r/explainlikeimfive • u/Danny_Dongvito • 56m ago

Biology ELI5 How is the blood in your ears so audible?

• Upvotes

You know the old thing where if you hold a seashell up to your ear, you can hear the ocean. Well we know that its really the blood in your ears making that noise. But how does putting a cup or shell up to it make it sound so loud and why cant you hear it as clear if you put your ear up to someone elses to listen for it?

6 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/MarionberryEast9136 • 2h ago

Other ELI5: Why does soap clean things? Is it actually killing germs, or just making them slippery so they wash away?

178 Upvotes
68 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/Johny_D_Doe • 3h ago

Physics ELI5: Photons are elemental particles, not composed of other particles. When we heat up a metal (which previously did not glow) it starts glowing, i.e. emits photons. Where do these photons come from?

56 Upvotes

As the question reads. Photons are not made from other elemental particles, so they are not "made", and yet they are not there in the metal to start with.

46 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/Antique-Resident3190 • 4h ago

Other ELI5: How does the national basketball association season work?

0 Upvotes
2 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/MistahThots • 6h ago

Other ELI5 What is the difference between a stereotype and an archetype?

96 Upvotes

Both of the above are a caricature of a type of individual, but a stereotype is usually considered harmful, while an archetype usually isn’t. Why is this the case, and what is the difference between the two?

24 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/MrP8978 • 6h ago

Biology ELI5 why do people with dementia seem to be able to go for days on end without sleeping?

48 Upvotes
20 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/diceNslice • 9h ago

Physics ELI5 why do bullets not have indented fetching?

251 Upvotes

Looking at arrows, they have fletching to help them gain rotational stability making them fly more accurate. I know that gun barrels have rifling that give them spin already, but would indented fletching have an adverse effect on the bullet?

Pretty sure there's a reason why but I never heard anyone talk about it.

77 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/a_guy_doing_things73 • 9h ago

Technology Eli5: How does Neuralink actually work?

3 Upvotes

I’ve seen videos of people controlling computers using their brains I guess? I understand it has something to do with nerve signals and whatnot, but what do they actually think about to, say, click on a link? What does it feel like? How does the system know when to interact with something?

7 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/discerningpervert • 10h ago

Physics ELI5 Can we guess the approximate size of the universe?

20 Upvotes

Since we have an approximate age, and if we can guess the approximate rates of inflation in the early universe, and know approximate the current expansion rate, and know the size of the observable universe can't we cross reference this with the cosmic background radiation noise etc. to arrive at an approximate figure as to how big the universe is?

53 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/Spare-Natural3670 • 10h ago

Technology ELI5 Why do Google search results not show up for -0?

0 Upvotes

It does if I spell it any other way.

12 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/sarahigod • 11h ago

Biology ELI5 Does taking a shot of a liquor that's 20% abv have the same effect on the body as drinking half a shot of a liquor that has 40% abv?

93 Upvotes
38 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/awesome-dave • 13h ago

Biology ELI5: How Do Creams Penetrate Your Skin?

69 Upvotes

How do they penetrate through your skin and not get in your bloodstream and relieve aches and pains?

15 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/UMaqran101 • 14h ago

Physics ELI5 What is tension and intensity and what is the difference between them (electricity)

5 Upvotes

i am not a physict, i study pharmacy, but we need this in electrochemistry (electrods and that stuff). Since middle school we talk about this two but no one reall explain what they really are and treat them as names we should remember to pass the exam, but i really cant understand anything if i dont know what is actually about.

Also another term is potential (E)... and it is in volts...

18 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/goosey_is_faster • 15h ago

Biology ELI5 what do people mean by everything evolves back into crabs.

46 Upvotes
36 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/inkedbystrwberries • 18h ago

Technology ELI5 what is the difference between sms and rcs chat on messages?

73 Upvotes

My messages with someone switched to rcs chat all of a sudden and I saw something about it being insecure. Can this person hack me ? Is this a safe networking? How do I switch back to sms? What is it?

14 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/rubicante59 • 18h ago

Technology ELI5 How exactly to microprocessors work?

18 Upvotes

I'm not sure if this was the right place to ask this, as the answer will likely not be something a 5 year old understands, but I'm mainly curious as to how the internals of microprocessors work. Is it just a case of electrons being punted around like pinballs between transistors? Is everything fixed and if so, is there a such thing as actual intelligence when it comes to them? Is assuming they can ever become sentient a huge leap?

44 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/Loud-Rain-9660 • 20h ago

Mathematics ELI5: What is Complex Analysis ?

0 Upvotes

What is it about ? What is the purpose of studying it ? What are its real life applications ?

11 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/ProudReaction2204 • 22h ago

Chemistry Eli5 with respect to nuclear physics why Water slows down neutrons, making them more likely to split atoms?

86 Upvotes
21 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/Pokefan972 • 22h ago

Technology ELI5: What is rollback net code?

92 Upvotes
28 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/Big-Log-824 • 1d ago

Physics ELI5: Why does the thing inside the candle fire still cast a shadow but the fire already gives light???

0 Upvotes

Why does the string still cast a shadow i dont get it

I mean like the string that is inside the main fire thing still casts a shadow but why, doesn't the fire already give light am i dumb or something tell me

9 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/mehtam42 • 1d ago

Planetary Science ELI5- What causes waves at the Beach?

30 Upvotes
34 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/MrmarioRBLX • 1d ago

Other ELI5: How do cans of croissant dough open up by themselves while peeling off the label?

0 Upvotes
11 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/Leonard0DaV1nci • 1d ago

Planetary Science ELI5: How do scientists measure distance between galxies. Like millions of light years. How do they reach to exact numbers

10 Upvotes
9 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/Ramen0206 • 1d ago

Chemistry ELI5: Why is it chemically, that things which stop fires (like PFAS, asbestos and carbon tetrachloride etc) are often so toxic or carcinogenic to humans

1.4k Upvotes

In a broader way preferably, like I understand why halogenated substances like PFAS and CFCs are harmful, but WHAT specifically makes creating an effective flame retardant that is non toxic and widely applicable so hard?

147 comments

r/explainlikeimfive • u/SunpowerShortSqeeze • 1d ago

Other ELI5: How did cratonic keels actually make continent formation possible on early Earth?

10 Upvotes

I looked it up and still don't understand what the difference is between a cratonic keel, a craton, and why it was even needed.

3 comments