someone at my girlfriend's place of work has just claimed
that if you put an ice cube in a microwave and turn it on it won't melt, as microwaves heat the food not the water in the food

....
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 12:42, 14 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Its the
water molecules that dance to the Microwave beat, and their jiggles are what creates the heat.

Beat her with a goat ladened kipper.
(Ethelred is watching cheese grow, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 12:43, Reply)

LOL
thanks for that. my girlfriend was too stunned by it to give him an argument for why it would melt it
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 12:48, Reply)

The simple inclusion
of the 'defrost' setting on a microwave should be a clue!
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 12:52, Reply)

Someone should try telling her...
that the world is flat, or that dogs can't look up.

If she goes for either of them, it's gene pool cleansing time!
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 13:14, Reply)

to clarify
my girlfriend isn't quite that dumb/gullible, it's the bloke she works with who was absent when the brains were handed out
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 13:16, Reply)

Just for clarity from me...
I meant the person your girlie works with, and just assumed the sex.

That probably makes me a bad person...
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 13:20, Reply)

I tried this with a baby that was trapped in an ice cube..
..and I can confirm the ice didn't melt, but the baby exploded.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 13:22, Reply)

that occurred to me after my clarification
Does assuming that someone putting forward ridiculous nonsense is a woman make you a bad person?

that is not for me to decide.

although I must say, I have found women to be more receptive to ridiculous nonsense declared as truth. for instance: I once convinced a friend of mine that Al Capone's real first name was Colin, and also that the Moonwalk is called such because when walking on the moon it looks like you are going backwards.

surely no one would believe that rubbish
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 13:24, Reply)

Hmm
A mate and I once convinced both of our girlfriends (both well-educated and intelligent women) that the only reason the hoverboards from Back to the Future Part II aren't commercially available was because the technology is so very expensive.

It was only two weeks later, when I heard my girlfriend imparting this fact very loudly to other people, that I had to come clean regarding my lies.
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 13:29, Reply)

oooh, al
you're so cynical!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 14:01, Reply)

Gotta love it.
Right up there with my ex wife, who insisted that hot water freezes faster than cold water.

I think the gene pool needs some chlorine, stat.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 29 Jul 2008, 14:17, Reply)

Hot water does freeze faster than cold water
in certain circumstances.

If you have two containers made of conducting material - metal is good - and fill one with hot water and one with cold, then place them in the freezer, the one containing the hot water will freeze first.

This is because of two reasons. Firstly, the hot water melts the ice in the freezer below the beaker, and thus gives better thermal contact so heat is lost more quickly. Secondly, there are convection currents present in the hot water which mix it efficiently as it's cooling, therefore presenting a fresh surface to the cold air and cold sides in the beaker.

The net result is that the hot water cools not only more quickly, but more uniformly than the cold water, and although the cold water will start to freeze more quickly, the (previously) hot water will freeze completely first.

New Scientist ran experiments on this subject a while back. Obviously there are conditions - if you do it with water at 99°C and 0.1°C the cold water is likely to freeze first, but tap water (65°C and 20°C) shows the effect described. And it helps if the shelf in the freezer is solid, so as to carry away the heat more quickly. But it is a real effect.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 14:37, Reply)

al
no longer sunburnt. just pale and interesting again!

although as i am off on holiday again next week, that will soon be changing. yee har!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 15:12, Reply)

The Doppler effect
does change the colour of a bus, but if it's going away from you it'll change to a darker red, not yellow. However, the difference in colour is so miniscule at everyday speeds, that it's essentially undetectable. It's about a millionth of a percent difference in light wavelength.

It however, buses were to travel at close to the speed of light, the red shift would be more significant, and you would see a colour change (for the very short period in which the bus was close enough to see!)

I'd also be more likely to use buses in that case, as I'd actually get to where I was going in a reasonable time.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 29 Jul 2008, 15:13, Reply)