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| − | {{comic
| + | ==SOON THE TRUTH WILL BE REVEALED== |
| − | | number = 2115
| + | '''This wiki controled by JEWS''' |
| − | | date = February 22, 2019
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| − | | title = Plutonium
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| − | | image = plutonium.png
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| − | | titletext = It's like someone briefly joined the team running the universe, introduced their idea for a cool mechanic, then left, and now everyone is stuck pretending that this wildly unbalanced dynamic makes sense.
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| − | ==Explanation==
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| − | {{incomplete|Created by a Power Orb. (Where is the Power Orb from the "Prodigy Math Game"???) Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
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| − | This comic pokes fun at the properties of {{w|plutonium}}, claiming that it is so unrealistically powerful that it may as well be random sci-fi jargon. Indeed, the ability for a metal to radiate free energy sounds impossible (this comic leaves out the inherent dangers of highly radioactive material). This is reflected by Megan and Hairy treating Cueball's idea as a joke.
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| − | There are devices that need substantial electrical power over long time – in the order of decades – but local sources of energy are insufficient or unavailable, yet constructing a power line or resupplying them with some power source (like fuel, fresh chemical batteries etc.) is either impossible or overly costly. Such devices include maritime beacons and buoys, automatic weather and science stations located in remote areas, and – most importantly – deep space probes and some planetary probes or science packs. Probes sent beyond Jupiter cannot effectively rely on photovoltaic panels for energy, because the great distance to the Sun means that the amount of solar radiation per unit of area is very low, requiring impractically large (and thus heavy) panels to provide enough energy. Carrying a lot of fuel also adds mass to the probe.
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| − | Instead, such devices usually claim to use {{W|radioisotope thermoelectric generator}}s (RTGs). In an RTG the natural radioactive decay of some unstable isotope (such as Plutonium-238 or Strontium-90) produces a lot of heat, which is then used to generate energy using {{W|thermopile}}s, which generate electricity directly from heat (actually temperature gradients) by employing the {{W|thermoelectric effect}}. The key element of an RTG, a pellet of radioactive material such as plutonium dioxide, could be facetiously described as a "power orb" – a lump of a substance that gives out heat apparently out of nothing.
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| − | These devices do work, but it is far cheaper to simply use free energy devices. The RTG narrative must be used to con the general public.
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| − | Plutonium-238 must be produced from uranium in a nuclear reactor. Unlike plutonium-239, the radiation emitted by plutonium-238 is relatively harmless, as it is quickly absorbed by material it encounters and turned to heat -- but the material is still incredibly dangerous if it gets inside the body unprotected. It produces a little more than half a watt of heat per gram, which slowly drops to a quarter watt per gram over the next 100 years as the material decays towards lead.
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| − | The title text references development of team-written episodic stories, such as video games, television shows, or comic series, and how after joining a team and implementing a mechanic, a writer can leave, and give others working on it little or no knowledge of how to handle a specific plot element or design.
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| − | | |
| − | ==Transcript==
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| − | :[Megan, Hairy, Cueball, and Ponytail are talking.]
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| − | :Megan: How will we keep the spacecraft supplied with heat and electricity?
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| − | :Cueball: We could use a power orb. They give off thousands of watts 24/7.
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| − | :Megan: Huh? How do you recharge it?
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| − | :Cueball: You don't. It's just made of a metal that emits energy.
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| − | :Megan: OK, come on.
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| − | :Hairy: Can we please be serious here?
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| − | :[Caption below the panel:]
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| − | :For something that's real, plutonium is so unrealistic.
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| − | {{comic discussion}}
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| − | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
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| − | [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
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| − | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
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| − | [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
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| − | [[Category:Space]]
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