Science: Technoquest
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Q When a bulb blows, why does the fuse sometimes blow too?
When a filament in a light bulb blows, the bulb can arc (a spark jumps from one side to the other). The lamp then becomes a discharge lamp. The discharge has little resistance (since the bulb has very little gas in it) and this draws a lot of current, blowing the fuse. This effect can be prevented by putting nitrogen in the bulb.
Q What are male and female emus called?
The male emu is the "rooster", the female is the "hen". Just-hatched babies are "chicks", 10-to-15-month-olds are "yearlings", and 16-to-23- month-olds are "coming twos".
Q What is the life cycle of the crab louse?
The female crab carries eggs under her abdomen, which resemble bunches of grapes, and are a bright orange colour when first laid. This colour then gets darker, and sometimes the eye-spots of the larva can be seen through the egg case. The larvae hatch as zoea, which look like tiny commas and can swim. After a number of moults, the zoea develop into a megalop stage, which has legs and claws, but its tail is still visible. A small appendage on the tail can help the megalop to swim. The megalop moults and changes into a small crab and the tail, instead of protruding, is now tucked under the body of the crab.
Q Do other mammals - especially primates - have monozygotic [identical] twins?
Yes, basically. For example, the nine-ringed armadillo, roe deer and coypu all have monozygotic twins.
Q How much does the cortex of the human brain weigh?
The cortex has been estimated to contain about 15 billion to 25 billion nerve cells. That is about a quarter of all the cells in the brain. But these estimates are notoriously unreliable. We do know it is about 3 millimetres thick. So if about half the brain weight is nerve cells and the rest is fibres, and if one-quarter of the cells are in the cortex, it ought to be about one-eighth of the weight of the brain. That would make it about 150-200 grams - let's say about 6 ounces.
You can visit the technoquest World Wide Web site at http://www. sciencenet.org.uk
Questions and answers are provided by Science Line's Dial-a-Scientist on 0345 600444
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments