askscience

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How serious would a medical situation aboard the ISS have to be before space agencies would consider using one of the docked Soyuz craft to bring the involved astronaut(s) home? Could it be done in time?	599
If I stop eating entirely I will obviously eventually die. What is it though, specifically, that kills me? What if I were to take vitamins and protein, etc, but no actual food? What would kill me in that case?	456
No teacher I've ever asked could answer this question: Why do atoms "want" a full valence shell of electrons?	94
How do the strange rays emanating from that dot on the golden record mounted to the Voyager spacecraft tell where our solar system is? I don't understand how that is possible.	79
If people of modern civilization were to contact a large, previously totally isolated society, much like what happened after discovering the Americas, would vaccination be effective in stopping the inevitable spread of new disease to that people?	34
Which is more efficient at turning potential energy to "thrust:" a high bypass turbojet engine like used on modern airliners powered by kerosene, or the wings of a bird powered by muscles and food/fat?	29
Just how on earth does a transistor physically work? How is the direction of an electric current changed without moving parts, and how is this signaled?	21
If the centre of the Milky Way happened to contain a Quaesar, would it have affected anything here on earth? Would it just be a brighter light in the night sky, or would it perhaps have more affected significantly the evolution of life?	21
What is the highest temperature that is tolerable to humans? What would happen if the air were near or above 100°C? How long would one survive at high temperatures?	19
There has been a lot of anti-ADHD rhetoric going around lately. Do we have proof that ADHD (especially in adults) is actually a disorder? Or are people like me truly just lazy, awful people?	18

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