Your brain is constantly eating itself. This process is called phagocytosis, where cells envelop and consume smaller cells or molecules to remove them from the system. Don’t worry! Phagocytosis isn’t harmful but helps preserve your grey matter.
100 Mind-Blowing Molecules Facts
Sunsets only exist because Earth’s atmosphere acts as a prism for light. In scientific terms, it’s called “scattering”. a) Molecules and particles in the atmosphere (which are more numerous at sunset) scatter short-wavelength violet and blue light away from your eyes, so we can see the other colours on the spectrum, like yellow and orange.
Wimbledon tennis balls are kept at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature of a tennis ball affects how it bounces. At warmer temperatures, the gas molecules inside the ball expand, making the ball bounce higher. Lower temperatures cause the molecules to shrink and the ball to bounce lower. To make sure the best tennis balls are used, Wimbledon goes through more than 50,000 tennis balls each year.
Humans can’t taste food without saliva. Another fun fact about the body: You wouldn’t taste your food without spit. Your saliva dissolves food, which allows the receptors in your taste buds to detect food molecules.
Soap is used for cleaning because its molecules trap dirt in the centre of its compound when in water. Soap cleans by acting as a surfactant and emulsifier. It can surround oil, making it easier to rinse it away with water.
Sponges hold more cold water rather than hot. This is mainly due to the effect of heat on water on a molecular level. Cold and hot water will have two different densities, and as such their molecules will react differently when in contact with an object. The water molecules or colder water tend to move slower and do not go in opposite directions from each other.
Water expands when frozen. When freezing water, the molecules lose their energy and hold still. This causes more stable hydrogen bonds that form between the water molecules. These additional molecules are what cause the water to expand when frozen.
There is no sound in space. Sound normally travels by vibrations in the air. However, there are no molecules of air to vibrate in space.
Wimbledon tennis balls must be stored at perfect room temperature. Wimbledon tennis balls must be kept at 68 degrees Fahrenheit because the temperature affects how it bounces. If it’s warmer gas molecules inside the ball expand, which makes it bounce higher. If it’s cooler, the molecules will shrink, making the ball bounce lower.
Your brain is constantly eating itself. Called phagocytosis, this process allows cells to envelop and consume smaller cells or molecules to remove them from the system. It might sound a little scary, but it’s a good thing since it helps our brains preserve grey matter!
The human brain is eating itself. Phagocytosis is where cells consume smaller cells or molecules to ultimately remove them from the system. This is not a harmful process but a necessary one to preserve grey matter in the brain.