4to40.com

Why do we get cramps mainly in the calf muscles?

A muscle cramp technically occurs when your muscle tightens and shortens causing sudden severe pain. Muscle cramps generally result from overexertion and dehydration. When you don’t have enough fluid in your system, it leads to an electrolyte imbalance that causes your muscles to cramp up. Electrolytes are minerals like sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium that help cells function normally. An …

Read More »

Why do we cup our hands around our mouth to call someone far away?

When you speak or shout or sing or even whisper, the vibrations of your voice send sound waves through the air. These sound waves travel from your mouth in all directions out straight, to the right to the left and to all the places in between. But when you cup your hands around your mouth, you are pointing the sound …

Read More »

Why do we blink when a hammer strikes metal?

Blinking, apart from cleaning and lubricating the soft tissues of eyes, also serves as a protective way of keeping things away from entering the eyes, by lowering the eyelids and lashes for protection. Blinking is a reflex action and happens automatically, as soon as the brain perceives a threat. The striking of hammer is taken as a threat by the …

Read More »

Why do the Nilgiris appear blue from a distance?

Not only the Nilgiris, but almost all mountains appear blue from a distance. This is due to a phenomenon known as the Rayleigh Scattering Effect. The light from the sun, due to which we see the mountains, is scattered by atmospheric molecules. The electric field of the incident sunlight oscillates the electrons in these molecules which, in turn, radiate light. …

Read More »