# Mysteries that defy conventional reality... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903 "2003-05-08T14:46:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/81 "2003-05-16T01:45:44Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\* On the other hand, there are plenty of real things which are scientifically proven to exist, annd which we can’t explain, but they’re not nearly as interesting to most folks._\* Exactly what I was thinking. Why don’t people get interested in _real_ mysteries that scientists are working on? Another example: do you know that there’s a 1-million degree plasma above the Sun’s surface? The surface itself is 6000 degrees so the hotter plasma has no business sitting on top of it, but there it is. We still can’t explain why it’s there. Ask any research scientist in any field and you’ll get a list of a dozen such mysteries. ---
**Author:** ![chuckster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@chuckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chuckster)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/82 "2003-05-16T04:54:02Z")
How about sculptures made by Central American indians showing a bearded man, where INDIANS DO NOT HAVE BEARDS. ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/83 "2003-05-16T12:39:18Z")
There’s always the [Coral Castle](http://www.funandsun.com/1tocf/amusf/1/coralcastle/coral.html) in Florida. This is a fairly recent structure, but nobody is quite sure exactly how it was put together. I suppose that it’s possible that nobody in the entire town saw the equipment he’d have needed to build the thing, or they all just conspired to keep it quiet, so that it would be a tourist attraction, but neither of those explinations seems likely to me. ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingwithChickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@SwimmingwithChickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingwithChickens)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/84 "2003-05-16T13:02:33Z")
scr4, do you have any more information on the plasma? A link perhaps? I couldn’t find it on [www.space.com](http://www.space.com) but that doesn’t mean it’s not out there. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/85 "2003-05-16T14:05:26Z")
It’s called the corona [http://www.michielb.nl/sun/corona.htm](http://www.michielb.nl/sun/corona.htm) a familiar thing like that, visible at every total eclipse, is a mystery? wonderful. I wonder if is anything like airglow, the strange glowing later in the Earth’s atmosphere? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/86 "2003-05-16T14:06:57Z")
layer, not later * * * sci fi worldbuilding at [http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html](http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html) ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/87 "2003-05-16T14:31:16Z")
Here’s one - those lights over Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Remember them? Sure you do - they were on NBC Nightly News, for the love of Mike! I’ve never really seen them explained, ever. A quick search turned up this site that seems to be a little even-handed: [http://www.geocities.com/jilaens/phoenixlights.html](http://www.geocities.com/jilaens/phoenixlights.html) Be warned - if you do a search, you’ll probably find a lot of UFO sites that aren’t exactly what you’d call fair and balanced. I’ve never forgotten about them and I’ve never heard a good explanation. Snicks ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/88 "2003-05-16T14:47:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SwimmingwithChickens \* > \*\*Regarding what bryanmcc and toadspittle said about phantom limbs, > > Ok, I follow, but what about the lady who had a hangnail which still gives her pain despite being amputated years ago? Is that a nerve response or possibly expectations? \*\* I’m not familiar with that particular story … although often, if the nerves near the amputation site are not dealt with carefully (not sure what they do exactly), the patient can have excrutiating pain for years. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/89 "2003-05-16T14:53:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scr4 \* > \*\*Another example: do you know that there’s a 1-million degree plasma above the Sun’s surface? The surface itself is 6000 degrees so the hotter plasma has no business sitting on top of it, but there it is. We still can’t explain why it’s there. Ask any research scientist in any field and you’ll get a list of a dozen such mysteries. \*\* Not that it still isn’t mysterious, but something that people forget is that in physics, temperature isn’t necessarily a measure of heat, but rather of energy. The temperature of the corona, therefore, isn’t a measure of how hot it is, but rather of the energy the particles in the corona contain (and how fast they’re moving). I’ve read on astronomy sites that the corona’s so tenuous, if you could put your hand in it, you’d feel only a slight warmth in spite of the huge temperature it has. It is still mysterious why the corona would have so much more energy than the sun’s surface directly underneath it. Snicks ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/90 "2003-05-16T15:44:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Snickers \* > **Not that it still isn’t mysterious, but something that people forget is that in physics, temperature isn’t necessarily a measure of heat, but rather of energy. The temperature of the corona, therefore, isn’t a measure of how hot it is, but rather of the energy the particles in the corona contain…** True. To be specific, temperature is the ability of a system to transfer heat. If you put two systems in contact, heat will _always_ flow from the one with higher temperature to the one with the lower temperature. That’s pretty much the definition of temperature. That’s why the solar corona is a mystery - if there was just thermal conduction and radiation, it should lose heat to the solar surface (photosphere) and to the outer space. So there’s definitely some kind of energy release (generation) going on _inside_ that tenuous corona. Most people think the energy is somehow transported by magnetic fields, but we still don’t know how exactly it’s transported and how it’s turned into heat inside the corona. There are plenty of other mysteries just on the Sun. For instance, its magnetic poles reverse every 11 years, which causes a 11-year cycle of active and inactive periods. We still can’t explain how that happens. There’s also the high energy electrons created by solar flares - it’s _really_ hard to accelerate 10[sup]33[/sup] electrons to energies above 100 keV _every second_, but that’s what appears to happen. There are several possible theories but they all have their limitations. We’re still nowhere close to having a working theory despite many scientists spending their entire careers to try to solve the mystery (including the past 5 years of my life). ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/91 "2003-05-16T15:45:51Z")
\_Nobody understands the process that generates Earth’s magnetic field yet, nor magnetic pole reversals either. * * * sci fi worldbuilding at [http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html](http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mfree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mfree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mfree)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/92 "2003-05-16T17:57:09Z")
You want something interesting? Google for “Rand Flem-Ath”. That man’s got some interesting theories… ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/93 "2003-05-16T21:15:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flying\_Monk \* > \*\*He also built a car that carried 11 people and got something like 32 miles per gallon, in the thirties. \*\* I believe what you’re talking of is the Dymaxion. This car was displayed at a World’s Fair, but a tragic and fatal accident caused the car to quickly lose popularity. The steering and frame of the car, by most all accounts, were at the very least awkward and slightly inept. For an account of a crazy ‘scientist,’ you should check out Wilhelm Reich’s “Orgone” ideas. Insane stuff. Finally, check out Alan Whitesides Parsons, the occultist rocket scientist who ventured into the desert with occultist Aleister Crowley in a bizarre trip in 1947. He blew himself up in the '50s. ---
**Author:** ![BioHazard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3bc359/32.png) [@BioHazard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BioHazard)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/94 "2003-05-16T22:22:06Z")
If you want to find out something really weird, theres a research scientists that has done ALOT of interesting research including communication with dolphins and sensory depredation tanks. IIRC he was also one of the first people to test LSD. I don’t remember his name but I’ve been told that at least 2 movies were (VERY loosely) based on his research: Day of the Dolphin and Altered States (???) (the one where the scientist locks himself in a sensory deprevation tank for way to long and comes out thinking he was an alien.) ---
**Author:** ![BioHazard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3bc359/32.png) [@BioHazard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BioHazard)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/95 "2003-05-16T22:25:51Z")
OH BTW, alot of experiments he did on the dolphins are horrifying. Im still looking for his name. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/96 "2003-05-19T01:22:45Z")
BioHarzard, the person you’re thinking of is John Lilly. ---
**Author:** ![BioHazard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3bc359/32.png) [@BioHazard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BioHazard)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/97 "2003-05-19T19:00:47Z")
Yep thats him. [www.johnclilly.com](http://www.johnclilly.com) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/98 "2003-07-08T05:30:44Z")
You might want to look into the book [Unconventional Flying Objects](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1571740279/qid%3D1057642496/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr_11_1/002-5755904-5840039) by Paul R. Hill, a NASA engineer who saw a flying saucer and tried to figure out how it worked. He got permission from NASA to play with their toys and his book is filled with various mathematical formulas describing his results. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/99 "2003-07-08T07:00:15Z")
The [Baghdad Battery](http://www.smith.edu/hsc/museum/ancient_inventions/battery2.html) has always intrigued me. But, realistically, it was probably just a pencil holder. ---
**Author:** ![Planet\_of\_the\_Shapes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Planet\_of\_the\_Shapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Planet_of_the_Shapes)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903/100 "2003-07-08T12:33:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by eburacum45 \* > \*\*\_Nobody understands the process that generates Earth’s magnetic field yet, nor magnetic pole reversals either. > > * * * > > sci fi worldbuilding at > [http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html](http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html) \*\* I saw a documentary about this fairly recently. I could have sworn it was Horizon on the BBC, but a quick search of their site doesn’t seem to be bringing up anything. Anyway i can’t remember the details, but this model not only predicted how the magnetic field came to be generated, but predicted it to flip too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysteries-that-defy-conventional-reality/173903.md?page=6)