The AnswerBank Articles

If we shed our skin, why don't tattoos fade

A. Our skin has two layers: the upper epidermis and the lower dermis. The epidermis is relatively thin, having only a few layers of cells and sheds cells regularly as it renews itself. The dermis is01:00 Mon 20th Aug 2001

What is a static electricity

A. Static electricity is the surface storage of an electric charge wich is discharged when another object comes into contact with it. This, often painful, reaction is caused when your body contains01:00 Wed 13th Jun 2001

What is Genesis

A. A NASA space probe launched this month from Cape Canaveral on a mission to collect particles from the Sun. Q. How will Genesis collect Sun particles A. Since the Earth’s atmosphere acts01:00 Wed 13th Jun 2001

What is SWIFT payment

A. As with many technological terms, SWIFT is an acronym. It stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications. SWIFT is an industry-owned co-operative that supplies secure01:00 Mon 13th Aug 2001

What are goose bumps

A. Goose bumps, sometimes known as goose flesh or goose pimples, or technically cutis ansirina, (which translates from the Latin as goose skin) are a temporary change in the appearance of the skin,01:00 Tue 07th Aug 2001

Why do passenger planes always board from the left side

A. There are three possible explanations for this, anyone of which, may or may not be ‘true’. Q. What’s the first possible reason A. That the practice predates human flight.01:00 Tue 07th Aug 2001

How do hurricanes work

A. There are several contributing factors necessary in order for hurricanes to form; very warm sea temperatures, in excess of 26.5 degrees Celsius, a cool atmosphere and a wind blowing in the same01:00 Tue 07th Aug 2001

Why does my tummy rumble when I m hungry

A. It actually rumbles all the time, not just when you’re hungry. The official term for it is borborygmi. The Greeks originally dreamt up this term in an attempt to represent the sound of the01:00 Mon 30th Jul 2001

How does a silencer on a gun work

A. By controlling the rate that the gases that propel the bullet expand. They're normally called sound moderators or suppressors. Q. What are silencers made of A. There are numerous designs,01:00 Mon 30th Jul 2001

Why can't I get clear ice cubes

A. Because the tap water you use contains dissolved air, which is forced out of solution, forming a gas bubbles when frozen, creating cloudy ice cubes. Q. Why are the edges often clear and the01:00 Mon 30th Jul 2001

How does the stock market work

A. The stock market, also called the equity market, is a way for companies to raise money from those with cash to invest. Investors make money (hopefully) from buying shares in two ways - the income01:00 Mon 23rd Jul 2001

How does digital broadcasting work

A. Until recently all radio and television has used analogue broadcasting technology, which converts sound and pictures into waves. These waves are transmitted and are picked up by aerials. Instead01:00 Mon 23rd Jul 2001

How are books made

A. Although books come in all shapes, sizes and colours, nearly all - the exceptions are novelty and some children's books - are produced in exactly the same way. Once the publisher has delivered the01:00 Mon 23rd Jul 2001

How do the payouts on fruit machines work

A. While the final arrangement of symbols that appear on fruit machines when they stop is entirely random, the patterns that pay and the amounts they pay are calculated to ensure a definite financial01:00 Mon 16th Jul 2001

Why are everyone's fingerprints unique

A. As we all know, the bottom of our hands and our feet, including fingers and toes, are covered by distinct alternating ridges and grooves that together constitute dermatoglyphics. Fingerprints are01:00 Mon 16th Jul 2001

Needles and pins: how does acupuncture work

A. In spite of a great deal of excellent research undertaken to answer this, there is, as yet, no simple answer. There are, however, a variety of theories that attempt to explain the mechanism of01:00 Mon 16th Jul 2001

What makes stainless steel stainless

A. The addition of a metallic element called chromium. Chromium reacts very quickly with oxygen, forming an oxidised layer that is very thin yet stable. The steel becomes stainless because any01:00 Mon 09th Jul 2001

What causes the noise heard when people crack their knuckles

A. It's caused by the release of pressurised, dissolved gases in the synovial fluid, which lubricates our moveable joints. The synovial fluid needs to expand when the joints are moved, to allow01:00 Mon 09th Jul 2001

Why do I now enjoy eating things I hated as a child

Asked Isaacr recently. Here The AnswerBank takes a look at what tickles our taste buds fancy. Q. Have my taste buds 'matured' A. Probably not, although there are some changes in our sense of01:00 Mon 09th Jul 2001

What is the speed of sound

A. The speed of sound is the speed at which a medium’s molecules pass amongst themselves, via collisions, the message that something is either approaching or retreating. An example of a medium01:00 Mon 02nd Jul 2001