The smell of rain, the color of a chameleon, a chicken or an egg: five weird questions science has answered

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Science has found answers to some age-old children's questions. What the rain smells like, how the chameleon changes its color and what came first - a chicken or an egg.

What does the rain smell like

By the smell of ozone, people can accurately determine that rain is coming. The electric charge of lightning splits oxygen molecules, and free atoms combine into a triatomic molecule - ozone (O 3). Downdrafts of air carry ozone from under the clouds closer to the ground.

How the aroma that appears after rain is formed was not clear for a long time. As it turned out, the reason for its appearance is the substance geosmin, which is responsible for the characteristic smell. It is produced by bacteria living in the soil. To catch this aroma, you need to wait until the first drops of rain fall from the sky. They raise geosmin into the air, which is then blown away by a gust of wind. The process was filmed by specialists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The decomposed organic matter, which mixes with minerals in the soil, also makes its contribution. In dry weather it is impossible to catch its smell, but falling raindrops "knock" it into the air. The combination of these factors leads to the appearance of a unique aroma.

How a chameleon changes color

Chameleon's “skin color” change is another curious question to which science has been looking for an answer for a long time. These lizards can change color in response to some irritant, for example, the presence of another aggressive chameleon nearby. To figure out how this mechanism works, scientists had to look at the animal under very high magnification. As it turned out, they get their color not only thanks to pigments - substances that create a certain color. The chameleon's skin is covered with nanocrystals, which reflect blue light when at rest. When a chameleon is agitated or angry, the network of crystals changes to reflect light with a different wavelength, causing the chameleon to take on yellow and red hues. Thus, biology bizarrely merged with physics, and chameleons in the process of evolution learned to use the properties of light reflection.

Why do people feel tired after sleep

Researchers have received quite a few answers to this question, including quite obvious ones, such as overwork, insomnia, and other sleep disorders. However, people who do not experience these problems sometimes still do not feel rested even after a long sleep.

The fact is that sleep is divided into different phases - fast and slow, which change at regular intervals. After falling asleep, people plunge into a slow phase, then there is a phase of REM sleep, etc. If a person wakes up during REM sleep (at this stage, the sleeping person can see eye movements under the eyelids), he feels rested. If you woke up in slow-wave sleep, you will feel tired all day.

What are the lines floating in front of my eyes

Where do the unpleasant transparent lines in front of the eyes come from? They are best seen when looking at a bright surface like a sheet of paper. The answer can be unpleasant. Spots in the form of circles or broken lines are all sorts of organic debris that floats in the so-called vitreous humor of the eye. Most often these are small clumps of collagen protein.

According to doctors, they are not dangerous by themselves, and their number can increase markedly between the ages of 50 and 75 years. However, if there are a lot of such translucent figures, and they cause concern, then it is better to go to an optometrist.

Which came first - a chicken or an egg

This is one of the most famous paradoxical questions since the days of Ancient Greece. In our time, biologists have undertaken to solve it and, it seems, have come to a certain conclusion. In order for a creature that we call a chicken to turn out in the course of evolution, certain mutations must occur in the DNA of its ancestors, and they happen at the stage of the formation of a new organism. As you know, the chick begins to develop inside the shell, which is formed before it appears. Thus, the first representative of the species, which can be attributed to the direct ancestors of modern chickens, appeared later than the egg.