Editing 3043: Muons

{{comic
| number    = 3043
| date      = January 27, 2025
| title     = Muons
| image     = muons_2x.png
| imagesize = 284x388px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = Update: I've been banned from the physics department for the way I pronounce "Doppler effect."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Time dilation}} is the concept from {{w|special relativity}} where faster moving objects feel like time is slowing down. Because the ‘regular speed’ {{w|Muon|muons}} are moving at a relatively normal speed, Cueball pronounces it properly, but because time slows down for the faster moving muons, Cueball adjusts this, and pronounces it much slower, as if he is being slowed down from talking about them.

On average, a stationary muon decays after a bit over two microseconds. While moving at 99.97% of the speed of light, their lifespan (from our perspective) stretches to nearly ninety microseconds. If Cueball speaks at four syllables per second (a typical {{w|Speech tempo|speech tempo}} for English), it will take him about half of a second to name the "muons" created in the upper atmosphere; it will take him more than twenty seconds to name the fast-moving "muuuuuoooons." 

The title text references the {{w|Doppler effect}}, the change in frequency of a wave when the observer is moving relative to the source. One common example of this is how the sound of a fast car or airplane starts as a high pitched 'squeal' but then gradually drops to a low droning noise as it passes the observer. By analogy with the time dilation example, Cueball likely imitates this change in pitch whenever pronouncing the phrase "Doppler effect"; as he has been banned for this we must assume that the first syllable or two were pronounced at an obnoxiously high volume and pitch.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is standing in front of a whiteboard, which contains a diagram depicting a muon passing through the atmosphere, a distance labeled with a cursive letter, the equation for the Lorentz factor, and some illegible text. He's facing away from the whiteboard and holding a pointer that points towards the diagram.]
:Cueball: ''Muons'' created in the upper atmosphere decay immediately, but fast moving ''muuuuuoooons'' are able to reach the surface due to their longer half-lives.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Physics tip: Remember to adjust your pronunciations to account for time dilation.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
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