Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2023 May 15

= May 15 =

ToC to me
Is it just me, or is this Science Desk the only refdesk that doesn't have a ToC? 136.56.52.157 (talk) 06:43, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Good eye! Now that I use Vector2022, I don't see the TOC unless I intentionally look for it, and that's not something I usually do on the RefDesks. Now we just need to figure out why... DMacks (talk) 07:04, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I had missed this discussion. above used to include WP:NOMEDICAL, and  WP:NOMEDICAL apparently contains (by including Template:Disclaimer header) the "magic word"  which suppresses the table of contents on *this* page. Should be fixed for now. Tea2min (talk) 08:30, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Thx.

Parrot and kittens
This video just turned up in my Youtube recommendations. Anyone have any idea how this happened? Iloveparrots (talk) 08:38, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Hmmmmm,, if you take a look at your own username, you should get some powerful clues. Cullen328 (talk) 08:43, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * lol, it's true - I have a pretty good idea *why* that vid turned up in my recs. Was really meaning to ask if any one knew how a litter of kittens could end up being brooded by a parrot... Iloveparrots (talk) 08:59, 15 May 2023 (UTC)


 * Why do animals adopt?
 * RESEARCHERS PONDER WHY ANIMALS ADOPT OTHER SPECIES’ ORPHANS
 * Why Animals "Adopt" Others, Including Different Species
 * Wikipedia doesn't seem to have a relevant article; perhaps a project for somebody? Alansplodge (talk) 09:49, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * It's mentioned in Interspecies friendship: "This is often observed in interspecies adoptions in which a member of one species 'adopts' a member of another that is orphaned or hurt." Clarityfiend (talk) 00:00, 16 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Anecdotes of interspecies adoption are well documented, but I did not see material to build on. The explanations offered are somewhat vacuous, like "we don't know what function it has, but it may be due to instinct or empathy or both". There are even anecdotes of humans adopting kittens or puppies, but the function of such strange interspecies adoption remains a riddle. --Lambiam 06:10, 16 May 2023 (UTC)


 * I found Cross-genus adoption of a marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) by wild capuchin monkeys (Cebus libidinosus): case report or Successful Waterbird Adoption AcrossTaxonomic Families, but maybe not enough for an article. Alansplodge (talk) 11:04, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

living species most distanty related to another living species
living species most distantly related to another living species and is closing living relative — Preceding unsigned comment added by 115.188.134.165 (talk) 08:55, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Monotypic taxon might be what you want but I'm sure the differences in more ancient groups are far higher than in the plants and animals shown there. NadVolum (talk) 09:59, 15 May 2023 (UTC)


 * In terms of land vertebrates, I think that Rhynchocephalia (Tuatara) is the only monospecific order, while among sea vertebrates, class Actinistia is has two living species, both in genus Latimeria, making it a monogeneric class. In terms of gymnosperm plants, Ginkgoales is an order with only one extant species, the Ginkgo biloba. -- Jayron 32 12:08, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I usually assume that "in terms of" is a placeholder for a preposition that the speaker cannot recall at the moment; in this case I suggest "among". HTH. —Tamfang (talk) 23:45, 20 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Parakaryon myojinensis seems to be neither eukaryotic nor prokaryotic, and it is known from only a single sample of one cell. --Amble (talk) 21:13, 15 May 2023 (UTC)

Would this seltzer taste different?
There's apparently one seltzer factory left in New York. Would you expect their product to taste any different from commercial seltzer? Do their customers pay for nostalgia or a unique drink? Thank you. Imagine Reason (talk) 10:10, 15 May 2023 (UTC)


 * As stated in the big blue box above, we don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate. Shantavira|feed me 10:23, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * What I meant was, is this seltzer chemically different from commercial products? Imagine Reason (talk) 01:34, 18 May 2023 (UTC)


 * There are two objective components contributing to the taste of carbonated water. One is the composition of the water without the carbonation. Purified water should taste the same everywhere, but different amounts of minerals dissolved in spring water result in differences in how the water tastes. Then there is the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide, typically injected under pressure in a factory. Thus, products from different manufacturers may taste differently also in double blind tests. If experienced as different, which is preferred by whom is a matter of taste and a variety of aspects (affordability, prestige, goodwill, ...) not directly related to taste. --Lambiam 05:50, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

Having a magnetic field without an electric field.
A magnetic field can exist without an electric field if there is motion of charged particles but no net charge. An electric field can exist without a magnetic field if there is no motion of charged particles. Without the electric field, the magnetic field exists in permanent magnets and also with current-carrying conductors, and without magnetic field, electric field exists in charges at rest.

However, is it possible to create a magnetic field without an electric field, and without a magnet? 67.173.182.93 (talk) 22:46, 15 May 2023 (UTC).
 * The theory of electromagnetism founded in 1865 by Maxwell unifies electric and magnetic fields as facets of one phenomenon and they cannot be isolated from each another as the OP supposes. The magnetic field of a permanent magnet is the effect of internal circular movements of electrons which are sub-atomic sources of negative electric field; the magnetic field of a current-carrying conductor depends on an electric field existing to cause the current flow. It is true that an electric field can exist where charges are at rest such as in a battery or a charged capacitor. Existence of a magnetic field without a changing electric field as its cause would be the hypothetical Magnetic monopole that is regarded as impossible. Philvoids (talk) 09:31, 16 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Firstly, by "motion of charged particles but no net charge" I assume you mean as in current in a wire? What a lot of people fail to realise here is that while there is "no net charge", there is plenty of relative motion of electrons to protons in the wire which is a ton of changing electric fields, thus the Curl B.
 * Your last question is a matter of opinion, and mine is that there is a Luminiferous Aether comprised of magnetic particles, thus EM is the interaction of E matter with the B matter of the aether.
 * It is all defined by the Lorentz force - F = qvB ---> qvQm / d*2 where Qm is the field strength of the magnetron, v the perpendicular velocity between the 2 particles and d the distance between them.
 * Just my opinion, of course. :)
 * For the time being, I'd say the best we can do for a monopole is to have a very thin bar magnet with a hemispherical head and do experiments with electric charges in the region where the field lines are as radially outward from the centre of the hemisphere as possible, thus mimicking a magnetic particle.
 * I love the idea of a magnetic particle and thus the base particle for that field - makes a lot more sense to me. Byron Forbes (talk) 19:09, 21 May 2023 (UTC)

Juices industry.
Do large companies that produce fruit juices, do they buy fruit from the farms and juice them, or do they harvest their own fruit in their own farms, to juice them? Tropicana, Minute Maid, Ocean Spray, etc. Or can it also depend on the fruit? Although I am from USA, I will accept non-USA answers too. I'm wondering if a large corporation can sometimes do both. Thanks. 67.173.182.93 (talk) 22:48, 15 May 2023 (UTC).


 * I'm not aware of large companies owning fruit farms. (In South Africa). Farmers and juice companies tend to stick to their core business. Farmers have no use for a juicing factory for a major part of the year - while the fruit matures. Juice companies have no use for orchards for the same reason. They will source seasonal fruit from other farmers in other parts of the country. Some farms do have roadside stalls that sell in-season juice on a small scale. 41.23.55.195 (talk) 05:24, 16 May 2023 (UTC)
 * In the United States, Tropicana and Minute Maid are major nationwide corporate brands, the first heavily associated with Pepsi and the second now owned by Coca Cola. Ocean Spray has a different corporate structure. It is an agricultural cooperative, though a very large and corporatized version of that idealistic concept. The first two companies buy their fruit from individual corporate farming operations who sign long term contracts. Ocean Spray management, on the other hand, is drawn from the most influential group of the biggest cranberry farmers. The distinction may be minor but is worth noting. Presumably, Ocean Spray's top management is more closely aligned with the farmers who actually produce the fruit. But that may be incorrect because top management frequently makes terrible mistakes.  Cullen328 (talk) 05:44, 16 May 2023 (UTC)


 * British folk of a certain age will remember ""The man from Del Monte, he say yes!", a TV advertising campaign for fruit juice the 1980s, which you can see on YouTube. Alansplodge (talk) 10:57, 16 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Dole used to own most of the farms it used. It also owned the factory and had patents on a lot of the equipment. Their main juice product was pineapple juice, grown on their farms and juiced in their factory. After they left Hawaii, I don't know if the business model changed. ... Checking the Wikipedia article, Dole owns much of the farmland, the processing plants, and the ships for transport. So, they are very hands-on in the entire process. 12.116.29.106 (talk) 12:41, 16 May 2023 (UTC)


 * Here is an article about Tropicana. It discusses from where they get their fruit.  -- Jayron 32 12:52, 16 May 2023 (UTC)