Editing 2877: Fever

{{comic
| number    = 2877
| date      = January 5, 2024
| title     = Fever
| image     = fever_2x.png
| imagesize = 514x587px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = Hypothermia of below 98.6 K should be treated by leaving the giant molecular cloud and moving to the vicinity of a star.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic mimics [https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/-/media/images/project/healthcareblog/hero-images/2020/05/fevers-at-every-age-infographic.ashx?h=1477&w=750&hash=14066972FE7A69A90BE29654F41F7C65 charts] on {{w|fever}} temperatures and actions that are indicated as a result. However, rather than dividing the normal body temperature range of a febrile (fever-having) patient into subtle grades, it quickly progresses beyond these to specify treatment for increasingly high temperature ranges, culminating with the most extreme temperature range ever achieved in the universe. 

After the first two entries in the table, the rest refer to temperatures caused by the surrounding environment, rather than by conditions internal to the body (or the vapor/plasma cloud you would turn into if you reach this temperature...). Hence the 'treatments' consist of removing yourself from those environments. 

[[Randall]] uses the SI related unit {{w|Celsius}} for all entries in the table, giving the temperature in {{w|Fahrenheit}} only for the first entry in the table about a normal fever temperature range. 

The title text uses the real SI unit {{w|Kelvin}}, and suggests that those with temperatures under 98.6 Kelvin (-173.55 Celsius or -280.39 Fahrenheit) are in a {{w|molecular cloud}} and that they should get near a star to warm them up. 98.6 ''Fahrenheit'' (=37°C) is the average human resting body temperature, explaining why Randall chose this number, but 98.6 Kelvin is a good deal colder than this, and a temperature at which it would be very hard for a human to survive.  By way of comparison, the normal boiling point of liquid oxygen is 90.19 K (−182.96 °C; −297.33 °F).

Taking an everyday situation to its logical extreme is a common humor trope, often used by xkcd.

===Table of fever temperatures===
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ Treating a Fever
|-
! Fever Temperature in Celsius (Fahrenheit) !! Treatment !! Additional notes
|-
| 38-40 (100-104) || Fluids, rest, normal doctor stuff || Normal fever temperatures. 

"Normal doctor stuff" refers to routine medical consultation at an outpatient clinic or through telemedicine.
|-
| 40-45 (104-113) || Hospital, advanced doctor stuff || A severe fever level at which humans might start experiencing brain damage from fever. 

"Advanced doctor stuff" refers to hospital care, likely in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
|-
| 45-100 (113-212) || Exit that steam cloud immediately || A temperature range that is uncomfortable and injurious. (Imagine keeping your hand right above the spout of a steaming kettle.) For the rest of the table, the prescribed treatments presume that the fever temperature is due to one's environment. 

Note that this range maximum is 100 degrees Celsius, the temperature at which water boils. After this point, the water in the body would soon boil, causing quick and painful death.
|-
| 100-400 (212-750) || Stop, drop, and roll || The subject is probably on fire. Stop, drop, and roll is a recommended method for putting out flames on your clothing.
|-
| 400-500 (750-930) || Return to Earth from Venus ASAP || 464°C (867°F) is {{w|Venus}}ian atmosphere temperature.
|-
| 500-1,500 (930-2,700) || Please climb out of that volcano || {{w|Magma}} is about 700°C (1,290°F). Therefore, if someone is at that temperature, they are probably in lava/magma.
|-
| 1,500-5,000 (2,700-9,000) || Turn your tunneling machine around and come back up to the surface || 4,400-6,000°C (7,950-10,830°F) is the estimate internal temperature of the {{w|Earth}}. Another reference to the 2003 movie [[:Category:The Core|The Core]], at least the 6th comic to do so.
|-
| 5,000-6,000 (9,000-10,800) || No, the surface of the '''''Earth''''', not the Sun || 5,500°C (9,930°F) is the approximate temperature of the surface of the {{w|Sun}}. The Sun's {{w|photosphere}} has a temperature between 4,400 and 6,600 K (4,130 and 6,330 °C) (with an effective temperature of 5,772 K (5,499 °C)).
|-
| 6,000-50,000 (10,800-90,000) || Wait, that's not the Sun. What star are you visiting? Come back right now. || Surface temperatures of {{w|main sequence|main-sequence}} stars larger than the Sun can go up to 50,000 (Kelvin and degrees Celsius are indistinguishable at this point). Though some stars can be even hotter.
|-
| 50,000-20,000,000 <small>(90,000-36,000,000)</small> || At least stay on the '''''surface''''' of the star instead of diving down to the core || Core temperatures of main-sequence stars like the Sun are usually around ten million kelvins, while larger and hotter stars can reach up to a hundred million.
|-
| 20,000,000-10,000,000,000 <small>(36,000,000-18,000,000,000)</small> || You know, you could've picked a normal star instead of one that's exploding || {{w|Supernova}}e can reach temperatures of billions of degrees for brief periods, with type II supernovae even reaching hundreds of billions of degrees. This is the first of two comics in a row that mentions exploding stars, with [[2878: Supernova]] the next comic. That comic is like this comic also a [[:Category:Charts|Charts comic]].
|-
| 10,000,000,000 or higher <small><br>(18,000,000,000 or higher)</small> || I hope you're enjoying your visit to the Big Bang but you should really come back home immediately || 10<sup>32</sup> °C (or K), the highest physically meaningful temperature, is the estimated temperature at the Planck epoch (10<sup>-43</sup> s) after the {{w|Big Bang}}
|}

==Transcript==
:[A table is shown with two columns with twelve rows. The columns are labeled and there is a heading above table:]
:<big>Treating a Fever</big>

:[Column labels]:
:Fever
:Treatment

:38°C-40°C (100°F-104°F) 
:Fluids, rest, normal doctor stuff

:40°C-45°C
:Hospital, advanced doctor stuff

:45°C-100°C
:Exit that steam cloud immediately

:100°C-400°C 
:Stop, drop, and roll

:400°C-500°C
:Return to Earth from Venus ASAP

:500°C-1,500°C
:Please climb out of that volcano

:1,500°C-5,000°C
:Turn your tunneling machine around and come back up to the surface

:5,000°C-6,000°C
:No, the surface of the '''''Earth''''', not the Sun

:6,000°C-50,000°C
:Wait, that's not the Sun. What star are you visiting? Come back right now.

:50,000°C-20,000,000°C
:At least stay on the '''''surface''''' of the star instead of diving down to the core

:20,000,000°C-10,000,000,000°C
:You know, you could've picked a normal star instead of one that's exploding

:10,000,000,000°C or higher
:I hope you're enjoying your visit to the Big Bang but you should really come back home immediately

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:Volcanoes]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:The Core]]