Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2006 October 24

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October 24

Ivan Pavlov's Insomnia cure

Hello to all, I wanted to know about Ivan Pavlov's Insomnia condition, so far by other researches I found he developed some recipies or prescrpitions for his own condition, this help him to develope a new category of insomnia, is there anyone able to provide me with info about this prescriptios or recipies for insomnia treatment????

Sergio Mexico City

I'm drooling in anticipation of the answer. :-) StuRat 03:25, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Beer, wine, or something else?

Would an alcoholic beverage fermented from coffee be considered a beer or a wine? I would intuitively say "beer", but I can't give a good reason for it. Does anyone know if such a drink exists? Bhumiya (said/done) 01:25, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Coffee does not have (or has negligible amounts) of carbohydrates in it, so there's nothing to ferment into alcohol. --Pyroclastic 01:44, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

You can, however, get coffee stout :) GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 01:46, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

That stuff is God-awful. StuRat 03:22, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Heresy! Respect the Gods X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 07:38, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

It is not uncommon to add flavours to alcoholic beverages, so why not coffee? (Apart from the fact that it might taste horrible.) Whether it is called beer or wine depends on what the basic ingredient is - grain or fruit, although the distinction is a bit blurred (and grain is actually a fruit). Note that if you add fruit to beer it's still beer, like with kriek. DirkvdM 09:33, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I believe it's called Kahlúa, but that's not fermented from the coffee, just flavo[u]red with it.

Atlant 17:00, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

And there are drinks like Irish coffee which have alcohol and taste like coffee. But no, I don't think you can ferment coffee. Maybe if it wasn't dried and roasted and sat after harvesting in a vat for awhile? Then that might not taste the same as coffee at all. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 17:51, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Wet coffee grounds definitely mold, but the fluid that runs off is sure nothing I would ever choose to drink. StuRat 19:45, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I was thinking more along the lines of fermenting the brewed beverage itself after the addition of sugar and yeast. I think it would turn into something resembling a wine, but I don't know how the caffeine and acid would affect the fermentation. Perhaps this calls for an experiment. Bhumiya (said/done) 01:31, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Beware, experimental fermented beverages can be poisonous. StuRat 03:43, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Of course they are, that is what we ferment them for. DirkvdM 07:26, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

I doubt simple fermentation of sugar would be likely to produce anything poisonous. My brother and I once did the same thing with sweet tea. Distillation, on the other hand... Bhumiya (said/done) 00:51, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

The distinct coffee flavour is largely due to the roasting, so indeed, it would taste nothing like coffee. I tasted a raw coffee been once and it made me wonder how people came up with the idea of coffee in the first place. Maybe from a burned bush? DirkvdM 07:26, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

I once bought some caffeine gum, to keep me awake while driving. They apparently just filled it with powdered coffee grounds, and it tasted like it, too. Yuk ! StuRat 22:09, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Bugs Bunny and shotguns

Having learned virtually everything I've ever needed to know from Warner Bros. cartoons, I was wondering about an effect ol' Bugs pulls off occasionally. If you were to jam your finger(s) into the barrel(s) of a firearm, would they cause the gun to be destroyed? Would the force be directed backwards or would you still get killed? Not that I'm planning on trying this at home or anything (I assume you'd lose your fingers and I need to count for a living), but you never know what places life will take you and I'd rather lose two fingers than, say, my head. There's some neat stuff at Physics of firearms about guns exploding by being fired underwater, but that's not quite the same thing. Matt Deres 02:45, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I would think this might work on a cheap gun, like the proverbial Saturday night special, which has a weak, thin barrel incapable of handling the additional back pressure. The fingers and hand of the person plugging the gun would definitely be destroyed in any event, and the shards of the exploding gun barrel might hit him, as well. StuRat 03:09, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

MythBusters covered this in Season 3, see "Finger in a Barrel". --Canley 03:49, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Basically, in that episode of Mythbusters, the dummy was killed (or would have been killed if it was a real person) when the gun fired. There was absolutely no damage whatsoever to the gun. The mythbusters even tried sealing off the barrel by soldering a large, iron cylinder into it. This time the barrel peeled back, but the cylinder was still fired out at a lethal speed. --Bowlhover 04:05, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Right, but they probably used a decent gun. If you start with such a piece of junk that it's almost ready to explode on it's own, it doesn't take much to make it happen. StuRat 16:40, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

If you need your fingers to count, I would suggest abstaining from experiments with firearms. Or using Warner Bros. cartoons as a physics reference. And yes, your head is more important. - Samsara (talk • contribs) 09:21, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

One could just switch to octal, at least for the first two experiments.

Atlant 17:04, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

About the practical side of this. Just in case I'd ever come eye to eye with someone pointing a gun at me (however unlikely), if I could get my hand come close enough to the gun to put my finger in the barrel, that is not what I would do. I'd push the gun aside, possibly even take it from the gunowner. Faster, safer and more effective. Sorry to spoil this academic discussion with practical considerations. :) DirkvdM 09:42, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I would stay away from the bunny, and go with the coyote! --Zeizmic 16:54, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Relativity Paradox

I don't have much time to type this in but here is a quick and dirty relativity paradox.

Imagine a small black hole (in 2D space) with a circular event horizon with a radius of 1km. Therefore the circumference of the event horizon is 3.1416 * 2 * 1km = 6.28km

Now imagine a 10km (rest length) train travelling at near the speed of light entering the event horizon and going round and round in the event horizon. Because of the lorentz contraction, the 10km train is contracted to 5km so it would fit in the event horizon.

This is ridiculous that a 10km train can fit in a circular 6.28km event horizon "train track". What happens when the train slows down? The head of the train will crash into the tail of the train. Ridiculous!!! 202.168.50.40 02:53, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I think I'm missing something, or the above is a little poorly explained. I don't quite see what the black hole is for in this example, why not just say a train track with a radius of 1km? And is the train crashing into its own tail really that ridiculous? Vespine 03:47, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Why is it ridiculous for a train's head to collide with its tail? It's possible, isn't it?

Also, when the head of the train stops, the end of the train won't know about it until at least 33 microseconds later (10 km/299 792.458). (The real value is much longer, because the information actually travels at the speed of sound.) So for the first 33 micro-seconds, the end of the train would travel in exactly the same way as it used to. This will compress the train, squashing its unfortunate occupants to death... --Bowlhover 04:00, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

The train does not need to stop instantaneously. It can very very slowly slow down. Also, I put in the black hole to prevent the need for the train to exert a constant force, to cause a change in the velocity vector needed to get the train to go around an actual train track. 202.168.50.40 05:16, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

• Doesn't the black hole prevent the train from slowing down? - Mgm|^(talk) 08:01, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Also, it'd be unable to support itself in orbit at the event horizon - it'd end up in the sigularity - and if you were looking from far outside the event horizon, you wouldn't observe the train crossing the event horizon - you'd probably just see it increasingly redshifted. Richard B 12:13, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure this problem is well-posed, or is a paradox, but if we're going to bring black holes into the matter remember that in GR geometry isn't what you're used to. For instance, I believe (although I might have it backwards) that the circumference as measured by a (stationary) measuring tape at the event horizon is in fact greater than $2\pi r$, where r is the radius of the black hole as measured by a distant observer. (This means that the distant observer describes the tape as being length-contracted even though it's not moving!) It only gets weirder if you allow the tape (or the train) to fall into the event horizon... --Tardis 15:45, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

You cant go round ad round in the event horizon. You are either inside it or outside it. If inside you wlii eventually rech the singularity. Isuppose you could orbit around safely if outside it--Light current 15:57, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

This must be some new meaning of "safely" with which I'm unfamiliar. (Apologies to D. Adams.) --Trovatore 19:42, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

What do you mean? THat you cant orbit around a BH safely?--Light current 22:30, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

Smoking Question

Disclaimer: I am writing a novel! Be assured I have no intention of forcing this upon a real human being or doing it to myself. The situation is that, due to a horrible trauma in one of my main character's pasts, he's decided he deserves to be punished. He's mentally unstable, and has OCD. He's afraid to die, because he'll have to face the person he harmed. So his punishment of choice is to smoke a certain number of cigarettes(thank the OCD...I don't know the number yet, but let's say 5) in a 30-minute(or so) period, then go without for 7.5 hours(somewhere around there), then repeat over and over. He's been doing this(or somethign similar) for 7-8 years. My question is, what would this feel like? I've gotten some descriptions of withdrawal from smoker friends, but none of them have any idea if this would feel the same way or not. Thanks for helping! Tigger89 03:18, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

If your main character doesn't get lung cancer, it'll likely feel pretty good to be addicted. Quitting smoking permanently is hard. But quitting for 7,5 hours--that should be pretty easy. --Bowlhover 03:44, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I can share with you my experience, but you're really not specific enough so I'm not sure if I can answer it correctly. I smoked for about 6 years, when I used to drink or played pool, I sometimes smoked a lot, not quite chain smoking 5 in 30 minutes, but maybe half a pack in an hour or two. However, keep in mind that I also more or less quit cold turkey. And I didn't smoke hourly etc, so it fits your character fairly well. From my personal experience, no, the withdrawal isn't stronger in between the binges, so to speak, even after 5-6 years. However, I also smoke slower, 7-9 minutes for a cigarette, I think, so I definately couldn't smoke 5 in 30 minutes. So it shouldn't be any different than the withdrawal from a normal smoker, but that's just from my personal experiences.

However, I just have one question. Why is a person who's afraid to die smoking 3/4 of a pack a day? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 03:47, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

The 3/4 pack a day thing...I really don't know, but I just know that's what he does. He started it when he was 15~, so maybe being a messed up teenager had something to do with it? Tigger89 04:27, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

• Talk about unstable. If he's afraid of dying, he shouldn't be smoking that much. - Mgm|^(talk) 07:59, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

If you use 5 cigarettes in 30 minutes, as Wirbelwind hinted at, for 30 minutes this character will be a furious smoker, almost cartoonishly so. The 8 or so hours between these tar-manias will be immaterial vis-a-vis withdrawal symptoms. From personal experience, I would say physical withdrawal symptoms don't begin for about 24 hours. Cravings in those 24 hours, yes; but true physical withdrawals beyond mental cravings, no. Additionally, chain-smoking in that way is one way to really punish your lungs, meaning when you tie together a string of cigarettes, you feel a unique, rather nasty congestion in your chest, as well as in your mouth. This character's hands will certainly stink (perhaps only an OCD hand-washer could rinse the stench off), and he should have brown, distinct stains where he holds the cigarette -- an often telltale sign in World War Two that a man was a spy; only they had access to enough cigarettes to put stains on the fingers.Wolfgangus 09:34, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Defibrillator voltage, intensity and energy?

I have read so far the defibrillator article at Wikipedia but i am still unable to understand

• why doctors use the term Joule (as energy) in the sense to give to the patient an electrical discharge instead of using more appropiate electrical terms such as volts or intensity?
• What is the relationship of energy (joule) to volts and amperes given to the patient?.
• What are the maximum and minimum volts and amperes (intensity) reached by a defibrillator?
• Can a defibrillator be used to charge (electrically speaking) an car's uncharged battery?--HappyApple 03:38, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Joule as you correctly identified is a measure of energy, neither electrical term such as volts or current. The relationship is V x I = P: Volts times Amps equals Watts. Watts are a measure of power, while energy is power applied over time. i.e. Joules = (Watts) x (seconds).

The maximum volts and amperes reached by a defibrillator seems not to be common knowledge, it is mentioned in the article that electrical burns are possible from insufficient contact with the electrodes so that suggest that the power is significant, since this power is achieved through capacitors it also suggest that the discharge is rather quick, which would also suggest that a defibrillator would not make a good car battery charger. A car battery requires a long slow low current charge, the defibrillator does the exact opposite..Vespine 04:44, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Our Defibrillator page doesn't seem to have this info:( For some detail, check the inforesearchtizement for one manufacturer's equipment. DMacks 05:34, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Ooo, if poor contact causes burns, what happens when there is good contact? Doesn't the heat just get produced in some other part of the body? —Bromskloss 07:42, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes the heat gets produced in some other part of the body, but when the contact is good, the same amount heat is spread out over a much larger area and isn't enough to cause burns.Vespine 14:33, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Also, there should less resistence if there is good contact. Therefore, the total heat produced should be reduced dramatically. StuRat 16:36, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

If the defibrillator delivers its full payload of energy under all conditions, then under all conditions n Joules (watt-seconds) of energy are deposited in the recipient's body. But with good contact, it isn't all dumped at the very surface of the skin, heating the skin to the burning point. Instead, it's much more-uniformly dissipated throughout the entire conduction path where the overall heating effect amounts to practically nothing. (4.185 joules of energy will heat one gram of water one degree C, so you can see that the overall heating effect of the impulse is pretty small, even at, say, 200 W-S.)

Atlant 17:11, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

If I have time tomorrow and no one else has answered definately, I'll look at it. But I found the 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines. From skimming, the human body is about 80 ohms, studies show that 30-40 A is probably optimal. The defibrillator resistance is around 50 ohms, and that's all I saw. I'll look at it more tomorrow. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 08:22, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Volts are the same as the unit Joules per coulomb. Amperes are the same as coulombs per second Richard B 11:18, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

enzymes

How many enzymes are needed for a human to stay alive. If memory serves me right, it is 500. I don't know for sure, though. --JDitto 04:06, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I've never heard an estimate, but it would depend on how you classify enzymes. For example, do you count PKA as a single enzyme or a family of them? How about the PKCs? CaMKs? Hemoglobins? Acetylcholine receptors? You get the idea. --David Iberri (talk) 04:54, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

One list of enzymes is available at Wikipedia:MeSH_D08. --Arcadian 05:58, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

• When you take into account the amount of enzymes you need for even a single step in some cell transport processes, I find it hard to believe 500 is enough. I think it's far more, but I can't give a definitive number. - Mgm|^(talk) 07:58, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

So there's no definite list? Oh, man I don't think I have the time to count them all... --JDitto 22:46, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

From the enzyme article: Enzymes are known to catalyze about 4,000 biochemical reactions.. Of course, many enzymes participate in multiple reactions, but the 500 number still seems quite low. Has anybody thought to look at list of enzymes and/or Category:Enzymes? – ClockworkSoul 13:43, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Why Does My Wife Kill Battery-Powered Wristwatches and Computer Hard Drives?

My wife kills battery-powered wristwatches in one to six weeks. We tried 8 different brands. She kills computers in three weeks to four months of daily use. She has done this for the last thirty years. We experimented with a wristwatch that had died and which began running again when she took it off. It quit working immediately upon being placed on her skin. The watch quit running a few seconds after being placed against her clothing. The watch began running again when it was placed more than eighteen inches from her body. My wife's cousin knew another lady who killed battery-powered wristwatches in a few weeks. In a medical test for metals retained in the body performed about 10 years ago, my wife tested perfectly metal-free. I had aluminum and copper and mercury and magnesium. Might this datum be related to her watch-killing phenomenon? Is watch-killing a common phenomenon? Is this related to a person's EM field? Can this watch-killing emanation be neutralized by some electronic device, similar to how sound waves can be neutralized with an electronic device? Does this watch-killing emanation have other aspects? What other methods might be used to neutralize this emanation? Would this emanation seem to be harmful to other people? Please comment. Marlin

That sounds really really odd. Though humans do generate an EM field (as do all living things), it's not very strong - certainly not strong enough to cause electrical interference (the body will couple with antennas, but that's an unrelated phenomenon). This seems more like a cause of really really bad luck, or something. I've actually never heard of such a phenomenon before, other than apocryphal bad-luck stories. Virogtheconq 06:00, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

At some point, you have to ask which is more painful to replace :).--Tbeatty 06:07, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I used to wear my father's presumed dead pocket watch during carnaval. To my surprise it started running again, and accurately at that. After carnaval it died again, to be revived again next carnaval. Of course, that's a matter of moving the watch about, and actually the opposite of what your wife experiences, so this story is probably not relevant here. Sorry about that. :) DirkvdM 09:51, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

And now for something more relevant. Does the computer's hardware die (and which bit then?), or the OS? Does she install all sorts of stuff on it? If it's a hardware thing it might possibly be static discharge. Does she wear clothes that 'charge her up'? Do you get a discharge when you touch her? (No, I don't mean that.) DirkvdM 09:53, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like my aunt, who is the only person I know who has this effect on anything electronic, mostly computers. Once we tested the phenomenon, she tried to dial-up with a modem and her daughter tried the same thing, and every time her daughter tried it worked. Weird. I would love to have an explanation for this. Her 'problem' is not as consistent or powerful as your wife's though; finally my aunt has found a laptop that seems to be behaving itself for the last few years. Could be due to a specific EM frequency that interferes with certain devices, as we are all beings of energy emitting a frequency ourselves. I wonder if it is linked to intelligence, as she is the cleverest person I know. BTW I've read somewhere that our EM should be in sync with the solar EM, or it leads to health problems - could anyone verify this? Sandman30s 12:10, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps it's a static electricity thing. Maybe your wife wears insulating shoes/slippers and drags here feet when she walks, building up a static charge that's hard on sensitive electronic components. You might want to buy "ruggedized" computers and watches, which may have some degree of EM shielding, so aren't quite as sensitive to that type of thing. StuRat 16:27, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Hey, don't steal my answers. :) DirkvdM 07:32, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Try this experiment: give your computer a very long monitor cord, long keyboard cord, and long mouse cord. Then let your wife use the computer while ten or twenty feet away from the computer case itself. If her body is somehow affecting the computer hardware, this may stop the failure. --Wjbeaty 02:00, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

About watch-killing: these reports are fairly common, see [Unusual Phenomena Reports, "Electric People" http://amasci.com/weird/unusual/zap.htm] From the way most people describe the effect, "watch killing" is totally outside of conventional science. Human bodies don't have a significant electrical field that could have an effect on a watch battery. So, if it really does happen, the explanation would contain a scientific revolution (sort of like discovering a genuine version of "subspace fields" from Star Trek.) --Wjbeaty 02:00, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Could be just odds: Someone in the world *has* to win the zillion dollar lottery, and someone in the world has to break everything they touch. --Zeizmic 16:52, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps she's a Stepford Wife and it's a result of the EMI that she produces?

Atlant 17:18, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

There is this Wal-mart that I go to that always charges me and whenever I reach for anything, I get shocked. I don't know why it happens and why it doesn't happen to people I go with either. So it's probably some sort of body chemestry, the way you walk, the clothing you wear, something to that nature. Of course, I don't break electronics often, as I'm usually the one who gets asked to fix computers and it works when I use it and they're like, "what did you do?" and I'm like, "Nothing." Also, when my ex-suitemate and I walked around anywhere, lights would go out very very often. Anywhere from garages to malls to you name it. I'm not saying it's supernatural powers, but I think there's something that amplifies or react to what's already there, which might be something as simple as more iron in the blood or how conductive you are etc. Maybe if you're not very conductive, you build up a charge and that affects things. I have no idea how it happens scientifically, or it's just very whacky coincidence. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 17:45, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

My grandfathr had to carry a pocket watch, because every wristwatch failed. I think it may have because he worked hard outdoors and had particularly corrosive or salty sweat. Computers have sometimes failed, at lease in decades past, because of static electricity from users (generally female) who wear nylons, or wool, and are insulated by plastic shoes. A sizeable static charge can build up. Data processing rooms had controlled humidity to reduce static buildup. I can't believe anyone has a sufficient electrical field around their body (other than static discharge) to magnetize a watch. In my experience, I had to get within a foot of a conductor carrying several hundred amps to affect a watch.Edison 22:04, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

application

can provide me the uses of molecular markers in relation to fruits and vegetables?

• It would help if you gave a little more information about what you're trying to do. Have you googled for molecular markers or read our article about them? - Mgm|^(talk) 07:55, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Touch lamps

How do those touch lamps that you can touch and they light on work? Body capacitance claims it is the body's natural EM field, but that sounds hardly right. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 07:54, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

how about this[1] Xcomradex 08:17, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

A friend of mine built one based on capacitance for his computron. —Bromskloss 08:50, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

This question came up here before. The body of the lamp is charged and discharged repeatedly. The time it takes to charge and discharge is easy to measure and stays pretty much the same. When you touch it, your body changes the time it takes for the lamp to charge/discharge, allowing the lamp to know it is being touched. --Kainaw ^(talk) 15:21, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

How much energy does it waste with this constant charging/discharging?

One can charge and discharge an ideal capacitor (a capacitor with no leakage or series resistance) endlessly while wasting no power. But practically speaking, the complete controller probably wastes less than a watt; the gizmos are small and can be built entirely into lamp sockets, so they certainly can't be dissipating much power or they'd get hot.

Atlant 17:24, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

science

give information about nutriton

Welcome to Wikipedia. You can easily look up this topic yourself. Please see nutrition. For future questions, try using the search box at the top left of the screen. It's much quicker, and you will probably find a clearer answer. If you still don't understand, add a further question below by clicking the "edit" button to the right of your question title. --Shantavira 08:57, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Great answer, hi-five! X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 18:41, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Can I steal it? --Zeizmic 22:03, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

• Sigh* okay. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 22:17, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Receive information about nutrition from Shantavira's response. :)! --Proficient 23:56, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Sitting up while asleep

I have never sleepwalked, but ever since I was a child I have often found myself sitting upright in my sleep, sometimes several times in a night. Sometimes I simply open my eyes to find myself sitting up, and other times I seem to be vaguely aware of sitting up as though "half-asleep". I'm not sure if it prevents me from getting the rest I need, but it might be bad for my back since I don't have good posture when I'm asleep...I'm not really worried enough to consult an expert though. I just want to know if anyone has heard of this before. I guess I am also curious about the causes of weird sleep behaviour - why me, what causes me to do this? --Grace 11:38, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

This sounds as though it is a harmless precursor to sleepwalking. Check out the last external link on that page. It would also be worth mentioning to your doctor.--Shantavira 12:26, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I do stuff like that, although not as often as you. I never got it checked out though, I never cared that much. I will say, though, that I am far more likely to exhibit those types of behaviours when I'm very busy/stressed. Anchoress 12:41, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Premature rigor mortis ? :-) StuRat 16:02, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

See parasomnia for more information. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 17:56, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

audio timescaling

Can you tell me if pitch synchronous granular synthesis is equivalent to pitch synchronous overlap and add (psola) method? THNX! --Ulisse0 14:59, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

"Please don't double post" is at the top of the page. Your question was answered on the computing desk. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 22:16, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry.. You're right but I didn't know whether was the fittest desk .. --Ulisse0 17:25, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Unexpected Item In The Bagging Area

When my mum and I went to pick up a few groceries recently at our local ASDA supercentre, we decided to use the automatic checkout system where you scan your own items. We had to get the assistant to scan her ID card and pin at least four times! What is wrong with these machines? If we were going to steal something, we wouldn't put it in the bagging area, and these machines are so flaky that even if we did, the ASDA lady would just swipe her card and we'd get away with it anyway. At one point the machine told us to remove the unexpected item and as soon as we did, it told us that we'd removed an item and to put it back! --Username132 (talk) 17:08, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

The computer "knows" how much each item should weigh (based on its SKU number). After an object is scanned, the computer expects the total weight in the bagging area to increase by that much. But very light objects can fool it, especially if the scale, err, "bagging area" is already burdened by heavy objects.

Atlant 17:28, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, there's just no way the same scale can handle a 50 lb bag of dog food and yet still know when a greeting card is placed on it, and still have a reasonable price tag. They just need to trust their customers better. Perhaps they could have a "preferred customer card" (for those who have never tried to rip the store off) and only allow them to use the automatic check-out. StuRat 19:06, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

These automatic checkout machines still need work, that's true. Maybe RFID will provide the solution, where you'll be able to just put all your purchases into a shopping cart, walk through a scanner, and all the items in your cart will be recognised by the system. — QuantumEleven 11:44, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Despite the problems, I prefer self-checkout, for many reasons:

• I can verify each price and complain when I'm overcharged.

• I can pack things as I want them, so the freezer items go together, for example.

• I'm not going to accidentally scan an item twice and not notice it, as a cashier might.

• I'm not going to confuse my groceries with the previous customers or next customers, as cashiers have done, even when using the little plastic divider (although those are frequently missing, too).

• I'm not going to put a greeting card down in the leaked milk from the previous customer, as a cashier would.

• Since one cashier now watches over 4 lanes, instead of one, there's the potential for this practice to reduce lines. I say "potential", however, because they are just as likely to fire 7/8 of their cashiers and have the lines be twice as long.

StuRat 21:55, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Chemistry

File:FG08 03.jpg

Write the usual group configuration notation for each d-block group. How do the group numbers of those groups relate to the number of outer s and d electrons?

Aha! I think someone is trying to get away with not doing their homework themselves! :-) If you ask about the principle, rather than request the solution of your particular problem, you are much more likely to get an answer. As can be seen somewhere among the vast amounts of text in the beginning of this page, people here won't do your homework, but can perhaps help you learn how to do it yourself. (Also, it's a good thing to sign your comments with "~~~~".) —Bromskloss 16:14, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

This isn't homework. dudewhoaskedthequestion 11:43, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Sure as hell sounds exactly like it. See electron orbital and the table to the right. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 17:55, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

you owned me

Low testosterone and high hemoglobin/iron test

I have been on testosterone for 6 months because it was very low (way lower than norm). My dr. suggested I take a topical cream version which worked great. My problem is my iron was to high and getting higher each time I took a test. I gave blood as often as they would allow. My hemoglobin stayed high and got steadily higher which put me in a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. So the dr. as of this moment, is taking me off testosterone cream and wants to send me to another dr. that deals with this kind of thing. Can anyone explain in easy lay terms what is going on? How can a 46 yr. old man have second to the lowest testosterone level a dr. has ever seen and a high iron/hemoglobin count in the blood? I am 30 lbs. overweight and 6'5" tall. I am not sedentary, but work in an office long hours and travel a lot.

Any information would be great, but please only reply to this question if you know by experience or knowledge.

thank you, richard

If your elevated hemoglobin was only after you'd been using the testosterone, it's pretty much expected: testosterone will often cause an increased hemoglobin. So it may simply be an issue of working out an appropriate dosage. This is something that your doctor should be able to clarify. Presumably you are being sent to an endocrinologist for evaluation of your low testosterone. - Nunh-huh 22:41, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I assume your doctor will send you to an endocrinologist, who can answer your questions and will not tell you that you have the "second lowest testosterone" he has ever seen. Your height suggests gonadotropins and maybe karyotype should be checked unless your parents were extremely tall; there may be other issues to be addressed. Good luck. alteripse 22:52, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

first sex

on 17 april 2007 i m going to married and till today i did not seen any nude girl so i am very much worried how i do a safe sex and how i find that she had the hymen tell me detail about the sexual intercourse

Although I doubt this is a serious question, read the articles on safe sex, hymen, and sexual intercourse. Click on any links you are not familiar with. Be warned though, there's some scary stuff out there. :yikes!: If you want to see a nude girl than go to nude. Or type it in google. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 17:52, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Enough internet access to ask a question on Wikipedia, but never seen a naked woman? That's like half the content of the internets... -- Scientizzle 19:36, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

You don't even need to search on the internet. You can see naked women on wikipedia right here. 211.28.178.86 12:49, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Whats ur age?

Maybe he means nude girls in reality, i.e. not merely an image of one. --WikiSlasher 11:31, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Where Art Though Contact Lens

If I rub my eye, sometimes my contact lens dissapears off somewhere under my eyelid and after much trauma comes back out, often folded. Where does it go and what happens to it on its journey? --Username132 (talk) 17:00, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Mine also like to go for a "morning swim", somwhere under the eyelids, when I first put them in. StuRat 18:56, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Don't rub your eye! But seriously, some people have perfectly spherical eyes, which leaves nothing for the lens to catch on to. Most people have slightly conical eyes and the curvature of the lens is happiest there. --Zeizmic 21:01, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

You might consider trying rigid gas permeable lenses. They're a bitch to get used to but they're far better behaved in my experience. EdC 21:23, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

vacuolated glandular endometrial cells

i have apparently got vacuolated glandular endometrial cells in my pap smear results - does anyone understand the pathology of these? Are they inevitably cancerous, or precancerous, or just a bit odd? I have to wait at least a month for a colposcopy, hence the need to ask here.

Thanks,

Scared 81.153.246.135 17:58, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

The article on Pap smear does not give much information about false positive results. I found an article that talks about "vacuolated to dense variable cytoplasm" in endocervical glandular epithelium during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. "In 9/11 cases, subsequent cervical smears on multiple occasions were negative." In this study, the pap smear false-positive rate was 44.8%. Results from one pap smear are fairly meaningless; there needs to be follow-up testing. --JWSchmidt 03:45, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks JWSchmidt - I hadn't found that article on pubmed - interesting. Looks like these cells can appear during/after pregnancy and then disappear so are probably hormone-related. In my case they've appeared without pregnancy so if anyone has any others leads please let me know. Searching for vacuolated glandular cells has taught me more than I want to know about sheep, flounders, algae and regularly-cycling women but I'm still in the dark as regards non-regularly cycling women!

Scared

Defibrillators and stupid people...

Anyone got any tragi-comic stories about idiots misusing defibrillators for kicks and giggles and the results thereof? There was a story in the news a couple of years ago about a doctor who decided (as a show of bravado) to place the paddles against his own temples and administer a jolt. I think he died, or at least spent a very long time in a coma. --Kurt Shaped Box 21:47, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

You might find it interesting to read about the War of the currents where Thomas Edison (no relation) had his people electricute animals from dogs up through an elephant to show AC electricity, especially at high voltage, was more lethal than DC. One of his assistants placed the dog on the energized metal plates and got the jolt, but lived to tell about it. Defibs were researched and promoted by electric companies to save workers who got electricuted, before they became a hospital fixture. Many electrical workers have been jolted by various AC and DC sources and lived to tell about it. Many did not survive. It's hard to picture anyone thinking it would be fun to get or give a high voltage, high current shock. Edison 22:15, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity, especially when alcohol or the words "I was only having a laugh" are involved. Defibrillators bring people back to life, remember? You see it in TV medical dramas all the time. I wonder how many of the people that know this also know that defibrillators can kill if used improperly? This story isn't funny at all, as an innocent person ended up dead but it does show that these incidents do occur - [2]. --Kurt Shaped Box 22:35, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Even worse are the words, "watch this..." alteripse 22:53, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

"Don't worry - it's not loaded..."? "God says..."? --Kurt Shaped Box 22:58, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

How dangerous is it actually to undergo defibrillation? We may suppose that the patient is healthy (and thus of course not really in need of it) so as not to confuse causes of death or so. You really can die, you say? —Bromskloss 22:28, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Very recently, here in Austin, Texas, a portable defib was applied to a high school football player who'd collapsed, and indeed saved his life. However, the Doctor's misuse of the defib calls to mind actors such as Jon-Erik Hexim, who put prop pistols loaded with blanks to their temples for "kicks and giggles" -- yet were not so fortunate as to score a leisurely coma.Wolfgangus 23:00, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

How's about the guys who find pieces of unexploded ordnance from whatever war was their last war and start messing around with them, assuming that they're duds? There was a story on the Darwin Awards site (can't seem to find it now) about a Vietnamese guy who found an old landmine and started stomping on it to impress his buddies in the bar, with predictable results. --Kurt Shaped Box 23:33, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Where to buy sulphur

Are there any websites the sell pure elemental sulphur in small quantities (100-1000g)?

• Sure! [3], for example, $7.40 for 500g. Just do a Google search for "chemical sales' -- there are lots of sources. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 22:22, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

You can also buy it at many agricultural stores. I don't know what farmers use it for, but it is usually there. --liquidGhoul 23:34, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Brimstones "Я" Us ? :-) StuRat 03:33, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Brimstones ya us? DirkvdM 07:41, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

See Toys "R" Us. --Tardis 15:19, 25 October 2006 (UTC)