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| | ==Explanation== | | ==Explanation== |
| − | This comic explores the distinctions between magic and physics through the perspective of [[Miss Lenhart]], a schoolteacher. She explains that {{w|physics}} involves the continuous application of forces to objects over time, whereas magic reveals the outcome without detailing the process. She illustrates her point with a magical curse example that dictates the recipient will slay their brother by midnight (or possibly noon), highlighting its lack of scientific basis due to the absence of a causal explanation. She further contends that the {{w|laws of thermodynamics}}, among other laws, fall into the category of magic, with {{w|Lagrangian (physics)|Lagrangians}} representing a deeper level of magic.
| + | {{incomplete|Created by THE HOGWARTS PROFESSOR FOR PHYSICS- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
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| − | The humor in this comic arises from the observation that foundational physical laws, despite being empirically derived, lack explanations for their inherent truths. According to the logic presented in the second panel, these laws resemble magic as they specify outcomes without clarifying the means to achieve them. While some laws might be derived from others, ultimately, we accept certain principles as given, akin to magical reasoning.
| + | This is a comic about the differences between magic and physics. [[Miss Lenhart]], a school teacher, says that {{w|physics}} is applying forces to objects continuously over time, while magic tells you the outcome, but not how it'll get there. She gives an example of a magical curse that causes the recipient to slay their brother by midnight; it's not science because it doesn't say what will cause them to take this action. She then states that the {{w|laws of thermodynamics}} and other laws are also magic, with {{w|Lagrangian (physics)|Lagrangians}} being deep magic. |
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| − | The second panel references Newtonian mechanics, depicted as an initial value problem, which establishes a system's initial conditions and its temporal evolution based on specific rules. This formulation aligns with our intuitive understanding that the present is a known state and the immediate future is determined by present conditions. The final panel humorously juxtaposes this notion with various physics concepts that challenge our basic assumptions in progressively disconcerting ways. | + | The joke is that these basic physical laws have been discovered empirically, but we don't know ''why'' they're true. So by the logic in the second panel, they're essentially like magic, since they specify a result without explaining how we get there. It may be possible to derive some of them from the others, but eventually we hit bottom and we have to say "because it just is", and that's like magic. |
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| − | Specifically, equilibrium thermodynamics, a major branch of thermodynamics familiar to students, makes predictions about a system's eventual state without accounting for its current state or intermediate behaviors. This perspective seemingly contradicts the principle introduced in the first panel, although the concept of inquiring about long-term stability without detailed process knowledge remains intuitively accessible.
| + | The title text seems to be mixing the diagram shown on the whiteboard with the curse of the comic. The first prediction is (according to Miss Lenhart) a physics prediction about a nonmagical {{w|trebuchet}}, whereas the second prediction would be something from deep magic. |
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| − | {{w|Conservation law}}s, emerging naturally from Newtonian physics, present another conceptual challenge. While basic explanations involve calculus and elementary algebra, more advanced interpretations connect conservation laws to physical system symmetries in a highly abstract and enigmatic manner. These laws, therefore, make permanent statements about a system's state, independent of its evolution, challenging the initial principle in a manner that feels even more counterintuitive than thermodynamics. Notably, particle physics conservation laws, except in cases involving the {{w|Wu experiment|weak nuclear force}}, maintain certain system properties like charge, spin, and parity. | + | ==Transcript== |
| | + | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
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| − | Lagrangian mechanics, a reinterpretation of classical physics equivalent to Newton's laws, diverges by considering both initial and final states to determine physically permissible trajectories. This approach directly opposes the first panel's principle, mirroring the magical definition by surprisingly and counterintuitively aligning the intuitive Newtonian perspective with the "magical" frameworks of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics. Therefore, the comic labels Lagrangians, central to Lagrangian mechanics and system dynamics description, as 'Deep Magic', highlighting their role in encapsulating physics' magical aspect.
| + | :[Miss Lenhart pointing with a stick to a whiteboard.] |
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| − | Furthermore, the comic might hint at the teleological debate within physics, especially regarding the {{w|stationary-action principle}}'s potential teleological interpretations. This principle, foundational to deriving various equations of motion across physics fields, suggests a teleological element by inferring initial conditions from specified final conditions, challenging the conventional causality narrative.
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| − | The title text merges the comic's thematic elements, contrasting a nonmagical {{w|trebuchet}} prediction with the mystical implications of the curse, further blending the lines between physics predictions and magical foresight.
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| − | ==Transcript==
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| − | :[Miss Lenhart is standing in front of a whiteboard and pointing to it with a stick. The whiteboard contains two lines of scribbles at the top, two drawings below them featuring a curve on the left and a circle on the right, and below them four additional lines of scribbles with smallest line of scribbles in the lower left corner.] | |
| | :Miss Lenhart: '''''Physics''''' and '''''magic''''' are different in a very deep way. | | :Miss Lenhart: '''''Physics''''' and '''''magic''''' are different in a very deep way. |
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| − | :[Close-up of Miss Lenhart pointing the stick to the left to a depiction of a projectile's motion due to gravity. The path of movement is shown as a dashed line that first heads directly to the right but starts increasingly curving downward. There are five small circles at different points within the path. There are labels "V<sub>0</sub>" for an arrow pointing right on the left side of the leftmost circle, "F" for an arrow pointing downward below the leftmost circle, and "T<sub>0</sub>" to "T<sub>4</sub>" for the five individual circles from left to right.] | + | :[Miss Lenhart pointing to a depiction of a projectile's motion due to gravity with the path in a dashed line and labels V<sub>0</sub>, F, and T<sub>0</sub> to T<sub>4</sub> shown.] |
| − | :Miss Lenhart: '''''Physics''''' works by describing the forces that act on a system. | + | :Miss Lenhart: '''''Physics''''' works by describing the Forces that act on a system. |
| | :Miss Lenhart: To predict outcomes, we progressively apply those forces over time. | | :Miss Lenhart: To predict outcomes, we progressively apply those forces over time. |
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| − | :[Miss Lenhart is holding the stick down and standing in front of Jill and Hairy sitting at their desks. Jill has her hands on her desk while Hairy has his hands on his lap.] | + | :[Miss Lenhart standing in front of Jill and Hairy sitting at their desks.] |
| | :Miss Lenhart: '''''Magic''''' specifies the outcome, but not the intermediate events. | | :Miss Lenhart: '''''Magic''''' specifies the outcome, but not the intermediate events. |
| | :Miss Lenhart: '' "Ere the clock strikes twelve, you are cursed to slay your brother" '' is magic, not science. | | :Miss Lenhart: '' "Ere the clock strikes twelve, you are cursed to slay your brother" '' is magic, not science. |
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| − | :[Same setting as in the third panel, except Miss Lenhart is holding the stick slightly lower and Jill has her other hand on her lap.]
| + | :Miss Lenhart: ... And that's how we know thermondyanimcs is magic. |
| − | :Miss Lenhart: ... And that's how we know thermodynamics is magic. | |
| | :Miss Lenhart: Conservation laws are, too. | | :Miss Lenhart: Conservation laws are, too. |
| | :Hairy: What about Lagrangians? | | :Hairy: What about Lagrangians? |
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| | [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] | | [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] |
| | [[Category:Physics]] | | [[Category:Physics]] |
| − | [[Category:Trebuchet]]
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