Recent comments in /f/askscience

Dr-Luemmler t1_jdaglj7 wrote

Reply to comment by lizardweenie in Can a single atom be determined to be in any particular phase of matter? by Zalack

I dont want to be rude, but you just need different states the particle could be, which you get with the quatification of impulse for each direction and the electronic states. Having multiple undistinguishable particle, and measuring their states is just one way to calculate the partition function. Another one is to track the trajectory of a single particle. In other words, we just need different states with different probabilities. I see no reason why that would not hold for a single atom. Temperature itself is also not a relative measurement as you can also see temperature dependent radiation from only a single atom.

The temperature in thermodynamics is defined as $T = dE/dS$. As $S \approx log(\Omega)$, the amount of "accessible" states need to increase with increasing temperature to hold the first formula. As a single atom has three dofs, we fullfill it.

Sorry, I really see no reason you could be right. I have also studied a bit advanced statistical thermodynamics and wrote my BA in that field. But I can be wrong, I cant say I was excellent in that field and some years have past since then. Maybe you can give me some hints for proper literature.

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Indemnity4 t1_jdaez3d wrote

Reply to comment by mikk0384 in Can you extract a fully concentrated liquid out of an ice cube (like Coca Cola) until there's almost no water left? by Froggiebuns

Competitive inhibition.

Both methanol and ethanol compete for access the limited amount of enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase.

Methanol is converted to a toxic compound formic acid or formate. That's nasty stuff and your body can't really clear it. It needs to effectively kill the affected tissue and remove that, which takes days to weeks.

Ethanol is slightly better at binding to the enzyme compared to methanol. So if you have 95% ethanol and 5% methanol, practically close to zero methanol is being converted by the enzyme.

Silly analgoy: myself and a really attractive woman are both trying to buy a drink at a bar from the same bartender. A long enough queue of attractive women and I'm never getting a drink. So I give up and go home.

Methanol and ethanol are both removed by urine (and breathing + sweating). So long as the methanol is still circulating and not reacting with the enzyme, you simply urinate it out.

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mikailatc t1_jdaboom wrote

Reply to comment by NeoEpoch in (Biology) How far down your spine can you break before respiratory impairment? by Anomaly-Friend

There are mnemonics for all spinal area enervations. Cranial nerves as well. Cranial Nerve “3,4 6 make the eyes do tricks” and so forth. Its important to know what nerves do what so if a part of the body isn’t working right it helps track down the potential culprit. Lots on mnemonics in medicine in general.

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