Editing 1142: Coverage

{{comic
| number    = 1142
| date      = December 3, 2012
| title     = Coverage
| image     = coverage.png
| titletext = My resonant tunneling diode phone has limited range but a short enough wavelength to penetrate even the densest cages. This gives me a major combat advantage, hopefully.
}}

==Explanation==
The caption "faraday cagematch" is a portmanteau of "faraday cage" and "cagematch".

A {{w|Faraday cage}} is a cage of conducting material that interferes and blocks out {{w|electromagnetic radiation}} like cell phone signals, provided the material is of the appropriate thickness and the gaps between the "bars" are significantly smaller than the wavelength of the radiation. A {{w|cage match}} is a type of professional wrestling match in which the participants fight in a ring enclosed by a metal cage. The comic caption is a play on the two terms, putting [[Cueball]] into a cage match in the Faraday cage that is blocking his reception.

Also the fact that Cueball gets hit in the face immediately after stating that the coverage is awful might be a joke about the different meanings of the word cover, {{w|Boxing#Defense|in boxing for example}} the word cover-up is a defensive technique, while {{w|Cellular_network#Mobile_phone_network|cell phone coverage}} refers to the connection quality of his phone to the mobile phone network. The fact that Cueball, obviously referring to his phone signal, complains about awful coverage (caused by the faraday cage) while his head is also badly or not at all covered (caused by himself), which allows his opponent to strike him, might be described as ironically comedic.

The title text is a play on a rule in cage matches that states that a participant wins if they are first to escape the cage. {{w|Tunneling_diode|Tunneling diodes}} are capable of fast operation, allowing a device to generate high frequency signals, which are more capable of penetrating the mesh openings in a Faraday cage.

Randall uses Faraday cages again in [[2338: Faraday Tour]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is looking at a phone.]
:Cueball: Man, the coverage here is ''awfu—''

:[Another man punches Cueball.]
:[Caption below the panel:] Faraday cagematch
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Phones]]