Editing 3053: KM3NeT

{{comic
| number    = 3053
| date      = February 19, 2025
| title     = KM3NeT
| image     = km3net_2x.png
| imagesize = 313x436px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = Unfortunately, KM3NeT led to the discovery of the Pauli anglerfish, which emits Cherenkov radiation to prey on neutrino researchers.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PAULI ANGLERFISH WITH C-SICKNESS - Please continue to expand the explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[SafetySat]] is a telescope under the {{w|Mediterranean Sea}}. As [[Ponytail]] explains, its goal is to detect {{w|neutrino}} interactions with the seawater. Neutrinos mostly originate from the sun and cosmic radiation. Neutrinos interact with solid matter only very rarely, so a telescope looking for them needs a lot of matter, in this case seawater, to spot collisions in. When such a collision happens, it can release a spray of other particles moving at close to the {{w|speed of light}} in a vacuum (typically denoted ''c''). In seawater, however, the speed of light is slower, and particles moving faster than it cause the emission of a type of light called {{w|Cherenkov radiation}}, which the telescope detects as a blue flash.

When [[Cueball]] questions the rationale by pointing out the existence of {{w|Bioluminescence|bioluminescent}} fish, which might also produce blue light, Ponytail responds with a pun. Since fish move much slower than the speed of light, they are "under-''c''" life, as well as being "undersea" life. Cherenkov radiation is produced only by particles exceeding the speed of light in the local medium, so could not be produced by the movement of fish.  However, this ignores the point of the question of other sources of light, like fish, possibly being confused for Cherenkov radiation, which doesn't require the light they produce to actually be identical or produced by the same source or mechanism.

The title text claims that the KM3NeT telescope discovered a type of fish that emits Cherenkov-like radiation: the 'Pauli anglerfish'. {{w|Anglerfish}} have specialized organs that emit flashes of light to attract or startle their prey. Supposedly the (mythical) Pauli anglerfish uses its radiation emissions to prey on neutrino researchers, which is why the discovery is described as 'unfortunate'. In actuality, anglerfish are smaller than humans and do not prey on researchers.{{cn}} The Pauli anglerfish is presumably named after the theoretical physicist {{w|Wolfgang Pauli}}, who first {{w|Neutrino#Pauli's proposal|proposed a neutrino-like particle}}, in part to preserve ''angular'' momentum during nuclear decay.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is pointing behind her towards a drop down screen as she adresses Cueball and Megan in front of her. On the screen is a panel showing a side view of a deep-water telescope. It shows four series of circles stringed together attached to the rough bedrock, so the circles are floating above the bedrock, but far beneath the surface. Waves are drawn just beneath the top of the panel on the screen, indicating the surface of the ocean.]
:Ponytail: The KM3NeT deep-water telescope detects the flashes of Cherenkov light from neutrino interactions.
:Cueball: How do you know you aren't just seeing bioluminescent fish?
:Ponytail: Cherenkov radiation is only emitted when things exceed the local speed of light, so it can't be produced by under-c life.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Telescopes]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Puns]]