Editing 1956: Unification
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Needs links (paragraph 1&2) and expansion. Check up on title text explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
+ | In physics, the fundamental interactions, also known as fundamental forces, are the interactions that do not appear to be reducible to more basic interactions. There are four fundamental interactions known to exist: the gravitational and electromagnetic interactions, which produce significant long-range forces whose effects can be seen directly in everyday life, and the strong and weak interactions, which produce forces at minuscule, subatomic distances and govern nuclear interactions. Some scientists speculate that a fifth force might exist but if so, it is not widely accepted nor proven. | ||
− | + | This comic lists five physical forces, but also includes a number of other things (two countries and three businesses) that are known for "unifying" in a non-physics sense. East and West Germany united politically in 1990, more than forty years after being divided at the end of World War II. Entertainment company Disney has united in a business sense with a number of others over the years; the comic mentions animation studio Pixar and the Star Wars franchise. The comic states that this is the progress toward unifying the fundamental forces of nature, which is absurd, with the addition of Disney and Germany, both which are not one of the fundamental forces.{{Citation needed}} Star Wars is, of course, all about The Force, but this has, for some reason, gone unnoticed by most physicists. | |
− | + | The title text jokes that some physicist tried to unify the force of {{w|gravity}}, with the 2003 movie {{w|Gravity (2013 film)|Gravity}}, starring {{w|Sandra Bullock}}. This if of course also absurd. But it turns out that this is just another jab by [[Randall]] at {{w|George Lucas}} for selling his rights to {{w|Star Wars}} to {{w|Disney}}. The jab comes when he makes it clear that the director of Gravity {{w|Alfonso Cuarón}} would refuse to sell the rights to his film to Disney, even if he was held in underground chamber of water for 10<sup>31</sup> years. | |
− | + | This water chamber and incredible time span is a reference to {{w|Proton decay}} which is being investigated by trying to detect the {{w|Cherenkov radiation}} that could occur from possible decay of protons in water. These measurement are being conducted in {{w|Proton_decay#Experimental_evidence|immense water tanks}} buried under mountains to protect them against similar signals that could result from cosmic radiation. (Same type of tanks have been used to detect {{w|neutrinos}}). | |
− | + | The half life of protons are currently believed to be between 10<sup>31</sup>-10<sup>36</sup> years. This should be compared to the age of the universe at around 1.3 10<sup>10</sup> years, which means that one second compared to the age of the universe is larger than the smallest suggested half life of the proton (as used in the comic) compared to the age of the universe, by a factor of about 10,000. But even this time would not make Cuarón cave in... | |
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− | The half life of protons | ||
===Unifications=== | ===Unifications=== | ||
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!East Germany | !East Germany | ||
− | |rowspan="2" colspan="2"|In 1945, after | + | |rowspan="2" colspan="2"|In 1945, after Nazi Germany's defeat in the Second World War, Germany was occupied by the Allied Forces. At first, it was expected that the whole country would be transitioned to a single post-war government, but but political and ideological differences between the Soviet Union and the other allies (which developed into the Cold War) prevented this. The Soviet-controlled zone became the country of East Germany, while the British, American and French zones of control merged to form West Germany. |
With the fall of the Berlin Wall (a physical and symbolic representation of the division) in 1989, and the fall of the East German socialist government in the "Peaceful Revolution", {{w|German reunification}} again became an immediate possibility. By late 1990, the merger was achieved, with East Germany joining the federal structure already existing in West Germany. | With the fall of the Berlin Wall (a physical and symbolic representation of the division) in 1989, and the fall of the East German socialist government in the "Peaceful Revolution", {{w|German reunification}} again became an immediate possibility. By late 1990, the merger was achieved, with East Germany joining the federal structure already existing in West Germany. | ||
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!West Germany | !West Germany | ||
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!Disney | !Disney | ||
|rowspan="2"|Pixar was originally a part of the computer division of Lucasfilm, but was spun off into a separate business in 1986. The studio had a positive partnership with Walt Disney Animation, which resulted in a deal for Pixar to produce animated feature films for Walt Disney Pictures. Though the partnership later became strained, Disney agreed to buy Pixar in 2006. Pixar films produced after this acquisition have been branded "Disney-Pixar" films. | |rowspan="2"|Pixar was originally a part of the computer division of Lucasfilm, but was spun off into a separate business in 1986. The studio had a positive partnership with Walt Disney Animation, which resulted in a deal for Pixar to produce animated feature films for Walt Disney Pictures. Though the partnership later became strained, Disney agreed to buy Pixar in 2006. Pixar films produced after this acquisition have been branded "Disney-Pixar" films. | ||
− | |rowspan="3"|The Star Wars franchise was perhaps the most successful and best-known property of | + | |rowspan="3"|The Star Wars franchise was perhaps the most successful and best-known property of Lucasfilm, the company founded by George Lucas in 1971. Discussion in 2011 of a distribution deal with Disney, around the time that Lucas was planning his retirement, turned into the outright purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney in 2012. Since then, Disney has extensively revamped and developed the Star Wars franchise, with three new films and a television series released by the date of this comic, and several more in the works. |
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!Pixar | !Pixar |