Mystery Definition and 897 Threads

This crystal was left over after the water in a tabletop foundation evaporated. The fountain is a collection of rocks glued together that the water tumbles over. The crystals are off-white, slightly straw-colured. The image is about 2X actual size. Any idea what the mineral may be?

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/astro-ph/pdf/0504/0504653.pdf Title: Solving the mystery of Iapetus Authors: Paulo C. C. Freire Comments: Submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets Since the discovery of Iapetus by G. D. Cassini, in 1672, it has been known that the leading...

Hi, I'm looking to solutions of: 2^n+Q=m^2 , where Q=1 . Obviously, n must be odd. I already know the trivial solution: 2^3+1=3^2 and I've started using a naive PARI/gp program for finding (n,m) up to n=59 . No success yet. Do you know about other solutions or about some theory ? This is...

Hey, I thought of a good brain teaser. I have another account on this forum. Try to find out what my other username is, there are hints in my profile that are NOT true, just clues. I expect some people to get it, so please, put the answer in white.

Quantum Mystery #1 - Complimentarity Principle Hi all - Making sense of the standard double-pinhole experiment is not easy for the layman! In order for me to better understand complimentarity, an experiment is proposed. What is wrong with this thought experiment? Please view (you may need to...

ok... So, we see the sun everyday, right? So let's say you are standing on one point of the Earth looking at the sun rise... At where must you point a laser cannon in order to hit the sun dead centre? and why? :confused:

Evening everyone, This is a rather odd question: why do we yawn? Is there any biological reason for it? Why do we yawn when we see other people yawn or think about it? Oh, just typing this post is making me yawn! :zzz:

find the cross product a x b of the vectors a = 5.0m,i and b=4.3m,k 5.0m\ast 4.3m\ast \sin (90)=22m^2,\hat {j} The back of the book gives -(22m^2)\hat {j} Where does the minus sign come from?

Magic Square Hello, Don't know, which forum, so i put it to general... Yesterday i saw something like an magician on an exposition, showing some math to angle for attention. He asked the audience to give him a number between 41 and 100. So he got the 47. He worked out a magic...

Belongs in a 'nature' forum, but this is as close as it gets. Why do some birds (pigeons, starlings) bob their heads (front and back) when they walk? I have two hypotheses: 1] They have lower retinal retentiveness, and must hold an image on their eye longer to resolve it. They move their...

Sorry if this is the most elementary question ever, but hey, I gots ta know man! Is the number 2.3 even or odd? :confused: The Rev

From Wikipidia John Wheeler derived the concept of the quantum foam in 1955. It is also referred to as spacetime foam and bears a superficial resemblance to the old concept of the ether (or Aether). How does the time component of this" foam" progress? is it governed by the expansion rate of...

Has anyone actually seen it done? I'm sitting here staring at my petty collection of 1248 songs on my 40GB and the little bar at the bottom of the screen is telling me it's less than 1/8th full. HOW THE **** AM I SUPPOSED TO FILL UP 40GB THESE GUYS ARE INSANE!

have a look a the diagram heavy particle of mass m is tied to one end of a string which is of length l. The other end is attached to the ceiling. The particle forms uniform circular motion. Angular velocity of omega. String is angle theta. Ignore friction and mass of string. Find magnitude...

How do lasers make use of the quantum theory of the atom. I tried to look it up but I couldn't understand what they were saying. :confused:

you've all seen one before, a lamp that turns on when you touch a metal part of it. i was wondering how they worked...? Here are my ideas on how it works: well it can't be sending an electric current through you, that would just be dangerous and wouldn't relly serve any purpose. then i...

I just wonder what's the name of the serries 1/1!+2/2!+3/3!... I know it equals e but I just whant to know how it's called. PS. Titels of good books abot serries would allso be welcome.

Is there an incompleteness which, over all others, defines our existence?

Why is HCl called hydrochloric acid, not just "chloric" acid? I mean, we don't say hydronitric acid, nor do we say hydrosulfuric acid. But then why is HCl called hydrochloric acid, not just chloric acid? (i mean, we do add the hydrogen for acid) My guess is that this is so because the...

ok, here it goes, why is e^(pi.i)=-1 ?

why r^2?? hi I have a big problem in physics that nobody could answer it until now.I hope that you can help me. my question is about this formula:F=Gm1m2/r^2 why r^2?? :confused: I searched about it very much but the only thing that i could find was this:the answer is not:because of the...

I have searched for this answer all day long. Why is Vave multiplied by 2 to obtain Vf?

Okay, here's the deal: Basketball player Darrell Griffith is on record as attaining a standing vertical jump of 1.2 m (4 ft). (This means that he moved upward by 1.2 m after his feet left the floor.) Griffith weighed 890 N (200 lb). (B) If the time of the part of the jump before his feet...

why is sea water salty ?

Hi, Anyone out there have Lawden's book, "An Introduction to Tensor Calculus, Relativity and Cosmology"? Expression 39.13 (on p 109) and the sentence that precedes it have me stumped. My understanding of what he's saying is that a symmetric quadratic form can always be diagonalized so that...

Time to debunk or bow to the Mystery Spot . Some pictures here and one more here. Anyone ?

Why did nature never invent the wheel?

this item is about the size of your hand, 3d, and it is considered *normal* if a stranger walks up to you and gives you the item. You will know what to do with it, and you will give it back when you are done, despite it being worth a considerable amount (it varies). by asking me only yes/no...

What volume of 50% NaOH (by weight) solution is necessary to prepare 1 litre of 0.1M NaOH? Assume that the density of the NaOH solution is 1.53g/ml.

This is a 'How did I do this?' teaser. A couple of notes first: - The picture I include is simulated (Googled for a generic shot). Sorry, best I could do without the original. Ignore the fact that a] it's not me, and b] that the pic is indoors. - Even though this is a simulation, I actually...

VSEPR Theory... I am completely at ease with being able to use VSEPR theory to answer questions, etc, but I just can't get my head round why it actually happens? All I am told is "electron clouds repel each other to be as far apart as possible", but this seems to completely disagree with the...

Why do females live longer than males?

A Cow's Dance A cow named Dolly was enjoying the pasture & turned to face the setting sun. Then, she decided to do a little dance. The following are the steps: she turned 180degrees to her right, 90degrees to her left, then another 45degrees to her right. She repeated the steps 250 times. At...

http://www.tessproject.com/products/seminars&training/seminar%20series/Assets_Materials/The_Mystery_of_Capital.pdf

Hello everybody! What's the number of possible configuration of a Rubik cube 2x2 (allowed movements are like in a 3x3 cube but here there are not central pieces that don't move). THanks for your help

I don't get where these two identities come from: (logn)^{logn} = n^{log(logn)} and (logn)^{log(logn)} = e^{(log(logn))^2}

Are the whole processes of DNA, RNA, ribosomes, amino acids and proteins all just "chemical reactions" or is there something more to it? I know the way it works from DNA to protein but why? I understand this question might have a very complex anwser but a brief explanation would be...

Rate of decay... "The rate of decay is durectly proprtional to the number of atoms present, following an exponential law, the rate of decay decreasing with time" - but why is this the case? Thanks in advance. :smile:

hi , i recently found while playing around with my new calculator that any number repeated six times is divisible by 7 ... for eg, 4 repeated 6 times gives 444444/7 =63492 an say 761 repeated 6 times 761761761761761761/ 7 =108823108823108823 the last one was done using a computer...

what is the reason why the number of H- ions in a gas must always be less than the number of HII ions?

Why does dry asphalt appear to be wet on a hot, sunny day?

I have a question regarding fluids A small sculpture made of gold (density of gold = 19280 kg/m^3) is believed to have a secret central cavity. The weight of the sculpture in air is 25.76 N. When submerged in water, the weight is 23.86 N. What is the volume of the secret cavity. (Density of...

What is the actual name for the integral symbol? I know it was first used by Leibniz, but did he actually call it anything...? It's really hard trying to convince my friends the integral symbol is the sexiest thing ever invented, when I don't even know her true name. :blushing:

I have a sample of 25 % acetanilide with 75 % caffeine. I record a melting point range of 198 - 240 degrees celcius acetanilide's melting point is 114.3 caffeine's melting point is 238 What would cause this huge experimental range? My thinking is that the acetanilide is...

I'm trying to write a program that would process data from a particle physics experiment and I need to know what the charge of a muon/anti-muon is. It doesn't seem to be easy to find on the web. Does anyone here have a value for it?

Is it know why the Earth's core, and indeed the cores of other planets, are "hot" while some are cold? Is it possible that fusion or fission processes are taking place there ?

x=--x wtf =/ (this isn't a homework problem but it was brought up today and I'm curious) :confused:

[FONT=Arial Black]undefinedundefinedundefined I have a mystery alkali carbonate. I need to react it with sulfuric acid. When this occurs I know the products are carbon dioxide, water, ions of the mystery metal in solution and ions of sulfate in the solution. My question is how do I find the...

Why isn't there such a thing as base rain? Or do we just never hear about it?

hey everybody, I am new to the forum, and glad to be here. looks like a great place for help when all has failed! :cry: if you race 2 cans of broth down a ramp, one frozen and one still liquid, which one wins? well, i did this mathematically, using the equation for a solid ring...