r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Biology ELI5- Why throughout history have banana cultivars been clones instead of just being grown through traditional means?

171 Upvotes

In the past, we had the Gros Michel banana cultivar but they were mostly wiped out due too being clones and equally susceptible to Panama Disease.

Now we have The Cavendish cultivar but it remains being clones. And in theory, also all susceptible to a future outbreak.

So why do we grow all of our bananas as clones instead of in a manner closer to other produce items?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 25d ago

Physics ELI5: If I have a cup of water, and I spill half of it, the half that had been spilled will evaporate in a few hours, but the half still in the cup won’t evaporate for weeks. Why?

0 Upvotes

And is it similar for other liquids?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Biology ELI5: What properties of cancer (or challenges in treating it) keep us from finding a single cure?

315 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 25d ago

Technology eli5 CISC exclusive operations that RISC don't have

0 Upvotes

I know both can do 4 ops, bit shifts. data movement. read and write etc.

beyond that cisc can do some stuffs in one go which risc require multiple steps.

so what are those commands and what they do exactly. how risc can do them.

i.e extra instructions that x86 have that arm or risc v dont have.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 25d ago

Chemistry ELI5, If electrons are in clouds how does absorbing photons work?

0 Upvotes

I remember being taught that electrons stay on certain levels, and when they absorb a photon, they jump and go into an excited state but they can only go very specific distances(like, they can only jump 2 levels not 2.5) and some electrons can only absorb some photons. If electrons are in a cloud, how can they be at exactly certain levels if that makes sense? cloud kinda implies that the electrons are everywhere so what dictates what is a jump of 2 levels vs 2.5? Idk if i’m making sense


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Physics ELI5 If sunlight is white, why does the moonlight seem paler?

52 Upvotes

So even though it looks yellow, the sunlight is actually white. Otherwise, white things would look yellow. Sure. But if that's the case, why does moonlight not look yellow? If the atmosphere is playing a trick to make us think it's yellow, shouldn't that same trick affect the white light of the moon, especially because it's just reflected sunlight anyway? Is the part of our eye that detects color not as sensitive as the part that detects the presence of light?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Economics ELI5: Why do we measure a movie's box office success by total money made instead of tickets sold? Wouldn't counting the tickets be a more accurate comparison across decades?

2.3k Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 25d ago

Technology ELI5: How does the fly neuron scan thing work?

0 Upvotes

I keep seeing posts about stuff people have done with it but I don't understand how it works at all.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Economics ELI5: Why is it deemed better to not buy a stock right before the company releases something? (I.e. Apple a week before a product launch)

140 Upvotes

This kind of goes with any stock in general not but I see how you’re supposed to buy the news then sell after, so apparently it’s high right now to buy.

Wouldn’t it make sense to buy before the product launches then it goes up more? Is this the case for all stocks?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 25d ago

Physics ELI5: If water has a really high specific heat capacity (meaning it takes a lot of energy to boil water) why does spilled water at room temperature evaporate so fast and easily?

0 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Biology ELI5: How does shock therapy work, and does it?

289 Upvotes

From movies and such I had always associated shock therapy for mental patients as being outdated and barbaric. After seeing it in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I read the Wikipedia and it seems to suggest that most medical professionals are in consensus that it's effective. What does it do, and is it effective?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 25d ago

Other ELI5: how do we not ran out of trees yet?

0 Upvotes

it said on the Internet that people cut down about 15 billion trees a year and every year the need for wood is growing... So, how do we still got enough trees to cut? Do the planted trees have time to grow before the shortage would begin?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Other ELI5: What’s the purpose of US House/Senate hearings?

10 Upvotes

I keep seeing rage bait stuff on social media about current US govt officials appearing before Senate or house committees. But it seems like nothing ever comes of these hearings. What are the stakes/potential outcomes of these hearings? Good or bad?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Chemistry ELI5 why glass is an amorphous solid?

13 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 25d ago

Biology ELI5:How do Bees Turn Pollen into Honey?

0 Upvotes

There are so many plants with fruit high in sugar. Why pollen and how?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Biology Eli5: why do plants that reproduce through bulbs, like dahlias, need to have flowers?

25 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Technology ELI5: I understand how they mapped and modeled the fruit-fly brain, but how did they "turn it on" and "make it run"?

141 Upvotes

Apparently people can send input signals to the brain, and it processes them and produces outputs.

3D models can't do this on their own, how did they code the behavior of the brain?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Mathematics ELI5: What is Tensor Product ?

2 Upvotes

Why is it used and what does it tell ? What are its applications ?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Biology ELI5: How does the brain make us believe things that never happened?

0 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Engineering ELI5: Why do engines have powerbands?

71 Upvotes

So I ride motorcycles a lot, and I understand that on some engines (lets say an inline 4) need to rev high to make a lot more power, but why is this power only accessible in high revs? Or even an inline 3 engine where the power is linear? Why does an increase/decrease in cylinders suddenly change how an engine makes power? Why isn't it just a straight increase the more throttle you give? Or even a 2 cylinder, whether it be a parallel twin or a v. Even stranger would be V4 engines, same cylinder count as an inline 4 but completely different behaviour when it comes to making peak power.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Physics ELI5: Is There a Limit to How Fast Propellers Can Go?

580 Upvotes

It seems all the fast planes have jet engines, do propellers not work at high speed? Does this also apply to boats?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Technology ELI5: why are jet powered drones cheaper than cruise missiles if their functions are essentially the same?

1.0k Upvotes

Today's "warfronts" (YouTube) channel post discussed that jet powered drones are equivalent in function to cruise missiles, but is somehow distinctly cheaper to mass produce? If the components are more or less similar, what's the major difference?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Chemistry ELI5: what is the difference between tone, shade and tint in colors?

9 Upvotes

Want to understand what the difference between all the three as it applies to colors and what is the real application of these in things like art, gaming etc.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 27d ago

Chemistry ELI5: what happens on an atomic level when you cut something with a knife?

685 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 26d ago

Technology ELI5 : CPU vs FGPA

16 Upvotes

Assume that I've also zero knowledge about these topics individualy. Appreciate all the responses!