What is Explain: Definition and 1000 Discussions

An explanation is a set of statements usually constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequences of those facts. This description may establish rules or laws, and may clarify the existing rules or laws in relation to any objects, or phenomena examined.Explanation, in philosophy, is a set of statements that makes intelligible the existence or occurrence of an object, event, or state of affairs. Among the most common forms of explanation are causal explanation; deductive-nomological explanation, which involves subsuming the explanandum under a generalization from which it may be derived in a deductive argument (e.g., “All gases expand when heated; this gas was heated; therefore, this gas expanded”); and statistical explanation, which involves subsuming the explanandum under a generalization that gives it inductive support (e.g., “Most people who use tobacco contract cancer; this person used tobacco; therefore, this person contracted cancer”). Explanations of human behaviour typically appeal to the subject’s beliefs and desires, as well as other facts about him, and proceed on the assumption that the behaviour in question is rational (at least to a minimum degree). Thus an explanation of why the subject removed his coat might cite the fact that the subject felt hot, that the subject desired to feel cooler, and that the subject believed that he would feel cooler if he took off his coat.

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  1. S

    Can someone explain Psi and Upsilon resonance?

    Hi, I am an undergrad doing research with CERN and in examining data from ATLAS. I was looking for instances of Z bosons decaying into muons by taking systems with two energetic, oppositely charged muons, adding their four vectors, and getting the invariant mass of the result. There was an...
  2. A

    Finding Dual Basis of Linear Functionals for a Given Basis in C^3

    Hello, Problem, let B={a_1,a_2,a_3} be a basis for C^3 defined by a_1=(1,0,-1) a_2=(1,1,1) a_3=(2,2,0) Find the dual basis of B. My Solution. Let W_1 be the subspace generated by a_2=(1,1,1) a_3=(2,2,0), let's find W*, where W* is the set of linear anihilator of W_1. Consider the system...
  3. I

    Can someone explain why this dissolution is exothermic rather than endothermic?

    A pair of students found the temperature of 100 g of water to be 27.0°C. They then dissolved 6.32 g of KOH in the water. When the salt had dissolved, the temperature of the water was 42.5°C. If the temperature of the water is raised, doesn't that mean it retained heat, thus showing that the...
  4. R

    What areas in physics would you like the Theory of Everything to explain?

    What areas in physics would you like the "Theory of Everything" to explain? What are some of the mysteries in general physics, astrophysics, particle physics, etc would you like to see addressed when a theory of everything is finally forged? For me it would have to be what is dark...
  5. T

    Someone please explain this Sun Phenomenon

  6. J

    Quasicrystals, explain those terms please

    I have been reading this article and google-ing and still nothing, so here it goes What is: -P-type icosahedral? -Tsai-type quasicrystal? -1/1 cubic approximant? -six-dimensional lattice parameter a6D? -why has (this is example) powder X-ray diffraction spectrum just 2 high...
  7. T

    Magnetic Field measurements: Weird FFT signals I cannot explain.

    Hi all! First off: I don't know which forum to post this. I'm no grad student or PHD so academic forum seemed wrong, and it's not really just math, since it was the result of a measurment and the signals can come from environment, etc. Ok. I measured the magnetic field using a sensor...
  8. T

    Can someone explain why the exponents behave like this

    Hello, I can't seem to wrap my mind around this. I understand exponent properties, but for some reason when you throw that n in there it rocks my world. I was solving an induction problem, and a piece of the algebra that I sort of guessed at was this: (3n-3n-1) Which after factoring becomes...
  9. 3

    Please explain something about the standard model

    I can't even begin to type out the entire equation for the standard model of particle physics, it is just so immensely long and I don't have the time, energy, or patience to do so. So please excuse the fact that I don't have the equation on here to show exactly what I mean. Now, I understand...
  10. BWV

    Can someone explain the basics of these Higgs graphs?

    The 5-sigma event that denotes the "discovery" of the Higgs refers to a spike around 125 GeV against some polynomial curve fit against the data? and what is events / GeV - what are the other events at the various energy levels?
  11. johann1301

    Does Higgs-particle explain origin of inertia?

    We know that the Higgs-particle gives an explanation as to why there is mass in the universe. But mass has another property/ability. It has the ability to resist change in its state of motion. Is this ability - inertia - explained by the discovery of the Higgs-particle? Does Higgs-particle...
  12. C

    How does or does not BCS theory explain Meissner's Effect?

    I am reading through BCS's original paper from 1957 on PhysReview. It is very difficult for me to actually understand every word it says, I am unfamiliar with most terminology the paper mentioned. However I know most of the very basic mechanism of this theory. I understand how superconductivity...
  13. T

    Explain how two angles are equal

    Homework Statement Explain step by step how angle a is equal to angle a Homework Equations The sum of the angles in a triangle equal 180 degrees. at a solution[/b] http://s16.postimage.org/k0rslli05/untitled1.png Made two right triangles but I am not sure how to connect angle...
  14. I

    Can someone explain electromagnetism?

    I know its mediating boson is the photon, but i don't understand how that works. Wikipedia is no help, so i hope you guys can. How can the particle of light (even though it is oscillating electric and magnetic waves) which is neutral in charge, affect anything with an electric charge? Say...
  15. S

    How does QE explain more mismatches in Bell's test at wider angles?

    While I think that the phenomena of Quantum Entanglement exists, it's real; it's interesting to understand more about it. How does QE/QM explain more mismatches (relatively to simple probability calculations) in Bell's test at wider angles? Or alternatively: Why does/would QE result in lower...
  16. F

    Unraveling the Wave-Particle Duality: Understanding the Double Slit Experiment

    Can someone explain this... Before I completely misinterpret what this experiment is saying, could someone explain it in terms that a lay person would understand. http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/05/disentangling-the-wave-particle-duality-in-the-double-slit-experiment/ Is it in any way...
  17. M

    Explain this - the Muon experiment

    Muons are formed from cosmic bombardment and they fall towards the Earth. So here's the problem: Muon's have really short lifetimes. So short that they won't be able to reach the Earth in time before they wink out. However, we detect more muons than we should be. The solution: On...
  18. R

    Does String Theory explain unexplained phenomina?

    I like to think myself as adequately familiar with the concept of String Theory and it's basic fundamentals, But I'm wondering if string theory offers explanations to the currently unexplained such as universal expansion, quantum Entangelment, radio active decay, why virtual exist, etc? Or does...
  19. T

    Explain why x-rays source are protons which are accelerated

    In a large hadron collider at CERN, protos follow a circular path with speeds close to the speed of light. X-rays can be produced by free protons which are accelerating. Explain why this providesa source of x-rays even though the speeds of the protons are constant. Provided answer: must...
  20. T

    Explain how condersor microphone operates

    The sound waves cause the felxible front plate to vibrate and change the capacitance. Moving the plates closer togther increases the capacitance. Moving the plates apart decreases the capacitance. Explain how the sound wave produces an alternating output signal. Heres a picture of the diagram...
  21. M

    MATLAB Can someone briefly explain fixed-point? MATLAB

    Hi, I've been through the help files and demos but one question which I can't find the answer to is destroying my confidence with this toolbox. If I write: a = fi(3336770033), why does it write 3336830976? I can't figure out why it's losing my number. I don't need any moving decimals, all I...
  22. S

    How does LHV explain quantum entanglement swapping?

    how does/would LHV (local hidden variables) theory explain the phenomena of: 1. quantum entanglement swapping (where Alice and Bob never meet, and Charlie/Victor is still able to entangle their photons) 2. two-photon interference without the photons ever meeting at the same time-space/place
  23. Z

    Can someone explain to me the wave theory and quantum theory.

    Basically I have looked up both out of curiosity and it just flew right over my head. I have a general understanding of the Quantum Theory (I need some understanding on the wave theory) but I can't figure out how they correspond with each other. Is the Quantum theory just a way of explaining...
  24. Y

    What Does the Calculus Sentence Not Every Curve... Mean?

    Hello Everyone, I was reading a calculus book and I have read this sentence that I could not understand. Can someone please explain it to me. Your help is highly appreciated. I am referring to the one starts from (Not every curve ... the given circle). Thanks a lot. Yaya
  25. S

    Can alternate radiation model explain redshift?

    What radiation model is used for understanding the cosmological redgarbage? It seems that neither a planar wave nor a point source would represent what we think we are really observing when looking at distant galaxies or exploding stars. Could the observed redshift be a property of the radiation...
  26. U

    Can someone explain time slowing down

    So I watched a youtube documentary about future rockets and space travel etc and the narrator said if you were moving at 99% the speed of light, 1 day onboard the ship would be an entire year on earth. Now what I don't quite understand is the word time. Do they mean if someone on Earth set...
  27. M

    Is this a good way to explain Skolem's Paradox?

    "The paradox: Let T be a standard first-order formulation of ZFC. Assume T has a model. By Skolem's Theorem, T has a countable model M. Since T ⊢ ∃A(A is uncountable), M ⊨ ∃A(A is uncountable). But how can M—i.e. a model that “sees” only countably many things in the universe—“say” some sets...
  28. Femme_physics

    Engineering Trying to explain how a Relaxation Oscillator UJT circuit works

    http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/7084/ujte.jpg This is a Relaxation Oscillator circuit with UJT. I need to A) Explain what is UJT, explain its relation ratio of η for the UJT, and explain what Vp is. And in B) Explain how does the circuit work, and what is the output (or turnout) of the...
  29. A

    Explaining Equation: L = \Phi+ [i \partial\tau - H]\Phi + \Phi+ * \Phi * \Phi

    Hello, I did not know where to post this, so my apologies in advance and move it if necessary. But could anyone explain this equation to me? L = \Phi+ [i \partial\tau - H]\Phi + \Phi+ * \Phi * \Phi
  30. J

    Why is escape velocity given when total mechanical energy is zero?

    can someone please very briefly explain why the escape velocity of an object is given when the total mechanical energy (KE + potential energy) on an object is zero Thanks
  31. L

    How does the Runge-Lenz vector explain accidental degeneracies?

    Two spherically symmetric potentials, the Coulomb potential and the isotropic harmonic oscillator potential, lead to solutions of the Schrodinger equation that have more degeneracies than usual. Historically, people seem to have thought they had no deeper significance, so they were termed...
  32. R

    Quantum Mechanics and Thermodynamics Explain Us

    Quick theory for you folks to knock down... Laws of Thermodynamics: 1) Energy is conserved, 2) As time passes, energy tends to be located in increasingly complex masses. Implications: Matter and energy are essentially the same thing; as time progresses, the universe consists of less...
  33. M

    Will someone please explain Bayesian statistics?

    I don't know much algebra (I kind of skipped it and went to geometry), but I do sort of understand statistics. I can certainly perform a z-test or a t-test and know when they should or shouldn't be used.
  34. M

    Would someone explain me superconductivity?

    Would someone explain me superconductivity IN ATOMIC WORLD? if this doesn't belong in quantum physics I am sorry admin
  35. S

    Can someone explain this example ? (Gram-schmidt Orthago

    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33103477/4.png Can someone explain to me how the bits in red are calculated with Integration, the examples are doing my head in and it would be really useful if a human could show me how they are getting the values cause mine are different.
  36. S

    Can anyone explain this possible paradox?

    Okay, let's say 2 ships start a voyage to Alpha Centauri, about 4 light years away. Ship A travels at 0.99 x C and reaches Alpha Centauri but because of time dilation let's say 100 years pass on Earth. Ship B travels at 0.1 x C and gets to Alpha Centauri in about 40 years according to an Earth...
  37. X

    Can modern science explain the aura around people?

    Hi, I know that this question might sound absurd, so if it's against the forum's rules feel free to move it or delete it. I have been practicing Chinese martial arts and qigong meditation for a number of years and have been wondering if the aura that I can see and sense around people can be...
  38. G

    Explain Humor in "Haddocks Eyes" for Alice in Wonderland Fans

    Could someone explain the humor in "Haddocks Eyes" - (for Alice in Wonderland fans)? Hello , I was recently reminded of a section of 'Through The Looking Glass' - the one about Haddock's Eyes because of a post here at PF :- I will post the relevant material :- Well , I understood the humor...
  39. K

    Verify and Explain Binomial R.V. Identities

    If X and Y are binomial random variables with respective parameters (n,p) and (n,1-p), verify and explain the following identities: a.) P{X<=i}= P{Y>=n-i}; b.) P{X=k}= P{Y=n-k} Relevant Equations: P{X=i}=nCi *p^(i) *(1-p)^(n-i), where nCi is the combination of "i" picks given "n"...
  40. T

    Laplace Convolution proof - can someone please explain the diagram

    Homework Statement http://gyazo.com/22f5c655071e49adf3f4652e8042873b I derived the proof myself, but by arbitrary changing the t limit to infinity. I'm hoping that by understanding the diagram in the link above I will have a better idea of why I changed the limit. I currently look at it...
  41. H

    Explain about removed sections

    I can not understand how removed sectios are drawn? here i am sending autocad drawing file.(it is drawing of cut off impression related with forging). Figure 2 shows removed section. My question is that, is this sectional view is drawn only by looking figure 1 or more information is required to...
  42. E

    Who can explain the temp drop in a sauna?

    I have noticed when sitting in the sauna that when you throw a couple cup sof water on the sauna rocks that the thermometer on the wall drops in temerature before slowly starting to climb back up, at the same time the thermometer drops your skin feel slike you have doubled the temprature! I...
  43. F

    How would the different schools of thought explain the statement '1+2=3'?

    This is a question on a past exam I'm trying to asnwer. So far I have, and I'm not sure if my understanding is correct yet: Platonism: Consider if man-kind became extinct, the statement 1+2=3 will always be able to be recovered. Formalism: 3 is a consequence of the specific...
  44. A

    Quick Question: How Did Newton Explain Newton's Rings?

    Since Newton's rings are clearly a wave phenomenon, and Newton was a strong proponent of the particle theory of light, how did he explain this effect for which he is named? Thanks!
  45. Y

    Please explain how the MOSFET and the diode work.

    I have been working on some music electronics, I got this on the web and I don't understand how the clipping circuit with germanium diode work. 151334[/ATTACH]"] The part in question is the enhancement mode MOSFET IRF510 with the 1N34 diode. It is a clipping circuit common in distortion box...
  46. K

    Can someone explain what is generalized linear model? Examples?

    What exactly is generalized linear model? I understand you have to use the link function. Wikipedia says: "The link function provides the relationship between the linear predictor and the mean of the distribution function." So, what is this RELATIONSHIP? Maybe someone can provide an...
  47. A

    Could someone explain this to me please?

    Well, first of all I'm not quite sure If I'm posting my question in the right section so forgive me if it's in the wrong section. I'm studying module-theory on my own and in the chapter I'm in the book is discussing tensor product of modules (actually I decided to read this book only because of...
  48. N

    Can someone just help explain a clear defination of superlog?

    I was trying to understand superlog and superroot but I get only 3/4 of them. Can anyone just explain, in a non-textbook way, such that: I can understand without any post-calc knowledge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superlog ------------------------------------------------- or just explain...
  49. C

    Can someone please explain this solution? (magnetic fields))

    Homework Statement A particle with a charge q and kinetic energy K travels in a uniform magnetic field of magnitude B. If the particle moves in a path of radius R, find expressions for (a) its speed and (b) its mass. Homework Equations K=1/2mv^2 and R=mv/qB The Attempt at a Solution I...
  50. D

    Explain 'bubbles' in cosmological phase transitions

    Can someone, please, explain to me (in layman's terms, [ie no mathematics]) the theory behind early cosmological phase transitions and these supposed 'bubbles' ?
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