Why is fire warm?

[Snoggera]

Why is water wet?

Why, if you cut your toenails too close, they hurt?

Why?

Do you have questions or answers?

WHY?

[aquart]

1. Let me guess:

You are, or have, a five year old?

[Snoggera]

3. Have

or AM! Oh, the pain.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. 2 and 3 years old are worse *lol*

Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, Why, why, why, why?????

[Nevernose]

2. Yes, I have answers. All the answers.

heat, as from a fire, is esentially the agitation of electrons. This agitation is damagin to the human body, so we have evoloved a response mechanism, called "nerves," to warn of us of impending danger.

Water is wet due to dipole-dipole interaction, in which the hydrogen portion of H2O magnetically repels one another. It's more complicated than thzat, but I was an English major. Sue me.

Toe nails: once again, due to nerve endings being activated in an attempt to warn the body of danger.

[Snoggera]

4. Why don't the electrons in water hurt? n/t

[Nevernose]

9. Beacuse they're not as agitated as I am

...answering stupid fucking questions all goddamned day long!

Why is the sky blue? Diffraction of light against CO2 molecules in the upper atmosphere.

Why are plants green? Chlorophyll, motherfucker.

Why can't you little bastards pay attention in science class?

You have just witnessed your child's English teacher's id at work. :evilgrin:

[Snoggera]

10. gosh golly

glad I didn't ask what the fuck e=mc squared means!

I think I'll wake up Pop now. You're a little scary!

[Unperson 309]

18. Remember the song "Tell Me Why?" Here's my Answer.

First the song, then my response.


Tell me why the sun does shine.
Tell me why the ivy twines.
Tell me why the sky's so blue,
And I will tell you just why I love you!

Because God made the sun to shine.
Because God made the ivy twine.
Because God made the sky so blue.
Because God made you, that's why I love you.

It seems to me that God above
Created you for me to love,
He picked you out from all the rest,
Bdcause God made you, I love you the best!

(my answer)

That's not the answer! no it's not true!
This song's a cancer, through and through!
Cease your reliance on arcane mythology!
Trust first in science, these answers to see!

Nuclear fusion reaction, makes suns to shine!
Phototropic cellular action, makes ivy twine!
Atmospheric light diffraction makes the sky so blue!
Sexual attraction, is why I love you!

309

That ALWAYS got a roar when I performed it!

[Snoggera]

20. I LIKE it!

Thanks for adding that!

[TXlib]

19. I taught college physics for 10 years.

In addition to shaking my head in amazement when kids reach for their calculator to add 2 2-digit numbers, and see them solve for pi as if it were a variable, their command of the english language was atrocious.

Apparently, the little bastards didn't pay attention in your class, either. :evilgrin:

[Snoggera]

21. I'm surprised if they know right from left

much less north from south.

It a hard road these ignorant children travel these days.

[MikeG]

6. Frankenstein's opinion: FIRE BAD!! ROWRR!!

[Snoggera]

7. Smart creature, that Frankenstein

if only there were more like him!

[TlalocW]

8. Go ask your mother...

I'm watching the game.

TlalocW

[sir_captain]

11. Fire is a form of combustion

which, at its simplest form, an exothermic reaction--in addition to products such as Carbon Dioxide, combustion releases heat. All atomic and molecular particles are held together by some sort of bond, which is an energy relationship binding them together. In the case of combustion, some of these energy bonds are released to the external environment as heat (energy can take other forms--one of the energy releases from the Sun is light, after all) and nerve receptors in your skin can sense the heat as part of a defense mechanism.

By definition, anything "wet" is referring to water. Only water can be wet--all it is is a reference to H2O's liquid state. Most other substances have liquid states as well, but they're not "wet." Oil, for instance, is not wet. As for why water is liquid at room temperature, is is simply its state of matter. A liquid is defined both by its physical characteristics (constant volume, though it can change shape) and by the kinetic energy of its constituent molecules. If the atoms of a substance are moving too slowly, it'd be a solid, and if they're moving too quickly, they're in gaseous form. In between 32 and 212 degrees F, water molecules are moving around at the right speed to be a liquid. The hydrogen bonding inherent to the polar H2O molecule does effect its boiling and melting points, as well as give water its characteristic "surface tension" but does not, in and of itself, make water "wet."

[Snoggera]

12. exothermic meaning

what a drag we can't have reusable energy. Or, at least produce energy that provides more that the cost of production.



"Only water can be wet-"

Is that really true? what is the definition of wet? is oil wet when it is on your hands? Or is it the water within the oil that makes it feel wet?

[sir_captain]

13. Yeah

the technical definition of wet means only water. Oil feels liquidy, but not wet. There's no water in oil because water and oil are not miscible (think salad dressing, though that's not a great example since viniagrettes can form emulsions!)

But yeah, in organic chemistry, for instance "drying" something means to remove the water from it. You can have a big beaker of a liquid, and "dry" it by boiling off the water--what's left will still be a liquid, but since it no longer has any water dissolved in it, it's "dry."

[Snoggera]

15. I got it - and thanks!

I wish you could post some more information about this.


?

[sir_captain]

16. Heh, I'm not sure how much more helpful I can be

believe it or not, I was a history major in college...

[TXlib]

23. perhaps chemists and physicists use the terms differently?

[sir_captain]

24. perhaps

i'm hardly an expert

[sir_captain]

14. heh

"Or, at least produce energy that provides more that the cost of production." Yeah, that would be pretty sweet, though I think it would violate the laws of physics!

[Snoggera]

17. Hey!

I thought physical people, acrobatic people, could defy the laws of physics? If they can, then molecules can!

I believe!

[sir_captain]

26. yeah, you're right

i've certainly seen some athletes do some things that seem to defy physics!

[TXlib]

22. Not sure I agree with your definition of wet

Something is wet if it possesses the ability to wet, i.e., to bond weakly (typically via hydrogen bonds) to surfaces and penetrate via capillary action.

Water, ethanol, and some (or maybe all) oils are 'wet'. Liquid mercury is not.

Or is the term 'wet' truly strictly reserved for water, with another term being used for similar action of other liquids?

I'm a former physicist, and I've heard other physicists toss around the term 'wet' in the sense I described, but I don't know if that was being loosely used; it certainly seemed generally accepted among the surface physicists.

[sir_captain]

25. interesting question

in chemistry, we've been taught that it refers strictly to water, but i'm hardly an expert, so you may be right. and you're definitely right to point out that there are different definitions in different disciplines...