Did the “earthquake cloud” predict the Texas earthquake? Here comes the August science rumor list →

1. "Earthquake Cloud" predicted the earthquake in Pingyuan County, Dezhou City, Shandong Province .

Rumor content: On August 6, a 5.5-magnitude earthquake occurred in Pingyuan County, Dezhou City, Shandong Province, attracting widespread attention across the country. It is worth mentioning that "earthquake clouds" also became a hot search along with the Shandong earthquake, and many netizens claimed that they had photographed the "earthquake clouds" before the earthquake.

Truth interpretation: This statement has no scientific basis, and "earthquake clouds" have nothing to do with earthquakes.

The earth is made up of different layers, among which the lithosphere, asthenosphere and inner circle together form the solid earth. According to the principle of earthquakes, the essence of earthquakes is the tectonic movement underground, which has no direct connection with the clouds in the sky. The entire process of cloud generation is completed in the atmosphere, while earthquakes occur in the lithosphere underground. The difference between the two is as great as the sky.

The so-called "earthquake clouds" on the Internet are actually just the more common altocumulus, stratocumulus or cirrocumulus clouds in life, which appear in the air in wavy, fish-scale or radial shapes. The appearance of these clouds may indicate changes in the weather, but there is no scientific basis for treating clouds as precursors to earthquakes.

Source: Science Popularization China

2. The air conditioner cooling mode is not as energy-saving as the dehumidification mode .

Rumor content: From the perspective of working principle, working hours and working results, the dehumidification mode of the air conditioner is more energy-saving than the cooling mode. If you want to save electricity, it is recommended to use the dehumidification mode when turning on the air conditioner.

Truth interpretation: Both dehumidification and cooling modes can provide cooling, but which mode is more energy-saving requires specific analysis based on the temperature and humidity of the indoor and outdoor air.

The principle of dehumidification is to lower the temperature to a level where water vapor in the air can condense. The condensed water from the water vapor will be discharged through the air conditioning pipe and the outdoor unit. As the water vapor continues to condense into condensed water and discharged outdoors, the humidity in the room will also decrease. In the absence of water vapor increase, the humidity in the room can be maintained for a period of time even if the air conditioner is turned off.

After the cooling is turned off, the room temperature tends to rise gradually. This is because heat will transfer from a high-heat area to a low-heat area, just like the flow of water. So after the air conditioner is turned off, if the outdoor temperature is higher than the indoor temperature, the heat will transfer in through doors, windows, walls, etc., and the room temperature will gradually rise until the heat is balanced.

Generally speaking, when the temperature is between 20℃ and 30℃ and the air humidity is very high, the dehumidification mode saves more electricity than the cooling mode; when the temperature is greater than 30℃, the power consumption of the dehumidification and cooling modes is similar, but the cooling effect of the dehumidification mode is not as good as that of the cooling mode.

The main purpose of dehumidification is to reduce humidity and improve the stuffy environment as soon as possible. It is suitable for coastal areas during rainy days or the return of the south wind. Refrigeration mainly reduces temperature and also has some dehumidification effect, but it is a side effect.

Source: Scientific rumor refutation, Science Popularization Committee of China Refrigeration Society

3. The temperature predicted by the Meteorological Bureau on hot days is lower than the actual temperature .

Rumor content: Many people feel that the temperature in the summer weather forecast is lower than the temperature they actually feel, so they think that the relevant departments dare not report high temperatures.

Truth interpretation: The meteorological department will strictly measure according to international unified standards and will not deliberately lower the forecast temperature.

First of all, according to the meteorological forecast assessment standards, the difference between the forecast temperature and the actual temperature should be within the error standard range, otherwise it will be considered as a misreport.

Secondly, the temperature standard is regulated by the relevant international meteorological organizations. The site selection of meteorological observation stations is generally required to be built in a location that is not affected by the environment, and there should be no mountains, high buildings, or water bodies around, so as to reflect the local real atmospheric environment as much as possible; the louvered box used for measuring temperature is required to be 1.5 meters above the ground, with grass as the underlying surface, and not affected by surface radiation; the thermometer in the louvered box is also measured under light-proof and ventilated conditions, so that the measured temperature meets the unified standards of the world.

This measurement method is equivalent to the temperature a person feels in a cool and ventilated environment, so it is different from the temperature a person feels outdoors in the sun.

Source: Tencent News Knowledge Officer @定真科普时间

4. Sweating is equal to detoxification and beauty care .

Rumor content: Sweat is a metabolic product of the human body. Appropriate exercise can open the pores and promote sweating, which can help clean the pores and promote the excretion of toxins in the body.

Truth interpretation: 99% of human sweat is water, which contains no toxic or harmful substances. Therefore, no matter how much you sweat, almost all you excrete is water, and the detoxification effect is minimal.

Sweating is an important means for the human body to regulate body temperature. The components of human sweat include water, sodium chloride, potassium, lactic acid, urea, etc., of which the water content is as high as over 99%, and other substances are only 0.5% to 1%.

Sweating a lot can indeed excrete a little bit of metabolic waste from the body, but it is almost negligible. The real detoxification and excretion organs of the human body are mainly the liver and kidneys, which work together to degrade toxic and harmful substances or excrete them through urine. It is not very reliable to detoxify by sweating.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

5. Using hot water to boil bowls can sterilize .

Rumor: Before eating, especially when dining in a restaurant, you should scald the tableware with hot water before using it to sterilize it.

Truth interpretation: Scalding dishes with hot water can remove dust and grease from the surface of dishes and chopsticks, and play a certain cleaning role, but it does not have an obvious sterilization effect.

High temperature disinfection requires sufficient temperature and time to achieve the desired effect. Many bacteria that often cause acute diarrhea need to be killed at 100°C for 1-3 minutes or at 80°C for 10 minutes. In addition, some bacteria have stronger resistance, such as tetanus spores, which take 60 minutes to die.

Normally, the water temperature provided by restaurants does not meet the sterilization requirements, and many people use very short time to scald their tableware, so it is difficult to kill most pathogenic microorganisms by scalding the bowls with hot water before eating.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

6.Red-shell eggs are more nutritious than white-shell eggs .

Rumor content: When buying eggs, choose red-shelled eggs. Red-shelled eggs not only look better than white-shelled eggs, they also have higher nutritional value.

Truth: The color of the eggshell is related to the breed of chicken and has nothing to do with nutritional value.

The color of the eggshell is mainly determined by the protoporphyrin pigment in the eggshell. The more protoporphyrin pigment there is, the darker the color of the eggshell will be. Protoporphyrin pigment itself has no nutritional value. The content and synthesis capacity of protoporphyrin pigment are mainly determined by genetic genes. In other words, the color of the eggshell depends on the type of hen and is "natural", and has nothing to do with human factors.

The main nutrients of eggs include protein, vitamins, fats and minerals. The nutritional differences between eggs of different colors are not big, so you don't need to pay too much attention to their colors. Whether it is white-shelled eggs or red-shelled eggs, freshness and safety are the most important.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

About the Science Rumors List

Released by the China Association for Science and Technology, the list is reviewed by experts every month. Based on criteria such as timeliness and harmfulness, hot rumors are selected for special interpretation and pushed across the entire network.

Jointly published: Scientific rumor-busting platform, China Internet Joint Rumor-busting Platform, "Study to Strengthen the Country" learning platform

Supported platforms: Weibo rumor refutation, Toutiao rumor refutation, Tencent Jiuzhen, NetEase Health, Toutiao Health, Baidu Knows, Douyin, Dad Review

Scientific rumor debunking: Sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the State Administration for Market Regulation and other ministries and commissions, guided by the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, and jointly created by national societies, authoritative media, social organizations and scientific and technological workers, it aims to effectively improve the dissemination, guidance and influence of rumor debunking information, so that rumors can stop at the wise and let science outrun rumors.

List of review experts

(In order of the number of strokes of surname)

Ai Wanxiu, Chief Expert Researcher, Climate Service Office, National Climate Center

Song Shuang, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Zhang Zhongbin Member of the Science Popularization Committee of the Chinese Society of Refrigeration Professor of Nanjing Normal University

Chen Rui, teacher at the Institute of Communication Psychology, School of Journalism, Communication University of China

Tang Qin, Director and Researcher of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association

This article is produced by "Science Facts" (ID: Science_Facts). Please indicate the source when reprinting.