Editing 2649: Physics Cost-Saving Tips

{{comic
| number    = 2649
| date      = July 22, 2022
| title     = Physics Cost-Saving Tips
| image     = physics cost saving tips.png
| titletext = I got banned from the county fair for handing out Helium-2 balloons. Apparently the instant massive plasma explosions violated some local ordinance or something.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FAUX VECTOR - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic continues the previous comic [[2648: Chemicals]]'s theme of tricks to supposedly save money based on misinterpretations of science. Here is a list of "cost-saving tips" which would seem to reduce a cost or provide something for free, allowing physicists to save money in their experiments.

* The prefix "pseudo-" refers to something that is an inauthentic variation of something else. Fakes are usually cheaper than their original brand-name product, while often working just as well, so the comic implies a {{w|pseudovector}} could be a less expensive substitute for a real vector. On the contrary, pseudovectors, or axial vectors, are distinct alternatives to ordinary polar vectors, the former usually being involved with rotation or physical effects that share properties with rotation, similar to the relationship between angles and lengths. Pseudovectors are formed from the {{w|cross product}}s of polar vectors, and while similar to polar vectors, there is no physical meaning to their specific direction, only their magnitude and position. For example, {{w|angular velocity}} is described by a pseudovector {{w|Normal (geometry)|normal}} to the {{w|plane of rotation}} originating from the center of rotation. 

* {{w|Fourier analysis}} can decompose any periodic function into a series of {{w|sine wave}}s. A {{w|square wave}} can thereby be represented as the sum of an infinite series of sine waves. However, the sine waves are not removed or separated individually, so such a {{w|Fourier transform}} does not produce a "supply" of sine waves for practical use in any tasks other than analysis, and as abstract mathematical objects exempt from the laws of supply and demand, their value is similarly limited.

* Chemical elements are identified by the number of positive protons in each atomic nucleus, which is also equal to the number of negative electrons in the shell (unless the atom is ionized) that dictates most of their chemical behaviour. {{w|Isotopes}} are variants of the element with different numbers of neutral neutrons in the nucleus where the potential chemical reactions are practically identical under most circumstances. The comic suggests that the neutrons don't serve any useful purpose so, in theory, if you're purchasing matter by weight, and all isotypes have the same price per unit weight, then you can save money by buying isotopes with no neutrons at all. In reality, the cost per unit weight for material containing a high concentration of normally rare isotypes, such as "heavy water" or "enriched uranium", is much higher than the cost of material containing isotypes in their ordinary proportions.  (One exception is "depleted uranium", which the military can obtain more cheaply than regular uranium, because it is a waste product from the production of enriched uranium.)  In addition, the right number of neutrons are needed to keep the atom stable, and atoms with too many or too few neutrons will decay more quickly than the common isotopes. The image shown is Helium-2, an {{w|Isotopes of helium|isotope of helium}} with a half-life of less than a nanosecond. It decays into two protons, releasing a large amount of energy—hence the explosion mentioned in the title text.

: Helium balloons are often given out at county fairs and other similar events. However, these are usually Helium-4, and therefore inert. If a balloon was filled with helium-2, as the title text suggests, the results would be rather explosive. Handing out what are effectively bombs at a county fair would likely not go down well with local authorities, and therefore being banned from the fair is a very light punishment. Anyone who did this in real life would likely face criminal charges, such as reckless endangerment or even attempted murder.

* {{w|Charge carrier|Free}} {{w|electron}}s are electrons which are not tightly bound to specific atoms, so are ably to ''move'' freely, such as in {{w|conduction band}}s of {{w|metallic bond}}s. Randall interprets "free" in a different sense, meaning no cost. The charges free electrons carry are electric, not monetary as implied by this pun.

Getting money from science experiments like this was also mentioned in [[2007: Brookhaven RHIC]]

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

:[Title]
:Physics Cost-Saving Tips

:[A diagramatical spinning disc, at an angle]
:[It is identified with an 'I', with a dotted axial arrow labelled 'L' and a rotational movement labelled 'ω' (little omega)]
:[It sits on the left, and to the right of this is text...]
:Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible

:[A square wave with three maxima (between four minima), and arrows pointing down into a collection of five sine waves of different wavelengths]
:[One of the waves having the same frequency as the square wave and the rest of them are of shorter lengths with more peaks and troughs]
:[It sits on the right, and to the left of this is text...]
:A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves

:[Two atomic models]
:[The left containing two protons (white with a "+" sign), two neutrons (black) and orbited by two electrons (small outlines, dotted orbits/movement lines), labelled below with the text of superscript atomic weight and element symbol]
:<sup>4</sup>He
:[The right model has just the two protons and the two electrons, labelled below with the text of an atomic weight and elemental symbol, and some subtext within brackets]
:<sup>2</sup>He
:(Decays fast - use quickly)
:[Both models sit on the left of the comic, and to the right is text...]
:Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons

:[A flat rectangular bar, drawn in perspective with a scattering of dots/small circles on the top face and on the forward-facing one the label]
:Iron
:[An arrow points to the dots, from the text...]
:Free electrons
:[It sits to the right, and there is text to the left...]
:Conductors are a great source of free electrons
:(May carry charges)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]