3154: Physics Insight

2025-10-14T06:22:01Z

2603:8000:5E00:2913:15C7:7992:2E63:576B: /* Transcript */ cat

{{comic
| number = 3154
| date = October 13, 2025
| title = Physics Insight
| image = physics_insight_2x.png
| imagesize = 302x351px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = When Galileo dropped two weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, they put him in the history books. But when I do it, I get 'detained by security' for 'injuring several tourists.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BOT WHO DROPPED OUT OF COLLEGE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] complains that the same proposal related to the physics concept of spacetime is treated very differently when made by him compared to when made by Albert Einstein, a famous physicist. [[White Hat]] agrees, using the standard shorthand for this sort of inconsistency: "double standard" (two different standards of expectations or treatment, used each applied to a different person or group). The joke is that there are good reasons for the difference in experiences:

*Cueball's idea is not impressive to others because they already knew about it due to the work Einstein and the wider science community of the time.
*Even if two people discover something with the same level of insight and effort, society accords far more prestige to the first acknowledged discoverer, for solving a problem or revealing new possibilities. Early discoverers or prior contributors may be overlooked in unfair ways, and may have ground to complain about a double standard. Since Cueball is saying this at a time when the finding has already become part of an undergraduate curriculum, this does not apply to him.
*Once an idea has been popularized, it becomes easier to accidentally rediscover. Cueball might have never been taught about Einstein's finding directly, but is clearly familiar with scientist's reputation and has probably heard popular physics concepts that derive from it. Rediscovering a model for associating time and space is easier for someone raised with the concept of spacetime.
*The concept may have been taught to Cueball, who might have forgotten or not paid attention, and then later found the "discovery" much easier thanks to subconscious memories.
*Cueball might even have consciously learned the concept from others, but believes that the accordance of "genius" status to Einstein came from Einstein's merely describing the concept, as opposed to being a recognition of the long work of developing the concept independently.

The comic might be making fun of people whom Randall views as having similar misconceptions.

The title text continues the joke, but with Galileo instead of Einstein and him even being detained because he hit someone. In Galileo's time, this would probably not been an issue as there were fewer people and the authorities were less worried about that than they are now.{{Actual Citation Needed}}

Cueball's idea is not impressive because he is just restating and redoing what has already been done.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[Cueball is talking to White Hat, arms outstretched.]
:Cueball: Sure, when '''''Einstein''''' suggests using the Lorentz transform to explain the connection between velocity and time, people call him a genius.
:Cueball: But when '''''I''''' suggest it, it's "basic physics" and "undergraduate stuff."
:White Hat: Such a double standard!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Physics]]

3153: Hot Water Balloon

2025-10-14T06:20:27Z

2603:8000:5E00:2913:15C7:7992:2E63:576B: /* Transcript */ cats

{{comic
| number = 3153
| date = October 10, 2025
| title = Hot Water Balloon
| image = hot_water_balloon_2x.png
| imagesize = 484x232px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Despite a reputation for safety, the temperatures and surprisingly high pressures make them even more dangerous than the air kind, but the NTSB refuses to investigate accidents because they insist there is no 'transportation' involved.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created during a romantic water balloon ride. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{w|Hot air balloon}}s are an [[2940|inconvenient and dangerous]] form of novelty transport in which riders float into the sky in a basket suspended from a large balloon filled with hot air. Considering that the majority of passenger-carrying balloons use hot air, the specificity of the term “air balloon” could be taken to imply that there is another variant that uses something hot other than air. ("Hot air" should rather be considered as a compound term, in contrast to, for example, hydrogen or helium-filled balloons.) {{w|Water balloons}} are typically relatively small, sealed (unlike hot air balloons, which are open at the base), full of cold water, and intended to be thrown in a water balloon fight, a common way to have fun{{cn}} and cool down during hot weather. This comic combines the hot air balloon and the water balloon to create a “vehicle” consisting of a basket attached to a large balloon of heated water.

Such a balloon would float in cooler water, but not in air, unless its contents were heated so strongly that the balloon was filled with steam (i.e. water in gaseous form). A steam-filled balloon would produce more lift than an air-filled balloon of the same size and temperature, since the molecular weight of water is less than the average molecular weight of air, but would have new problems. Its high temperature would be dangerous to work with, and it would be necessary to construct the balloon of materials that would tolerate long-term immersion in steam. If any of the steam cooled below the boiling point of water, it would immediately condense, collapsing that part of the balloon; the buoyancy of the steam would be lost as the same weight of liquid water displaced less of the air outside the envelope. The nearly-boiling water would be an additional hazard to nearby people. To reduce the constant loss of heat from the balloon, with resulting condensation, it would be necessary to insulate the balloon, which would increase its weight, and therefore reduce its carrying capacity.

The title text clarifies that the hot water balloon is not just useless, but actually dangerous, as it has a large container full of hot, pressurized water, naturally leading to accidents. However, the {{w|National Transportation Safety Board}} (NTSB) doesn’t consider the stationary hot water balloon to be a form of {{w|transportation}}, since it doesn't move, and thus they claim any hot water balloon accidents should not fall under their purview. Considering that it is probably a business, hot water accidents would be usually reported to {{w|Occupational Safety and Health Administration}} (OSHA) instead, under criteria for [https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2016-106/pdfs/2016-106.pdf Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot Environments]. This title text is similar to that of [[3131|3131: Cesium]] which also expressed a goal of causing an agency to investigate outside their usual purview.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[A large water balloon is sitting on the ground, with cords connected to a basket nearby with Cueball and Megan inside. The water balloon's color patterns are like a hot air balloon's. Ponytail pokes the balloon with a :finger, and a squirrel is on the ground looking at the basket.]
:[There are squiggly heat lines ({{w|The_Lexicon_of_Comicana#Examples|indotherms}}) emanating from the balloon, as well as movement lines ({{w|The_Lexicon_of_Comicana#Examples|agitrons}}) above the balloon. Above them it says:]
:bloop bloop

:[Text below panel:]
:Hot water balloon rides turn out to be significantly less romantic than the air kind.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

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3154: Physics Insight

3153: Hot Water Balloon