Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [water]

A chemical substance with the chemical formula H₂O, and an important biological solvent.

140 questions
13
votes
2 answers

Does bathing using a shower use more water than using a bucket or bath-tub?

I have heard many times during "Save water" campaigns that bathing using a shower uses more water than using a bucket or bath-tub? Is this true?
Lincity
  • 3,002
  • 4
  • 25
  • 27
12
votes
2 answers

Are there no two snow crystals alike?

I remember vividly that when i still was young, I'd examine the snow as it dropped on my winter cloths. Every time I was amazed by the nice textures I discovered. Now many years later, I'm wondering if there's a possibility that crystals can be…
Terry
  • 660
  • 4
  • 11
12
votes
2 answers

Does increasing water intake during a diet help with weight loss?

Just about any weight loss coach/program I've ever seen say that drinking a lot of water (exact amount vary) combined with a low-calorie diet helps with losing weight (compered to the diet alone) Does drinking more water have any effect on weight…
Nir
  • 229
  • 1
  • 5
11
votes
1 answer

Does cold water boil faster than hot water?

I was having a chat about science with a manager in my office. We were talking about water and he said "you shouldn't boil water from the hot tap because cold water boils faster". I know about the Mpemba effect which sometimes makes hot water…
Coomie
  • 8,509
  • 12
  • 46
  • 79
11
votes
1 answer

Does drinking coffee or tea dehydrate you?

It is widely claimed that despite being made mostly of water, drinking coffee or tea will actually dehydrate you, because the caffeine is a a diuretic. Here is an example from the SFGate news site The diuretic effect of caffeine increases your…
Yosi Dahari
  • 648
  • 8
  • 15
11
votes
1 answer

Is consuming drinking water stored in PET bottles harmful

It's a common practice in India to store drinking water in Polyethylene Terephthalate(commonly know as PET) bottles. It is also claimed in many health forums & newspapers articles that PET bottles shouldn't be used to store water for a prolonged…
KharoBangdo
  • 322
  • 1
  • 9
11
votes
0 answers

Does taking a shower when dehydrated increase body weight?

For sports (such as wrestling, MMA, judo, etc) where the competition is divided into weight divisions, it's common to drop cut 10+ lbs of water weight hours before weigh ins and then rehydrate right after. It's a popular, and seemingly unproven,…
Alan Turing
  • 253
  • 1
  • 7
10
votes
1 answer

Can an on-the-fly water electrolyzer linked to the air intake improve fuel efficiency of a gasoline engine?

This article initially seems to investigate so-called water powered cars. The final few paragraphs of the article however branches off into discussion about a system where (as I understand it): A car's electrical system (powered by its alternator)…
Highly Irregular
  • 1,266
  • 3
  • 14
  • 28
10
votes
1 answer

Would covering 10% of hydro-power reservoirs with solar panels generate as much power as fossil-fuel plants worldwide?

This article in the journal Nature, claims that: Covering 10% of the world’s hydropower reservoirs with ‘floatovoltaics’ would install as much electrical capacity as is currently available for fossil-fuel power plants. ... nearly 4,000 GW Now,…
einpoklum
  • 2,101
  • 10
  • 28
10
votes
2 answers

Does a vortex vessel affect water in these specific ways?

I just saw a Kickstarter campaign for a "vortex vessel" that supposedly improves tap water for drinking. Some of the claims: "[Tap water is] stuck in closed pipes where no beneficiary chemical reactions can occur" "Toxins from the pipes dissolve…
user46979
10
votes
0 answers

Do cats avoid water when it is placed near food?

This tumblr post makes the interesting claim that if a cat's water is placed near its food, the cat will consider the water to be unsafe to drink, and that cats will be more inclined to drink it if it is placed in another room. The most people put…
Phoenix
  • 2,077
  • 5
  • 16
  • 20
10
votes
1 answer

Can a loudspeaker make water stream form a zig-zag flow?

If you watch this Amazing Water & Sound Experiment #2 YouTube video, you can see an amazing effect with water, a sinusoidal signal and a woofer. Is this a true effect due to vibration of the pipe generated by the sine wave? Is it just a hoax?
ivax
  • 111
  • 1
  • 1
  • 5
9
votes
2 answers

In the U.S., is more water used for electric generation, and more electricity used for water infrastucture, than anything else?

Today I received an e-mail message regarding an upcoming Energy Water Nexus Technical Conference that made this unsupported claim: Nationally, the largest category for water consumption is electric power generation. Similarly, the largest demand…
LShaver
  • 9,931
  • 6
  • 41
  • 73
9
votes
1 answer

Does drinking water after eating watermelon cause cholera?

This question is about a myth popular in India and Pakistan (as printed). The myth is that drinking water or milk after eating watermelon causes cholera. Have any experiments falsified/supported this myth?
user31782
  • 257
  • 1
  • 3
  • 8
8
votes
2 answers

Does Pureit Polisher remove the chlorine from chlorinated water?

This purifier claims to produce 100% pure water. They use chlorine. Chlorine, when taken in for a long period, is bad for health. The 4 stage purification process. Polisher Removes chlorine and other contaminants to make water clear, odourless…
Aquarius_Girl
  • 1,085
  • 5
  • 15
  • 27
1 2 3
…
9 10