Tag: what and how
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When did Greenwich become the centre of every world map?
Most atlases put Britain at the centre of the world, with the Greenwich Prime Meridian running through the grounds of the Royal Observatory in south London. This line officially separates west from east. But how did this come about?
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Spidey Senses : Why don’t spiders stick to their webs? ; Can One Spider Get Caught in the Web of Another Spider?; Why is it Called a CobWeb?
We bring you some random creepy crawly spidey factoids for you in this article : Why don’t spiders stick to their webs? ; Can One Spider Get Caught in the Web of Another Spider?; Why Is a Spider’s Handicraft Called a Cobweb?
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How Do Quartz Watches Work ?
Quartz watches – we all know of them, use them , rely on them – but have you ever stopped to wonder how they work ? How a mineral like quartz can possibly be used to keep acurate time? Well wonder no more, in this article we hope to lay bare some the secrets and mysteries of the little marvel on your wrist, the quartz watch.
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The Joy of Slinky – The Physics of a Metal Marvel
I’ve recently re-discovered the joy of the Slinky – one of the simplest of all children’s toys and yet, so beguiling, as it seems to defy the laws of physics by hinting at some sort of perpetual motion. So how on earth does this work?
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Does Tea Have More Caffeine than Coffee?
Does tea have more caffeine than coffee? This is one of those perenial questions.
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What Would Happen If You Stopped Sleeping ? – Would you Die ?
Ahhh, sleep! You can never have enough of it, it seems. But what if you stopped sleeping altogether?
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Technology Firsts : The First Telegraphic Message Across the Atlantic
On August 16, 1858, the first ever message was sent across the Atlantic by telegraph cable it read : “Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace and good will toward men”. The transmission marked the culmination of 19 years of dreams, plans setbacks and hard work.
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Why do we sometimes get a tune stuck in our heads ?
Why is it that we sometimes get a tune or chorus stuck in our heads and play it over and over again even though it’s driving us crazy?
This is one of those questions that one wonders if there really could be an answer or is it ‘just one of those things’. Well some neuroscientists, pyschologists and evene marketers have something to say on this subject.
How does soap work?
A bar of soap is a chemical miracle – a little scented block that unleashes molecular forces when dunked in water. In this article we look how this little miracle actually works.
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How do Barcodes Work ?
Barcodes are an example of one of those modern ubiquitous technologies that we take for granted. They ‘just work’ – but HOW ?
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Why do things burn?
Burning, technically known as combustion, is a chemical reaction where a substance combines with oxygen and releases energy in the form of heat and light, which we see as flames. The substance starts off in a higher energy state, and by combining with oxygen ends up in a lower energy state.
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Why do Boomerangs come back?
Boomerangs are commonly thought to be the invention of Aboriginal Australians but over the years they have turned up at archaeological sites as far apart as Arizona and India with the oldest known specimen, around 23,000 years old, but how do they fly ?
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Where do the Space Station Astronauts get their Air?
Astronauts first moved into the International Space Station in October 2000 and since then they have been supplied with oxygen created by a process discovered by the chemist William Nicholson over 200 years ago : Electrolysis
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Why do tides ebb and flow?
In a nutshell … tides are caused by the gravitational attraction between the moon and the Earth. In this article we look at how.
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What is the Gaia hypothesis?
You may have heard of the name ‘Gaia’ as the personification of the Earth, or mother Earth. But in this article we look at a serious hypothesis that relates to mother Earth as if she ‘acts’ as part of a global system.
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Mysteries of everyday life : Why is a bicycle more stable once it’s moving
You might think the answer to this particular conundrum is one of a combination of simple mechanics plus practice. However it’s not. Furthermore bikes don’t even need riders to stay upright! In this article we look at the “mystical” force doing this.
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How do Immunization Vaccines Work ?
So how do those scary injections that the nurse at the surgery give you really work ?
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