June 24: Our fabulous listener question show
Find out about rocket pollution, the speed of bird flight, brightly-coloured mammals, and more
To wrap up another season of Quirks & Quarks, we've got another edition of our Listener Questions show, where experts provide answers to your burning science questions.
Jim Devries from Lockport, Man. asks: If light was shone into a sphere that is fully mirrored in the inside, could the light be captured and released at a later time?
K. Rajibul Islam from the department of physics and astronomy and the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, Ont. has the answer.
Alec Zimmerman from Victoria, B.C. asks: Why aren't there any mammals that are as brightly coloured as birds?
We've got the answer from Stevan Springer, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Rick Stankiewicz from Keene, Ont. asks: I've always wondered, having scuba dived and snorkelled and realizing how much pressure one atmosphere has on my body, how does any creature or organic matter survive at depths of many kilometres in the ocean? Why are they not crushed?
Annie Mercier, a professor at the department of ocean sciences at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, has the answer.
Ian Gorman from Ottawa, Ont. asks: How does an insect transform from larva to adult and what happens to their larval body in the process?
To answer that question we've gone to Tonya Mousseau, an entomologist and lecturer at Mount Royal University's department of biology in Calgary, Alta.
Helen Molloy from Regina, Sask. asks: Many people are very excited about the next phase of space exploration that humans are moving towards. How much CO2 does a rocket put into the earth's atmosphere? And what developments are there in more sustainable fuel sources?
Here to answer that question is Aaron Boley, associate professor in physics and astronomy at the University of British Columbia. He is also the co-director of the Outer Space Institute.
Bob Crowell from Calgary, Alta. asks: Humans have evolved to realize that mating with a close relative can result in serious outcomes for their offspring. Have any mammals evolved to be predisposed to seeking out a mate that is not a close relative?
Ryan Gregory, an evolutionary biologist from the department of integrative biology at the University of Guelph, Ont. answers this question.
Michelle McNichol from Kingston, Ont. asks: We have all heard the doomsday stories of an asteroid hitting our planet with catastrophic results. But what would happen if the object was more like a comet that just glanced off the edge of our stratosphere? Would Earth's gravity change the comet's trajectory? Would the comet change Earth's orbit? What would be the consequences to Earth with such a close call?
For the answer, we go to Lucas Seaton, a Ph.D. candidate in the department of physics and astronomy at York University in Toronto.
Andrew Gregson from Westbank, B.C. asks: When I studied physics in high school, the teacher made a point that giants are impossible. His argument rested on "doubling dimensions does not translate into doubling the strength." Could huge dinosaurs lumber across the landscape? Or were they wading in shallow water, where their enormous weight could be supported? Or was the solution in the bone construction and materials?
Donald Henderson, curator of dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alta., has the answer to this question.
Lance Laviolette from Glen Robertson, Ont. asks: Most environmental practices are based on species management. However, given that most organisms are genetically unique and hybridization is common, who decides what is a species and how do they decide it?
Sarah Adamowicz, an associate professor in the department of integrative biology at the University of Guelph, Ont., answers.
Adrian de Groot from Smithers, B.C. asks: I have been wondering if birds can alter their flying speed during level flight. They can obviously go faster in a dive, and presumably slower when gaining elevation. But, for example, ducks always seem to be in a hurry, can they fly lazily? Is there a limitation on how their wing flapping speed can vary?
For this answer, we go to Christopher Guglielmo, a professor of biology at the University of Western Ontario.