Editing 2649: Physics Cost-Saving Tips
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by a FAUX VECTOR - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | + | This comic is another one of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time to reduce costs or provide something for free for physicists to save money on their research. None of them would provide any real advantages, even when possible to implement. It continues the previous [[2648: Chemicals]] comic's jocular theme of tricks to supposedly save money based on misinterpretations of science. Saving money from science experiments was also described in [[2007: Brookhaven RHIC]]. | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 27: | Line 18: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible | |Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible | ||
− | | | + | |The prefix "pseudo-" refers to an inauthentic variation of something. 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 regular vector. On the contrary, pseudovectors, or axial vectors, are distinct alternatives to regular {{w|Euclidean vector}}s, 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 Euclidean vectors, in three dimensions, and while similar to Euclidean vectors, there is no physical meaning to their specific direction, only their magnitude and portions of their position. For example, {{w|angular momentum}} is described by a pseudovector, labeled '''L''' in the comic, {{w|Normal (geometry)|normal}} to the {{w|plane of rotation}}, originating from the center of rotation, with magnitude proportional to the angular velocity of rotation '''''ω''''', multiplied by '''''I''''', the {{w|moment of inertia}}. |
− | |||
− | The prefix "pseudo-" refers to an inauthentic variation of something. 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 regular vector. On the contrary, pseudovectors, or axial vectors, are distinct | ||
|- | |- | ||
|A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves | |A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves | ||
− | |{{w|Fourier analysis}} can decompose any periodic function into a series of {{w|sine wave}}s. A {{w|square wave}} | + | |{{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. |
|- | |- | ||
|Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons | |Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons | ||
− | |Chemical elements are identified by the number of protons in each atomic nucleus, equal to the number of electrons in their shell (unless the atom is ionized), which dictates most of their chemical behavior. {{w|Isotopes}} are variants of the element with different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus, among which chemical behavior is usually nearly identical. The comic suggests that the neutrons don't serve any useful purpose, so, in theory, if purchasing an element by weight, and its isotopes 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 larger concentration of normally rare isotopes, such as {{w|heavy water}} or {{w|enriched uranium}}, is much higher than the cost of material containing isotopes in their ordinary proportions. (An exception is {{w|depleted uranium}}, which costs less than regular uranium because it is a byproduct of the production of enriched uranium.) In addition, a certain range of neutron quantity is needed to keep atoms stable, as 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}} which has a half-life of less than a nanosecond. It decays into two | + | |Chemical elements are identified by the number of protons in each atomic nucleus, equal to the number of electrons in their shell (unless the atom is ionized), which dictates most of their chemical behavior. {{w|Isotopes}} are variants of the element with different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus, among which chemical behavior is usually nearly identical. The comic suggests that the neutrons don't serve any useful purpose, so, in theory, if purchasing an element by weight, and its isotopes 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 larger concentration of normally rare isotopes, such as {{w|heavy water}} or {{w|enriched uranium}}, is much higher than the cost of material containing isotopes in their ordinary proportions. (An exception is {{w|depleted uranium}}, which costs less than regular uranium because it is a byproduct of the production of enriched uranium.) In addition, a certain range of neutron quantity is needed to keep atoms stable, as 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}} which has 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. |
|- | |- | ||
|Conductors are a great source of free electrons (may carry charges) | |Conductors are a great source of free electrons (may carry charges) | ||
− | |{{w|Charge carrier|Free}} {{w|electron}}s are electrons that are not tightly bound to specific atoms so | + | |{{w|Charge carrier|Free}} {{w|electron}}s are electrons that are not tightly bound to specific atoms so they can move freely, such as in {{w|conduction band}}s of the {{w|metallic bond}}s throughout the iron ingot depicted in the comic. Randall interprets "free" in a different sense, meaning no cost. The charges free electrons carry are electric, not monetary as implied by the pun. |
|} | |} | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the title text [[Randall]] claims to have been banned from the county fair for handing out helium-2 balloons, presumably because of the massive explosions caused by its immediate radioactive decay. He jokes that this, "violated some local ordinance or something." Helium balloons are often given out at county fairs and similar events, but they are filled with helium-4, and therefore inert. If a balloon was filled with helium-2 as the title text suggests, the results would be instantly explosive, comparable to 2,000 kg of {{w|TNT}}. Handing out what are effectively atomic bombs at a county fair would not go down well with any surviving local authorities, so merely being banned is a very mild punishment. Criminal charges such as mass murder and terrorism would be more likely, if it weren't for the sub-nanosecond fuse length rendering the scenario absurdly impossible. For comparison, the {{w|AIR-2 Genie}} nuclear air-to-ground rocket was equivalent to 1.5 kilotons of TNT, {{w|Little Boy|the bomb dropped on Hiroshima}} was about 15 kilotons, and the {{w|2020 Beirut explosion}} was equivalent to between 0.3 and 1.1 kilotons. | ||
==Transcript== | ==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' (small omega)] | ||
+ | :[It sits on the left, and to the right of this is text...] | ||
:Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible | :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 | :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 | :<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 | :<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 | :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 | :Conductors are a great source of free electrons | ||
:(May carry charges) | :(May carry charges) |