Difference between revisions of "2719: Hydrogen Isotopes"
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|This fictional form consists of four neutrons, a {{w|tetraneutron}}, with one orbiting around a group of three. The name is likely a reference to an American breakfast cereal called {{w|Cap'n Crunch#Variations|Oops! All Berries}}. | |This fictional form consists of four neutrons, a {{w|tetraneutron}}, with one orbiting around a group of three. The name is likely a reference to an American breakfast cereal called {{w|Cap'n Crunch#Variations|Oops! All Berries}}. | ||
− | The title text provides three other names of this form: 1. "Neutral Quadrium": The proton and electron in tritium have both been replaced with neutrons, making this fictional atom neutral, and it's named with the "quad-" prefix designating four nucleons. 2. "Nydnonen" is likely a derivation of "hydrogen" with most of its consonants replaced with the letter 'n' representing four neutrons. 3. "Goth Tritium": all the particles in the depiction are black, resembling stereotypical {{w|goth fashion}}. | + | The title text provides three other names of this form: 1. "Neutral Quadrium": The proton and electron in tritium have both been replaced with neutrons, making this fictional atom neutral, and it's named with the "quad-" prefix designating four nucleons. 2. "Nydnonen" is likely a derivation of "hydrogen" with most of its consonants replaced with the letter 'n' representing four neutrons. 3. "Goth Tritium": all the particles in the depiction are black, resembling stereotypical {{w|goth fashion}}.|} |
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Revision as of 07:26, 3 January 2023
Hydrogen Isotopes |
Title text: Oops, All Neutrons is also known as Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium. |
Explanation
This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a BREAK ROOM DE BROGLIE MICROWAVE USER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks. |
"Isotope" | Real? | Description | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hydrogen | Yes | Hydrogen is the most common isotope of hydrogen, with one proton and one electron, shown with the electron orbiting the proton. It is also known as protium. | ||||
Deuterium | Yes | Deuterium is the second most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and both a neutron and proton in its nucleus. About one of every 6,760 hydrogen atoms in seawater is deuterium. | ||||
Tritium | Yes | Tritium is the third most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and a nucleus of one proton and two neutrons, for an atomic mass of three daltons. It is radioactive with a half-life of about twelve years, and is very rare (but not as rare as unbound "instant hydrogen" neutrons.) | ||||
Ium | No | This imaginary isotope consists of one electron orbiting around nothing. The name relates to the fact that the two heavier isotopes are named from a prefix designating the number of nucleons followed by the suffix "-ium", which is sometimes used satirically, e.g., in "unobtainium." | ||||
Wheelium | No | This fictional form consists of a proton, electron, and neutron orbiting around nothing, shaped similarly to a wheel. | ||||
Instant hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes) | Yes, but rare | This is just a single neutron. Unbound neutrons will take about fifteen minutes to decay into a proton, an electron, and a neutrino, which can then form into a hydrogen atom, but do only four times in a million. The name is likely a reference to "instant" meals that require less preparation time than traditional varieties, e.g., instant noodles. | ||||
Hydrogen (maximum strength) | No | This fictional isotope consists of a proton, an electron, and what appear to be at least 14 neutrons. This isotope's proton would not be bound to all the neutrons. It would immediately drip away most of them. | ||||
Oops, All Neutrons | Maybe | This fictional form consists of four neutrons, a tetraneutron, with one orbiting around a group of three. The name is likely a reference to an American breakfast cereal called Oops! All Berries.
The title text provides three other names of this form: 1. "Neutral Quadrium": The proton and electron in tritium have both been replaced with neutrons, making this fictional atom neutral, and it's named with the "quad-" prefix designating four nucleons. 2. "Nydnonen" is likely a derivation of "hydrogen" with most of its consonants replaced with the letter 'n' representing four neutrons. 3. "Goth Tritium": all the particles in the depiction are black, resembling stereotypical goth fashion.|}
Transcript
There are 8 drawings of atoms, arranges 4 across and 2 down, as planetary models. Each has a label underneath. Here, they are listed left-to-right top-to-bottom. 1 electron, 1 proton: Hydrogen 1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Deuterium 1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Tritium 1 electron only: ium 1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron, all orbiting together around nothing: Wheelium 1 proton only: Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes) 1 proton, 1 electron, lots of neutrons: Hydrogen (Maximum Strength) 1 neutron orbiting 3 other neutrons: Oops, all neutrons add a comment! ⋅ add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ refresh comments!DiscussionThis shows as a 404 on xkcd.com but in my RSS feed i can see the comic
Could someone add an explanation of Nydnonen? I don't get it and it's google proof 172.71.210.209 05:04, 3 January 2023 (UTC)Benzodiakanine
Are these to scale? I recently read that the Helium is smaller in terms of measured atomic radius than the Hydrogen. Possibly this is true of Deuterium as well? 172.70.85.45 06:50, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
Is "oops all neutrons" distinct from Neutronium, which is also all neutrons? 172.70.100.131 07:38, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
I think "Maximum Strength" is a reference to medicines marketed as such - in particular brands of Ibuprofen "Maximum Strength Tablets". --172.69.79.132 14:59, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
Considering that Deuterium is derived from Greek and Tritium works in both Greek and Latin, wouldn't the correct name for ⁴H be Tetartium?
Is it just me or have the recaptchas gotten much more difficult over the past week, to the point of ambiguous or indiscernibly blurred images and frequently rejecting correct responses (i.e. "please try again" in red)? Granted, I'm not saying this behavior makes it any less valid as a captcha, but it's a little surprising to always get several-step challenges lately. 172.71.154.38 05:08, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
Re "ium": Shouldn't we try to keep the explanation short and to the point? This comic is about "isotopes", i.e. about different options of how to construct a single atom (or atom-like entity). IMO, there is no need to include many-body effects in a set of multiple electrons ("Fermi velocity" or "electron degeneracy pressure"); just as there is no need to discuss, say, the kinetic theory of gases made up of these isotopes, or how they would be able to form fluids or solids. It is good to see that people who contribute here know about these effects, but I think that the explanation does not benefit from extending the discussion too far beyond the subject of a given comic. If anything, it might be worthwhile to include a reference to ion traps - especially since in a Penning trap electrons actually go in circulating orbits (although not exactly circular). --172.70.246.210 11:56, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
I love the administratium joke, but adding more jokes in the description seems antithetical to the purpose of this website :) 172.70.100.107 21:30, 4 January 2023 (UTC)
One thing about this cartoon strikes me as impressive. "Hydrogen, maximum strength" is about 5-10 % protons. Bulk nuclear matter, which is what makes up most of the body of a neutron star, has a neutron/proton ratio between 10 and 20 (probably close to the higher value). Hydrogen (maximum strength) is what holds up a neutron star, and that qualifies as pretty strong in anybody's book. And, while on the topic, there is no such thing as "neutronium". The cores of neutron stars are covered by a "nilium ocean" of free neutrons - but that term applies to bulk properties of the ocean. Go to the microscopic picture, and its just free neutrons; it is not a substance in its own right. A second point, if I may. An electron can orbit an empty place quite easily if you put it in a magnetic field - but there is another possibility. Dark matter exerts gravitational attraction on electrons. Given enough room, an electron will orbit dark matter. Perhaps "ium" should be called "darkium". -- Adeblanc (talk) 14:57, 2 February 2023 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
What if we made a Rubiks Cube out of "Oops, All Neutrons"? That would be fun. (We would all die) Psychoticpotato (talk) 21:30, 4 April 2024 (UTC) |