Talk:2998: Ravioli-Shaped Objects

2024-10-15T23:17:03Z

108.162.245.129:

I think its a missed opportunity not to include the 'bulging lithium battery' themed throw pillow.[[User:Xurkitree10|Xurkitree10]] ([[User talk:Xurkitree10|talk]]) 22:04, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Battery stories.
One of my backup batteries has started bulging so much I wrapped it in duct tape to hold the case onto it. It still works if I joggle the connectors well, but I’m worried.
Another time, I was trying to repair a cell phone but accidentally pierced the battery with my tiny screw driver. It started sparking and smoking and emitting dense dark noxious smoke. I threw it, it landed on a chair and burst into a small fire. The building filled with the dense noxious smoke, setting off all the alarms, coughing, opening the windows. When the fire calmed down (it didn’t spread) the chair seat was burnt in the shape of the battery, as well as the phone was bent and discolored and unusable in every way. But it still had its electronics in many parts. I want to image that flash chip and get my files!
A kid also once told me, they had an old phone they had taken to a very cold event (lithium batteries can hold power in proportion to temperature, so sudden drops could be a problem), and it started emitting s whining nosie. They threw it for safety, and it exploded away from them, according to their story.

Now, people also sell large expanded batteries for cell phones, which don’t fit in the case, and people mod or bend the case to get more power for their phones. Phone hacking, in some areas, has been getting easier and easier as information on it spreads and as design norms for phones stabilise. I used to mismatch phone batteries to save money and waste, but I was young and I would do crazy things like bunching up internal foil from candy wrappers, or bending paperclips, or pulling copper strands from discarded wires, and with my youngster manual dexterity i could measure the right voltages and jam, tape, or solder the disparate batteries to the internal connectors, and forcing the phone back on would then indeed yield things that looked like Randall’s drawings here.

Since traditional lithium batteries stop working after a few years, there’s pressure for people to do home battery mods.

But I bet nowadays you can find all sorts of clear descriptions of how to do these various things much better than I used to all over the internet somewhere, maybe even 3d print designs for parts. Maybe even a robot or drone exoskeleton for your phone, connecting with usb-serial or bluetooth or wifi.

So according to Randall it’s totally safe to use my bulging lithium backup battery (even if a screen is a little cracked)? {{unsigned ip|172.69.59.66|22:29, 14 October 2024}}

Should we create a group/series for comics containing confusion matrices? This now makes 5, with the other 4 being 2963, 2813, 2420 and 1890. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.184|108.162.250.184]] 22:50, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Nevermind I just realised that this group exists, my bad. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.210.124|172.68.210.124]] 22:53, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

I wasn't expecting a comic about spicy pillows but I think it's awesome that we got one. I do think there should be mention of or links to how to safely dispose of expanding lithium batteries such as [https://www.call2recycle.org/ Call2Recycle] in the explanation, even if it's just to spread awareness about the dangers of spicy pillows and the proper disposal of them. [[User:OmniDoom|OmniDoom]] ([[User talk:OmniDoom|talk]]) 23:36, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

spicy pillows yummy [[User:CalibansCreations|'''<span style="color:#ff0000;">Caliban</span>''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 07:41, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Shouldn’t the bottomright square be yellow or even red? (I see it is mentioned in the explanation already) - - [[Special:Contributions/172.71.103.178|172.71.103.178]] 09:26, 15 October 2024 (UTC)
: I'm assuming that Randal has the experience in his community of never having an issue with installing an expanded battery. The comic appears to be saying that rumors that this is dangerous are false. But I don't know, maybe he's getting senile. In the "internetizen" or "hacker" spirit of the comic's demographic, trying out alternative approaches than the mainstream is (or was) the celebrated norm, and leads to many new discoveries that are (or were) shared online. There might be more information on irc or twitter. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.129|108.162.245.129]] 23:17, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

In the phone/pillow square, we can see an edge under the front of the pillow, so maybe Cueball split the phone opened and placed the pillow between the parts. That would explain the red color. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.127.99|162.158.127.99]] 12:43, 15 October 2024 (UTC)
:If the intent is to put each battery/non-battery-substitute 'in' the battery compartment, then this makes sense. Given that it's typically a tight-tolerance fit (so that even a slightly 'blown' battery is hard to insert, or at least get the cover back over), anything bigger than the original battery will protrude, or at least distort the case heavily. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.55|172.71.26.55]] 14:38, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

It seems like Randall forgot to hide the sketch in the bottom left cell. {unsigned ip|162.158.167.83|20:50, 15 October 2024}}

Please do not eat old Samsung batteries. [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 21:01, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

2997: Solar Protons

2024-10-11T20:16:03Z

108.162.245.129: /* Explanation */ fix

{{comic
| number = 2997
| date = October 11, 2024
| title = Solar Protons
| image = solar_protons_2x.png
| imagesize = 647x783px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If any of you want to meet some cool local oxygen atoms, I can introduce you!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT RUNNING ON PROTONS INSTEAD OF ELECTRONS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is referencing the solar storm that hit the earth on Thursday night before the comic. A result of the storm was that {{w|northern lights}} were visible across much of the northern United States ([https://i.hypercone.us/?f=41e91d plus London]) , including Massachusetts where Randall lives. The northern lights normally occur much farther north, making this a rare and spectacular occurrence. The rare color background of this strip is an idealized depiction of the northern lights.

The solar protons referenced are hydrogen nuclei ejected from the sun after their electrons were stripped. Since a hydrogen nucleus is just a single proton, once its electrons are removed the resulting ion is just a proton. These protons, being positively charged, interact with earth's magnetosphere, and the resulting excitation of atoms in the atmosphere causes them to emit light in the form of aurora. In the northern hemisphere the aurora is called aurora borealis (Latin for "northern dawn") and in the southern hemisphere it is called aurora australis ("southern dawn" in Latin).

[[Beret Guy]] here takes on the task of giving the protons a cordial welcome to Earth, where they will spend the forseeable future. He has set up a sign to welcome them, presumably because he normally does not see the northern lights. His sign notes that they will love being part of the atmosphere, since if the light of the aurora is being emitted it means that the protons are interacting with other atoms in the atmosphere. The sign also asks them to try creating water. Water consists of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms sharing an electrons each with the oxygen. Since the solar protons are just hydrogen nuclei, they can form water by interacting with oxygen atoms or hydroxide ions (OH-). Scientists believe that solar wind [https://physicsworld.com/a/did-the-solar-wind-create-earths-water/ frequently creates water] by interaction of the hydrogen nuclei with oxygen. However, the mechanism proposed involves solar wind first creating hydroxide from compounds in asteroids and space dust, and then another proton joining to make water. As most of the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere consists of O2 molecules (two bound oxygen atoms) it is not clear if solar protons could create water in the atmosphere with the northern lights as opposed to on the ground.

The title text references water formation by saying that Beret Guy can introduce the solar protons/hydrogen nuclei to cool oxygen atoms. In reality hydrogen nuclei from the solar wind do not need an introduction, but instead form bonds with oxygen when they impact oxygen or hydroxide due to their great speed.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Colorful aurora in the night sky, with colors ranging from red at the top to green]
:[Black silhouette of Beret Guy standing on a grassy field, next to a sign to the right that reads:]
:Welcome Solar Protons!
:You'll love being part of our atmosphere!
:There's so much to do here. Try forming water!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

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Talk:2998: Ravioli-Shaped Objects

2997: Solar Protons