning from space. The cartilage disks in the spine expand in the absence of gravity (or in presence of microgravity)
Our spines, when not being compressed by gravity, are free to expand, thus making us taller. The cartilage discs in the spine expands in absence of gravity. Now why only "2 inches" that I don't know! May be that's because of the fact that cartilage disc's growth follows some specific measurement!
- The planet Saturn if placed in water it would float.
The planet Saturn has the lowest density among the entire Solar System. In fact, the density of planet Saturn is lower than density of water. Since Saturn is made up mostly of gases, and liquids less dense than water. Density of water is 1gm/c.c., density of Saturn is 0.71gm/c.c. So it's evident that if Saturn is placed in water, it'd float.
- It's impossible to fold any piece of paper (no matter how big, small, thin or thick) in half more than 7 times.
The logic behind it is quite vague. After doing some surfing activity, I found a formula as follows which gives the loss function for folding paper in half:
L = 1/6*pi*d*((2^n)+4)*((2^n)-1)
L = Minimum possible length of material,
d = Thickness,
n = Possible no. of folds in a given direction
That "L" and "d" of any paper is so adjusted that keeps the value of "n" intact i.e. 7.
But Britney Gallivan has disproved that myth and showed how 12 times a paper can be folded in halves. It was also mentioned in a series of popular TV serial Numb3rs. (though I hate soaps & serials, this one is a bliss I must say).. For detailed explanation behind her discovery go through http://www.pomonahistorical.org/12times.htm
- Sum of two opposite faces of a dice always adds up to 7
It's difficult to find the true reason behind it. Even internet resource will fall short to give you a proper reasoning behind it. Some sites say this is done to produce a fair dice with falling of each side with equal probability of 1/6th. That's a stupid reason. Probability of it has nothing to do with numbering convention! The true reason I got in a book of "Recreational Mathematics" by Martin Gardner. (He really had an amazing volume of collectible puzzles, I own some of his famous books).. Anyways, in a simple way the logic is taking 1,2,3,4,5,6 into consideration, 7 is the only number which can be found using "+" on a selected pair of numbers belonging to set {1,2,3,4,5,6}.
- Pearls melt into vinegar
The first thing we need to know is the composition of pearls. Pearls are formed in oyster shells when a foreign body like a grain of sand becomes stuck inside. As a kind of protection mechanism, layers of a substance called “nacre” build up around it and over several years this becomes a pearl. Nacre is made of the same chemical compound found in oyster shells, marble, limestone and antacid tablets: calcium carbonate. Next we must think about vinegar. Vinegar is acidic. It is approximately a 5% solution of ethanoic (old name “acetic”) acid. So if a pearl was put in a goblet of vinegar, it would fizz, giving off carbon dioxide, and leave behind a slightly bubbly solution of calcium ethanoate.
- Compass doesn't work at two places in Earth: at Bermuda triangle & at Devil's Sea in Japan
A compass works because its magnetic needle is attracted by the magnetism of the Earth, which draws it to point to the constantly shifting Magnetic North Pole. The Geographic North Pole, on the other hand, is static and is located about 1200 miles north of the Magnetic Pole. The variation between the two readings is known as magnetic declination (or compass variation), which can change by as much as 20 degrees as you move across the globe. The agonic line is an imaginary line where true north and magnetic north are in perfect alignment - there is no magnetic declination. While the agonic line once passed through the Bermuda Triangle, (it now falls within the Gulf of Mexico), rendering that compass malfunctions there.
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