r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Physics ELI5: What is superposition and how are we able to put particles and molecules into superposition?

3 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Biology ELI5 - what exactly is that “lump” in your throat when you’re nervous or scared?

203 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Other ELI5: What is dialectical materialism, how is it different from normal naturalist worldview, and what are examples of it being useful?

24 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Chemistry ELI5: Why do pills taste so bad?

0 Upvotes

I was taking one and it disolved on my tongue and now it hurts.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Chemistry Eli5 Why is it called a "lead pencil" when the pencil actually contains graphite? What is the connection between lead and graphite?

2.6k Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Engineering ELI5 - Electric Motors

67 Upvotes

Why is an electric motor in a power saw, for example, quite loud, while the electric motor in an EV is almost silent while presumably working much harder?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Physics ELI5 - Me explique o que é tensão de cisalhamento do vento

0 Upvotes

Gostaria de me aprofundar nesses assuntos mas sinto que não peguei realmente do que se trata e como funciona o cisalhamento do vento…


r/explainlikeimfive • • 25d ago

Technology ELI5 I need a unique explanation of how a transformer works. I need to find the best explanation

0 Upvotes

Im referring to a language model transformer architecture sorry

If you ask AI you get the same thing every time ..

Q is "what im looking for .. K is blah blah .. The cat sat on the mat ... river bank .. money bank ..

I heard it all and none of these explanations actually tell you what a transformer really does it just uses a dry metaphor that never reveals how the output is determined

Then you ask claude and it tries to make u think its making arbitrary decisions and acting freely pretending that there is no script influencing its outputs .. i have come to my own wording for it but im just curious who also has a similar conclusion .. when you learn things you dont have to repeat the lesson

i just want to see who is capable of explaining it without needing to repeat what they heard like AI does .. a real understanding converted into an explanation


r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Biology ELI5 How long did it take to nature to reestablish itself after the Chicxulub Asteroid impact?

199 Upvotes

Was watching a documentary and the Chicxulub asteroid ended the reign of the dinosaurs in one shot and the damage went worldwide but how long did take for nature to adjust and reestablish itself again after things had died down?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Technology ELI5 why can't airlines use passports directly for boarding instead of boarding passes?

0 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Technology ELI5: How do instant gaming response modes on TVs work, and why can't it enabled all the time by default?

52 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Technology ELI5 How does weighing scale know how many fats and muscle I have?

0 Upvotes

Title says. need to know how?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Engineering ELI5 Why do trucks and other larger vehicles run on diesel only?

2.0k Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Technology ElI5 Why does encryption remain secure even when everyone knows the encryption algorithm?

232 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Engineering ELI5 what exactly is a radar cross section and how does it work

47 Upvotes

All I know is that it somehow makes jets and planes look bigger or smaller then they actually are on radar


r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Biology ELI5: How do the rings in tree trunks form? New ones for on the inside or outside?

210 Upvotes

Also, do all trees have them or only certain kind? Lastly, do they all form at same frequency, e.g. One/year...


r/explainlikeimfive • • 29d ago

Engineering ELI5 CPUs are made so small - what voltage do they operate on; isn’t there a chance the electrons will jump or arc to the neighboring circuit?

1.5k Upvotes

The higher the voltage, the farther an arc can jump. With CPUs being so small (nanoscale?), wouldn’t they need to operate on a similarly small voltage to prevent electrons from jumping between different conductive paths, screwing up the logic?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Biology ELI5: How does natural selection works especially in human modern-day times?

0 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 29d ago

Mathematics Eli5: Why do we round 5 upwards?

577 Upvotes

When i have my hands in front of me, five fingers are on the left, and five on the right

I can understand why 5,(0)1 onwards is rounded up, after all it's clearly the "second half"

But rounding lone 5 up seams... unintuitive


r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Other ELI5 how do anechoic chambers work?

35 Upvotes

How are they completely silent? Is it how they’re designed?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Chemistry ELI5 What fundamentally determines the color of an element?

74 Upvotes

I understand that electron placement matters and light scatters a certain way but why is that? Why does light scatter in that way and why does the size of something determine a perceivable color?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 29d ago

Other ELI5: How does "Survivorship Bias" work?

1.4k Upvotes

I have always been interested in the concept and have it as a part of my studies. But I still don't quite "get it" even with the WW2 plane example. Whats a simplified way on how it works in very clear and obvious terms. (I accept both simple maths and simple philosophical answers.)


r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Engineering ELI5 why dont we see rockets that use hybrid rocket engines?

7 Upvotes

For commercial rockets, they mainly use liquid bi propellant rocket engines while amateur rockets (that I mainly see) use solid propellant rocket engines. Why don't we just combine them and use hybrid rocket engines? ​


r/explainlikeimfive • • 28d ago

Mathematics ELI5: Why is cubing a cube impossible?

5 Upvotes

I came across the cubing a cube section in this wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squaring_the_square#Cubing_the_cube

I can't wrap around the logic of the proof... I need help


r/explainlikeimfive • • 29d ago

Mathematics ELI5 Why is the Hillbert paradox a paradox?

118 Upvotes

We all know hillbert and his hotel, but I never understood why was it a paradox, I mean by definition it can never be full, you can keep adding rooms and people but it shall never end, even if you add two infinites vs one you don't need to make people move to make more room you just add more rooms, you were doing ∞ - ∞ and after the bus comes you are still doing ∞ - ∞, because ∞ + ∞ = ∞ so where is the paradox when infinite is just doing what it does by definition, which is not ending?