Editing 2649: Physics Cost-Saving Tips

{{comic
| number    = 2649
| date      = July 22, 2022
| title     = Physics Cost-Saving Tips
| image     = physics_cost_saving_tips.png
| titletext = I got banned from the county fair for handing out Helium-2 balloons. Apparently the instant massive plasma explosions violated some local ordinance or something.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another one of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time with a series of Physics Cost-Saving Tips. It also continues the previous [[2648: Chemicals]] comic's jocular theme of tricks to supposedly save money based on misinterpretations of science. 

It suggests four ways to reduce costs or provide something for free for physicists to save money on their research. For instance getting free electrons from a conductor or replacing regular {{w|helium}} with {{w|Isotopes_of_helium#Helium-2_(diproton)|helium 2}}. None of these would provide any real advantages even when possible to implement, and could even be very dangerous, see below in the [[#Table of tips|table]]. Obtaining money from physics experiments was also described in [[2007: Brookhaven RHIC]].

In the title text, Randall claims to have been banned from the county fair for handing out helium-2 balloons because of the instant massive explosions caused by its radioactive decay (that helium-2 decays fast is mentioned in the comic, with a joke suggestion to use it quickly). He jokes that the balloons violated a local ordinance. {{w|Gas balloon|Helium balloons}} are often given out at county fairs and similar events, but they are filled with {{w|helium-4}} and therefore inert (a very small part will be {{w|helium-3}}, 2 ppm). A balloon filled with helium-2 is a practical impossibility because of its nanosecond half-life. Assuming a 12-inch diameter balloon at 1 atmosphere of pressure, the balloon-bomb would have a yield of roughly 17 {{w|TNT equivalent|tons of TNT equivalent}}.
{{cot|[[User:SqueakSquawk4|Calculations]]}}
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{{cob}}
The smallest nuclear bomb, the {{w|W54}}, had a yield of between 10 and 1,000 tons of TNT. The largest conventional bomb, the {{w|GBU-43/B MOAB}}, has a yield of roughly 11 tons. The {{w|2020 Beirut explosion}} was roughly equivalent to 500 tons. So, while the helium-2 balloon bomb would be larger than all conventional bombs, it would still be smaller than most nukes. Handing out what are effectively small atomic bombs at a county fair would not go down well with any surviving local authorities{{Citation needed}}, so merely being banned is a very mild punishment. Criminal charges such as mass murder and terrorism would be more likely if it weren't for the absurd impossibility of the scenario.

The title text is likely also a pun, as the word "{{w|Local ordinance|ordinance}}" means a local law, and the very similar sounding word "[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordnance ordnance]" means artillery and other explosive weapons, which the balloon would qualify as.

===Table of tips===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" |Cost-Saving Tip
! scope="col" |Explanation
|-
|Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible
|[[File:Torque animation.gif|frame|right|Relationship of pseudovectors {{w|torque}} ('''τ''') and {{w|angular momentum}} ('''L''') to "regular" Euclidean vectors {{w|Position (vector)|position}} ('''r'''), {{w|force}} ('''F'''), and linear {{w|momentum}} ('''p''') in an oscillatory rotating system. Not shown is the {{w|centripetal force}} of the spoke's {{w|Tension (physics)|tension}}, a Euclidean vector towards the axle proportional to linear momentum, converting it to angular momentum.]]

The prefix "pseudo-" refers to an inauthentic variation of something. Fakes are usually cheaper than their original brand-name product, while often working just as well, so the comic implies a {{w|pseudovector}} could be a less expensive substitute for a regular vector. On the contrary, pseudovectors, or axial vectors, are distinct from regular {{w|Euclidean vector}}s, which have a magnitude and direction (velocity, for example). Pseudovectors are usually being involved with rotation or physical effects that share properties with rotation, similar to the relationship between angles and lengths. Pseudovectors are formed from the {{w|cross product}}s of Euclidean vectors, in three dimensions, and while similar to Euclidean vectors, there is no physical meaning to their specific direction, only their magnitude and portions of their position. For example, {{w|angular momentum}} is described by a pseudovector, labeled '''L''' in the comic, {{w|Normal (geometry)|normal}} to the {{w|plane of rotation}}, originating from the center of rotation, with magnitude equal to the angular velocity of rotation '''ω''' multiplied by the {{w|moment of inertia}} '''I'''. (The comic's diagram is drawn according to very uncommon {{w|Right-hand rule#Coordinates|left-handed coordinates}} instead of the standard {{w|right-hand rule}}. Randall is right-handed.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1tcyEo2tQk&t=28s])
|-
|A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves
|{{w|Fourier analysis}} can decompose any periodic function into a series of {{w|sine wave}}s. A {{w|square wave}} is equal to the sum of an infinite series of sine waves. However, the sine waves are not removed or separated individually, so such a {{w|Fourier transform}} does not produce a "supply" of sine waves for practical use in any tasks other than analysis, and as abstract mathematical objects are exempt from the laws of supply and demand ({{w|File:Munitions_T-shirt_(front).jpg|most of the time}}),
|-
|Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons
|Chemical elements are identified by the number of protons in each atomic nucleus, equal to the number of electrons in their shell (unless the atom is ionized), which dictates most of their chemical behavior. {{w|Isotopes}} are variants of the element with different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus, among which chemical behavior is usually nearly identical. The comic suggests that the neutrons don't serve any useful purpose, so, in theory, if purchasing an element by weight, and its isotopes have the same price per unit weight, then you can save money by buying isotopes with no neutrons at all. In reality, the cost per unit weight for material containing a larger concentration of normally rare isotopes, such as {{w|heavy water}} or {{w|enriched uranium}}, is much higher than the cost of material containing isotopes in their ordinary proportions. (An exception is {{w|depleted uranium}}, which costs less than regular uranium because it is a byproduct of the production of enriched uranium.) In addition, a certain range of neutron quantity is needed to keep atoms stable, as atoms with too many or too few neutrons will decay more quickly than the common isotopes. The image shown is helium-2, an {{w|Isotopes of helium|isotope of helium}} which has a half-life of less than a nanosecond. It decays into two ionized hydrogen atoms, releasing a large amount of energy—hence the explosions mentioned in the title text.
|-
|Conductors are a great source of free electrons (may carry charges)
|{{w|Charge carrier|Free}} {{w|electron}}s are electrons that are not tightly bound to specific atoms so [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGUteH93xNo they can move freely,] such as in {{w|conduction band}}s of the {{w|metallic bond}}s throughout the iron ingot depicted in the comic. Randall interprets "free" in a different sense, meaning no cost. The charges free electrons carry are electric, not monetary as implied by the pun. Ordinary matter usually contains electrons, but although the {{w|dielectric}} layer of a {{w|capacitor}} can collect electrons, it is not easy to store pure electrons, as they repel each other. When a {{w|Solution (chemistry)|solution}} has free electrons, it becomes {{w|alkaline}} ({{w|Base (chemistry)|basic}}) and corrosive. Randall has [https://what-if.xkcd.com/140/ explained the problems] with collecting a large number of electrons before.
|}

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows four rows each with a drawing and an explanation text belonging to each drawing. They alternate between having the drawing on the left and the right side. Above the first row is a large header:]
:<big>Physics Cost-Saving Tips</big>

:[The first row has a drawing of a diagramatical spinning disc, at an angle. It is identified with an 'I', with a dotted axial arrow labelled 'L' and a rotational movement labelled 'ω' (small omega). 
:I
:L
:ω

:[To the right of the diagram is this text:]
:Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible

:[The second row shows a square wave with three maxima between four minima. Below the central maxima and the two nearby minima are five arrows pointing down (two bending left two right one straight down). Each arrow points to one of five sine waves below the square wave, in three rows, with different wavelengths. The one with the shortest wavelength is the top left, then the wavelength becomes longer for the one to the right and even longer for each of the next two, in the next row with the final very long wave with longest wavelength at the bottom, with the straight down arrow pointing to that. The long waves at the bottom has the same frequency as the square wave.]

:[To the left of the waves is this text:]
:A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves

:[The third row shows two atomic models. The left containing two protons (white with a "+" sign), two neutrons (black) and orbited by two electrons (white with a "-" sign, small outlines, dotted orbits/movement lines). The right model is drawn similarly but without the black neutrons.]
:+ +
:- -
:+ +
:- -

:[The atoms have labels below and there is an extra message for the second model:]
:<sup>4</sup>He
:<sup>2</sup>He
:<small>(Decays fast- use quickly)</small>

:[To the right of the models is this text:]
:Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons

:[The fourth row shows a flat rectangular bar, drawn in perspective with a scattering of four small circles with "-" sign inside them and ten lines looking like parts of circles, all on the top face towards the far end.]
:- - - - 

:[A bending arrow goes from a label above the bar and points to one of the circles. And on the forward-facing side of the bar there is a label.]
:Arrow: Free electrons
:Label: Iron

:[To the left of the bar is this text:]
:Conductors are a great source of free electrons
:(May carry charges)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]