Editing 1489: Fundamental Forces
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[[Cueball]] is acting here as someone teaching physics at a basic level, perhaps a high school science teacher. He seems to understand the general idea of the {{w|Fundamental interaction#Overview of the fundamental interaction|four fundamental forces}}, but his understanding gets progressively more sketchy about the details. The off-panel audience, probably a student or class, is interested, but quickly begins to realize Cueball's lack of understanding. Instead of acknowledging the problem directly, Cueball simply blusters onwards. | [[Cueball]] is acting here as someone teaching physics at a basic level, perhaps a high school science teacher. He seems to understand the general idea of the {{w|Fundamental interaction#Overview of the fundamental interaction|four fundamental forces}}, but his understanding gets progressively more sketchy about the details. The off-panel audience, probably a student or class, is interested, but quickly begins to realize Cueball's lack of understanding. Instead of acknowledging the problem directly, Cueball simply blusters onwards. | ||
− | The comic also outlines how progressively difficult it gets to describe the forces. {{w|Gravitation|Gravity}} was first mathematically characterized in 1686 as {{w|Newton's law of universal gravitation}}, which was considered an essentially complete account until the introduction of {{w|general relativity}} in 1915. The {{w|Electromagnetism|electromagnetic force}} does indeed give rise to {{w|Coulomb's law}} of {{w|electrostatics|electrostatic}} interaction (another {{w|inverse-square law}}, proposed in 1785), but a much more comprehensive description, covering full {{w|Classical electromagnetism|classical electrodynamics}}, was only given in {{w|Maxwell's equations}} around 1861. The {{w|strong interaction|strong}} and {{w|weak interaction|weak}} forces cannot easily be summarized as comparably simple mathematical equations. It's possible that Cueball does understand the strong and weak interactions, but is completely at a loss when he tries to | + | The comic also outlines how progressively difficult it gets to describe the forces. {{w|Gravitation|Gravity}} was first mathematically characterized in 1686 as {{w|Newton's law of universal gravitation}}, which was considered an essentially complete account until the introduction of {{w|general relativity}} in 1915. The {{w|Electromagnetism|electromagnetic force}} does indeed give rise to {{w|Coulomb's law}} of {{w|electrostatics|electrostatic}} interaction (another {{w|inverse-square law}}, proposed in 1785), but a much more comprehensive description, covering full {{w|Classical electromagnetism|classical electrodynamics}}, was only given in {{w|Maxwell's equations}} around 1861. The {{w|strong interaction|strong}} and {{w|weak interaction|weak}} forces cannot easily be summarized as comparably simple mathematical equations. It's possible that Cueball does understand the strong and weak interactions, but is completely at a loss when he tries to describe them. |
− | The strong force doesn't act directly between | + | The strong force doesn't act directly between protons and neutrons but between the quarks that form them. Unlike gravity and electromagnetism, the strong force grows ''stronger'' with distance. Between protons and neutrons there is a residual strong force, analogous in some ways to the Van der Waals force between molecules. This residual strong force is carried by pions and does decrease rapidly and exponentially with distance due to the pions having mass. |
− | The weak force is much weaker than electromagnetism at typical distances within an atomic nucleus | + | The weak force is much weaker than electromagnetism at typical distances within an atomic nucleus, and has a short range, so has very little effect as a ''force'', but has the property of changing one particle into another. It can cause an up quark to become a down quark, and in the process release a high energy electron and neutrino. This is known as beta decay, a form of radioactivity. Over even shorter distances the weak interaction and electromagnetism are essentially the same. |
− | The title text | + | The title text refers to the fact that it is gravity that appears to be the simplest and easiest to understand of the four forces, but turns out to be the {{w|Graviton|hardest}} to reconcile with a coherent (quantum) understanding of all four forces together. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
:[Cueball is holding his hands up while giving a lecture to an off panel audience.] | :[Cueball is holding his hands up while giving a lecture to an off panel audience.] | ||
− | :Cueball: There are four fundamental forces between particles: | + | :Cueball: There are four fundamental forces between particles: |
− | ::(1) '''''Gravity''''', which obeys | + | ::(1) '''''Gravity''''', which obeys the inverse square law: |
::: F<sub>gravity</sub> = G m<sub>1</sub>m<sub>2</sub>/d<sup>2</sup> | ::: F<sub>gravity</sub> = G m<sub>1</sub>m<sub>2</sub>/d<sup>2</sup> | ||
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:Off panel audience: OK... | :Off panel audience: OK... | ||
:[Cueball is still holding his hands up while continues the lecture to the off panel audience.] | :[Cueball is still holding his hands up while continues the lecture to the off panel audience.] | ||
− | :Cueball: (2) '''''Electromagnetism''''', which obeys | + | :Cueball: (2) '''''Electromagnetism''''', which obeys this inverse-square law: |
:::F<sub>static</sub> = K<sub>e</sub> q<sub>1</sub>q<sub>2</sub>/d<sup>2</sup> | :::F<sub>static</sub> = K<sub>e</sub> q<sub>1</sub>q<sub>2</sub>/d<sup>2</sup> | ||
− | + | ::...and also Maxwell's Equations | |
− | + | :Off panel audience: Also what? | |
− | ::...and also Maxwell's | ||
− | :Off panel audience: Also what? | ||
:[Zoom in on Cueball as he continues the lecture to the off panel audience.] | :[Zoom in on Cueball as he continues the lecture to the off panel audience.] | ||
− | :Cueball: (3) The ''''' | + | :Cueball: (3) The '''''Strong Nuclear Force''''', which obeys, uh ... |
:::...well, umm... | :::...well, umm... | ||
::...it holds protons and neutrons together. | ::...it holds protons and neutrons together. | ||
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:[Cueball finishes the lecture to the off panel audience and spreads out his arm for the final remark.] | :[Cueball finishes the lecture to the off panel audience and spreads out his arm for the final remark.] | ||
− | :Cueball: And (4) the ''''' | + | :Cueball: And (4) the '''''Weak Force'''''. It [mumble mumble] radioactive decay [mumble mumble] |
:Off panel audience: That's not a sentence. You just said “Radio- | :Off panel audience: That's not a sentence. You just said “Radio- | ||
:Cueball: – '''''And those are the four fundamental forces!''''' | :Cueball: – '''''And those are the four fundamental forces!''''' | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Physics]] | [[Category:Physics]] |