10 Interesting Science Facts from Daily Life You Didn't Know About

Science is present everywhere, is a very popular cliché used in almost every Science class in the world and many scientific theories and discoveries have justified this statement. Science is an integral part of each and every process in the universe and we can observe it in our daily lives too. Many students are inquisitive about usefulness of the scientific knowledge we gain in our schools and colleges and have a sense of despondency regarding the worth of that knowledge in daily life. So, here we discuss the various phenomenons prevalent in our daily lives and explaining the SCIENCE behind it which would, hopefully, explain you the integral role played by science in our daily life and also satisfy your curiosity regarding them:--

1) Formation of Rainbows  

We all love to see rainbows and have the curiosity about mechanism of formation of a rainbow. So how are rainbows formed? Rainbows are seen in the direction opposite to where the Sun is present and is produced as a result of refraction of sunlight by water droplets in a manner similar to a prism. It is this refracted light which appears as rainbow in the sky.

2) Ice floats on water 

A less dense object floats on the surface of water. It is due to this principle that ice floats on water as it is less dense than liquid water. We know that Density is inversely proportional to Volume and hence Volume of solid ice is more than that of liquid water and it is due to this reason ice floats on water. Now, the reason for more volume of solid ice is that when a liquid is solidified, its' molecules come closer to each other giving a more rigid arrangement of molecules with lesser intermolecular gaps, however in case of water ie H2O, the molecules on solidification repel each other due to strongly charged Oxygen atoms which results in increase of intermolecular distances, increase in volume of the molecule and hence decrease in density of solid ice.

3) Glass window panes are thicker at the bottom than at the top 

The glass panes attached to windows of old buildings are thicker at the bottom than at the top due to tendency of glass to flow over time. This phenomenon is usually observed in old glass panes as glass flows from top to bottom of the window pane over a long time. It is due to this tendency of glass, it is also known as Supercooled Liquid.

4) Glass objects appear white or milky

The objects made up of glass appear white or milky after a long time due to continuous heating and cooling which results in appearance of crystalline character in the amorphous glass. It is due to this crystalline character in the amorphous glass that the objects made up of glass appear milky after a long time. The objects undergo heating in the day and cooling in the night which results in this phenomenon being observed in old objects.

5) Science behind walking

Walking is possible only due to friction. When a person is walking, upon every step he applies some force on the ground. Because there is friction between the ground and his feet, ground also applies some force in the opposite direction (Newton's Third Law) and thus walking becomes possible.

6) Process of Cooking

Heat energy is transformed to the cooking vessel in the form of radiation, conduction and convection. After the heat energy is passed, the various ingredients like, salt, sugar or any edible material starts breaking bonds and forming new bonds which gives us delicious food. Therefore, physics as well as chemistry is involved in our daily process of cooking.

7) Sun appears red on sunrise and at sunset 

We all would have seen and praised the beauty of Sun at sunset and observed a reddish colour during early morning and evening. What is the reasoning behind this phenomenon? During sunrise and sunset, the rays have to travel a larger part of the atmosphere because they are very close to the horizon. Therefore, light other than red is mostly scattered away. Most of the red light, which is the least scattered, enters our eyes. Hence, the sun and the sky appear red. Hence, the phenomenon of scattering of light rays of the Sun and lesser scattering of red light is the reason for observation of the reddish colour.

8) Onion makes you cry 

Ever experienced teary eyes while cutting an onion? Obviously everyone would have unless you wear some kind of protection for the eyes. So how is onion so powerful to make even the strongest ones cry? The actual reason behind this is that cutting an onion bursts its cells, producing a chemical process which releases the contents of those cells into the atmosphere, causing tears from the eyes.

9) Different emotions of an individual

The different emotions of an individual can be explained through chemistry. Whenever you are feeling happy, sad, relaxed, or stressed, there are many chemical processes and reactions taking place in your body. The body contains different chemical messengers and it is because of these chemical messengers called neurotransmitters released in the brain that you cry, have a feeling of fear, stress, affection and love according to different life situations.

10) It is difficult to cook at higher altitudes 

The atmospheric pressure at higher altitudes is lower which is the reason for lower boiling point at higher altitudes. Higher altitudes mean lower atmospheric pressure and thus lower boiling point. But that doesn't mean that food can be cooked at lower temperatures easily. The food we cook is adapted to a standard boiling point near the earth so they become tender, soft, or easy to chew on. So, at higher altitude, food needs to be cooked for a longer time due to the lowering in boiling point of water. Thus, lowering of atmospheric pressure at high altitudes results in lowering of boiling point and hence the food is not cooked properly and requires cooking for a longer time. 

These are just random selections of 10 interesting science facts and phenomenons from daily life but in reality, Science is present everywhere and one just has to be observant enough to understand the science behind everything.