278
votes
Are 19.6 pounds of CO2 produced from burning a gallon of gasoline?
This is directly addressed by the US Department of Energy at FuelEconomy.gov:
It seems impossible that a gallon of gasoline, which weighs about 6.3 pounds [2.9 kg], could produce 20 pounds [9.1 kg] ...
- 137k
92
votes
Does microwaving food create particles that are not created when warming food by conventional means?
The English abstract of Zur Frage der Aminosäureisomerisierung im Mikrowellenfeld Ergebnisse eines Modellversuches mit Standardlösungen [The question of amino acid isomerization in a microwave field ...
- 102k
74
votes
Is Adrenochrome an addictive drug only obtained by drinking blood?
You can just buy adrenochrome, e.g. here from Sigma-Aldrich. It's somewhat expensive for a relatively simple chemical, but not as expensive as it would have to be if the only way to acquire it would ...
- 43.3k
59
votes
Accepted
Are recent claims from India of a car fueled by water and calcium carbide legitimate?
The car does not run on water. The article you link says quite clearly that "The car runs on acetylene gas".
Acetylene is an explosive gas that is used for welding, and before the invention of ...
- 5,858
49
votes
Can the molecular bond angle of water be changed via distillation?
The linked site mentions that this has been validated by the USPTO. Not true. John Ellis has a few patents on distillers that do not mention hydrogen bonds (from USPTO patent search site with search ...
- 1,179
44
votes
Accepted
Is all disease caused by the electron spin of food?
The quoted text seems to refer to quantum-mechanical "spin". However "left" or "right" spin are not part of that concept, and it has nothing at all to do with the food we ...
- 15.8k
43
votes
Accepted
Are chemicals used to ripen fruit in developing countries harmful to the health of consumers?
To answer my last point first, I checked a local shopping site (which sells EVERYTHING), and 'karbit' or 'carbide' is indeed often not carbide at all.
Ethephon
Several sellers sold 'karbit' which was ...
- 4,340
35
votes
Can the molecular bond angle of water be changed via distillation?
There is a lot to unpack from that site; the majority of it seems to have little basis in reality. The short answer is that you cannot permanently change the hydrogen bond angle (104.5°) in water.
...
- 451
31
votes
Accepted
Are 19.6 pounds of CO2 produced from burning a gallon of gasoline?
This answer provides an example on how to address this question by citing basic science. Please ignore any voting on it.
I won't perform any calculation here as they are not on topic on Skeptics, but ...
22
votes
Would drinking a glass of glyphosate be harmful
There are several studies examining the intake of glyphosate, in many cases even deliberate intakes as a method of suicide. Most of these studies are not freely accessible (behind pay-walls), but in ...
- 6,461
19
votes
Is alcohol for consumption tested for carbon-14 radioactivity to be considered legal?
The accepted answer on this is many years old but it also appears to be wrong.
There is a very informative snopes article on the matter. which specifically references the source used in the accepted ...
- 9,456
18
votes
Accepted
Did silver mostly not tarnish before the Industrial Revolution?
Silver tarnish is silver sulfide, which forms in the presence of hydrogen sulfide.[1]
Pre-industrial sources for hydrogen sulfide include volcanic activity (e.g. hot springs), tanneries, sewage, ...
- 18.9k
17
votes
Are towers being built in China that can turn smog into diamonds?
It's possible, but not so incredible.
The article writer loves to paint a picture of towers which clean the air and by a magical process, produce diamonds.
It is real and possible, but less ...
- 287
17
votes
Accepted
Is Roundup weed killer carcinogenic?
There is no consistent evidence showing a relationship between glyphosate and cancer
There are a lot of studies on the relationship between glyphosate use and cancer. Some are small and poor; others ...
- 55.6k
15
votes
Does copy paper become "old and yellow"?
Your co-worker is right, normal paper deteriorates due to its acidity and due to oxidation.
Paper in Europe was originally made from cellulose sourced from linen
and cotton rags. This made strong ...
- 1,591
15
votes
Does detergent help clean clothes in washing machines?
It seems like there are two parts to this question, and, perhaps, OP will tighten up the language a bit.
Do we need to use detergent in washing machines?
Depends on what you want when you wash ...
- 9,439
12
votes
Do extreme homeopathic dilutions still retain quantities of the starting materials?
This Indian Institute of Technology Bombay press release quotes some research papers
This isn't really true. It is just one research paper, and one comment on said research paper. Also, it merely ...
- 102k
12
votes
Does cow urine contain gold?
According to Metabolomic and elemental analysis of camel and bovine urine by GC–MS and ICP–MS Saudi Journal of Biosciences volume 24, pages 23-29 (January 2017):
Bovine urine contained 0.005673 ppm ...
- 102k
12
votes
Does microwaving food create particles that are not created when warming food by conventional means?
Not food, but microwave-vs.-conventional heating is a branch of chemistry: Comparison of Conventional and Microwave-assisted Synthesis of Benzotriazole Derivatives.
So the basic idea that different ...
- 245
11
votes
Does cow urine contain gold?
Summary: Gold is found in trace amounts all over the place, including cow urine.
Gold is found in trace amounts in many things.
From the report Gold Content of Water, Plants, and Animals.
Sea ...
- 11.9k
11
votes
Accepted
Do transparent beer bottles allow UV rays oxidise the beer faster?
Current evidence:
Skunky-smelling compounds (3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol) are formed in beer due to sunlight breaking down alpha acids in hops (flavoring and stability agent in beer) that react with ...
- 22.6k
11
votes
Are 19.6 pounds of CO2 produced from burning a gallon of gasoline?
It is possible to verify this idea from multiple sources that are independent of the U.S. Government. I'm going to leave verifying the exact numbers in the question out of scope of this answer, for ...
- 495
9
votes
Accepted
Can thunderstorms curdle milk?
A correlation between thunderstorms and the souring or curdling of milk has been observed for hundreds of years. According to the 1685 book The Paradoxal Discourses of F. M. Van Helmont: Concerning ...
- 102k
9
votes
Are pomegranate seeds edible?
I've been served pomegranate seeds by our canteen contractor on a regular basis, as a "special extra" on burgers...
They are definitely edible (and high in fiber!). They contain anthocyanins, which ...
- 18.9k
8
votes
Are towers being built in China that can turn smog into diamonds?
No.
Jewelry is made from compressed smog particles, but the compressed smog particles are not diamonds.
See World's largest air purifier takes on China's smog
The inspiration came from how ...
- 102k
7
votes
Do Duracell batteries last longer than normal batteries?
Zinc-Carbon and Alkaline batteries are different battery types. The have a similar voltage and come packaged identically, however the amount of stored energy varies greatly.
Comparison of battery ...
- 78.3k
7
votes
Does skimmed milk have more added chemicals than whole milk?
In the USA to be called "skim milk," it must have vitamin A and D added to replace what is lost during skimming. (They are fat-soluble, and hence lost when skimming off the fat.)
That is, according ...
- 71
7
votes
Accepted
Do the vitamins in a smoothie degrade when put in the fridge?
I would not worry.
Most vitamins are very stable. Vitamin C can oxidize, a little, over about a week, but overall vitamins are retained in large percentages, over months, even at room temperature.
...
- 78.3k
7
votes
Do certain fruit combinations ripen faster?
Ethylene definitely has a role in the ripening of fruit.
Ethylene and fruit ripening is a scientific paper that discusses the chemical mechanisms of ripening fruit. From the paper:
The ripening of ...
- 11.9k
7
votes
Accepted
Does this video show a Hong Kong protestor disabling a tear gas cannister with liquid nitrogen?
The claim is most likely false.
It's common for Hong Kong protesters to use water to neutralize tear gas. [video] [source]
While liquid nitrogen is priced similar to your average bottled water, ...
- 1,407
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible