10 science questions everyone should know the answer to

As you know, progress does not stand still and almost every day in the world someone makes new scientific discoveries. It would seem that along with the development of world science, the general level of education of people should also grow.

However, statistics show that modern people, surrounded on all sides by the latest technologies, are terrible ignoramuses and cannot give a clear answer to questions known to any schoolchild.

It is obvious that despite the previously unprecedented availability of information, humanity still has a lot to overcome on the way to achieving at least a minimum scientific literacy for the majority of people inhabiting the Earth.

10 What is the principle of operation of magnets?

For several centuries, magnets were considered almost magical objects. However, with the development of science, people still realized that the principle of operation of these amusing things is quite simple.

The properties of a magnet are determined by the presence of a magnetic field in which many electrons rotate in a certain direction. Electrons tend to combine with their own kind, and iron, in turn, has many “single” charged particles.

This mechanism ensures the attraction of metal objects to the magnet. By the way, objects that are attracted to magnets are called ferromagnets.

9. Can the sun go out?

According to scientists, the source of light and heat on Earth will cease to exist in 5,5 billion years. Then the Sun, like any other star, will run out of hydrogen in the core, so it will begin to burn hydrogen in the surrounding layers.

This process will mark the end of the existence of the solar system – the core of the star will decrease, and the outer layers, on the contrary, will increase. As a result, the Sun will acquire unprecedented dimensions and, having flared up, will destroy all nearby planets.

8. Why does water evaporate at room temperature?

Those of us who attended physics classes in school should remember that there is no absolute static in this world. Even those objects that seem motionless to us are still a cluster of molecules moving at different speeds.

For example, if you look at water at the molecular level, you will see that its molecules move at an incredible speed.

When the air in the room is too dry, they can combine with air molecules.

Because of this, over time, in the absence of changes in external factors, the contents of the cup will gradually decrease until it disappears altogether.

7. What are clouds made of?

Clouds are masses of airborne vapor. In addition, they are also an element of the water cycle system in nature – the process by which the Earth does not run out of fresh water.

6. How old is our Earth?

Over the past thousand years, scientists have repeatedly tried to find a way to determine the exact age of our planet. However, this was only possible at the moment when mankind learned about radioactivity.

Calculations made on the basis of this method made it possible to determine the age of rocks, as well as samples of meteorites and moonstones. With the help of this technology, scientists were able to find out that the Earth was formed about 4,54 billion years ago.

5. What is the essence of natural selection?

The founding father of the theory of evolution is the famous English biologist, Charles Darwin. Natural selection is one of the central concepts of the theory of evolution. Its meaning is quite simple.

Evolution is a long process, as a result of which the living organisms that inhabit our planet undergo many changes. And in most cases, these transformations become widespread if they increase the survival rate of the species.

4. Why the sky is blue?

The sun’s rays pass through the Earth’s atmosphere, which consists of a variety of gases and particles, which are a kind of barriers.

If you are familiar with the principle of refraction of a beam of light passing through a prism, then you know that light is actually made up of several colors that have different wavelengths.

Blue has a short wavelength compared to other colors, so it is much easier for it to pass through all the layers of the atmosphere. That is why the sky is perceived by the human eye as a solid blue substance. However, it must be clarified that this happens only in clear weather.

When the Sun rises or falls below the horizon, its light travels a much greater distance. This allows us to see other colors as well.

3. Why are bubbles round?

Bubbles are just layers of liquid in which structural particles are held together by cohesion – a property that allows surface tension to be provided.

In addition, air molecules exert pressure on the bubble from the outside. The only possibility for the liquid layer to resist these forces is to take the most optimal shape – spherical.

Interestingly, scientists have long found a way to give bubbles a different shape. There is not much practical use for this, but this technique is often used to give soap bubbles unusual geometric shapes.

2. What causes a rainbow?

This beautiful and mysterious phenomenon is only an optical effect due to the accumulation of water in the atmosphere, which appears after rain.

The density of water particles differs from the density of air, so the sun’s rays, passing through these small droplets, are broken into component wavelengths, after which they are reflected back.

The result is an arc with clear multi-colored bands in the visible spectrum. To observe this phenomenon from the ground should be at an angle of about 40 degrees. It is also interesting that, if you look at the rainbow from the window of an airplane, it will take the form of a disk.

1. What is the theory of relativity?

The generalized term “theory of relativity” usually means two theories – special and general, which were developed at the beginning of the last century by the greatest physicist Albert Einstein.

The theory proposed to measure the movement between different bodies moving in space at a constant speed, in relation to each other, and not, as it was before, to take them as an absolute frame of reference.