What is Explain: Definition and 1000 Discussions

An explanation is a set of statements usually constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequences of those facts. This description may establish rules or laws, and may clarify the existing rules or laws in relation to any objects, or phenomena examined.Explanation, in philosophy, is a set of statements that makes intelligible the existence or occurrence of an object, event, or state of affairs. Among the most common forms of explanation are causal explanation; deductive-nomological explanation, which involves subsuming the explanandum under a generalization from which it may be derived in a deductive argument (e.g., “All gases expand when heated; this gas was heated; therefore, this gas expanded”); and statistical explanation, which involves subsuming the explanandum under a generalization that gives it inductive support (e.g., “Most people who use tobacco contract cancer; this person used tobacco; therefore, this person contracted cancer”). Explanations of human behaviour typically appeal to the subject’s beliefs and desires, as well as other facts about him, and proceed on the assumption that the behaviour in question is rational (at least to a minimum degree). Thus an explanation of why the subject removed his coat might cite the fact that the subject felt hot, that the subject desired to feel cooler, and that the subject believed that he would feel cooler if he took off his coat.

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  1. A

    Explain this terminology Steel Cord?

    What do people in the industry usually mean by steel cord? Is it the same as steel wire, steel rope? Pictures, Wiki, professional article/dictionary would be appreciated. I googled it but the results are still quite too blurry. Thanks in advance!
  2. C

    Please explain the graph of int(x)

    i do not understand why they graph it with a line and a circle. I know what the circle and the line mean, i just do not understand how they apply to this graph.
  3. M

    My teacher asked Explain why it is necessary to standardize your

    my teacher asked Explain why it is necessary to standardize your EDTA solution. I am not totally sure why it is important.. can some one explain?
  4. B

    Explain, briefly, what a hysteresis cycle is

    Homework Statement explain, briefly, what a hysteresis cycle is [2 marks] The Attempt at a Solution I don't think the answer is to draw a graph because that is the next question. The subject is electricity and magnetism but the above question does not refer specifically to electricity...
  5. L

    Can someone explain to me exactly what is meant by vanishing dimensions theory?

    I really like it, but haven't seen any good, simple descriptions of it! Is there any place to get just the overall gist of it?
  6. M

    Can someone explain if this is true?

    I believe that it is correct, and it concisely represents a concept I have never understood. It seems obvious to me that the chance of getting the higher bill would be 50/50, and if you ran enough simulations then you would do no better by consistently choice to switch than by choosing to keep...
  7. M

    Hi, Can anybody explain in a few words what the

    Hi, Can anybody explain in a few words what the "spin glass" is ? Can a material that exhibits a magnetic hysteresis (ferromagnetism) at both 5 K and 300 K be in a way a "spin-glass" also ? As recently, we have measured a material that despite the fact it is exhibiting a magnetic loop at any...
  8. C

    New to Physics. Can you explain?

    I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. They say the Earth keeps spinning because it started spinning and now there is no external force applied to it to stop it. The Sun is an external force. I...
  9. T

    Simple Force and Motion Problem - Explain the explanation please.

    Homework Statement Half-Passage: In the packing industry, processing packages via conveyor belts is immensely practical and vital for operations. Maintaining packages in a neat and file line is no easy task, considering that many conveyor belts are non-linear and require the traversal of hills...
  10. F

    Is This Video a Glimpse into Extraterrestrial Encrypted Communications?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3W-FSqRATgw"
  11. M

    How would I explain what scenarios the squeeze theorem should be used in?

    This is what I want to say: The squeeze theorem may be used when direct substitution and factoring (or simplification of any sort) doesn't help in finding a limit. An example would be lim x->0 of x2sin(pi/x). Limit laws wouldn't work and we can't simplify the expression. What we can do is...
  12. Y

    Please explain Taylor expansion in radiation.

    For retarded scalar potential of arbigtrary source around origin: V(\vec r, t) = \frac 1 {4\pi\epsilon_0}\int \frac { \rho(\vec r\;',t-\frac {\eta}{c}) }{\eta} d\;\tau' \;\hbox { where }\;\eta =\sqrt{r^2 + r'^2 - 2 \vec r \cdot \vec r\;' } Where \;\vec r \; point to the field point where V...
  13. S

    Can/do relativistic effects explain select quantum phenomena

    Can/do relativistic effects explain select quantum "phenomena" Can/do relativistic effects explain select quantum "phenomena"? A photon (a mass less "particle" that travels at the speed of light) experiences space-time in a different manner. A photon does not experience time. Would the sun...
  14. S

    What Are Control and Signal Regions in Particle Physics Experiments?

    I am recently reading the articles "Search for squarks and gluinos using final states with jets and missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector in sqrt s=7 TeV proton-proton collisions". However, as my limited knowledge, many technical terms that I am understanding as a result I am now...
  15. C

    Can You Explain The Interactions Of SUSY?

    Im having a little bit of trouble with SuperSymmerty. I understand all the basics with the sparticles and gauginos being -1/2 less and how their properties change to boson-like and fermion-like respectively. What i don't understand is how do the interact exactly. i know none have been found in...
  16. D

    Help can you please explain this to me thanks (it is all about vector )

    this problem was discussed by our professor . but I am a lil bit confused on it ! thanks ! help ! FIVE COPLANAR FORCES ACT ON AN OBJECT AND THEIR RESULTANT ! our prof use this formula ! Bx=Bsin(degree) By=Bcos(degree) ANSER: VECTORS X-COMPONENTS...
  17. M

    How does Quantum Physics explain light?

    I've gotten quite used to that light is both a wave and particle but how does it interact with objects?
  18. C

    Can someone explain this step in the proof of the convolution theorem?

    I fail to understand a step made in this proof: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolution_theorem" more specifically the last step where the integral is written as a product of 2 separate integrals (each equal to a Fourier transform): from: to: I'm quite rusty on my integration, but as far I...
  19. C

    Can anyone explain an interesting induction result I got

    Homework Statement n2<=2n n is a natural number For what values of n is the statement true and prove by induction. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I tried 1 and it worked, I tried 2 and it worked, just for fun I tried 3 and it didn't work, so I assumed the...
  20. N

    How to explain the smallness of mass while the mass parameter diverge rapidly in ?

    Please teach me this: How to understand the smallness of mass while the mass parameter diverge rapidly in renormalization group flow because the mass term in Lagrangian is the relevant operator.By the way,are there always exist the fix point of renormalization group flow in any QTF Theory,or in...
  21. M

    How would you in few words explain 'force'?

    How would you in few words explain 'force'? Could you say: A force is the acceleration of mass.
  22. T

    Are there any theories that explain where matter and energy came from?

    Like has anyone ever said a reason to how matter and energy came into existence?
  23. M

    Please somebody explain this simple physics problem?

    Homework Statement A truck start from a place with an acceleration of 2m/second square.A car passes the same place after 5s with uniform speed of 20m/s. Find the time taken in which car overtakes truck? Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution Answer given is 10 seconds...
  24. T

    Explain the Inverse Function Theorem

    I am studying the multi variable Inverse Function Theorem and the Implicit Function Theorem. I think my brain is rebelling against understanding them and I would appreciate if someone here could explain the two theorems semi rigorously as well as explain when they are used, and why they are...
  25. W

    Can someone explain non-inertial reference frames

    What is a non-inertial reference frame? how is it defined?
  26. P

    Light as an EM wave to explain photoelectric effect?

    OK, so recently I have learned that in the early 20th century, while Max Planck was attempting to explain the quantum nature of light, two men named Philip Lenard and Heinrich Hertz discovered the photoelectric effect. They found that an electron must absorb a specific amount of energy...
  27. R

    Pi = 4 with diagram, someone explain why it is wrong.

    [PLAIN]http://blog.bfg9000.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/pi_equals_4.png Could someone explain the error here?
  28. L

    Could someone please explain the geometrization process?

    While reading about Minkowski's description of the fourth dimension time axis, I saw that by taking the product of the speed of light and time, he was able to give it a "spatial" geometric character of distance (i.e. light-years, light-seconds, or whatever). I then saw that he set c (the speed...
  29. J

    Does the Higgs field explain anything or go in circles?

    This might be a bit of a naive question but I am only just starting to learn the very basics of this stuff. I'm hearing about being able to account for the mass of, well, massive particles, by saying that in our cool universe, there is this field pervading all of space that certain...
  30. pairofstrings

    Can you explain the following diagram

    I am trying to figure how the pins of 8086 are connected to different elements in the circuit? I don't understand how at this level the pins can be connected. can you explain? Is the second diagram suppose to be the internal view of the first diagram? The figure shows that there are 40 pin on...
  31. S

    Can someone explain the following logic used to define the meter?

    "The meter is the length of the path traveled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second.Note that the effect of this definition is to fix the speed of light in vacuum at exactly 299,792,458 m/s." I don't understand this because how can you use a number based on...
  32. H

    How do you explain the Heisenberg uncertainty principle?

    So to determine the position of an object you can scatter light off of it. Fine. But then my textbook says you can't know the exact position of the object because of diffraction effects. We've covered the diffraction of light through narrow slits but I don't know why if you were scattering light...
  33. A

    Does string theory and the composition of quarks explain dark matter.

    Hello everyone. I'm not a physicist however have been doing some research on the concepts behind dark energy and string theory and it has presented me with a question: Is it possible that dark matter could be the components of quarks that haven't pulled together to form the quarks. We can't...
  34. C

    Can someone please explain this concept for me? As I understand

    Can someone please explain this concept for me? As I understand it, you have a, let's say, a three-level atom with two hyperfine states and an excited state. Then you apply a pump source (perhaps a laser) to transfer the atom from one of the hyperfine states (say |g1>) to the excited state...
  35. R

    Could anyone explain to me that why:let u=E[X]. then

    could anyone explain to me that why: let u=E[X]. then E[u]=E[X]? I am a bit confused. Thanks.
  36. alemsalem

    Can someone explain to me Locality in field theory?

    Can someone explain to me "Locality" in field theory? I know that two fields have to commute at space-like separations so that observations don't affect each other at these separation. what about the thing where the Lagrangian can't couple fields at different locations and time, is it so...
  37. S

    Can someone explain HUP with some mathematical rigor?

    I was watching one of Susskind's videos and I had some questions: Briefly summarizing from the video: E = hf (Planck's constant times frequency) E = cp (speed of light times momentum) or p = E/c = hf/c And we know that if we have wavelength lambda, then if t = 1/f and vel = dist/time...
  38. L

    Anybody here who could explain to me in the simplest terms what is so

    Anybody here who could explain to me in the simplest terms what is so special about the Lie group SO(8) and what is meant by triality? I know some Lie and representation theory, mostly from physics books. As I understand there are vector and spinor representations for so(n). If n is even...
  39. M

    Why does silver have lower absorption than zirconium at 35 keV?

    so just about finishing a report on x ray abosprtion on different materials, generally the linear attneuation coefficent increases with atominc number Z. However silver(47) had a lower attenuation coefficent then zirconium(40) despite having the significantly higher value of Z. With some...
  40. K

    Will GR ever explain the flyby anomaly?

    A local velocity-dependence of local curvature of space would violate the notion that space is given a curvature only by surrounding matter. Any arbitrary test particle or object moving at some velocity isn't going to experience a different gravitational "force" under the same curvature...
  41. Y

    Explain the physics joke Don't be a d^3x/dt^3

    I saw this physics joke somewhere and didn't understand it. Could someone explain it to me? Don't be a d^3x/dt^3 Thanks!
  42. U

    No phone/Internet for Osama. Dear pundits please explain

    As revealed by the CIA analysts they noticed that the suspicious house had no phone and Internet connections. Could Osama have a CELLULAR phone with Internet (registered for somebody living far away) and use it (for reception only) outside of any means of detection?? Many thanks for...
  43. S

    Can you please explain how to factorize

    Can you please explain how to factorize x4+2x2+9 If i do it by quadratic formula, i get complex roots ... in my book, it has been factorized to (x2+2x+3)(x2-2x + 3)
  44. P

    Anyone explain this Feynman quote?

    I was bored last night and look at Wikipedia's article on Feynman when I saw this quote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_feynman#Challenger_disaster (bottom of top paragraph) Can anyone put this into some context and explain what he was talking about?
  45. E

    Could Anti de Sitter space explain galaxy rotation w/o dark matter?

    Observations of distant supernova suggests we live in a deSitter Universe, with cold dark matter invoked to explain galaxy rotation curve. Since direct DM detection experiments have come up null, could the presence of matter in the vacuum cause spacetime around it to become Anti de Sitter, one...
  46. F

    Can someone explain why this is a proof?

    Homework Statement Prove that the geometric series \sum_{n=1}^{\infty} r^n if -1 < r < 1 2. The Solution s_n = r + r^2 + ... + r^n rs_n =r^2 + r^3 ... + r^{n+1} s_n - rs_n = r - r^{n+1} s_n = \frac{r - r^{n+1}}{1 -r} For |r|<1 As\;n\to\infty\;,r^{n+1}\to \infty...
  47. S

    Can Some Help Explain This Circuit to me? its a LED Audio VU meter circuit

    If anyone could help, that would be amazing. its not homework, its a personal project i am undertaking and just wondered if anyone could give me an explanation or any help if they had any understanding of this circuit! thanks guys! Samm
  48. G

    Can someone explain how they got this?

    The question was: A solid cylinder or radius 10cm (.1m) and mass 12kg starts from rest and rolls without slipping a distance L=6m down a roof that is inclined at the angle 30 degrees. What is the angular speed of the cylinder about its center as it leaves the roof? Step 1: I got the...
  49. M

    Explain why the vectors a=(-2,3) and b=(3,-1) = (13,9)

    Homework Statement explain why the vectors a=(-2,3) and b=(3,-1) = (13,9) how do i do this
  50. Y

    Indicate whether sech(x) is invertible for [0, infinity) and explain why

    Homework Statement Indicate whether sech(x) is invertible for [0, infinity) and explain why.The Attempt at a Solution Sooo... I know that: sech(x) = 2 / ( ex + e-x ) I know that to get the inverse equation I'd need to swap the y and the x... but I'm trying to show whether it's invertible...
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