Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2020 September 29

= September 29 =

Earth's quadrupoles
IIUC, the geomagnetic poles are the dipole component of Earth's magnetic field. Where are the four poles of the quadrupole moment located? Do they rotate at the same speed as the surface? 212.15.178.108 (talk) 17:48, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
 * The Earth's magnetic field "is represented by a field of a magnetic dipole..." (not quadrapole) -- Does the International Islamic University, Chittagong claim otherwise? 2606:A000:1126:28D:301C:87C1:7826:4B63 (talk) 18:26, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Earth's magnetic field claims otherwise. And Quadrupole concurs (and even mentions it's of practical importance). DMacks (talk) 18:42, 29 September 2020 (UTC)

Can adult frog live in water for long if he has enough food?
Can an adult frog (which is Amphibians) live in water as an adult for a long time if he has enough food? Let's imagine (a theoretical scenario...) of which someone took it and put it into water (like an aquarium) and put food inside, should this frog live or he must to breath from time to time? --ThePupil (talk) 18:22, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Aquatic frogs (for which there is no WP article or redirect?) do need to come up to the surface of the water to breathe regularly.
 * The Bornean flat-headed frog is an exception, and (AFAICT) as of yet the only known exception. It receives the oxygen it needs by diffusion through its skin. Why didn't they name it the "Bornean level-headed frog"? --Lambiam 19:07, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Frogs regularly hibernate in temperate zones by laying dormant at the bottom of a pond. Obviously they don't need food and I suspect the very cold has sufficient oxygen dissolved in it to sustain the frog "breathing" through its skin. Keeping frogs in an aquarium with no access to air will not have a good outcome. Richard Avery (talk) 21:47, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
 * The Bornean flat-headed frog is the only known lungless frog, but AFAIK all frogs can "breathe" underwater: the skin of a frog is permeable to oxygen and carbon dioxide, as well as to water. There are blood vessels near the surface of the skin and when a frog is underwater, oxygen diffuses directly into the blood. The only issue then is whether they can get all the oxygen they need this way (and so could stay submerged permanently), or if they will need to come up to breath periodically.  This site claims the common frog can stay underwater for several months.  This Quora post goes into a lot more detail about all the things that can affect how long an amphibian can stay under (concluding that depending on circumstances, they can do so for a few minutes, or their whole life). Iapetus (talk) 09:31, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
 * I think that this mainly depends on the concentration of oxygen in water, which may vary considerably. If the water is relatively cool and well oxygenated then why not? Ruslik_ Zero 12:39, 1 October 2020 (UTC)