Questions tagged [chemistry]
The science of matter and the changes it can undergo.
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Did (someone in) Turkey ship 16 tons of "explosive materials" to Hamas, disguised as gypsum?
FDD:
Israeli customs authorities revealed on September 14 [2023] that their agents intercepted 16 tons of explosive material on its way from Turkey to the Gaza Strip in July. [...]
According to the ...
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In the event of a siren warning the public of a gas leak, is it actually advisable to listen to the radio when smelling gas?
The Finnish website pelastustoimi advises to listen to the radio in the event of smelling gas.
If you are already indoors and smell gas
put a wet cloth in front of your mouth and breathe through it
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Are chemicals used to ripen fruit in developing countries harmful to the health of consumers?
Note: there are some answers to this question on Chemistry.SE, but I prefer a sceptical approach here.
I ask this question in connection with a post on Facebook (in Indonesia), which asked:
Hi ...
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Can using the brushes or combs of people who dye their hair render my hair white? [closed]
My parents always caution me to not use their hair brushes or combs as they apply dyes (to dye their hair black) on a regular basis. According to them, my hair will start whitening. I am very insecure ...
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Is all disease caused by the electron spin of food?
Dr Elizete Kaffer is a Brazilian dermatologist.
In a video (in Portuguese) she claims, starting from 0:54 (enphasis on the part that I translated):
[After talking about hidden sources for pathologies,...
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Is photosynthesis 60% efficient?
In this article it is claimed that photosynthesis efficiency could be up to 60%.
The closest process to artificial photosynthesis humans have today is photovoltaic technology, where a solar cell ...
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Are all Oreo-cookie ingredients listed in accordance with EU ingredient labelling regulations?
I have read in several places about the claim that Oreo cookies may be using titanium dioxide in their preparation. This additive, although widely used, has been recently under the suspicion of ...
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Can the molecular bond angle of water be changed via distillation?
John Ellis claims that water has a "hydrogen bond angle" ranging from 104° to 114°, and that his patented distillation machines can produce water with a permanent hydrogen bond angle above ...
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Is Adrenochrome an addictive drug only obtained by drinking blood?
One of the core beliefs of QAnon is that some people are addicted to adrenochrome that can only be obtained by drinking the blood of frightened victims.
Sean Morgan, author of a QAnon FAQ, talks about ...
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Does only China uniquely possess some 'rare earth elements' that can't be mined elsewhere?
How rare exactly are 'rare earth elements'? I'll use IUPAC's definition.
A rare-earth element (REE) [...] as defined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, is one of a set of ...
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Are all snowflakes unique? [duplicate]
It's often been told to me that all snowflakes are unique. It's led to the phrase "special snowflake" to describe something or someone who is unique/distinct from all others. Even Wikipedia states:
...
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Are pomegranate seeds edible? [closed]
My dad usually eats cherry seeds, which seemed dangerous to me, so I searched it online and indeed it can be dangerous. Today, I was about to eat a pomegranate but I wasn't sure if the seeds are ...
user50555
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Did silver mostly not tarnish before the Industrial Revolution?
Theodore Gray wrote an article about silver bullets in Popular Science and mentions in it that silver mostly did not tarnish before the Industrial Revolution.
But today silver is far more common, ...
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Does calcification of the pineal gland negatively affect normal bodily functions? [duplicate]
I received this link from an associate of mine. It smells like pseudo-scientific bull to me, but there are a LOT of claims made in the article that I can't really debunk all by myself.
To quote from ...
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Does microwaving food create particles that are not created when warming food by conventional means?
I was reading "Szlachetne Zdrowie" (No 7/2019) which is a Polish health magazine released by "Nasz Dziennik", which is a Catholic, very conservative newspaper of questionable quality. I read the ...
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Does this video show a Hong Kong protestor disabling a tear gas cannister with liquid nitrogen?
A recent tweet from @PatriotCoburn says:
Holy Shit the protesters in Hong Kong are grabbing the canisters of tear gas dropping it into liquid nitrogen and turning it into its harmless solid form.
...
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Are a third of the proteins we consume dependent on synthetic fertilizer?
In July 1997, Vaclav Smil wrote an article in Scientific American on humankind's use of the Nitrogen Cycle (emphasis added):
Synthetic fertilizers provide about 40 percent of all the nitrogen taken ...
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Does detergent help clean clothes in washing machines?
The Telegraph reported in 2008 that British historian Ruth Goodman:
stopped using soap in her washing machine and says the clothes come
out just as clean. "We're all victims of 150 years of hype ...
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Does commercially-produced cotton cloth contain unhealthy chemicals that cause fertility problems?
The article Czy Twoje ubrania Cię trują? "Wchłaniamy chemię przez skórę. Stąd np. problemy z płodnością" (Do your clothes poison you? "We absorb chemicals through the skin, hence, for example, ...
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Is Plant-e an actual company stating a serious premise? [closed]
This is what I read beforehand and then I reached the company page.
They state that plants produce energy. This happens when releasing stuff from the photosynthesis process, which is consumed by ...
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Do certain fruit combinations ripen faster?
It is commonly claimed that certain fruits (e.g. apples, bananas, high-ethylene fruits and their dastardly "ripening hormone") make other fruits ripen faster. These claims appear on mainstream media ...
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Is Roundup weed killer carcinogenic?
Monsanto have been found liable for the terminal cancer of a former groundskeeper exposed to glyphosate and other chemicals in their Roundup herbicidal product.
On Friday, a California jury hit ...
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Are angel food cakes cooked in tube pans because they need support?
According to Cooks Illustrated:
There’s a good reason angel food and chiffon cakes are always baked in tube pans, and it’s not just aesthetics. These specialty vessels actually help delicate cakes ...
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Are 19.6 pounds of CO2 produced from burning a gallon of gasoline?
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration,
About 19.6 pounds [8.89 kg] of CO2 are produced from burning a gallon of gasoline that does not contain fuel ethanol. About 12.7 pounds [5....
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Is there any scientific basis to this "catalytic converter" to treat hard water?
I came across this product called Softer Water Conditioners. It includes a lot of scientific sounding mumbo-jumbo to explain how it works, which raises my skepticism. Is there any scientific basis to ...
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Does Tesla's 70 kWh battery have 63 kg of lithium and if so, why? [closed]
I have found information that Tesla's 70 kWh battery pack has 63 kg of lithium: https://electrek.co/2016/11/01/breakdown-raw-materials-tesla-batteries-possible-bottleneck/
Considering there's only 13 ...
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Are the chemical compounds BPA, BPS and BPF harmful to humans?
According to the following article by Time, and the study that it cites, several compounds of the chemical bisphenol - used in commonly-handled products like shopping receipts and plastic containers ...
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Will plant-life on Earth end due to too little CO2?
According to a 2013 Daily Mail article :
greater evaporation and chemical reactions with rainwater will take away more and more carbon dioxide.
In less than a billion years, its levels will be too ...
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Do transparent beer bottles allow UV rays oxidise the beer faster?
According to the following Facebook post from a Beer fan page:
The ultimate goal of adding a lemon to a beer is to hide beer flaws and defects.
By using a transparent bottle, ultraviolet (UV) rays ...
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Do the vitamins in a smoothie degrade when put in the fridge?
I was discussing with a friend about my smoothies consumption and he argued that putting them in the fridge to consume them the next day was not good as the vitamin level/effect drops quickly.
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Is vinegar dangerous for dishwashers?
This post claims that putting vinegar in rinse aid reservoir of a dishwasher leads to damage (similar claims can be found here and here):
on newer dishwashers, the rinse aid compartments have ...
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Does consuming foods rich in phytic acid prevent mineral absorption?
I've seen a lot of articles warning that consuming phytic acid can prevent the body from absorbing minerals. They recommend soaking beans, chickpeas, lentils and other phytic acid foods before cooking ...
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Is biochemical transmutations of elements possible?
According to a recent press conference Russian scientists have made a breakthrough so astounding it could change the universe as we know it in fundamental ways.
The essence of this discovery and ...
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Are towers being built in China that can turn smog into diamonds?
This article about a new project that builds towers that can turn smog into diamonds makes some pretty incredible claims. It claims that:
Towers intended to turn carbon in the air into diamonds have ...
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Does cow urine contain gold?
I stumbled upon a video of a baba (spiritual guru | Baba Ramdev) saying that cow urine contains gold.
This belief is widespread in India. I looked it up and many sites saying cow urine contains gold.
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Do Duracell batteries last longer than normal batteries?
The claim is
Up to 10 times longer lasting power
(*) vs. ordinary zinc carbon batteries in high powered toys and flash cameras
(picture from Amazon)
Do Duracell batteries last longer than Zinc ...
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Does fluoridation and chlorination in the US cause thyroid issues?
From an answer in Travel.SE with a net score of 10:
Mains water is typically laced with chlorine and fluoride by law, to the point that you step out of the shower smelling [like] you just stepped ...
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Are recent claims from India of a car fueled by water and calcium carbide legitimate?
Recently, I came across a video and a news report where it has been reported that a man from India has invented a car which uses water as a key fuel component. The car runs on acetylene gas produced ...
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Does copper react differently with different people? [closed]
One of my friends and I have developed a habit of drinking water from only copper vessels as I have read several benefits of drinking from that. But I observed one strange phenomenon during past few ...
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Is soap foam better for cleaning than soapy water? [closed]
Most people who wash something using soap (e.g. the dishes), seem to believe that the bubbles contribute a great deal in the actual cleaning. This is not something I explicitly saw written down ...
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Should I refrain from putting my clothes to dry outside on a full moon?
This website (French) explains:
N'étendez jamais votre linge de couleur un soir de pleine lune. En effet, ces nuits sont plus froides que les autres et font poindre une rosée contenant du peroxyde ...
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Will storing plastic water containers on concrete cause contamination?
Several preppers make the claim that storing plastic containers with water on concrete floors is bad because chemicals from the floor can leak into the plastic and then end up in the water.
Here are ...
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Would drinking a glass of glyphosate be harmful
In an interview Dr. Patrick Moore claimed that:
You can drink a whole quart of it and it won’t hurt you.
He then declined the offer to drink a glass of the herbicide to prove his claim, saying:
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Chemtrails : A dangerous govt. plot or just another debunked theory? [duplicate]
According to countless chemtrail research theories , trails left in the sky by high-flying govt. aircraft are dangerous chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed for reasons undisclosed to ...
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Is water with extra oxygen tastier, healthier, or otherwise desirable for humans?
In Japan, it is apparently common to add oxygen to bottled water.
But this isn't standard H20. It's a new mix containing 12 to 15 times as much oxygen as regular water.
(...)
"It's totally ...
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Does freshly-boiled water contain more oxygen?
I was (probably foolishly) reading the side of a box of herbal tea-bags, and noticed that they recommended always using freshly boiled water, because "Freshly boiled water contains more oxygen."
As I ...
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Does the hops in beer cause sleepiness?
Does the hops in beer have (a consistent and noticeable) effect on drowsiness?
Whenever I drink a beer, I get so sleepy that I can barely keep my eyes open. Is it the hops? It can't be the just ...
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Do extreme homeopathic dilutions still retain quantities of the starting materials?
This Indian Institute of Technology Bombay press release quotes some research papers which claims to prove that homeopathic remedies do retain original substances even when diluted.
The paper ...
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Does copy paper become "old and yellow"?
I have a part-time job at a place where printing, copying, scanning, faxing, and shredding happens every day. Thus, we have about two large cabinets with about 56 reams of paper (packs of 500 sheets) ...
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Is diet soda as bad for your teeth as regular soda or methamphetamine?
I've heard of many claims about soda water itself containing carbonic acid (as claimed by a teacher I had in high school) and having a generally high pH that's enough to destroy one's teeth.
This ...
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