Recent comments in /f/explainlikeimfive

hatsuseno t1_j6mt2v3 wrote

Computers don't need GPUs. Older computers from the 80s sometimes didn't have any GPU, and the CPU was responsible for redrawing what you see on the monitor.

The problem with that is that it costs a lot of CPU time to do so, redrawing all the pixels 50 or 60 times per second.

GPUs started out as nothing more than a helper chip(set) for the CPU, so it wouldn't be doing the pixel pushing, but could do other stuff at the same time.

As what we wanted to see on the screen became more complex GPUs consequently also became more complex. First it was 2D acceleration to improve drawing windows and sprites on the screen, later 3D acceleration for obvious uses.

Or said in one line, CPUs are generalists so they can do the 'anything' computers are known for, GPUs are specialists so the CPU can continue doing generalist stuff, like instructing the GPU to 'draw a rectangle there', 'move the sprite from here to here over X frames', or 'add a sphere to the 3D scene'.

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Spiritual_Jaguar4685 t1_j6msq9b wrote

Not a fancy way of saying GMO. Plants can do a lot of wacky genetic things totally naturally, but keep in mind pretty much any plant we eat has had thousands of years of selective breeding by humans. We've essentially trained all of our domesticated crops, naturally, to be a certain way.

Specially, plants can do some "odd" things when it comes to reproducing and creating fruits. For example, we're familiar with the concept of getting 1 set of genes from our mothers and 1 set from our fathers, they would call this "2N" genetics. In theory plants work the same way but getting 3N, 4N, 5N, etc plants is really common and doesn't hurt them as much as it would us. If you ever see a box of monstrous strawberries at the grocery they probably aren't GMO, they are just 3N or 4N strawberries (natural genetic freaks, not human engineered genetic freaks).

What I'm saying in the above is some plants, if the flowers don't get fertilized will just kill the flower and move on (like apples), other plants will keep the organ alive and produce what's called a "virgin fruit". Since no fertilization occurred the plant can't make normal seeds, but they'll probably still be there. They will just be super small or soft and you eat them without noticing them. Those are the seedless grapes and oranges and stuff per OP's prompt.

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twotall88 t1_j6mrkph wrote

No, to be actually hydrated you need to consume salts that include sodium, calcium, potassium, chloride, phosphate, and magnesium. If your diet is deficient in that and all you drink is H2O/water then you will still be dehydrated while urinating a lot.

In fact, for your kidneys to function properly they need to basically be full of sodium.

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Weevius t1_j6mr669 wrote

I’ll take a stab at simplifying the reasoning

Everything up to that point (hydrogen, helium etc) the gravity / force of a regular star is strong enough to overcome the natural repelling force of the 2 atoms. For iron it isn’t.

Or you could think of burning things - Think of ash in a fire. A regular star has a “temperature” that can burn elements up to iron, when it gets to iron it starts to cool because iron is like ash (eg it’s not hot enough to burn it so temperature drops due to fuel starvation). That’s why we have other elements - certain situations can make special stars that are hot enough to burn that ash into other elements. Easy comparison from home fire / stove burning paper to wood to coal or to a furnace melting metals.

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andrea_ci t1_j6mpndf wrote

Money.

Authors and Publishers actively limit the licensing to libraries, schools and other structures to maximize profits.

If anyone could borrow a book from a public library in the first weeks of availability, that book won't sell many copies. In this way, someone will actually borrow it, but the majority of people will buy it.

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Minimum_Box4491 t1_j6mpdvz wrote

To keep it short:

DNA contains instructions to make proteins. RNA carries these instructions to the protein factories (called “ribosomes”). DNA is in the famous shape of a double-helix. Imagine only one side/one half of that - and you have the shape of RNA, which is a single strand.

And all this happens at a micro-cellular level.

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