What is Phenomenon: Definition and 218 Discussions

A phenomenon (Greek: φαινόμενον, romanized: phainómenon, lit. 'thing appearing to view'; plural phenomena) is an observable fact or event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which cannot be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in this part of his philosophy, in which phenomenon and noumenon serve as interrelated technical terms. Far predating this, the ancient Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher Sextus Empiricus also used phenomenon and noumenon as interrelated technical terms.

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  1. S

    Can some one please explain this phenomenon

    I boiled the milk in milk cooker and i opened once to take some milk out. Remaining milk was there in the cooker and cooker is tightly closed. I placed the cooker over the stove and stove is switched off. when i get up in the morning, i can see that cooker has fallen down from the stove..is...
  2. C

    Light passing through a lens diffraction phenomenon

    A light passing through a lens will be focused for a converging lens. However, to look at it carefully, it'll not converge to a single point but to a certain size. The size of it and some fringes surround it is actually a diffraction phenomenon. I don't really understand that the usual...
  3. N

    How is THIS phenomenon created? Please, help

    Hey everyone, I'm in desperate need of help. I need to know how this light/reflection phenomenon is being created: "[URL I've read the description countless times and have experimented a little bit but I can't figure it out. I do have some knowledge in spectrum but clearly not enough...I've...
  4. I

    Reproduction of the phenomenon with sand

    Hello, guys, I am new here. I'm wondering, what kind of sand should I use to reproduce this phenomenon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7LpmE9hl-c&feature=related I've tried several kinds of sand, but the phenomenon hasn't observed. What density should sand has? What is the fraction (diametr)...
  5. U

    UFO sphere or meteorological phenomenon?

    http://ufopicturesphotos.blogspot.com/2011/09/stationary-ufo-sphere-photographed.html" , has been looking on some of the pictures, but no solid conclusion on what it was has been done so far. There is an animation on the site made by 4 pictures, that shows the object is stationary while the...
  6. C

    Why do irrational numbers result in uneven divisions?

    This has been aggravating me for years. Call it "IDP" as a placeholder name for now, if you will. How come irrational numbers keep propelling forward for particular divisions? My inquiry applies for both repeating and non-repeating irrational numbers. "Just is" or "You're thinking too much into...
  7. B

    Exorcism Phenomenon: What Atheists Think

    Folks, I watched a movie called 'the rite' with Hopkins. I am intrigued to know what atheists think of this phenomenon. How do they explain the phenomena of speaking a different tongue, precognition, physical violence assuming that the victim has been medically cleared of paranoia dementia...
  8. Ivan Seeking

    A curious phenomenon in Venezuela - Scientific American; Dec 18th, 1886

    A bit of unfinished business: I discovered this report back in 2008 and was satisfied at the time that it was legitimate, so I posted it in the UFO Napster - not to be taken as suggestive of anything beyond high strangeness from a seemingly credible report...
  9. Femme_physics

    Strange Phenomenon in 3-Beam Structure Analysis

    Something strange happening here. I'm isolating the beams (which I'm allowed to do) and I get a different result for Dx with each different beam! Check out what happens when I section it at CE, and check out what happens when I section it at AD Homework Statement This structure is made...
  10. S

    Refraction Phenomenon: How Light Rays Travel in Straight Paths

    Refraction phenomenon! If Light rays fall on a transparent glass then they get refracted! They first get absorbed by the electrons and then to another electron and so on till it emerges out of the glass! But y does the light travel in straight path in the glass itself...how do the electrons...
  11. J

    Capillarity is a phenomenon only in water

    Capillarity is a phenomenon that only happens in the water? http://courses.soil.ncsu.edu/ssc012/Graphics/watermol.gif http://courses.soil.ncsu.edu/ssc012/Graphics/watermol2.gif [PLAIN][PLAIN]http://courses.soil.ncsu.edu/ssc012/Graphics/capilarity.gif At left, the water colunm is minor...
  12. L

    Gravity as an emergent phenomenon

    Can anybody suggest good reading material, introduction or review articles on this subject? (I read and studied Carroll GR lecture notes, so everything at this level or below would be great.) thanks
  13. L

    Exploring Fourier Series and Gibbs Phenomenon

    Homework Statement http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/4496/fourier.png Homework Equations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small-angle_approximation The Attempt at a Solution This is part of a larger question, I have underlined in Red the areas I am struggling with and have cut out...
  14. S

    Electrical phenomenon in transformers

    Can anyone give me a source where i ca completely ready about the electrical phenomenon in transformers like the terminology, single phase , 3 phase transformers and then torque and mef production ?? a textbook was prescribed to us in college but it really contains a lot of mistakes and makes...
  15. Ivan Seeking

    Exploring the Rare Phenomenon of Hematidrosis

    I happened upon this and had to check it out. Sure enough, it seems that we really can be so scared that we sweat blood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematidrosis#cite_note-0 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8982961 Berkeman is still at the helm but I couldn't let this one go without a...
  16. R

    Explaining a Strange Phenomenon: EM Field & PC Fan

    Hello. I need an explanation for a strange phenomenon ... I use a fan (PC type) powered by mains (220 V / 50 Hz in my country). At a distance of about 3', I get a sin EM field (sure it is not by mains cords) at a stable frequency of 200 Hz synchronized on main frequency. Even during power on...
  17. baywax

    Is gravity an emergent phenomenon?

    If this has been covered or is so fundamental a question that its dumb... please excuse me...:redface:... otherwise, an answer is appreciated, thank you! Actually I just realized its probably a property if it is emergent at all. Another two properties I'd like to know about in terms of...
  18. S

    I've read that ferromagnetism is a quantum mechanical phenomenon and

    I've read that ferromagnetism is a quantum mechanical phenomenon and have some questions: 1) Is it an example of quantum coherence, like laser light, superconductivity, etc.? 2) Since it depends on electron alignment amongst the iron atoms of the magnet, and since electrons have both...
  19. S

    Why Does Water Circle a Sink Hole?

    hi... we see this phenomenon in our everyday lilfe...:redface: in a sink, if we open its hole suddenly, the water gushes toward it in circular manner and not directly... why the water has to first circle the hole and then it passes through the hole...why it never takes the shortest...
  20. H

    A interesting phenomenon about fingerprints and liquids

    Hello,I just discover a interesting phenomenon at lunch time when I drink a glass of water: When I hold a glass in my hands, If I look from above at the innerwalls of the glass, we can see a very bright and clear image of patterns on your fingertips through the glass. But when I use...
  21. B

    Interesting sciencey phenomenon?

    I've got to do a talk for part of my physics degree and I'm trying to think of subject ideas. It doesn't have to be physics exactly, but must be scientific in some way. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for quirky subject matter. To give you an idea, my favourite talk from the year...
  22. M

    Time Dilation: Exploring the Phenomenon of Speed and Time

    Would I be correct to say that time would not dilate at all if I were to be sedentary throughout my life? & is it also correct to say that even for us individuals time dilates relative to each other? For example, we all move around, do things & time passes by, but though the difference may be...
  23. H

    Meteor Showers: Exploring the Celestial Phenomenon

    How do meteor showers happen?
  24. R

    Mystery Solved - Strange Phenomenon on PCB

    Hello, I just watched at a strange phenomenon. One of my PCB's (Cmos+TTL) is connected to my PC through a Centronics port. No power supply is provided by this wire (only data in and stobe signals). With main power supply off and filtering caps empty, this board runs perfectly during hours and...
  25. H

    Mirror phenomenon after a shower

    Whenever I look in the bathroom mirror after a shower. I immediately notice where the reflection of my eyes are, there is some sort of larger shadow around them. If I move closer, my eyes look like bright white rings (no, it doesn't resemble the normal reflection). Both phenomena seem to change...
  26. J

    Can a theory which describe 5% of a phenomenon

    Can a theory which describes 5% of a phenomenon be considered "valid" or even useful?
  27. G

    Gibbs Phenomenon: Impact on kth Harmonics for Bandwidth Selection

    How does the Gibbs Phenomenon effect the choice of the kth harmonics for bandwidth selection? Basically, I have plotted a square wave using the Fourier series analysis for choosing the kth harmonics. As, I increase the kth harmonics the oscillations increase. What is the smallest harmonic i...
  28. M

    Mysterious Physical Phenomenon: Balancing a Badminton Racket in Water

    Hello. Today I came across a physical phenomenon .. I played badminton in France, at the swimming pool. So I lost my paddle in the pool. (A badminton racket looks like a tennis racket) In the water, no matter how I throw the racket down, balancing it on the head in the bottom of the pool...
  29. D

    Reversing Spin: What's Behind the Physics Phenomenon?

    At the end of this class http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-01-physics-i-classical-mechanics-fall-1999/video-lectures/embed21/, Prof. Walter Lewin spins a plastic object on the table. The object starts spinning, it stops and immediately starts spinning in the opposite direction. The question...
  30. X

    Solving the Mystery of Microwave Phenomenon

    I am trying to come up with an explanation as to why this happened. My dad put a plastic container in the microwave with food in it. He microwaved it, and it turned out fine. He then took that one out of the microwave and put in another plastic container in. Also with food in it. The weird...
  31. B

    Chebyshev Density and Potential/Runge Phenomenon

    Homework Statement Show that the integral from -1 to 1 of p(x)*log|z-x| dx equals log|z - sqrt(z^2 -1)| / 2, where p(x) = 1 / (pi*sqrt(1-x^2)) 2. Other information This topic comes from Chebyshev interpolation. p(x) is the Chebyshev density. The Attempt at a Solution The best idea I could...
  32. M

    Why does the 'Number 9 Phenomenon' always work in integer systems?

    I have seen this number "trick" throughout the years and have never been able to figure out the mechanism. I'm sure most of you are familiar with it, and probably have a simple solution. Here it is for those who are not aware: take any number greater than 9 add up all of the digits of...
  33. nomadreid

    Gravity as an emergent phenomenon

    The concepts in "On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton" by Prof. Erik Verlinde, found at http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1001/1001.0785v1.pdf, are intriguing. There are two points which I do not understand, and would be grateful for any enlightenment. First, why is the holographic...
  34. W

    Why Mosquitoes Spin After Being Swatted

    I'd purchased a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_bat" recently. These things are very handy for swatting mosquitoes in the rainy season. A little while ago, I noticed something curious while swatting: after I hit the creature, it falls on the floor and begins to spin rapidly. Many a time I...
  35. W

    The phenomenon of image formation

    Hello. the main question/doubt that I have is about the possibility of image formation through parallel projection [I'll explain in detail what I mean by that]. To make myself clear, I will start with a different question and connect that to this. + Consider a small rectangular box of a...
  36. P

    A strange phenomenon in Norway

    Please have a look: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2764647/Spiral-UFO-puts-Norway-in-a-spin.html It's strange isn't it? Anyone have an explanation? Could it be man made?
  37. D

    SCWR heat transfer deterioration phenomenon

    Looking for people interested in this topic for discussions and probable scientific cooperation
  38. S

    The Quantum Phenomenon and the Staring Phenomenon

    Hi, I'd like to know your thoughts on this topic from the Physics point of view: Sheldrake, R. (2005). The Sense of Being Stared At Part 2: Its Implications for Theories of Vision Journal of Consciousness Studies, 12, No. 6, 2005, pp. 32–49...
  39. drizzle

    Exploring the "Born Believer" Phenomenon

    "born believer" is it the right place to post this? I just thought it's interesting.. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/3512686/Children-are-born-believers-in-God-academic-claims.html"
  40. J

    Can Chimps Evolve into Humans?

    Chimpanzees share 98.4% of our DNA, does that mean that Chimps can eventually evolve into a human form of biological life. Questions does this 1.6% difference mean that chimps lack the DNA sequences to eventually evolve or are the existence of the DNA sequences just not present and they don’t...
  41. Math Is Hard

    Is the This Man phenomenon real or just a figment of our imaginations?

    The "This Man" phenomenon http://thisman.org/history.htm Ever dream about this man? The 2nd recognition description is unsettling, but with the other reports (and without knowing more detail), it seems that the psychiatrists could have been unintentionally planting a suggestion to the...
  42. M

    Mirage is refraction phenomenon or total internal reflection phenomenon?

    “mirage” is refraction phenomenon or total internal reflection phenomenon? “mirage” is refraction phenomenon or total internal reflection phenomenon?
  43. S

    Confused by bioelectrical phenomenon

    Hey, first post in this forum! Ive been reading a lot of books related to biology and the more I read the more confusing the subject of electricity in living organisms gets. For example, a lot of books introduce membrane potentials as something that can be measured using two microelectrodes...
  44. A

    A Rotation with Translation Movement is standalone natural phenomenon.

    Please look into this site http://knol.google.com/k/alex-belov/paradox-of-classical-mechanics-2/1xmqm1l0s4ys/9# The experiment 2 animations This is animation based on classical mechnics laws http://mysite.verizon.net/vze27vxm/sim.gif This is animation based on theory of...
  45. B

    Blue Pool - colour change phenomenon

    On the weekend I visited Blue Pool in Dorset, England. This is an old abandoned clay mine that has filled with water to produce an attractive pool. Apparently the colour of the pool constantly changes colour... http://www.bluepooltearooms.co.uk/" I didn't observe the colour changes...
  46. N

    Strange water boiling phenomenon

    Since I'm around that old question about an observed phenomenon came to my mind: - a cup is filled with water and heated up using a microwave oven. When I see it starting to boil, the oven is stopped abruptly. And while there is no more energy injected into the water, it boils even more for a...
  47. A

    Mirrored Optics Phenomenon Explained While Swimming

    I observed this 'phenomenon' while I was swimming... Here is the situation: When I look at my watch (which is submerged), its glass surface acts like a plane mirror at certain angles (e.g. when I rotate my wrist/arm), causing the contents behind the glass become invisible. Somehow all...
  48. Ivan Seeking

    The Mojave Phone Booth Phenomenon

    By chance I spotted and watched an Independent film called Mojave Phone Booth. I had mentioned it as being an interesting movie, and I was checking to see where it was filmed when I discovered that the movie was apparently based on a genuine and very strange social phenomenon. It struck me as...
  49. baywax

    Common Ethics: A Natural Phenomenon

    By using the term "common ethics" I am referring somewhat to the idea of "common sense". You see it everyday in traffic, among pedestrians, in classrooms and everywhere there is human activity. We could say you can find it in the animal and plant kingdoms as well, but that would be an outright...
  50. E

    Medical Does the phantom limb phenomenon apply to internal organs?

    The name "phantom limb" implies an external extension of the body. Has a similar phenomenon been reported for internal organs? Thanks for any and all.
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