Editing 2484: H-alpha
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by a RED BARON. Elaborate on title-text. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | Black Hat | + | [[Black Hat]] has acquired an {{w|H-alpha}} filter. As he explains to [[Cueball]], these filters are used to look at the Sun during scientific observations, as looking at the Sun bare-eyed will do damage to one's eyes; a camera using such a filter was seen in [[1828: ISS Solar Transit]], and the consequences of not using such a filter were explored in [[2227: Transit of Mercury]]. |
− | + | Black Hat points out that the filter can also be used to look at {{w|nebula}}e, but doesn't see much further use for it; as the filter only transmits a very narrow bandwidth of light, one generated by hot hydrogen, it is not useful for looking at much else. This gives him an idea, and he leaves. | |
− | + | WARNING: A deep sky nebula H-alpha filter has a wider bandwidth than a solar H-alpha filter and WILL hurt the eyes if used to try and observe the sun !!!! | |
− | + | Upon returning, he shares with Cueball three seemingly unrelated observations which suggest what he got up to in the meantime: that most modern {{w|blimp|blimps}} use helium to keep them aloft, that their household is out of fireworks, and that an advertising company (or several, going by the title text) is upset. Before the 1960s, most {{w|airship|airships}} such as blimps and {{w|zeppelin|zeppelins}} used hydrogen as the lifting gas, which resulted in several catastrophic accidents when the highly flammable gas caught fire such as the {{w|LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg}}. Apparently, Black Hat was not aware that modern blimps use helium instead, and tried to set light to an advertising blimp using fireworks: he could then have used his H-alpha filter to look at the burning hydrogen. (Several companies use blimps for advertising, as they are an unusual and hence enticing sight in the sky, offer a large surface area that can be used to show a slogan or logo, and can stay aloft for a long time with comparatively little cost.) (While modern blimps do use helium, which is an inert gas, Black Hat also should have failed because advertising blimps typically fly higher than firework range, which raises the question of why Black Hat would have suspected that the blimps did not ignite if the fireworks did not reach the blimps. However, it's possible that Black Hat has a way to make fireworks go higher/farther, especially considering Black Hat's sadistic tendencies and the potential for fireworks to be used as weapons.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wallace |first1=Danielle |title=Crowds launch fireworks at brewery, draw guns on drivers as riots spread from Portland to smaller Oregon city |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-riots-spread-eugene-oregon-antifa |website=Fox News |access-date=3 July 2021 |date=27 July 2020 |quote=A small Oregon city less than a two-hour drive from Portland experienced rioting Saturday night as hundreds targeted a county jail and federal courthouse with fireworks before attacking businesses downtown while employees remained trapped inside.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Artemis Moshtaghian |author2=Eliott C. McLaughlin |title=Portland demonstration declared a riot after protesters launch fireworks at federal courthouse |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=3 July 2021 |quote=During demonstrations in downtown Portland, Oregon, protesters blocked traffic on Main Street and launched fireworks from the street, injuring officers, the Portland Police Bureau said in a Sunday statement.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Artemis Moshtaghian |author2=Eliott C. McLaughlin |title=Portland demonstration declared a riot after protesters launch fireworks at federal courthouse |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=3 July 2021 |quote=The crowd also blocked traffic and launched "commercial-grade fireworks" toward the justice center and at the nearby federal courthouse, police said.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Artemis Moshtaghian |author2=Eliott C. McLaughlin |title=Portland demonstration declared a riot after protesters launch fireworks at federal courthouse |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=3 July 2021 |quote=The fireworks injured several officers when they exploded on or near them, the statement said.}}</ref>) Cueball "responds" by holding whatever he's reading closer to his face, apparently hoping to avoid further conversation (or consequences). | |
− | + | The title text references how, until 2016, insurance company MetLife used the character Snoopy as an advertising mascot. In the ''Peanuts'' comics, Snoopy would frequently imagine himself as a fighter pilot in World War I in an aerial battle with the Red Baron, which he would frequently lose. | |
− | + | This comic was published shortly before {{w|Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day}} 2021, a US holiday that is often commemorated with fireworks, which may explain why the house had so many fireworks at the beginning of this comic. As parts of America were undergoing an extreme {{w|2021 Western North America heat wave|heat wave}} at the same time, several regions recommended against or banned the firing of fireworks, to reduce the risk of wildfires. | |
− | + | ==Transcript== | |
+ | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
− | + | :[Black Hat is holding a device in his hand] | |
− | :[ | ||
:Black Hat: I got an H-Alpha filter for looking at the sun. | :Black Hat: I got an H-Alpha filter for looking at the sun. | ||
− | :[ | + | :[non-bordered panel with Black Hat standing behind Cueball, who is reading on an armchair] |
:Black Hat: It also works for nebulae. But that's about it. There just aren't that many hot blobs of hydrogen to look at, I guess. | :Black Hat: It also works for nebulae. But that's about it. There just aren't that many hot blobs of hydrogen to look at, I guess. | ||
− | :[ | + | :[Black Hat is now holding his empty hand to his chin] |
− | :Black Hat: | + | :Black Hat: Unless... |
− | :[ | + | :[Black Hat leaves, away from Cueball] |
− | :[ | + | :[Beat panel] |
+ | |||
+ | :[Black Hat re-enters; his black hat is somewhat out of shape; Cueball is now hunched further forward, with his face closer to his reading material] | ||
:Black Hat: Huh, did you know blimps all use helium now? You learn something new every day! By the way, we're out of fireworks. | :Black Hat: Huh, did you know blimps all use helium now? You learn something new every day! By the way, we're out of fireworks. | ||
− | :Black Hat: And some advertising company is | + | :Black Hat: And some advertising company is ''real'' mad. |
+ | |||
+ | ==References== | ||
+ | <references/> | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]] | ||
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