Q&A on anything scientific

[Tru2form]

Scientists! Huzzah! Hey, speaking of which... I've got a science question: ok, so scientologists think that thoughts have mass and can effect the body's electrical flows.

They do this test on new people to "prove" that the emeter works. They have you hold the meter cans, then they pinch your arm really hard. you'll see the needle drop. Then they tell you to "recall that pinch" (they don't touch you at all this time). You'll see the needle fall again (it always does).

People who aren't doctors or scientists (most of whom usually have the good sense to stay out of Scientology in the first place) see this and think, "wow, it's reading my thoughts".

After I had my head screwed on straight, I realized that this is actually no proof of anything, and if it IS proof of something, it's proof that the brain effects your body's electrical flows through a surge of... [insert technical-sounding chemicals]. It kind of just proves Pavlov was on the right track.

Am I on the right track with the reasoning here?

Does that even qualify as a science question? Speculation on the "pinch test" welcome.

[Tru2form]

I've been looking into the studies that Scientology uses to support its silent birth practices. It says right there on their website "Studies show..." so I wanted to look it up.

The study they use to support their No talking, loud noises or bright lights practices is a Swedish study called "Obstetric care and proneness of offspring to suicide as adults: case-control study" 1998
( http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... rtid=28715 )

It basically says babies with traumatic births are at risk of suiciding as adults. It also found that babies of mothers who took opiates near birth are less likely to violently commit suicide.

Of course this doesn't prove silent birth is effective, because traumatic births (listed as: presentation other than vertex, meconium stained amniotic fluid and membranes, instrumental delivery or internal version, and resuscitation and other complications usually requiring ward care.) are usually not purposely done.

Another study I read suggested that lack of oxygen to the brain before, during and after birth, when the baby switches from umbilical cord to lungs, might be the cause of some mental diseases that lead to suicide.
http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full ... ;189/6/502

Also this "High cortisol levels in utero could have a lifelong influence on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, resulting in hypercortisolaemia in adulthood, which has been linked to depressive disorders", cortisol being from stress I gather.

The silent birth case all hinges on whether babies can remember words during birth, which I gather is supposed to lead to them remembering the trauma associated with these words and reacting negatively.

So why not just get foreign language doctors?

[Grundy]

[Tru2form]

Okay, this is the science question that no one could answer for me at Delphi. I was told, "You are either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid and I don't know which". It's been in my head ever since. Nerds, forgive me, this may be a very blonde question. I don't have a science brain.

The question was: Can you accidentally cut an atom in half? Is it hypothetically possible to slice the core of an atom in half with a physical object?

What I mean is: Lets say, hypothetically, that you have a knife that is extraordinarily sharp. You cut through an apple. Your knife slices through the center of an atom... would a nuclear reaction take place?

Since this never happens in real life, I'm assuming that you can't cut an atom in half physically, that it takes a chemical reaction... but WHY? Is it only because we can't make anything sharp enough? And what if you sliced off a few of the atom's electrons - does it become a different substance?

Or does this have something to do with magnetism?

Go ahead, laugh at me.

How old were you when you considered that question, Kendra? Because it can show an incredible curiosity and intelligence.

Accidentally cutting an atom. When I first saw the question, I immediately went into geek mode and was about to explain, fortunately, someone beat me to it.

Anyone, it is a physical reaction to do anything to an atom. A chemical reaction when one chemical interacts to bond with another.

A chemical reaction occurs when two atoms share electrons. And that will be explained later if you wish.

It is a very good question. It really is. Many of us on the outside actually do ask that question in science class when we learn atomic theory. Yes, I was the one who did so in the 7th grade. Seems I'm in good company in the curiosity department.

Anyway, never be afraid to ask questions. The only stupid question is the one that people don't want you to ask. The answer to which is, ASK ANYWAY!

Simpler analogy:

Imagine that the molecules of the apple are like balls in a big ball pit you might find in a carnival. Now imagine a kid jumping into the ball pit. The kid wouldn't cut any of the balls; they would just slide away to make room for him.

In a similar matter, the atoms and groups of atoms (molecules) in your apple slide away from the edge of the knife as you cut.

Not a perfect analogy but it should give you the right idea.

Not perfect, Tony, but very good. I hadn't even thought of it that way.

Funny, I remember thinking that every time I was biting into something to eat, I was causing a fission reaction and that the food was a nuclear bomb in my mouth.

a nuclear bomb of FLAVOR!

Tony is correct on all counts.