What is Damage: Definition and 129 Discussions

Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance". Damage "does not necessarily imply total loss of system functionality, but rather that the system is no longer operating in its optimal manner". Damage to physical objects is "the progressive physical process by which they break", and includes mechanical stress that weakens a structure, even if this is not visible.

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  1. B

    Can DNA repair enzymes reverse oxidative damage and combat aging?

    Are there any known enzymes that will fix oxidative dna damage without correcting mismatched bases? Any enzymes that are thought to work like that? thanks
  2. B

    Zinc fingers and oxidative DNA damage

    Can zinc fingers be used to solve the oxidative DNA damage problem? theoretically? "By attaching zinc fingers which determine where transcription factors bind to endonuclease, which break DNA strands, homologous recombination can be induced to correct & replace defective/undesired DNA sequences"
  3. T

    Teeth damage after eating bacon and egg?

    Does your teeth feel slightly hurt after eating fried bacon and eggs? If it's not because they were too hot when you consumed them then what reasons could it be?
  4. Q

    What kind of damage will 800lb neodymium magnets do to electronics?

    I know this doesn't pertain so much to engineering but I figured you guys would know best. If you set the magnet next to a cell phone or TV, what kind of damage would be expected?
  5. B

    Germ Line Cells & DNA Damage: Causes of Aging?

    Do germ line cells accumulate DNA Damage like the rest of the body? I've heard things about them that make them seem to have very different characteristics to the rest of the body. Ie could germ line cells, or anything, contain your original DNA when you're like 50 or 100, or would the only DNA...
  6. H

    Drag Coefficient and Snow, dirt, or hail damage

    I have a general question concerning the affect of surface treatments or imperfections in the painted surface of the vehicle in relationship to the Drag Coefficient for an automobile. I own a 2006 Hyundai Sonata which has a drag coefficient of 0.32. Over the last six months I have noticed a...
  7. K

    How Does Momentum Affect Collision Damage?

    Homework Statement What is more important in determining the amount of damage an object sustains in a collision? A. Total momentum Change B. Total momentum change per unit time C. None of these D. Both of these Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I think...
  8. Danger

    Medical Is it Safe to Make Your Own Costume Contact Lenses Using Gelatine?

    Any opthalmologists or other occular medical experts out there? For decades, I've been making my own (usually elaborate) Hallowe'en outfits, including latex appliances. My avatar is one example of that. One thing that I've never been able to justify buying is costume contact lenses such as...
  9. wolram

    Damage caused by ball lightning

    Does anyone have pictures or reference to damage caused by BL? The only major damage report i can find is in this Wiki article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning Look under Esoteric. damage done to a peat bog, is there a better article on this? I would be most interested in...
  10. S

    Can two loudspeakers one next to other, damage them self?

    Can two loudspeakers one next to other, damage them self? I think the question is very clear, and if you know please answer. Thank you.
  11. T

    Hearing Damage from High Pitched Noises

    Does a loud noise that is beyond my range of hearing still do damage to my ears?
  12. P

    Prevent Frost Damage to Plants: Tips & Solutions

    Homework Statement Plants when exposed to frost can be badly damaged as the frost melts. Why? Explain how the damage can be minimised by spraying the plants with water. Homework Equations none The Attempt at a Solution It could be due to frost expand when in cells (i.e. from liquid...
  13. Ivan Seeking

    News U.S. Image Damage: Bush Administration's Impact Abroad

    In what ways has the Bush administration damaged the US image abroad; potentially having made the world a more dangerous place? http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec06/turkey_11-27.html
  14. BobG

    Lightning Strike Damage: TVs, Cable Modem & VCR

    We had a thunderstorm Thursday evening and I think my house got zapped by lightening. I lost two TV's, a VCR, and my cable modem. Of course, the good news is that the cheaper the TV, the less damage it sustained. The best TV doesn't turn on at all, while the picture only fills half the screen...
  15. O

    Reversal of Spinal Cord Damage using Stem Cell Therapy

    Did anyone happen to catch the 60mins TV spot of Hans S. Keirstead last night? His research showing reversing spinal cord damage in rats using human embryo stem cells is compelling. Brings this approach to humans paralyzed by spinal cord damage, closer to reality. Human clinical trials may...
  16. E

    News Sir Ian Blair's attempt to damage de Menezes name to be investigated

    ... at long last. http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1653128,00.html Vaguely promising. Despite de Menezes' parents remaining as vocal as ever on the murder of their son, things have been quiet on this for a while. Blair & co stood by their story until an IPCC report...
  17. H

    Ear Damage from a Small Firecracker

    Lets say there is a small firecracker that emits 1200 of peak power. What is the peak intensity B in decibels at a distance of 1 m from the firecracker? This is what i have tried: B = 10log(I/Io) I = 1200/pi Since I = power/area and the area is pir^2, pi(1m)^2 Io=( 10^-12...
  18. Z

    Uncovering the Chemistry Behind Why Onions Make You Cry

    Everyone knows onions make you cry :cry: , but do they actually do any damage to your eyes? How can one stop their eyes from getting sore when cutting up these cruel vegetables?
  19. Mk

    News Katrina damage is Bush's Fault

    Why is Katrina damage Bush's fault? Well who else is there to blame but Bush and FEMA?
  20. H

    Did I do damage to the multimeter?

    I accidently put the black probe in the "A" port instead of the "COM" port and mistakingly measured resistence. The resistence measured seemed to be correct, but did I do damage to the multimeter?
  21. R

    Environmental damage seen from shuttle

    HOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) -- Commander Eileen Collins said astronauts on shuttle Discovery had seen widespread environmental destruction on Earth and warned on Thursday that greater care was needed to protect natural resources. Her comments came as NASA pondered whether to send astronauts out...
  22. E

    Dealing with Fire Damage: Water, Drywall, and Carpet

    There was a fire upstairs and the sprinklers went off. FD was here pronto and got them shut off and all the water squeegeed out of that apartment. I had some leakage but mostly water stains on drywall seams, around light fixtures, and ac vents. The abatement (?) guy has cut holes the size of...
  23. *Kia*

    Leaky Kitchen: Who Pays for the Damage?

    What's the score if your upstairs neighbour has a leak in the kitchen and it damages your property? Is it a case of tough luck and sort out the cost yourself? Or is it up to the tenant/landlord of the other property to foot the bill? let me explain... We own our property (freehold) the...
  24. Evo

    Schiavo Autopsy Shows Massive Brain Damage

    The parents insisted an autopsy be performed on their daughter and the results show that the husband was right all along. Even with the results showing she was blind and in a permanent vegetative state with no chance to improve, her parents remain in denial of the truth. "An autopsy on...
  25. T

    What will block damage to mag stripes?

    Seems like an epidemic lately of "demagnetized" credit cards, transit cards, etc. - apparently due to the card's proximity to cell phones and/or those magnetic closures on briefcases and purses... If I were to attempt to protect my cards from any such damage, what material could I use which...
  26. S

    Damage to chromosomes and temperature

    Do errors in chromsome replication increase as the temperature of a cell increases? Also can a cell regulate its temperature and keep it different to the extracellular medium surrounding it?
  27. T

    I think I may have done some permanent damage

    How's this for the most pathetic way to spend new years. About 2 hours ago I heard someone scream. I opened my door and saw my neighbor throw something out her door. She went back inside and i went to see what she had thrown. It is a pink box, Fing'rs Liquid/Powder Acrylic Nail Maker and Repair...
  28. S

    Fixing Damage from Virus Infection: Formatting an XP Hard Drive

    My dad gets that error on every exe he tries to open. He was infected with a virus, actually several. Is there any way to fix the damage? As far as we can tell, we got rid of all the infected files. If we can't, how would we format the hard drive? It's an XP system.
  29. Tyger

    Testing Magnetic Properties of Iron Crystals without Damage

    Was going to put this up a couple of days ago but was a bit preoccupied. So here goes. Imagine that you take a single crystal of Iron, a whisker, and bend it around to make a circle. How could you find out if the crystal was magnetized? Remember, all the magnetic field is contained inside the...
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