What is Mystery: Definition and 913 Discussions

Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective (such as Sherlock Holmes), who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are non-fiction. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism.
Mystery fiction can involve a supernatural mystery in which the solution does not have to be logical and even in which there is no crime involved. This usage was common in the pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s, whose titles such as Dime Mystery, Thrilling Mystery and Spicy Mystery offered what were then described as complicated to solve and weird stories: supernatural horror in the vein of Grand Guignol. That contrasted with parallel titles of the same names which contained conventional hardboiled crime fiction. The first use of "mystery" in that sense was by Dime Mystery, which started out as an ordinary crime fiction magazine but switched to "weird menace" during the later part of 1933.

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  1. Borek

    Medical Uncovering the Mystery of Cancer-Related Pain

    What triggers the cancer related pain? I did some reading about pain (mostly wikipedia) and nociceptors and I understand they react to several types of stimuli. Apparently mechanic and thermal stimuli are out of the question, that leaves us with some kind of chemical stimuli - but what it is...
  2. Andre

    The mystery interval, the last glacial transition

    I think I said before that the recent glacial era, the late Pleistocene is actually a string of riddles. One of them is the Mystery interval. As the ice core indications in Antarctica suggested a clear warming around 19-18,000 years ago, the ice cores in Greenland did not show anything. On the...
  3. G

    Unraveling the Mystery of e=mc2: How Much Mater is Needed?

    e=energy m=mater c=speed of light Squared. i am not one of you. I am a simple joe. so. energy =mater times the speed of light. Times the speed of light. ? or energy=mater times (ℂ time ℂ) ? (aprox 36 trillion)Next question. If we know the formula, what are the measurements? are we talking...
  4. T

    The Mystery of the Equation of a Cone

    Hi folks, So the better part of ten years ago, I was a first year Theoretical Physics undergrad. And I remember the point at which I fell in love with the predictive power, and outright beauty, of equations – we were doing some fluid dynamics, and we were set the problem of a cylinder, full of...
  5. N

    Exploring the Mystery of "Target Space"

    Hi, in one (hep-th) paper I found the term "target space" and I can not find any reasonable explanation of this. Do you know anyone this term? Thanks, Michal
  6. A

    Unraveling the Mystery of Biology: Understanding Cells

    I recently started studying biology because suddenly I started getting curious about this subject. I read about the cell theory which states that all living things have cells. Is this necessary - that all living things have cells? Can't they have some different structure? Also these type of...
  7. D

    Unraveling the Mystery of Energy Transfer: Lowering Objects Slowly

    Hi everyone! How do these two types of energy work for things that are being lowered down slowly? I've been told that whenever one drops something (let's say it's 1kg) from 5 meters, it will be traveling at 10 meters per second just before it stops at the ground. And I've also learned that...
  8. A

    Solving Professor Zoom's Highway Mystery: Speed Revealed

    Homework Statement Man travels down the highway in his car whistling middle C A policeman has a defective radar gun but passed a physics course. He hears the pitch change from D(294 Hz) immediately above middle C(262Hz) to A#(233Hz) immediately below middle C as the car passes. a) How fast...
  9. B

    ACS Organic Chemistry Exam: Unlock the Mystery!

    Hi all, I would like to take an official version of the ACS exam for Organic Chemistry, but I cannot find out how to do this. I took an old version as part of my 2nd Semester Community College OChem Final, but those scores don't count officially. I really want to take a current version soon...
  10. phoenix:\\

    How Did the Dogon Allegedly Know About Sirius B?

    Recently I've been reading into ancient knowledge of the solar system, and it led me to the Dogon and the Sirius mystery. From the sparse research I've done, these people knew of the location of Sirius B without (to my knowledge and other researchers) tools for locating such a star. They also...
  11. B

    Unraveling the Mystery of Hamiltonian Mechanics

    Hi, A fundamental aspect in the Hamiltonian framework of mechanics is that the q's and p's are independent. I feel like I understand the steps in the Legendre transform from Lagrangian to Hamiltonian mechanics, but I don't see how you can go from a system where only the q's are independent...
  12. C

    Solving the Mystery of Star A & B's Distance

    Homework Statement Star A and B are at rest relative to Earth. Star A is 27 ly from Earth, and as viewed from Earth, Star B is located beyond (behind) star A. (a) Star A is 27 ly from Earth. A spaceship makes a trip from Earth to star A at a speed such that the trip from Earth to Star A takes...
  13. M

    Exploring the Mystery of 3D Coordinates: A= (X, Y, Z, 1)

    hello EveryBody, In the 3D Coordinates I always find 4 parameters instead of 3. A = (X, Y, Z, 1) I wonder why? thank you.
  14. P

    Unravelling Heat Transfer: The Mystery of Conduction & Convection

    I am confused as to how heat transfer really works. I've read all about conduction/convection/radiation. Radiation makes sense to me, electrons enter a higher band, come back down and give off energy in the form of EM waves. These waves can then be absorbed by other atoms causing electrons to...
  15. H

    How Long Does It Take for a 1kg Black Hole to Absorb 10kg of Mass?

    Homework Statement A crazy scientist creates a black hole with a mass of 1 kilogram. The black hole gets lost, as it shifts to the center then oscillates. Assume that the Earth is all water with the same density and the same temperature of 4 degrees celsius. With the black hole moving at a...
  16. azizlwl

    The Mystery of the Universe's Fate

    Today i watched Discovery about the fate of the universe. One of the presenters said that finally all the energies used up and the universe will be in deep freeze. My question is where all the energies go? What about conservation of energies? Thank you.
  17. A

    The Mystery of Mass & Charge: LHC Experiments

    Biggest problem which LHC is worried about is knowing how mass is related to particles.does this mean that physical significance or understanding about charge is discovered.? If yes,what charge is.? If No,why scientists are not concerned to know about what fundamental charge is by conducting...
  18. V

    The Mystery of Inclined Plane Motion: Analyzing a Block's Acceleration

    A wedge with face inclined at an angle theta to the horizontal is fixed on a rotating turntable. A block of mass m rests on the inclined plane and the coefficient of static friction between the block and the wedge is μ. The block is to remain at position R from the center of the turntable, as...
  19. G

    Does the Mystery Manifold theorem exist?

    The theorem supposedly states: A space cannot be bent unless it is a manifold which is embedded in a space of at least one higher dimension. Does anyone know if this theorem actually exists? If it does, I would appreciate a reference to its name and proof.
  20. N

    Unraveling the Mystery of Entropy Production

    Hello, So one presumes that J_i = \sum_j L_{ij} X_j where J_i is the current for a certain variable x_i and X_j are the different kind of thermodynamical "forces". In the case of heat conduction, the "force" is temperature difference \nabla T and the current J_i is a current of heat (Fourier's...
  21. R

    Mystery Circuit Components, Phase Angle, Confirmation and Clarification

    Homework Statement I just did a Signal Processing lab. The manual for the lab is attached, but it was essentially there's a circuit in a box with at most 3 separate linear circuit elements (resistor, capacitor, or inductor) in it. I had to figure out the components without opening it by only...
  22. DaveC426913

    Soot Mystery: Uncovering the Puzzling Phenomenon in a Wood-Burning Stove Room

    OK fizziks guys, here's a puzzle. Took this pic at a friend's house today. They have a wood-burning stove in the room. The ceiling and wall are blackened with soot where ever there is a stud. I can't think of any explanation. Some deets: - the room is a closed-in porch, probably uninsulated or...
  23. P

    Unraveling the Mystery of Cosmic Strings

    I know that cosmic string have intense energy and are apparently leftovers from the big bang and can create a sort of gravitational time distortion field, But HOW did these form from the Big Bang? Can their existence be backed up by other models?
  24. S

    Why Does the Compass Turn Right? Solve the Mystery!

    Homework Statement Why does the compass turn right when a magnetic field other than the Earth is applied? This has been bugging me for a while, does anyone know the answer to this question? Thanks a lot :p Homework Equations None The Attempt at a Solution None
  25. N

    The Mystery of Low-Pass Filters in Lock-in Amplifiers

    Hi I am reading about lock-in amplifiers, and I read that the low-pass filter in a lock-in amplifier acts as an "integrator", since much of the noise that ends up in the DC output of the multiplier will integrate to zero. How is it that the low-pass filter can do that? I would appreicate...
  26. S

    Unraveling the Mystery of ISM Dust: Origins & Categories

    Hi can anyone help : Are there different categories of ISM dust ? Where is the dust thought to have come from? Many thanks
  27. I

    The Mystery of Voltage Increase & Current Decrease

    I mean, If an ideal step up transformer increases the voltage from 10V to 20V say, why does the current halve? I know it happens and I know the equations for it, I know to say otherwise would contradict the law that energy cannot be created. But putting the equations aside, why exactly...
  28. K

    Cracking an Egg: The 9.81N Mystery

    I am confused that many web sites say that it took 25 N to crack the egg, it's ok but When I do the drop test with 8 meter building. So, I calculate the force: 1kg(box) * 9.81m/s^2 So, the force tat impact my box is 9.81 Newton but the egg was crack. I just confuse!
  29. S

    Unraveling the Mystery of Copper Resistance Values in AWG

    Hey all, I am looking at the American Wire Gauge chart listed on Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge"]).[/PLAIN] I am attempting to determine how they are getting their copper resistance values. From my education, DC resistance is equal to...
  30. T

    Mystery of the lost degree of freedom in a gauge theory

    Something is totally not making sense. In a complex scalar field theory, I have two field degrees of freedom, which I parametrize in polar field coordinates: \phi = \rho e^{i\theta}/\sqrt{2}, where \rho and \theta are real-valued; and its Lagrangian takes the form: \mathcal{L} =...
  31. A

    Uncovering the Mystery of the Wow Signal: Can We Locate Its Source?

    Catching up on the Universe Today I came across this article discussing the history of the wow signal. Since it fit the profile of a non-naturally generated signal, the would indicate either an equipment glitch or there really was something out there sending a signal. My question is, based on...
  32. O

    Mystery of a 24VDC Motor with Electric Brake

    I've encountered a problem that I can't seem to make any logical sense of. Hopefully someone here can help! I have a 24VDC motor with an attached electric brake to prevent back-driving. The motor is controlled with a 5V analog joystick. The joystick has a button that needs to be pressed to...
  33. P

    Unraveling the Mystery of Quantum Eraser - Help Needed!

    Hi, I'm new here, and not *really* a physics student, just a guy trying to wrap his head around science by reading lots of books! Stuck on a well known theory, which in my head does not make sense, and hoping someone can clarify... Homework Statement A quantum Eraser - this works by...
  34. S

    The Mystery of Quantum Entanglement: Feynman's View on the Double Slit Pattern

    Feynman said that " [the double slit int. pattern contains] the only mystery in QM" was quantum entanglement not established (and bells theorem not postulated) then yet? or did Feynman believe that the explanation for the double slit (interference pattern) would also somehow explain...
  35. J

    What is causing the unexpected behavior in my Darlington pair circuit?

    I've built a Darlington pair from 2N2222 NPN transistors on my breadboard, and I find that just my touching of the base lead in the circuit cascades both transistors and let's current flow in the circuit. What's causing this? See the video below for details.
  36. K

    Solve the Mystery: Pure Silicon Resistivity at Zero

    I noticed that the temperature coefficient of resistivity of pure silicon is a rather high negative number, so just out of curiosity I wanted to see at what temp the resistivity would drop to zero. The formula is ρ-ρ0 = ρ0α(T-T0) where ρ is the final resistivity, ρ0 is the reference...
  37. M

    Unraveling the Mystery of 'rfac' in Fortran

    Hi guys, I know I may sound stupid to me many of you but can anybody tell me what does 'rfac' do in Fortran.
  38. M

    Motion Diagram Mystery: Green Arrows Left or Right?

    In the green box in the paint doc it says " The motion diagram shows that the particle's acceleration points to the right... Umm what are they reffering to because it looks to me like the green arrows are pointing to the left...
  39. O

    Unraveling the Mysteries of USB Power Supply: Is it Just 5V or Something More?

    Hello. This is probably a silly question. But it is something I haven't been able to find an answer too. When I connect something to my laptop through the USB, I know that there is 5V coming from the USB connection ...there are many pinout diagrams about that show this. But what is the...
  40. E

    Unravelling the Mystery of Light Speed (c)

    Hi! Special relativity states that nothing can travel faster than c. But how do we know that c is the speed of light?
  41. C

    Exploring the Mystery of Anti Matter Energy

    I was watching a programme on anti matter 'discovery' whereby a guy claimed that research is going on to create this... The way this guy described the energy was that if a 'anti matter' clone of himself was to touch him, both him and the surroundings would be obliterated.. He claimed that...
  42. M

    Angle Between Vectors A & B: Solve the Mystery!

    Homework Statement Vectors A and B have scalar product -6.00 and their vector product has magnitude 4.00. What is the angle between these two vectors?Homework Equations A \dot B = ||A|| ||B|| cos θ and A \cross B = ||A|| ||B|| sin θThe Attempt at a Solution Then I reasoned that tan(θ) = -4/6 so...
  43. F

    Solving a Bumper Dent Mystery: Proving Force and Info Needed

    A car is at rest , the driver let's off the brake and hits car in front, the cars were 5 feet apart prior. No damage is apparent, later, front car claims back chrome bumper has dent. Is there a formula to prove or disprove the required force to dent the chrome bumper? What other info would be...
  44. H

    Why do black holes appear to be eternal red instead of black?

    The more time away from the gravitational field near the faster, so those who fall into the black hole horizon material time will be very fast, from the outside in acceleration seems to matter, the decay material gradually disappear, and the material in the horizon to listen to the light should...
  45. P

    The Mystery of The Stove Top Heating Element

    This has been bugging me and I just can't seem to figure out a solid answer. My electric stove has different sized heating elements where the size comes from just a longer heating element. It looks like this: http://www.sausagemaker.com/ProductImages/41516.jpg When I measure the...
  46. T

    Solving the Mystery of an Electrical Toy Car's Power

    Homework Statement I encountered this past exam paper question in Hong Kong when I was giving tutorial to a high school student. I am confused with the answer provided by the official authority. The question is (in exact wordings): Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution The friction f...
  47. M

    Solving the Mystery: How Long to Complete the Job Alone?

    Homework Statement Machine A can do a job, working alone, in 4 hours less than machine B. Working together, they can complete the job in 5 hours. How long would it take each machine, working alone, to complete the job? Homework Equations Ans. Machine A: 8.4 hours; machine B: 12.4...
  48. T

    The Mystery of the Mass of a Vacancy

    a hole is the absence of electron..so basically its just a vacancy.. so why does it have a mass??..how can a vacancy hav a mass and dat too greater than electron itself??..can any1 pleasez help..
  49. D

    Mystery of Rotation of a Mass Hanging From a Car's Ceiling

    if a mass is hangig from ceiling of a car the car starts to accelerate forward with acceleration greater than g the mass will rotate and then starts to accelerate forward wheil its in the same position making an angle with the vertical my question what caused the rotation? i know there is...
  50. B

    Unravelling the Mystery of DEz=8333N(5/15)”

    Im having trouble understating this: The last part: DEz=8333N(5/15) where does this come from? 15m is the hight and 5m is the base of the triangle.
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