did you know

[Quantifier]

My friend has shown me once similar mystery of longevity: near his house, outside grocer's shop there's a white stain on the sidewalk, most people think its just dried paint that somebody spilled. Actually, it is bottle of sour cream dropped 4 of 5 years ago. It was very hot summer, and the cream immediately dried and hardened enough to last till today.

[Ivory]

the miricles that we pass by everyday with out ever seeing

[uriaheep]

Talking of white stains on the pavement, what the hell is chewing gum made of? I'm sure the stuff never wears out of bio-degrades. If you could make shoes out of it they would never wear out.

[Ivory]

chewing gum doesnt break down, and this is why its not good to chuck it ...well anywhere basically. nor is it good to swallow it. THO it doesnt (as my parents told em when i was little) get stuck across you air pipes till you swallow one piece to much one day and form a membrane across you throat then you die cos you cant breath- youd have to swallow ALOT of gum to casue real damage. tho it had me scared to even unwrapa piece of gum let alone chew it!

[Strong Bob]

Chewing gum is made out of the exact same material as automobile tires. Just less residual asphalt. ^^

 

And actually, it does break down. But human stomach acid is not sufficiently potent enough to do it very fast. (Last I heard, it can take years. But I doubt that very much, since my girlfriend is a biochemist and told me that it sounds wrong...)

[FullAuto]

I imagine you'd cack it out before digesting it.

 

A pop bottle can sometimes act as an effective impromptu silencer when duct taped over the barrel of a gun.

[Kernel]

I imagine you'd cack it out before digesting it.

 

What a nice way with words you have.

[FullAuto]

Oh yes. The one time I attended my English A-level class has paid off handsomely.

[Ivory]

well when your biochemist girlfriend has amoment maybe she could tell us all the right answer *rollseyes*

 

as for FA's english, it is better than mine so i shall not pass coment

 

did you know that its rainning where i live? - how horrible is that!

[uriaheep]

A pop bottle can sometimes act as an effective impromptu silencer when duct taped over the barrel of a gun.

 

 

And like gum a pop bottle can clog up your pipes!!

[Ivory]

LOVING THE LINK THERE! seemless

[Strong Bob]

Irregardless, everything breaks down to a degree. Gum is just tough enough that it "passes through" before anything can really happen to it. Just like FA said.

 

Stomach acid is also one of the most potent acids in the world. It's merely diluted by mucus and other crap I don't remember.

 

Speaking of such things... One of the prime ingredients used in the candy "Swedish Fish" is also a primary ingredient in most forms of car wax.

 

EDIT: Just a critical spelling mistake that sent the wrong message...

[Ivory]

ok

 

anyway.... did you know that myneighbours who petitioned against next door parking there van on the drive cos it brought down the tone of the area, have put up tacky christmas lights outside my window (hols on,....im in the wrong topic! lol )

 

people contradict themselves so often....yet we all stand around moanng when others do it. Another interesting snippet of information is that it takes two to tango

[uriaheep]

Not if you are dancing with a 6 foot inflatable santa full of helium. Sorry Ivory - I had to shoe horn that one in.

[FullAuto]

The evil organisation in the Man from UNCLE was called THRUSH. I laughed so much I almost wet my pants.

[Ivory]

if you had thrush you wouldnt be laffing!

 

no worries....ill shoe horn the inflatable santa tho if you dont watch it

[Kernel]

Helium-3, the type of helium used in weather balloons, party balloons, and other inflatable stuff, is actualy a very rare resourse.

 

Helium-4, is the most abundunt type of helium on the planet making up roughly 99.999% of the planet's helium.

 

Acording to Wikipedia if you cool Helium-4 down to below 2.17kelvins (-271 degees C) it becomes a "superfluid". If you were to leave this fluid in an open container, a thin film of it will climb up the walls of the container and eventualy overflow the top.

[uriaheep]

My interest in Helium is quite base - if it makes your voice sound wierd I like it.

[Matri]

I found out common sense is also a rare resource.

 

Think about it

[FullAuto]

Sounds like something Shaft would say. "Superfluid, baby."

 

You can boil an egg using two mobile phones.

[Kernel]

You can boil an egg using two mobile phones.

 

No you can't.

Mobile phones work on a frequency of 900Mhz to 1800Mhz. The maximum power output is 2watts but only for very short bursts. The maximum average power output is only 0.2watts.

 

Microwave ovens operate at around 2400Mhz which is the frequency required to actualy heat liquids up. The also operate at a continuous 640 to 800 watts.

 

To put it in perspective. The average TV transmitter mast operates at 2,000,000 watts, continuosly for 24 hours a day.

[Quantifier]

Speaking of microwave ovens, it is possible to overheat water past 100°C before it actually starts boiling. It's unknown yet how it happens.

[FullAuto]

https://www.wymsey.co.uk/wymchron/cooking.htm

[Zombie]

Kernel is right in this instance.

 

The power output of a device is usually measured by two values:

• Peak watts (max power only available for a short period), and
  
• Average watts or "average sine wave power" (sometimes this is also erroneously referred to as RMS power).
  

The peak power by a mobile phone varies, but usually falls within the 1-2 W range. Average power of a mobile phone is a little more difficult to compare. At least for european users, the particular carrier frequency is split into 8 "time slots" so that multiple people can talk on the same frequency. Because of this, the phone is pulsed by a cycle of 8. This produces an average power of 1/8 the peak power (250mW). In addition, as soon as the call is placed, the phone is designed to reduce power consumption to just maintain reliable communication (usually 1/100 peak power or 20mW). Even less power is output during pauses in a conversation. So even if we are looking at an average power of 20mW for one phone, 2 would only produce 40mW. That's hardly enough to boil much of anything.

 

I'd also like to mention that the electromagnetic waves from a mobile phone are actually RF (or radio frequency) and not microwave. Because mobile RF frequencies are less powerful than microwaves (~ 100 times), you are looking at potential heating times much longer. Another old wives tale, I'm afraid.

 

Speaking of microwave ovens, it is possible to overheat water past 100°C before it actually starts boiling. It's unknown yet how it happens.

The reason for this is known. Using water without any particulate matter or other chemical compounds is the answer. For the most part, distilled water contains none of these chemicals and is usually free from particulate matter. And for those of us with any type of chemistry background, we know that the reason why we add little marble chips to a pure liquid while heating is to allow gas formation at the surface. Gas formation is defined as the boiling point of the liquid. We actually want gas formation because this keeps the liquid at a constant temperature for an experiment. Leave out the marble chip, and the liquid could "burp", scalding someone.

 

Burping is caused by the overheated liquid suddenly coming into contact with a tiny piece of dust or some other matter. The dust surface allows gas formation, and because the liquid is way above its normal BP, it can quickly form a huge bubble of gas. The sudden expansion of liquid to gas causes the burp.

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

I should have waved a flag...

 

Sigh.

 

you are looking at potential heating times much longer.

 

So it's still possible, then. It would just take a very long time?