/u/graaahh's posts in /r/askscience

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If Samarium-147 has a 106 billion year half life (roughly 7.5 times the age of the universe), how do we even know?

35 upvotes

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Is it possible to measure the gravity of any man-made object?

31 upvotes

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Why is a poorly written sentence harder to read than one that makes sense?

30 upvotes

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I'm sure this is a silly question, but how do supernovae not destroy the heavier elements the stars created, instead of spreading those elements all over the universe?

25 upvotes

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When we say something doesn't have a smell, like carbon monoxide, does that mean (a) ordinary people can't smell it, (b) humans lack the ability to smell it, or (c) it actually doesn't give off a smell detectable by anything?

21 upvotes

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What causes a bunch of debris around a newly formed planet to either become a moon or a ring?

20 upvotes

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Is there a "universal speed limit" lower than the speed of light for an object of a given mass?

20 upvotes

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When supernovas occur, the neutrinos reach us before the light does - but neutrinos have mass, and therefore cannot travel at exactly c. Why wouldn't the light catch up to and pass the neutrinos before they reach us?

17 upvotes

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Why do certain mental illnesses or physical conditions cause us to experience clear sensory hallucinations (people's faces, voices speaking in sentences, etc.) rather than just sensory garbage?

17 upvotes

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Gravity is often described with the image of objects sitting on, and distorting, the "fabric of space." Is this actually how gravity is believed to work, or is it just a helpful visual image to understand it?

16 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
If Samarium-147 has a 106 billion year half life (roughly 7.5 times the age of the universe), how do we even know?	35
Is it possible to measure the gravity of any man-made object?	31
Why is a poorly written sentence harder to read than one that makes sense?	30
I'm sure this is a silly question, but how do supernovae not destroy the heavier elements the stars created, instead of spreading those elements all over the universe?	25
When we say something doesn't have a smell, like carbon monoxide, does that mean (a) ordinary people can't smell it, (b) humans lack the ability to smell it, or (c) it actually doesn't give off a smell detectable by anything?	21
What causes a bunch of debris around a newly formed planet to either become a moon or a ring?	20
Is there a "universal speed limit" lower than the speed of light for an object of a given mass?	20
When supernovas occur, the neutrinos reach us before the light does - but neutrinos have mass, and therefore cannot travel at exactly c. Why wouldn't the light catch up to and pass the neutrinos before they reach us?	17
Why do certain mental illnesses or physical conditions cause us to experience clear sensory hallucinations (people's faces, voices speaking in sentences, etc.) rather than just sensory garbage?	17
Gravity is often described with the image of objects sitting on, and distorting, the "fabric of space." Is this actually how gravity is believed to work, or is it just a helpful visual image to understand it?	16