Editing 2447: Hammer Incident

The {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}} (JWST) is a {{w|space telescope}} created to be the successor of the {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}} under construction at time of publishing and launched December 25, 2021, though in [[2014: JWST Delays]], xkcd predicted its launch would actually occur during late 2026.

The {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}} (JWST) is a {{w|space telescope}} created to be the successor of the {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}} under construction at time of publishing and launched December 25, 2021, though in [[2014: JWST Delays]], xkcd predicted its launch would actually occur during late 2026.

In actuality the mirror panel is not made of glass, so it's likely that a dropped hammer would dent and distort the panel rather than shattering it. Presumably Cueball's hammer drop would damage or destroy only one mirror panel out of the JWST's eighteen panels. (If he had destroyed the entire telescope, he may have been facing 7×18=126 years of bad luck, and the damage costs would be much, much higher.  [[2153:_Effects_of_High_Altitude|Then again, this depends on the altitude that the destruction happened.]]) Even breaking a single panel would likely be very expensive because it would require extremely accurate machinery and extensive calibration tests to make and install a replacement panel, especially because the back of JWST's mirrors are made of beryllium. Beryllium is expensive to purchase, since it is relatively scarce, and is very hard and abrasive, so making things out of it is difficult (and expensive due to the specialized machinery required and the precautions necessary to prevent inhalation). Breaking a beryllium mirror would lead to dust formation; single exposures to beryllium dust [http://who.int/ipcs/publications/cicad/en/cicad32.pdf can cause] acute beryllium poisoning and massively increase the risk of lung cancer, which is very bad luck on behalf of Cueball. In addition to the property damage, Cueball is probably liable for injuring his coworkers, which is probably the main reason why the NASA workers are so angry at him because human lives are more valuable than mere money.{{Citation needed}}

In actuality the mirror panel is not made of glass, so it's likely that a dropped hammer would dent and distort the panel rather than shattering it. Presumably Cueball's hammer drop would damage or destroy only one mirror panel out of the JWST's eighteen panels. (If he had destroyed the entire telescope, he may have been facing 7×18=126 years of bad luck, and the damage costs would be much, much higher.  [[2153:_Effects_of_High_Altitude|Then again, this depends on the altitude that the destruction happened.]]) Even breaking a single panel would likely be very expensive because it would require extremely accurate machinery and extensive calibration tests to make and install a replacement panel, especially because the back of JWST's mirrors are made of beryllium. Beryllium is expensive to purchase, since it is relatively scarce, and is very hard and abrasive, so making things out of it is difficult (and expensive due to the specialized machinery required and the precautions necessary to prevent inhalation). Breaking a beryllium mirror would lead to dust formation; single exposures to beryllium dust [http://who.int/ipcs/publications/cicad/en/cicad32.pdf can cause] acute beryllium poisoning and massively increase the risk of lung cancer, which is very bad luck on behalf of Cueball. In addition to the property damage, Cueball is probably liable for injuring his coworkers, which is probably the main reason why the NASA workers are so angry at him because human lives are more valuable than mere money.{{Citation needed}}