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Popular Science/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| steam on mirror | 12/5/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: When steam only appears on a bathroom mirror after I'm done with a bath and have opened the door, is ... A: Water vapor in the air measures from a trace, to up to about 4% maximum, see ... | ||
| steam on mirror | 12/5/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: When steam only appears on a bathroom mirror after I'm done with a bath and have opened the door, is ... A: There is no pressure/temperature change involved like we see with cloud formation outside. As stated ... | ||
| H20 splitted up? | 12/3/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I do not understand how H20 -> H2 + O2. I have checked many websites and still do not understand. ... A: The water molecule can also be written HOH which is actually more accurate, so the actual chemical ... | ||
| water vapor | 11/10/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Is there fundamentally any difference between water vapor that stems from hot water (such as running ... A: In addition to that, closed, non-air conditioned spaces filled with people, heat from computers and ... | ||
| water vapor | 11/3/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Is there fundamentally any difference between water vapor that stems from hot water (such as running ... A: Technically, what you see coming off hot water is not 'vapor', but tiny, condensed liquid water ... | ||
| gravity | 10/22/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: do you know a valid argument for the statement that objects are attracted by earth according to the ... A: I'm not sure how you define "attracted" but Isaac Newton thought that gravity was a force, able to ... | ||
| Time and our perception of it | 10/18/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I am very curious about your thoughts on time and perception. Specifically whether our perception of ... A: The Schumann resonance has nothing to do with time passage or the perception of time, see ... | ||
| General stupidity | 9/25/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Being under the affluence of incohol and being a quartyer past two in the am here I get to thinking ... A: No, there is no up and down in deep space... we went out to the moon, not UP to the moon. So there ... | ||
| atmospheric oxygen | 9/23/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Does the level of oxygen concentration in the air vary throughout the day? I'm wondering if it drops ... A: Yes, that 4000 extra miles applies to the moon, sun, stars... everything outside our atmosphere. (It ... | ||
| atmospheric oxygen | 9/22/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Does the level of oxygen concentration in the air vary throughout the day? I'm wondering if it drops ... A: No, the amount (concentration of 20.8%) of diatomic oxygen stays the same throughout the time of day ... | ||
| moisture distribution in air | 9/17/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: In a still room (no air or heat or fans running), is the water vapor in the air evenly distributed ... A: Even though the molecular weight of water vapor is 18, and air averages 29; I don't know, but I ... | ||
| Effect of Solar Flare Activity on Communications | 8/15/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I am in the process of writing a novel. It is primarily a social satire, but I want to include as ... A: Make contact with us... How? Teleportation, Quantum field change, lasers, old fashioned TV or radio ... | ||
| water vapor | 8/8/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Is the molecular structure of water vapor the same as liquid water (H2O), or does it leave something ... A: Yes, the water molecule as a vapor is the same as in liquid water... there is nothing "left behind" ... | ||
| evaporative coolers | 7/18/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Does running an evaporative cooler create a lower indoor-than-outdoor barometric pressure? (By ... A: Since water mole wt. is 18 and air is heavier at 29, yes theoretically the indoor pressure should be ... | ||
| sound waves | 7/7/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I found them helpful. I hope it's okay to ask another one in the same day. I was wondering if when ... A: Just guessing here, as I've never heard a blink... but in theory, with any motion (in air) it should ... | ||
| sound | 7/7/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: When a guitar is played the strings vibrate causing the air particles around them to vibrate, which ... A: Yes, that's what it is... vibrations (waves) travel through the solids and liquids, however there is ... | ||
| sound | 7/4/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: When a guitar is played the strings vibrate causing the air particles around them to vibrate, which ... A: In all those examples, yes, the air is set into vibration by the motion of the solids (animal skin ... | ||
| Science | 6/23/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Can't the force, responsible for keeping the planets in their orbit, be the same as, the one which ... A: No. Gravity works at the macro-level (gravity is over the large distance), whereas the ... | ||
| evaporation & cooling | 6/20/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: For evaporation to cool the air, does the water that's evaporating have to be cooler than the ... A: No. But it is more related to the dew point temperature, (temperature at which the air is fully ... | ||
| Atmosphere and Ocean Color | 6/20/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I was trying to figure out the answer to the old question of "Why is the sky blue?" when I came ... A: Yes, that is correct about the blue sky color. Water is different in that the color you perceive ... | ||
| dehumidifiers | 6/17/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I've read that the act of condensation cools the surrounding air, but I've found that just briefly ... A: You've read wrongly. The reverse process, evaporation (not act, process), IS the cooling process. ... | ||
| popular science magazine | 6/4/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: How realistic, and accurate are popular science magazine's articles AND: is there much chance of ... A: Sorry but I don't read "popular science" magazines, so you would have to mention or describe a ... | ||
| solar flares... | 4/21/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I am by no stretch of the imagination one of the many doomsday sayers or Mayan calendar fanatics ... A: Yes, you seem to be more level headed than others in these fields. I'll try to level you out even ... | ||
| Questions | 3/10/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I absolutley love the universe, and think it is the most interesting subject out there. Out of ... A: 1. No one really knows, because no one was around 4.5 billion years ago. However, since there is no ... | ||
| stars | 2/16/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: when and how does a star start to die? A: A star starts to die (like humans) on the day it's born. Its using up its hydrogen supply of gas ... | ||
| Top of the World | 2/1/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: From pictures of the earth from space we can see that the north pole is roughly on top of the world. ... A: There is no "up or down" in space... you could orient a picture of the Earth from space any which ... | ||
| Earth's rotation | 1/29/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: What is a evidence of earth's rotation? Does an airplane flying at the standard height of around ... A: No, because the atmosphere also is traveling along with the Earth's rotation speed. So airplanes in ... | ||
| boiling water with a lid | 1/28/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Does water boil faster with a lid? A simple but perplexing question. In my kitchen, I compared the ... A: I would think that a lid should shorten the boiling time slightly, not because of pressure, but the ... | ||
| Atmosphere | 1/26/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Is there a level of the atmosphere where, if something (an object) like a sheet of newspaper were to ... A: Well, if it's just cremation ashes, I would think it could be done with some sort of rocket; perhaps ... | ||
| Is there a good reason? | 1/23/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Is there any good reason to believe that December 21, 2012 is doomsday? A: NO, unless you and your family (and country) are currently using the Mayan calendar. The rest of us ... | ||
| Atmosphere | 1/21/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Is there a level of the atmosphere where, if something (an object) like a sheet of newspaper were to ... A: Well, on your original question, you said 'atmosphere', not satellite orbits or space. That's a ... | ||
| Atmosphere | 1/21/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: Is there a level of the atmosphere where, if something (an object) like a sheet of newspaper were to ... A: No, because everything is in motion and either moving up or down or horizontally. Daily temperature ... | ||
| chemistry | 1/15/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: what would you see happen if you stored hydrochloric acid in an iron container. A: I'm not a chemist, but I believe HCl dissolves Fe (iron) quite readily, see ... | ||
| macro-evolution nonsense | 1/11/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: For all evolutionists out there this challenge should NOT be a problem. "Assume any primordial soup ... A: While we don't quite understand (as yet) the full actual "analytical mechanism" (wait another ... | ||
| Steam creation. | 1/5/2011 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I am trying to make the simplest cheapest low-tech steam engine possible. Is there a water mixture ... A: I don't have access to your drawing. But as I did before, I'll remind you that you can't get ... | ||
| science | 12/15/2010 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I will like to know how many miles does it takes from earth to reach the moon the same in quarters? A: The moon is in a very elliptical (egg-shaped) orbit around the Earth, so the AVERAGE distance to the ... | ||
| physics | 12/9/2010 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: a person lying on a mattress in the ocean rises and falls through one complete cycle every 5.5 ... A: Doesn't frequency equal 1/time of one wave? So 1 divided by 5.5 seconds = a frequency of 0.181818 ... | ||
| A bubble in Space | 12/7/2010 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: If you blew a bubble in space would it pop? A: First, a human could not even get to blow a bubble in space... the question pre-supposes that your ... | ||
| Question about dimensions | 10/3/2010 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: I am trying to understand dimensions. I read that 1 is measuring length. The 2nd is measuring width. ... A: In our macroworld there are 3 linear dimensions (length, width, height (or depth) and one non-linear ... | ||
| basic fluids question | 10/2/2010 | Tom Whiting |
| Q: if a rubber hose is attached to funnel and the free end is bent around to point up when we put water ... A: This is not really my primary field of interest, But....I'll try. Not necessarily... that tiny bit ... | ||
Tom Whiting
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer most questions involving general science and engineering, except those involving electronics and computers. My strong points are all the Earth Sciences, especially Meteorology and Astronomy, and any related subjects to Astronomy. My weak point is Electronics Technology. No astrology questions please, or questions about alleged UFO identifications.
Experience
My hobby has been Astronomy for over 50 years. I currently ownand use a 30 inch portable telescope. I taught at the University Level for 13 years. My personal interest in life, in general, has always been science oriented.
Organizations
President - Erie County Mobile Observers Group for over 15 years.Member of allexperts.com astronomy catagory for over 8 years.
Publications
Astronomy Technology TodayErie Times Newspaper - I wrote the "Over Erie Skies" columnfor 11 years.
Education/Credentials
BS Metallurgical Engineering Grove City College, PAMaster's Degree, Gannon University, Erie, PAAlso retired USAF pilot, 20 years.
Awards and Honors
I was the discoverer of the Mini-Coathanger Asterism up in Ursa Minor. I earned 6 Air Medals with USAF and retired after 20 years of service with the rank of Major, with over 2100 hours flying time.I also earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1956.
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