Editing 2798: Room Temperature

{{comic
| number    = 2798
| date      = July 5, 2023
| title     = Room Temperature
| image     = room_temperature_2x.png
| imagesize = 299x352px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = They're also refusing to fund my device that demonstrates uncontrolled hot fusion.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] presents a room-temperature {{w|Semiconductor|semiconductor}}, consisting of layered silicon crystals. He enthusiastically describes the properties of his "discovery", namely that it can be tweaked to amplify or switch the flow of electric currents, but his audience is not impressed. This might be because silicon crystal semiconductors are already widely in use as a {{w|Semiconductor_device|key component of electronic systems}}. Silicon {{w|Semiconductor_device_fabrication|semiconductor manufacturing}} is, in simplest terms, adding materials to a flat wafer made of silicon crystal, often in a process that adds an entire layer of material, then removing the unwanted areas through various etching methods. Development of these processes began in the 1960s.

It appears that Cueball has confused semiconductors with {{w|Superconductivity|superconductors}} - materials that have no electrical resistance, meaning the flow of electrons is not slowed down at all (resistance can be thought of as the electrical equivalence of friction). Superconducting properties are extremely desirable since they allow for the lossless flow of electric current, as opposed to regular conductors like copper which have a low but non-zero resistance so the electric current decreases over time and distance, and this may also lead to superconductors having interesting magnetic properties. However, the known superconductors only work at extremely low temperatures close to 0 K, so their practical use is very limited. The discovery of superconductors that work above the boiling point of nitrogen (77 K or -196 °C) was a big deal because it meant that relatively cheap liquid nitrogen could be used as coolant rather than liquid helium. The comic probably references the recent controversy around alleged superconducting properties of carbonaceous sulfur hydride and nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride under extreme pressures. A team at the University of Rochester published two papers in the journal Nature, the first for C–S–H at 267 GPa which was later retracted after failed attempts at replication, and the second for Lu–N–H at just 1 GPa, which was later replicated. These pressures are too high to be practical for most engineering purposes, but the discoveries are still progress in the study of superconductivity. The discovery of a superconductor at standard temperature and pressure would be extremely surprising and could revolutionize electricity transmission, among other things, and dramatically reduce the cost of technologies like magnetic levitation and high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance imaging.

In the title text, Cueball talks about a device that produces “uncontrolled {{w|Nuclear_fusion|hot fusion}}” which is also not met with enthusiasm. Again, this is likely due to the fact that it has already been discovered{{cn}} and used - in the form of {{w|Thermonuclear weapon|hydrogen bombs}}. This is likely why no one wants to fund the device - not only is it not novel, but it is {{w|Operation Ivy|extremely dangerous}}; though clearly he also hasn't excited those people who typically ''want'' something dangerous.  ''Controlled'' hot fusion could be useful as an {{w|Fusion_power|alternative power source}} to nuclear reactors (which currently use nuclear ''fission''); however, {{w|Tokamak|current implementations}} still require more energy than they create. Cueball probably confused this with ''cold'' fusion, i.e. nuclear fusion that takes place at temperatures much, much lower than the millions of degrees required for "regular" hot fusion. There are {{w|Muon-catalyzed_fusion|reputable ways}} of achieving this (all of which require vast amounts of energy), but "cold fusion" has become the epitome of bad science since two scientists claimed, with much media attention, to have achieved cold nuclear fusion by doing an {{w|Cold_fusion|electrolysis of palladium in heavy water}}. The results could not be replicated by other scientists and the experiment was widely criticized for its many flaws, most importantly that the only indication of nuclear fusion was excess heat, with no detection of actual fusion byproducts. 

High(er)-temperature super-conductivity might be the key to more effortlessly initiating and maintaining low(er)-temperature fusion, through very concentrated magnetic fields, but so far their respective temperature ranges are too different to use them in combination, and whether this will ever be possible remains subject to speculation.

It should be noted that both "discoveries" presented in the comic were in fact very big and important discoveries back in their day. The proposal that nuclear fusion is what powers stars earned {{w|Hans_Bethe|Hans Bethe}} the Nobel prize in Physics, and semiconductors are what allow modern electronic devices to be so small, as their properties make it possible to selectively steer the flow of electrical current, {{w|Integrated_circuit|even over an extremely small area}}.

==Transcript==
:[A single frame with a table in the middle. A device consisting of multiple components and electrical wires is on the table. A Cueball stands to the left of the table with hands open, and facing him, Ponytail and another Cueball stand to the right of the table.]
:Cueball: My layered silicon crystals can amplify or switch current while sitting right here on the table!
:Ponytail: Uh huh.
:Another Cueball: I see.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:No one is impressed by my discovery of room-temperature semiconductors.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Physics]]