Why Do Motors Need A Surge Of Power To Start But Far Less To Keep Running? (Inrush Current)
Your lights dim for a heartbeat when the fridge starts, then steady. Here is the two-part reason motors gulp power to start but only sip it to keep running.
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Why A Quantum Computer Has To Be Colder Than Deep Space
The famous gold “chandelier” quantum computer is almost all refrigerator. Here is why the chip inside has to run colder than the empty space between galaxies.
Why Doesn't Adding More Lanes Fix Traffic? The Strange Economics Of Induced Demand
Add a lane, kill the jam? The data says the opposite. Here is the strange economics of induced demand, and why traffic keeps refilling every road we build.
Ice Vs Ice Water: Which One Actually Chills Your Drink Faster?
Ice water beats loose ice cubes at chilling a can, even at the same 0 °C. Here is the surprising heat-transfer reason, with the numbers.
Why Do Plastic Containers Keep Smells And Stains But Glass Doesn't?
Your dishwasher-clean lunchbox still reeks of last night's curry, but the glass jar beside it smells of nothing. Here is the real chemistry, and why "plastic is porous" is wrong.
Why Doesn't A Battery-Boosted Electric Kettle Exist?
American kettles crawl; British ones roar. A small battery could close the gap, and it already powers $7,000 stoves. So why has nobody built a battery kettle?
If There's Water Right Under The City, Why Don't Skyscrapers Sink?
There is groundwater under nearly every city, so why don't skyscrapers sink into it? The answer involves buoyancy, a tower that floats, and the lean of Pisa.
Can Fire Conduct Electricity? Why Flames Carry Current Like A Wire
A flame conducts electricity, but not because it is hot. The charge comes from a chemical reaction inside the fire, and one lab instrument runs entirely on it.
Why Do Construction Workers Wear Dark Hoodies In 100 °F Heat?
It is 100 °F and the road crew is in black hoodies. The physics is not what the internet tells you, and the real reason has more to do with sunburn than with cooling.
How Did Earth Run Its Own Nuclear Reactors 2 Billion Years Ago? (The Oklo Reactors)
A French lab found uranium that was 0.003% short. The trail led to Gabon, where nature ran sixteen nuclear reactors two billion years before we built one.