Swampy_Bogtrotter

To elaborate slightly...

Friendmann's theory of an expanding universe states (in simple terms) that all galaxies are travelling away from each other...In order to achieve this, the speed of travel increases as distance increases, and no individual galaxy can be said to be at the centre of expansion...

This theory is listed in Stephen Hawkings "A Brief history of time", and is cited as being the best theory we currently have to explain the expansion of our universe...

However, in recent years, the Hubble Telescope has successfully captured images of galaxies colliding with each other...

How is that possible if all galaxies are travelling away from each other?

Does this photographic evidence disprove Friedmann's theory?

Okay, so the 6 Nations tournament has grown over the years, with the most recent expansion being 10 years ago when Italy joined changing it from the 5 Nations to 6 Nations.

It's only a matter of time before it grows again as a 7th nation joins in the fun...But which nation do you think it will be, and why?

And how do I fix it so it shows my location as the UK?

I'm playing on a Nintendo Wii.

I'm looking for any serving suggestions you may have. What's your favourite way to drink southern comfort?

I mean why do we really laugh? What is the function of a laugh? What purpose does it serve?

Why does our body go into an uncontrolable spasm of mirth when we see or hear something funny?

It's clearly a reflex action, and it feels pretty damn good, but for that reflex action to exist, it must have had an evolutionary purpose at some point in our history.

So, I return to my original question.

Why do we laugh when we find something funny?

Okay, I know that the theoretical maximum speed in the universe is that of light.

But I'm struggling to get my head around the idea that gravity reaches out across the expanses of space at only the speed of light.

Surely this limit would disrupt the very fabric of space and time?

To use an example to make my question easier to answer...

It takes light 8 minutes to reach the earth from the sun.

If the sun suddenly disappeared out of existence (not a supernova - it just vanished), we wouldn't know for 8 minutes because that's how long the trailing light takes to get to us.

However, would it also take 8 minutes for the sudden lack of gravity to affect us, or would we go spinning off on a tangent to our orbit the very instant the sun vanished?

I'm trying to make wine on a budget. I've collected tons of fruit from the local countryside hedgerows at zero cost.

I already have all the demijohns and airlocks etc.

I have a drum of baking yeast in the cupboard, and I'm wondering if that can be used to make wine, or is winemaking yeast somehow different?

I discovered the other day that the water in my pond was alive with millions of tiny creatures that I've never seen before.

The creatures were no more than about 5mm in length, very thin, and almost tadpole or sperm shaped in that they had a distinctive head with a long thin tail.

The end of the tail seemed to be split in two, forked like a snakes tongue.

They swim very quickly, darting about by wriggling their bodies, and they appear to swim backwards (tail first with the head following).

I'm not worried about them, as ponds are very diverse eco-systems where all manner of creatures co-exist side by side.

But I am curious as to what they might be.

I've hunted the internet, but with only a vague description, it's hard to formulate a proper search.

Can anyone help identifying these little critters, or at least give me an idea what I should be typing into google or wikipedia?

Thanks

I was in town today and I drove past the Google Streetview car, so I'm pretty certain I've been captured on their imagery.

I'm keen to look on Google to see my picture, even though I know my face and car reg number will be blurred out.

How long will I have to wait before the imagery appears on the website?

Excellent links Korgrue. Thanks mate :-)

I have my first batch of home brew beer under way in glass demijohns with airlocks.

The airlocks are bubbling very slowly - about one bubble every 30 seconds or so. A lot slower than wine tends to bubble.

Is this normal speed for beer fermentation?

If it's too slow, is there anything I can do to speed the fermentation up again?

I know that by boiling them up in water to make the wort, I've effectively extracted everything usefull in terms of brewing from them, but it still seems such a waste to throw them in the bin.

Thinking from a green environmental viewpoint, is there any way of recycling them or using them for a secondary purpose after I've boiled my wort?

Back in the 1990's, there was a much publicised photo in all the newspapers of the time, showing a soldier on the streets of Belfast, with a local child placing a single flower into the muzzle of his rifle.

I thought this was such a strong and iconic image, symbolising the hopes and aspirations for the future that we all felt at the time.

I've been searching all morning and can't find it anywhere on the internet, which seems odd to me.

Does anybody know where I can find this image online, or even what it was called or the photographers name so I can search more effectively?

In particular I'm looking for a super wide Minolta AF fit, and also something in the 200 or 300mm range with an apperture of F2.8 or lower - again Minolta AF fit.

Mail order or high street stores - doesn't mater either way. If the bargain is good enough, I'm willing to travel.

Americans seem to think it's pronounced "Edin-Burrow".

Why do they have so much trouble pronouncing it the correct way, which is "Edinbrah" ?