Mystery Definition and 913 Threads

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. M

    Cut lemon moved by itself

    Hi , In one of my friends place , she cut the lemon in half and left it . She saw the lemon rotated to other direction by itself . She saw it twice on different days ,why does this movement occur ?
  2. J

    Confusing tweet found on twitter about June 28th and 29th

    Any clue what this would be?
  3. Aerodyn

    I Escape from Two Black Holes? Solve the Mystery!

    Hello everyone, Imagine the following situation: You are inside the events horizon of a static black hole (called BH1) Now, due to the bended space-time, your future points to be inside the event horizon until eternity (You will never be outside) Now, a second static black hole (BH2)...
  4. H

    I The Mystery of Magnet Rotations: An Unanswered Question

    This happened a long time ago, and I haven't found the answer. I posted a post on the Internet, and no one gave an explanation, so I really hope to find the answer. A magnet, no matter which pole is facing up, will rotate counterclockwise, as shown in the figure below. The magnet will not spin...
  5. Mustafa Bayram

    B The Mystery of Excited Electrons: Are They Moving Away from the Nucleus?

    when an electron is excited to the conduction band is it move further from the nucleus? Are free electrons in the conduction band further from valence electrons? I saw this picture that seems problematic to me. what do you think?
  6. AndreasC

    I Uncovering the Mystery of Kallen-Lehmann Spectral Representation

    The Kallen-Lehmann representation is a (non perturbative) result in QFT that is proved with what seems to me like very minimal assumptions: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Källén–Lehmann_spectral_representation According to this wiki page, in gauge theories something goes wrong and you can no...
  7. C

    Solving the Mystery of a Floating Bottle: Density & Volume

    If we throw empty but sealed glass bottle in water it will float with 60% of it's volume above the surface of water. What is average density of floating bottle and what is it's volume? Mass of bottle is 0.4 kg(mass of air inside of bottle is irelevant). It's easy problem but I can't get right...
  8. phyzguy

    Solve the Mystery: Fan Controller Info Needed

    Does anybody have any info on this fan controller? I don't even know what to Google, because I don't know what that second character is. Any help?
  9. K

    The Probability of Rain: A Meteorologist's Perspective.

    I searched, "is infinity possible?" Because I was coming up with some thoughts which seemed logical (I hope) so I was compelled to find others discussing the topic to see if I even came close to several different answers.
  10. DarkEnergy890

    The Mystery of Heat Loss: Examining Ice Melting Without Heat Loss

    During the procedure, 30% of heat is lost. So that means that 70% of water+container is contributing to melting the ice, right? And the other 30% contributing melting the ice is down to, well, the "heat being lost to the surroundings" (not sure what this really means). We compute the sum and...
  11. S

    The FBD Mystery: Why Isn't Normal Force Along Radial Line?

    so this is what the FBD is.... but to be fair, to me this one looks as if the normal force in the direction of the radial line, yet it isn't???? here in the solution, it's not along the radial line, whys that???
  12. PhysicsRock

    Solving an Inertial Mystery: Angular Acceleration and Mud

    So, my idea would be that this happens at an angle ##\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}##, or quarter of a whole rotation. At this point, the wheel starts moving right again, after going to the left. Due to it's inertia, the piece of mud would want to keep it's current direction of motion and therefore fall...
  13. gary808

    Mystery of a Tensioned Rope Split in Two Places

    I'm attempting to repair my Ergotron Workfit station. After taking apart, I discovered the problem. A single nylon rope split, releasing the spring's tension. Because it is past the warranty, the manufacturer is recommending I toss the whole assembly and buy a new $650 one. Doesn't seem the...
  14. barryj

    I Uncovering the Mystery of Calorie Constants

    When calculating calories of a food.. It is sort of well known that carbs have 4 cal/gram, protein has 4 cal/gram and fat has 9 cal/gram. I wanted to do an experiment to determine these constants 4,4,and 9 I looked at soup, peanut butter, and a protein mix to get the values from the labels per...
  15. SGKent

    Mystery Stain Solved with Fertilizer Chemistry!

    I mixed some fertilizer based on a soil test. The chemistry contained Ammonium Sulfate prills (NH4)2SO4, Potassium Sulfate prills K2SO4, Superphosphate CaH4P2O8, trace of Manganese Sulfate MNS04, and trace of Boric Acid H3BO3. I mixed it and wiped my hands on the front of a white tee shirt...
  16. CPW

    B QM concept of photon.... still a bit of a mystery today?

    Hi PF. I desire deeper understanding of fundamental physics, and quantum mechanics can be a challenge for me (compared to other topics in physics). I read in the intro of the physics textbook chapter that QM explains many phenomena, e.g. why copper conducts electricity and glass does not. In...
  17. H

    Why is Airplane Fare A-B-C-D Often Cheaper than B-C?

    Suppose there is a series of flights from A to B to C to D. Often the fare to do this is less than the fare from B to C. Can anyone explain why this pricing is common?
  18. shivajikobardan

    Comp Sci How Comprehensive Should an Undergraduate Explanation of MPLS Be?

    Say there is a subject of 80 marks and I have 8-10 marks question about "How MPLS works". I will list the information that I am planning to write(but I want your feedback on what I should write?) What my local author textbook (that our teachers use to teach) writes-: 1) gives 1 line info...
  19. S

    I Magnetar Mystery: How Do Neutrons Generate a Magnetic Field?

    If a magnetar is a neutron star, how do the neutrons composing the star generate a magnetic field? A neutron has zero charge, so it generates no magnetic field.
  20. B

    The Mystery of Equation (3.1.3) and the Origin of the Universe

    I tried setting the Universal time T = Tp as when T = 0 there was no universe and thought Tp would be the first instance of the universe, but I still can't figure out how equation (3.1.3) implies that M0 = Mp/2
  21. B

    InfraRed Detector Mystery (but not Elementary....)

    Hello! I found this circuit element below in a drawer marked "IR detectors" (which I must have written on it myself, a long time ago...although I must admit don't remember doing so #OldAge). First of all, I'm trying to figure out what, exactly, it is. My initial assumption was that it looks...
  22. BenDover

    Aluminum mystery -- Questions about elecrolysis in water

    Hello, human people's. I noticed a strange phenomenon while playing electrochemistry. - i used 2 strips of aluminum foil as electrodes in sodium sulfate solution, 1 for positive terminal and other for negative. Applied 5 volts, essentially zero current flew. - i used 1 strip aluminum for...
  23. A

    B The Mystery of Blackbird: Exploring Wind Power Leverage

    I see there has been threads about Blackbird and "Down Wind Faster Than The Wind" operating principle in general, and I see a good number of people (most?) in those threads seemed to pick up some understanding of how it actually works. So that's a good start and gives me hope. I had never heard...
  24. E

    B The Physics Behind Moving Opposite the Car: Exploring the Mystery

    I a car,why do you move back when the car accelerates forward. You move forward when the car accelerates backwards,You move right when the car turns left on a bent road, you move left when the car turns right on a bent road. What actually makes you move in the opposite direction of the car.
  25. This Is Me

    Unanswered: Unraveling the Mystery of Extended Thinking

    This is an extended thinking portion in my textbook, and I would really like to know why this is. I'm not too sure what the answer to this is, and unfortunately, there is no answer to extended thinking in my textbook. I've been trying to figure this out for some time now and I'm completely stumped.
  26. mcastillo356

    Calculators Unraveling the Mystery of "x^{\blacksquare}" on a Casio fx-82MS

    Hi, PF The scientific calculator I have is a Casio fx-82MS. At the keyboard, the ##\fbox {^}## button is the one provided to calculate powers. My doubt is not my calculator: is a sentence at a native thread: "##x^{\blacksquare}## es la función" (the function is ##x^{\blacksquare}##). The...
  27. H

    Unraveling the Enigma: Understanding the Equation

    The equation is the only equation discussed in the textbook. Is there a hint of how I could start this?
  28. PuzzledMonkey

    Mystery of Fizzing Gas Duster - Videos Included

    While using an ordinary gas duster (difluoroethane) to clean some electronics, I noticed something weird (see linked videos): After spraying the gas duster and placing it on a hard surface e.g. countertop, the can emits a fizzing noise. Picking up the can causes the fizzing to stop. The process...
  29. Buzz Bloom

    Mystery of Mars' Dunes: A Puzzling Sight?

    https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210106.html It sure looks like some strange life form to me.
  30. B

    Solving the Mystery of the Ball & Beakers: Determining the Layers of Fluids

    a) I think in the beaker with A and B, A must be the top fluid and B must be the bottom. The ball sinks through the top layer but not through the bottom. In the second beaker (B and C), it does not sink through either layer. Therefore, both B and C are more dense than the ball. So B must be...
  31. S

    Engineering How to solve a circuit mystery box?

    How can I solve a ciruit mystery box only knowing there are 5 identical resistors inside. I have two boxes to solve, one they're all in serie and the other is a combination serie and parallele. Each mystery box has 6 nodes and i can connect 2 nodes at a time to an ohmmeter. If i take the one...
  32. S

    How to solve a circuit mystery box

    How can I solve a ciruit mystery box only knowing there are 5 identical resistors inside. I have two to solve, one they're all in serie and the other is a combination serie and parallele. My mystery box has 6 «plugs» and i can connect 2 plugs at a time to an ohmmeter. I've been trying for days...
  33. kyphysics

    Help Solve/Identify Mystery Wet Spot on Clothes

    I'm baffled. 10 days ago or so, I was preparing to wash my clothes. I grab a pair of pants and see a wet spot on it that was slightly smaller than the diameter of a Coke or Pepsi can. I believe it was a circle shape. Having not worn that pair of pants for days and not having had it come...
  34. J

    What is this mysterious piece of equipment found in my store room?

    I just found this in my store room. Anybody have any ideas what it is?
  35. D

    Why Does Kinetic Energy Increase More with Higher Initial Velocities?

    I have a problem regarding Kinetic Energy which as we know is 1/2 m v squared. Say I have a 1kg mass moving at 10 meters/second. I have a 1 Newton rocket which I attach to the back and it burns for 1 second accelerating the mass by 1 m/sec/sec to 11 m/sec. The KE originally was 50 joules and it...
  36. L

    Liquid Diamonds: A Mystery of Gas Giants

    Liquid diamonds apparently may form in gas giants where huge atmospheric pressure compresses carbon into diamonds that are then liquified as they fall downward into zones of increasing pressure. I thought a diamond was a crystal structure of carbon. How can this also be a liquid...
  37. D

    I Solve the Mystery of the Alarm Signal: Duncan's Story

    Hello, When I tell this story, I usually get brushed aside for being senile but people who know about physics might be more useful. About a week ago I was woken up with an alarm from my clock-radio. That was odd as I had never used the alarm function. Unable to find the cause, I assumed the...
  38. Fnux

    A Unveiling the Mystery of ε(∞): Exploring Its Role in Plasma Dielectrics

    During the derivation of the dielectric function of a plasma (Kittel 8. ed. chap. 14), this somewhat mysterious quantity ε(∞) is inserted to account for the high-frequency dielectric contribution of the ionic background. In some ways, I see how this is related to the "external" charge density in...
  39. E

    I Solve Mystery Equation - Get Insight into Relevance & Contents of Brackets

    I am hoping that people here might be able to provide insight into what context/s this equation might be relevant, particularly the contents of the brackets. I am aware it is a strange request, related to puzzle solving, but perhaps someone can help guide me in an interesting direction.
  40. S

    A Unraveling the Mystery of Coherent States for Graduate Students

    Hello, I would like to understand as well as possible what (quantum) coherent states are. Can anyone advise on what books (or other materials) I should read? Please assume I have an introductory level in Quantum Physics (where by "introductory" I mean the material introduced in books like, for...
  41. xWaldorf

    Unraveling the Mystery of Mass and Acceleration

    So, this may be a really stupid question, and I strongly feel as though I'm missing something here. How can it be that objects of different masses have the exact same acceleration when mass is in fact resistance to acceleration? And then, if in (a vaccum) I throw upwards M and m ( a bigger and a...
  42. DaveC426913

    Why are my living room lights and outlets not working after resetting breakers?

    A year or so ago, I had a licensed electrician come in and retroactively fix up some of my wiring (My amateur fingers did nothing near the panel, just extensions to existing lights and outlets). He ran new cable and installed a couple of new breakers for them. My basement has been gutted to...
  43. Frigus

    Unraveling the Mystery of Work Done & Energy Transfer

    I was reading the chapter kinetic energy and work where I saw a derivation in which it was proved that work done=change in kinetic energy, so i understood from this derivation that work done is energy transfer by means of force but in this book kinetic energy is introduced earlier so as to find...
  44. Roundandround

    Unraveling the Mystery of Mass & Force: A 180 lb Person

    Background: My understanding is force and mass are two different things. Mass is how much matter is in a body Force is mass multiplied by an acceleration. Here on earth, that acceleration is 32.2 Ft/s2. Therefore, for the same mass, there can be different forces depending on the...
  45. G

    I A one dimensional example of divergence: Mystery

    I am trying to understand “divergence” by considering a one-dimensional example of the vector y defined by: . the parabola: y = -1 + x^2 The direction of the vector y will either be to the right ( R) when y is positive or to the Left (L). The gradient = dy/dx = Divergence = Div y = 2 x x...
  46. A

    Mystery Voltage: Investigating a Strange Phenomenon in MHD Testing

    So something weird just happened along the way in my experiment, here is a little background of what I'm doing. I have created a roughly 3x5mm inner diameter rectangular shaped channel for MHD liquid testing for one other project of mine, it's a simple conduction type MHD pump where the...
  47. Z

    I Double slit mystery in relation to holography and the single slit?

    What part of double slit mystery remains considering single slit can produce interference pattern as well? Does holography not fully explain those patterns behind any number of slits as a sort of "encoded image" of the slit(s)? Does the word "focus" have any meaning in these kinds of experiments?
  48. dsilvas

    Solving the Mystery: Exploring E << m Condition for Carbon 12 Ions

    Clarification: The statement in the title is actually from the solution to the homework question, as given by the textbook (you can see the whole thing below under "Textbook solution"). The solution doesn't explain everything, which is where my confusion comes from. Usually in my classes we...
  49. U

    I Uncovering the Mystery of the 1991 Atomic Bomb Ignition Papers

    I recently looked at a transcript of a 1991 interview of Hans Bethe, where he recalled the suggestion that an atomic bomb could ignite the air. "Teller at Los Alamos put a very good calculator on this problem, [Emil] Konopinski, who was an expert on weak interactors, and Konopinski together...
  50. P

    MHB Unraveling a Trigonometric Mystery

    We know the answer, but don't know how it makes sense given trigonometric principles. Borrowed from HiSet free practice test
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