Questions tagged [everyday-life]
Concerns the application of the laws of physics to analyze common situations encountered in everyday life.
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Why can ice melt below 0°C ？
In our common understanding, ice needs to be above 0°C to melt.
I have now done an experiment: a piece of glass covered with ice on one side and a heating module on the other end. Placing it in a -20°...
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Speed of sound confuses me
Just a random question out of interest.
When you hear an explosion, e.g. a firework, firecrackers etc, from far awa how does the sound reach our ears so quickly?
The speed of sound in air is like 300m ...
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Why does cigarette smoke stay so stubbornly on our bodies? [closed]
How does anything stick to anything, for that matter?
Another example: why does perfume also stay so stubbornly on our bodies? And why do some perfumes stay longer than others on a fundamental level?
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Sloshing water coming to rest?
Something I've noticed is that when I jostle a glass of water, the water inside will start sloshing back and forth. Gradually, the water comes to rest. However, if I move the glass (i.e., translate it)...
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Why does water run around the rim of sleeves of wet clothes before falling?
I was washing my pants dry and I noticed something interesting...
The water drop lets run do a loop around the edge of the sleeve before falling on the ground.
What is the physics behind this?
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Skylight reflection shows birefringence patterns
I noticed that the skylight where I work looked white to me, but its reflection from the tiles below showed a colorful pattern. See the images below, and also a video that shows this effect from ...
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Why can you hammer a hole into an underwater ceramic cup?
Hammering a nail into a ceramic cup causes it to shatter when dry but not when submerged in water. Is there an intuitive explanation for this? And does it have anything to do with the Rehbinder effect?...
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Why do hot water droplets persist in cooler water?
I notice this phenomenon typically when mixing hot or warm water with cold water. Basically, tiny droplets of hot water travel inside the body of cooler water and persist. I have included a photo of ...
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How fast do I have to fly vertically up to pause sunset?
I'm standing on the famous Laguna Beach in southern Los Angeles to watch the sunset on December 18th (33.541679°N 117.777214°W, 0m elevation, 16:44 PST). Now, from my perspective at the shore, the sun'...
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What can cause a spot above my WiFi router's antenna? [closed]
Lately a weird dark spot has appeared right above the antenna of my wifi router. It wasn't there before.
I have tried to wipe it and it got a little bit brighter but I don't think it's dust.
My guess ...
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Why are the surface of most liquid so reflective?
I saw a puddle of water on the road and I noticed that I can very clearly see the reflection on its surface in almost 8k high definition of each cars and buses that drove by. I went to the canteen and ...
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Do people have an attractive force?
The definition of gravity is this from google:
"the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass."
Ok what about the actual ...
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Why does the surface of an unopened canned energy drink feel cooler to the touch than an opened, partially consumed can?
I have two energy drink cans on my desk next to each other. One is unopened, full of liquid. The other is opened and mostly consumed. They have both been in this location on my desk for several days. ...
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Why do bicycle tires tend to sync?
There are alot of bicycles in my university, I've noticed that most (80%) of the tyres move in sync. As you can tell by the reflectors in the attached picture. I thought it was just a coincidence.
So ...
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Why does more ice melt slower than less ice?
I know that ice cubes that are larger melt slower because of their surface area. However, when you put more ice cubes in a cup, all the cubes melt slower than a cup with less cubes. I hope this makes ...
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