# Ten common science myths **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438 "2012-11-18T20:38:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/1 "2012-11-18T20:38:26Z")
[They dropped the ball on glass, though.](http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/10-common-science-myths/ufo29xzr?q=science&rel=msn&from=en-us_msnhp&form=MSNrll) They didn’t say it was a liquid, but did say that it flows. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/2 "2012-11-18T20:46:05Z")
Wait, I thought window glass being thicker at the bottom was a manufacturing thing, not glass flow. Glass might flow, but more slowly than to explain window glass. No? ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/3 "2012-11-18T21:43:24Z")
Glass most definitely does not flow, otherwise, how would things like light bulbs (with high stress on them from air pressure, not just gravity) survive for a [century or more](http://www.centennialbulb.org/) without collapsing? Unless it is _very_ hot or under very high stress, like ice in a glacier. “[Amorphous solid](http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/21328/amorphous-solid)” can also explain many other materials in common use; it just means that there are no crystals in the microstructure. For example, plastic is basically glass made out of a different substance. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/4 "2012-11-18T21:48:20Z")
I guess that whole “glass flows” thing explains why all those medieval stained glass windows are now just puddles at the bottom of their frames. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/5 "2012-11-18T22:19:27Z")
From [this web site](http://www.glassnotes.com/WindowPanes.html), a possible explanation of where the idea of flowing glass came from: > [@](#): > > How did the “glass is a supercooled liquid” urban legend originate? It is possible it began with an erroneous reading of an influential book by Gustav Tammann (1861-1938), a German physicist who was among the first to study glass as a thermodynamic system (Tammann, 1933). I was unable to locate a copy of Tammann’s book to verify this, so the following is speculation. One or two papers I consulted attributed to Tammann the statement “Glass is a supercooled [or undercooled] liquid.” But, from other papers, it appears that what Tammann actually wrote was “Glass is a frozen supercooled liquid” [my emphasis]. My speculation is that an author misquoted Tammann, and this misquotation was repeated by later authors who, since copies of Tammann’s book are rather rare, did not refer directly to Tammann. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/6 "2012-11-18T23:48:55Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Wait, I thought window glass being thicker at the bottom was a manufacturing thing, not glass flow. Glass might flow, but more slowly than to explain window glass. > > No? In the old days, glass panes were individually installed on-site. When the installer installed the pane, he oriented it so the thickest edge was on the bottom. This made the pane more stable. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/7 "2012-11-18T23:51:29Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > In the old days, glass panes were individually installed on-site. When the installer installed the pane, he oriented it so the thickest edge was on the bottom. This made the pane more stable. And, within the past few years, they found some windows where, for some reason, several panes were put in upside down, and they were still thicker at the top than at the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![NeutronJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neutronjack/32/4134_2.png) [@NeutronJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeutronJack)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/8 "2012-11-19T00:40:59Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > And, within the past few years, they found some windows where, for some reason, several panes were put in upside down, and they were still thicker at the top than at the bottom. Yeah, but, within the past few days, they found out that you’re wrong, and that what you described never happened. (If you can just assert things with no citations whatsoever, so can I.) ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/9 "2012-11-19T00:42:03Z")
The answer to number 10 - “There is no gravity in space” - is correct, but not very good. If you’re going to show video of astronauts obviously experiencing 0g, you should explain how this is possible and fully compatible with the fact that there is plenty of gravity in space. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/10 "2012-11-19T01:00:26Z")
> [@NeutronJack](#): > > Yeah, but, within the past few days, they found out that you’re wrong, and that what you described never happened. (If you can just assert things with no citations whatsoever, so can I.) Dude. It’s MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/11 "2012-11-19T01:01:23Z")
The “10% of the brain” is also more legitimately called a miswording or colorful metaphor than a myth. The underlying point, that most people don’t use the full capacity of the brain’s ability, and that there are techniques and other methods to increase its power, is obviously true and has been demonstrated in various ways. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/12 "2012-11-19T01:13:37Z")
> [@NeutronJack](#): > > Yeah, but, within the past few days, they found out that you’re wrong, and that what you described never happened. (If you can just assert things with no citations whatsoever, so can I.) Since you’re in a huff about this, [here](https://flightline.highline.edu/iglozman/sciphy/sphinx/glass_flow.htm) is at least one other person asserting the same thing for the same reason, with explanations of the manufacturing process. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/13 "2012-11-19T01:19:32Z")
And [here’s another](http://sciencegeekgirl.wordpress.com/2007/09/07/liquid-glass/). The link she provides at the bottom is a really good explanation of the chemistry/physics. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/14 "2012-11-19T02:01:07Z")
Eesh. That list really, really didn’t need to be a video. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/15 "2012-11-19T02:54:03Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Eesh. That list really, really didn’t need to be a video. Hurray! I’m not the only one! I’m getting tired of information being offered in video-only form. Some of us still do know how to read, and prefer to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/16 "2012-11-19T03:16:00Z")
Some people think the North Star is the brightest star? Siriusly? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/17 "2012-11-19T03:27:32Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > Hurray! I’m not the only one! > > I’m getting tired of information being offered in video-only form. Some of us still do know how to read, and prefer to do so. Me three. I read fast. Videos however go at the pace of the person who made them. I don’t have the time or patience. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/18 "2012-11-19T03:29:19Z")
I agree…I hate to get information in video form. When I read headlines on news sites that have the little video icon, I google the news to find a printed version. I tend to multi-task, and need to be able to pop in and out while doing things like conference calls. So…anyone want to tell me what the 10 myths were? 🙂 -D/a ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/19 "2012-11-19T03:45:17Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Eesh. That list really, really didn’t need to be a video. Exactly, which is why I have no idea what’s on the list, other than dudes posts here. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438/20 "2012-11-19T03:46:32Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Some people think the North Star is the brightest star? Siriusly? I think Sol might beat out even Sirius, if one is being pedantic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-common-science-myths/641438.md?page=2)