Science question of the day

[Sofisintown]

Correction: the Earth's magnetic field has weakened about 9% over the past 200 years.

This does not include the last 20 years

 

[crofter]

View the ozone layer. This article cites polyurethane insulation foam use/ production in China as problem slowing the mend of the ozone layer.

BBC News - Ozone layer 'rescued' from CFC damage

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56014092

But isn't polyurethane insulation foam great stuff that we all love? I have a can in the tool box. And I might have sprayed a can or three in 2015. Hmmm.

And what about polyiso XPS sold as Foamular by Owens Corning (love this stuff). Is this also bad for the ozone layer?
-crofter

According to this article, the problem was the blowing agent. Previously HFC, but now switching to hydrofloroolefin which is thought to not be a climate risk.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spray_foam

-c

 

[crofter]

Still reading the label on my can of spray foam. Made in USA by dupont. Checking the mfg website....

https://www.greatstuff.dupont.com/about-great-stuff.html#sustainability

Article addresses the froth pak switching to sustainable blowing agent. Still looking for my can ingredients....

 

[crofter]

Looked it all up under the MSDS area which was the only area where the ingredients of the can were listed. The 2020 version lists isobutane and propane as ingredients (as propellant) so no wonder it is flammable DUH and also lists the precaution of ventilation.

Glad I looked all that up. I have a fresh can and can spray away with no worries other than fire danger and possibly asphyxiating myself. Note to self: Doors and windows open!!
-crofter

 

[TravelingZombies]

(trick question)
What is the boiling point of hydrogen hydroxide?

 

[crofter]

HaHa did you mean this? Link to wiki.   -crofter

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_parody

 

[TravelingZombies]

Yes, lol :thumbsup:

 

[highdesertranger]

Yeah look up the Penn and Teller dihydrogen monoxide bit on you tube. Eye opening. Highdesertranger

 

[crofter]

Here's an odd bit. -Ida made the Mississippi River flow backwards. Link to article.
-crofter
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ckward-due-strength-hurricane-ida/5647017001/

 

[TravelingZombies]

Powdered food grade iron magnesium and salt mixed with water causes what reactions while sealed inside a 20 ounce plastic bottle?

 

[crofter]

Why does it say " objects are closer than they appear " on truck mirrors?

Or, just order inside when you're pullin that 5th wheel.

Or, oops I forgot I had the trailer on, better floor it.
-crofter (vid forwarded from reddit)



Gotta be the most expensive DQ order ever. -c

 

[TravelingZombies]

He must be trying to win this year's Darwin award.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Can a solar flare wipe out individual solar panel installations, or is only the grid affected? 

I saw a video describing the solar flare in 1857, had little effect since the electric system (the grid) was not in place then, but still burned down the copper telegraph lines. Solar flares said to be on an 11 year cycle.
-crofter

Also called corona mass ejection in the article.
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-activity/en/

On 11 year solar cycle, currently at the minimum.
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-cycles/en/

1859, the CArrington event.
Caused auroras as far south as Mexico. Fried telegraph equipment all over the place.
If a coronal mass ejection like that occurred today it would fry a lot of our satellites. I'm skeptical that it would take out GPS. That started as a military application, so I assume it's somewhat hardened against EMP and solar flares. But then I'm sure the original satellites have aged out and been replaced by purely commercial ones long since.
It certainly would affect our modern microprocessor controlled vehicles. As well as wireless phones, laptops etc.
I'm positive our PV panels would get nuked. They are after all designed to absorb radiation.
If the panels were able to absorb and transmit all the incoming energy, downstream circuits would get a wallop of energy both directly via the panels, and from induction. The way the telegraph equipment did.
Though it should be understood, the telegraph system in 1850's was all based on transformer coils. The vacuum tube and transistor were decades in the future. Transformers being many winding of copper hanging off a very long wire would be extra susceptible to induction energy. That is after all what most of Nikola Tesla's tech was based on. Induction and coils.

 

[1shemp]

A mystery for the ages.Is the Hokey Pokey really what it's all about?

 

[Minnievann]

A drive through??? Really!!! I wouldn’t even try that with my husbands big truck. Thank you for the morning giggle

 

[crofter]

Article on origins in the western hemisphere, though they may not have survived the climatic changes and ice ages of their time. Link to article.
-crofter

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...nge-theory-when-people-first-arrived-americas
via Natgeo App
https://www.nationalgeographic.app/

 

[BelgianPup]

I'm in the Olympia, WA area.

This morning, I saw a message from Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA), predicting a "Geomagnetic Storm Category G1", with the possibility of auroras, for today and tomorrow. Most of it should be north of WA, north of 60° latitude to the North Pole. The northern U.S. border is 49°.

See https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/alerts-watches-and-warnings

Before the alert was posted, there were multiple power outages, mostly short term, multiple smallish islands showing on the map.

 

[crofter]

Now that's an interesting link.

cell phone battery blew chunks. think it was related?Screen is warped now & why my text is strangely spelled. replacement phone is on tway.I love / hate technology.--crofter

 

[waky]

i saw a video of someone taking what i think were phone battery packs breaking them down to get the batteries had some placement rack to place them then wired and soddered them up and made his own power pack tho he didnt say how long it would go he showed the wattage and voltage and how he assembled it. i think it would be cool if we could do that with standard batteries for emergency purposes tho it was a bit big and in a plastic toolbox

 

[crofter]

You tube is now requiring videos to be truthful. Next they will require dweller  videos to film in a sandstorm while stuck.

Though Bob does feature a tour of the poop deck in every dweller van tour.

Link to article on truthful shots, alternative opinions banned.
-crofter

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/nat...e-misinformation-bans-major-accounts/2624640/

As before, a personal account of what happened to you is still OK to post, if you are not "high profile."