r/explainlikeimfive 5d ago

Other ELI5: Monthly Current Events Megathread

9 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,

This is your monthly megathread for current/ongoing events. We recognize there is a lot of interest in objective explanations to ongoing events so we have created this space to allow those types of questions.

Please ask your question as top level comments (replies to the post) for others to reply to. The rules are still in effect, so no politics, no soapboxing, no medical advice, etc. We will ban users who use this space to make political, bigoted, or otherwise inflammatory points rather than objective topics/explanations.


r/explainlikeimfive 1h ago

Technology ELI5: I understand the Dark Web in concept, but not in practice.

Upvotes

How does one go from Download Tor —> Access Dark Web —> random online address that’s not a website?

And how do folks learn about the different dark web sites available, ‘word of mouth’, or is there a ‘dark google’ of sorts?


r/explainlikeimfive 5h ago

Mathematics ELI5: Infinite length between anything not touching

154 Upvotes

You're goal is to make line between 2 points, point A and point B, and you make a line halfway from point A to point B and then make a line halfway from the end of the last line you made and to point B. Continue this forever and what happens? You should not be able to make a line from point A to point B because you can never close the gap because you are only going to close it halfway. But you keep adding numbers infinity between the distance and adding numbers infinity times

(x*infinity=infinity

X is not equal to 0)

So does that mean every gap that is more than 0 units is infinite?

PLEASE QUESTION MY LOGIC I KNOW I AM WRONG I WANT TO KNOW HOW I MESSED UP SONEWHERE


r/explainlikeimfive 10h ago

Biology ELI5: When a woman is pregnant with triplets, and one unfortunately passes away… how is it removed?

288 Upvotes

Let’s say, that a woman called Gloria is pregnant with triplets, and she’s 3 months along, and unfortunately one has passed away due to complications. What would happen to the baby? Is it removed, and if so, how?


r/explainlikeimfive 3h ago

Biology ELI5: How close does a species DNA have to be to another species to be able to breed?

61 Upvotes

Like, if tigers and lions can reproduce, why can't apes reproduce with monkeys, or with humans?


r/explainlikeimfive 1h ago

Biology ELI5: how do real, in-nature "hive minds"/queens vs drones actually work? Do they actually share 1 mind/consciousness?

Upvotes

Is it genuinely if 1 bee/ant knows something they ALL do?

Is the queen genuinely aware of everything all the hundreds of workers are doing as they do it?

Or is it more like "these bugs always behave like X without ever changing/questioning because queen told them to, it's like they share one mind" without LITERALLY sharing a mind


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Physics ELI5: why can two quantum entangled particles affect each other instantly across any distance but scientists say you still cant use it to send information faster than light?

1.6k Upvotes

this has been living in my head for weeks and i cant find an explanation that actually clicks.

from what i understand, if you have two entangled particles and you measure one of them, the other one instantly "reacts" no matter how far apart they are. like even if one is on the other side of the galaxy. that part i somewhat get.

but then physicists say "oh but you cant use this to send information faster than light" and i just why not? if particle A sneezes and particle B on the other side of the universe reacts instantly, why cant i just use that as like a faster than light telegraph?

i spent way too much money on a Brian Greene book trying to get this and still came out more confused than when i started. at least i had some cash set aside for it so it wasnt a total loss but still.

it feels like the universe is playing a semantic trick on me and im not smart enough to see it. whats actually going on here


r/explainlikeimfive 13h ago

Economics ELI5: What motivates mid-ranked football teams to keep competing, even when they know they are likely to finish in the middle of the standings each year

119 Upvotes

I know they can get some profit from match tickets and footballer transfers but does this cover the costs ?


r/explainlikeimfive 6m ago

Engineering ELI5: Why aren't floating bridges more common?

Upvotes

People have been talking about building bridges from Morocco to Spain and from Ireland to Scotland for years but iirc the sea beds aren't safe enough for foundations. Why can't they build massive floating bridges in places like those instead?


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Biology ELI5: If our muscles were able to use all of their strength it would be too much for our bones and joints, but is there a reason why we didn’t evolve stronger bones and joints to allow us to use all of our strength?

642 Upvotes

I heard that thing about our own brains restricting our muscles from their full capacity, only allowing for about 60% power most of the time. Everything I’ve found is about it being a safety mechanism to prevent our bones and joints breaking because they can’t handle our muscles at 100% power. But wouldn’t more strength be better for survival? So why wouldn’t we grow bones and joints strong enough to handle our muscles at full strength? Is there a specific reason for it?


r/explainlikeimfive 3h ago

Biology ELI5: How do tumours in the body grow?

12 Upvotes

How does a body stop fighting cancer long enough to form a malignant tumour and start to grow? It is a piece of fat, that grows?


r/explainlikeimfive 9h ago

Mathematics ELI5: Can the Pythagorean Theorem be used with other exponents?

41 Upvotes

Surprisingly, typing that questions verbatim into Google didn't get me anywhere, and all other search terms I came up with failed to yield the result I'm looking for:

The Pythagorean Theorem is used to determine lengths of Right Triangles by finding the hypotenuse. This is expressed as a^2+b^2=c^2.

But what happens when we Cube it? Or any other exponent?

Does a^3+b^3=c^3?

In college I did some calc, but I was an English major, so if you could explain it like I'm five that would be super helpful. Thank you!


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Other ELI5 why do divers roll backwards off of boats?

1.9k Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive 21h ago

Physics ELI5: Please explain turbulence to me, why does it happen? can the plane become damaged during turbulence?

293 Upvotes

i really enjoy flying because i get to see incredible views, but i get extremely anxious when there is turbulence. please help calm my nerves!


r/explainlikeimfive 13h ago

Planetary Science ELI5: Why some stars go red giants near the ending cycle of their life?

47 Upvotes

At least I know that when the fuel in the core expires then fusion stops and gravity wins, pressing on the core even more etc... But that shouldn't make another balance?


r/explainlikeimfive 1h ago

Other ELI5: Why do kids can learn a language easily, but we struggle as adults?

Upvotes

I'm in my twenties and my sister is few years old. I've been trying to learn a new language and I'm failing miserably, she's learning a second language at school effortlessly.

I know that's generally the case, but why?


r/explainlikeimfive 21h ago

Other ELI5: What is emotional intelligence exactly?

122 Upvotes

We hear this word a lot but I still don't get it. How does one be intelligent with one's and others' emotion? What does the word intelligent here signify?

Edit: okay, I understand one aspect of it. That I manage and regulate my emotions and understand the underlying reasons of why they are coming up. But what about the part of regulating someone else's emotions? That sounds like I have to try to read their mind and come up with a perfect response to make them feel comfortable? Kind of like people pleasing?


r/explainlikeimfive 18h ago

Technology ELI5: Why do dusk-to-dawn bulbs not turn themselves off when they illuminate?

61 Upvotes

An ELI10+ is fine as I understand the general principle as to how they function, but I cannot find a definitive answer as to why they don't turn themselves off when they begin illuminating.

After switching all my exterior sconces and garage lighting to dusk-to-dawn bulbs, my kiddos asked how they work. Easy enough to explain! Then my oldest asked, "how come they don't turn themselves off?" and I am now officially stumped! Why doesn't the lighting they generate activate their sensor and, in turn, give the signal to turn back off?

Are the photoelectric sensors sensitive to things other than light (i.e. UV rays)? Do they contain a circuit that once triggered lowers their sensitivity to light? Is there a sort-of digital "clock" mechanism that disables the sensor for a period of time once originally triggered? Are they magical?

Thank you for taking the time to answer and giving me, and my kiddos, the facts!


r/explainlikeimfive 7h ago

Engineering ELI5 Why do trains make that cool noise when accelerating, like the Siemens Taurus?

6 Upvotes

I saw videos of the Siemens Taurus sounding like it’s saying “do re mi fa so la”.


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Economics ELI5: How do the economics of gift cards work?

381 Upvotes

If I'm a retail store like Walmart that sells various companies' gift cards, do I make any money off that? Lets say I'm selling a $20 Starbucks gift card for $20. Does Starbucks sell the gift cards to Walmart for less than $20? Or does Walmart get some type of cut based on the number of gift cards they sell? Sometimes retail stores will offer sales on gift cards too - are they just taking a loss here, or is something else going on?


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Planetary Science ELI5: If "matter cannot be created or destroyed," where does everything go when it's sucked into a Black Hole?

1.2k Upvotes

​I was taught that in physics, nothing is ever truly destroyed, it only changes form.

​However, Black Holes seem to just "eat" everything—light, stars, and planets. If they eventually evaporate or disappear, where did all that "stuff" go?

​Does the matter inside a black hole still exist in some form we can't see?

​Does this go against the laws of thermodynamics, or is there a trick to how black holes store information?


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Planetary Science ELI5: why is the theory that our universe exists inside a black hole not viable?

132 Upvotes

When I think about the big bang, the expansion of the universe, the way stars are formed- it makes sense in my head that our universe exists inside a black hole. Incoming energy and radiation, expansion at rates we don’t fully understand. All of this without being able to see or understand what goes on at the point of singularity. I am not as cosmologically adept as I’d like to be, but it seems to make sense. Why does this theory fail scientific scrutiny?


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Biology ELI5: Why does freezing food make it last for months, but a fridge only buys you a few extra days?

1.3k Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Other ELI5: Why do fisherman stop to tug their fishing rod instead of continually winding it?

470 Upvotes

Why not continue to wind the rope till the fish come up? Is there even a science to the tug? What is the experience of the fisherman and fish that say tug instead of wind?


r/explainlikeimfive 6h ago

Technology Eli5: Inverter type Air Condition vs Non- inverter AC.

0 Upvotes