Editing 2088: Schwarzschild's Cat
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Created by a SMALL CAT WITH NO CONCEPT OF FIELD EQUATIONS. Could use more information on the relevant theoretical physics. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
− | This comic is primarily a wordplay joke about the {{w|Schwarzschild radius}}, or the distance from a black hole corresponding to the {{w|event horizon}} | + | This comic is primarily a wordplay joke about the {{w|Schwarzschild radius}}, or the distance from a black hole corresponding to the {{w|event horizon}}. The event horizon, in turn, is the limit from which nothing can leave a black hole; not even light. The joke is that, apparently, smaller cats are cuter, and there is a limit below which a sufficiently small cat (but larger than zero) will approach infinite cuteness, in a similar pattern to the way time's rate for an observer will approach infinity, the closer they get to the event horizon of a black hole. |
It's also an oblique reference to the {{w|Schrödinger's cat}} thought-experiment, since the names (Erwin) "Schrödinger" and (Karl) "Schwarzschild" are somewhat similar and both men were early 20th-century physicists who exchanged ideas with Albert Einstein. However, the actual comic doesn't bring up {{w|quantum superposition}}. | It's also an oblique reference to the {{w|Schrödinger's cat}} thought-experiment, since the names (Erwin) "Schrödinger" and (Karl) "Schwarzschild" are somewhat similar and both men were early 20th-century physicists who exchanged ideas with Albert Einstein. However, the actual comic doesn't bring up {{w|quantum superposition}}. | ||
− | The title text makes two allusions. First, it alludes to what happens when an object falls into a black hole. From an outside observer's point of view, such objects appear to slow down and take an infinite amount of time to cross the | + | The title text makes two allusions. First, it alludes to what happens when an object falls into a black hole. From an outside observer's point of view, such objects appear to slow down and take an infinite amount of time to cross the Schwarzschild radius due to the time dilation of {{w|General relativity}}. The object's photons become increasingly red-shifted, fading as they lose energy to the black hole's gravity well. Anything on the other side of the event horizon is unobservable. Second, the title text is a play on the {{w|Cheshire Cat}} from Alice in Wonderland, which slowly fades from view until only its grin remains. |
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− | Second, the title text is a play on the {{w|Cheshire Cat}} from Alice in Wonderland, which slowly fades from view until only its grin remains | ||
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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