My Little Pony XIX: I Emptied Your Thread

[the_druid_droid]

So, recent ponythread discussion has awakened the science pony in me. On one hoof, I want to reply, because science is actually the thing I do when I'm not watching ponies...on the other hoof, I don't want to come off as a know-it-all.

Still, negative temperature and matter superposition are really cool topics, so you tell me ponythread! Shall I say something in a spoiler for those that care?

[WJMill]

Oh god no. Clopfics are really a league of their own.

....Oh, that's what that means. Now I know what to avoid. D:

[Betropper]

Pinkie Pie style randomness ahead.

Confound this Nyx, she drives me to consider writing fanfic!
If you don't know what I'm talking about read this.

[Kyouhen]

So, recent ponythread discussion has awakened the science pony in me. On one hoof, I want to reply, because science is actually the thing I do when I'm not watching ponies...on the other hoof, I don't want to come off as a know-it-all.

Still, negative temperature and matter superposition are really cool topics, so you tell me ponythread! Shall I say something in a spoiler for those that care?

I vote yes. As a collective we are infinitely more knowledgeable than we are individually. Share your wisdom, that we might benefit from it!

[WJMill]

I vote yes. As a collective we are infinitely more knowledgeable than we are individually. Share your wisdom, that we might benefit from it!

I concur! I feel like a know-it-all sometimes, too.

[Kindablue]

So, recent ponythread discussion has awakened the science pony in me. On one hoof, I want to reply, because science is actually the thing I do when I'm not watching ponies...on the other hoof, I don't want to come off as a know-it-all.

Still, negative temperature and matter superposition are really cool topics, so you tell me ponythread! Shall I say something in a spoiler for those that care?

Yeah, go for it. What kind of a scientist are you, if you don't mind me asking?

[Rebelhero]

Great, now I need to finally get around to learning d6 fantasy before I can enter any of the RP here.


Also, it's time for News From the Webcomic Front! It would seem that bronydom has conquered Panthera. This should get us one additional resource per turn!

Nah, if you dont know much about table top RPG's chose any anime with sufficient action and Scifi elements.
Hence Gurren Lagann Ponyard.

[MCerberus]

So, recent ponythread discussion has awakened the science pony in me. On one hoof, I want to reply, because science is actually the thing I do when I'm not watching ponies...on the other hoof, I don't want to come off as a know-it-all.

Still, negative temperature and matter superposition are really cool topics, so you tell me ponythread! Shall I say something in a spoiler for those that care?

I say blind us all
WITH SCIENCE

[Kindablue]

[the_druid_droid]

I vote yes. As a collective we are infinitely more knowledgeable than we are individually. Share your wisdom, that we might benefit from it!

Hokay! Here we go.

Negative Temperatures:

Spoiler

Show

The difficulty here is that temperature and negative temperature share a name, but they're really like apples and oranges. Temperature is something that classifies an equilibrium system (one that's had time to come to rest in a configuration that is the most favorable) while negative temperature is inherently a property of non-equilibrium systems (which are still in flux of some sort). Basically, there exists an equation that relates a system's configuration to its energy content; after everything has had time to come to rest, even at the highest possible temperature (mathematically, infinite temp) there should be equal amounts of the system in the high and low energy states.

In a non-equilibrium situation, it is possible to have more of the system in the higher-energy state; given time, this configuration will relax and return to equal parts in the two states, but while it is out of equilibrium, the equation technically defines its temperature as being negative. However, since you must put in energy to excite the system to this non-equilibrium state, and temperature is equivalent to energy (in some sense), negative temperatures require more energy to achieve and are thus 'hotter' than even infinite (equilibrium) temperature.

Basically, it's a problem of definition and the fact that thermal energy is 'random' and just as likely to excite one part of the system as de-excite another (so on average the populations will be equal even at very high temp), while other types of energy are 'focused' and can specifically target the low-energy states, exciting them and yielding negative temperature (non-equilibrium) states.

Matter Overlap:

Spoiler

Show

There are some complications to this, but essentially the picture is that there are two fundamental types of matter. For one type, called bosons, two identical particles can exist at the same spatial point at the same time (in fact, more than two can; a large number can all be exactly on top of one another). For the other type, called fermions, this simply isn't allowed. No matter how hard you push them together, there is no chance of getting them to occupy the same space at the same time. Most 'normal' matter is made up of fermions (electrons, protons, neutrons, etc are fermions) so we're most used to this behavior (it is part of the reason solid objects are considered to be solid). Bosons are more exotic and less familiar (light particles, liquid helium) but have some very unique properties (liquid helium can flow uphill, for example).

@Kindablue: Well, I'm a grad student in physical chemistry (although it's more physics than chem) and I do theoretical work (mostly numerical) in quantum mechanics. (Wow that sounds pretentious when I say it that way...)

[SiuiS]

I thought absolute zero couldn't occur in nature, but was the point when all matter ceases to move. *So everything becomes more solid than a solid. *No I have no idea what that would do.

aye, I'm starting to think I wasn't paying enough attention in class. I recall thinking it was absurd that absolute zero was negative 200 some, rather than zero. I remember a lot of celsius. I remember being told not to ask all these questions. I tuned the rest out.

So I probably missed a couple of the answers I was looking for, in favor of doodling my pokie mans.

Wow, she must really be angry to take that much time to flash you!

I know, right? Now that's dedication. No wonder he wants her to come back; all that effort to spite a friend? How far would she go in a fight?

Also something is ringing/humming/making a noise somewhere beyond the walls of my bedroom. *It is giving me a headache and I need to head off to sleep soon. *This is going to be a long night.

Sucks. Me Da's alarm clock used to do that, just on the edge of hearing. Gave me nightmares.
May you sleep sounder than I used to, man.

For the record, I am not the one getting married, my sister is.

Also for the record, I am exhausted.

Cool! Except the exhaustion part.

To a point. If your surface area is too small, and your target's kinetic absorption too low, you can overpenetrate your target, only bleeding off some of the energy as the projectile flies right through. One way to prevent this is to have a much larger surface area to impact upon, but outside of a hard vacuum, this is impractical as collisions with particles saps momentum before hitting the target. Another is to make a projectile that deliberately malforms on impact, this is the principle behind hollow-points.

How would you adapt hydrostatic shock to space combat?

I never noticed until watching the German fandub but during the storybook opening Celestia is wearing Twilight's tiara when she seals Nightmare Moon.

Aye, they also mention that Celestia had to use the Elements of Harmony to take NightMare Moon down. So we have our first clues that the Elements are a "the power was in you all along" bit.*

Confounded computers! How do they work? Oh right, you just explained it: Imagination!

I hate electricity, myself. I have never received an adequate answer as to how a lightning bolt, properly applied, becomes a working computer.

Though oddly enough, I think I just puzzled some of it out. Physical gates. Lots and lots of physical gates...

Wait a minute... is this referencing a fanfic or something? Because I really hope that this is from a fanfic, and not from what I think it's from.

It's referring to a 6-7 page comic on the Internet somewhere. Which means it is probably exactly what you dreaded I meant.

Oh god no. Clopfics are really a league of their own.

I was going to make a disparaging comment here, but then I realized, I have only ever read one¹, and it's mathematically impossible² that all of them are that bad.
Unfortunately, it means some are worse.



¹ fun story; I liked the premise, so I started reading it. I was hooked by a combination of "this is a good idea and you're murdering it!" and "AAAARGH what else can you do wrong?!"

² if gaming has taught me anything, it's that nth is never on my side, and fate rolled 1% every time, guaranteeing all of them are indeed, that bad. Except for the one I ne'er get around to reading, which is so good, even DBC would read it.
And then my lenses break, all Twilight Zone style.

[EsperDerek]

Thanks, everypony. The scary thing is tomorrow is going to be even more exhausting. Somehow I got roped into doing an awful lot.

Also, I should note, unlike Midnight, my family is pretty normal.

Uhm...except for the fact that I learned that I had an older half-sister when I was in my twenties. That was pretty strange, I guess.

...Maybe my family isn't normal.

A Midnight Nightmare Excerpt #5:

Spoiler

Show

The Elements.

They were the immediate danger. She did not know if they would have the same effect as they did as her former self, but they had defeated her twice before. She could not take that risk. Not with what was at stake now.

But she had realized it, the Elements weakness. Six Elements there were, therefore six Ponies made the balance of Harmony. Remove one, and the balance was destroyed. Remove one, and the others could not stop her.

Kindness. That was the one she had chosen. The one who lived far enough from the others that they would not be able to attempt a rescue. There she was, tending to her animals.

Aunt Fluttershy! Aunt Fluttershy! Can I help feed the bunnies?

There was no need for subterfuge. She was but a pegasus without the others, and one beset by fear at that. She landed before the stunned, custard pelted pony, bathing the pegasus in all of her glory.

T-Thanks for the splint, Aunt Fluttershy...I guess I was putting my hooves before my head. Oh, my Mommas are gonna kill me..

The look on her face. Shock, yes, but not fear. Relief...relief and worry. Kindness took a step forwards, not a step back. She called out her name.

Here, Aunt Fluttershy, let me pour the tea. It's easier for me.

Why...Why was she hesitating? She had but invoke the magic that was on the tip of her horn, and Flutter...and Kindness would be no more of a threat. The Elements would no longer be a threat. It was so simple.

Did you *really* stop a dragon, Aunt Fluttershy?

No! No, for her sake, she would do this!

The magic was invoked. Fluttershy's eyes widened, as she began to dissolve into colorful smoke, a bottle appearing before her. A single word escaped her lips, her name once again. She turned her head from those eyes filled with betrayal, before Fluttershy disappeared into smoke, the wisps filling the bottle and sealed inside.

It was done. She was victorious.

Then, what...what was this feeling inside her?

It's guilt.

She had done what she had needed. She had eliminated the threat to her plan. Then why...why did her chest feel so heavy?

You feel guilty because you love her. After all, I should know...

Something was rolling down her cheeks.

You've been with me all my life...

They were tears...

[SiuiS]

Hokay! Here we go.
@Kindablue: Well, I'm a grad student in physical chemistry (although it's more physics than chem) and I do theoretical work (mostly numerical) in quantum mechanics. (Wow that sounds pretentious when I say it that way...)

So you play around with numbers for fun. Got it!
Oh temperature, y u so strange?
As soon as temperature is described via it's entropy, I figured we were in Kansas anymore though, so I actually understood most of that. Neat.

-

On Fillystata;

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I liked it. Part 7 picked up the urgency that part 6 somehow lost.

The ending had me focused, though. During the conflict, I wasn't sure if Trixie had her magic back; if Trixie had Twilight's magic; if Trixie somehow had Celestia's magic; if Celestia somehow knew what was going on and was helping from a distance; or what.

The sudden Alicorn thing with Trixie will also probably draw you some flak, though I myself am ok with it. It was foreshadowed kind of well, although the explanation was kind of off. It does a good job of covering the "she understands it so she won't explain it" line, which is good.

All in all I liked it, and plan on reading through all of it again, if I can ever get dA working proper. As is, navigation is a chore.

tonberrian, on your decoherencer or whatever it was; wouldn't the beat defense be to have the ship constantly perceive itself in a certain fashion, so t would maintain it's own form rather than be morphed into something at random
By schroedinger's laser?

[Rebelhero]

I'm not sure if anyone noticed, which i doubt anyone did.

Ponyard, Nightscream and Skyrocket are all based off of LoL characters.

Ponyard is Ezreal

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Nightscream is Nocturne

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And Skyrocket is my personal favorite, Tristana

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[Kyouhen]

Hokay! Here we go.

Negative Temperatures:

Spoiler

Show

The difficulty here is that temperature and negative temperature share a name, but they're really like apples and oranges. Temperature is something that classifies an equilibrium system (one that's had time to come to rest in a configuration that is the most favorable) while negative temperature is inherently a property of non-equilibrium systems (which are still in flux of some sort). Basically, there exists an equation that relates a system's configuration to its energy content; after everything has had time to come to rest, even at the highest possible temperature (mathematically, infinite temp) there should be equal amounts of the system in the high and low energy states.

In a non-equilibrium situation, it is possible to have more of the system in the higher-energy state; given time, this configuration will relax and return to equal parts in the two states, but while it is out of equilibrium, the equation technically defines its temperature as being negative. However, since you must put in energy to excite the system to this non-equilibrium state, and temperature is equivalent to energy (in some sense), negative temperatures require more energy to achieve and are thus 'hotter' than even infinite (equilibrium) temperature.

Basically, it's a problem of definition and the fact that thermal energy is 'random' and just as likely to excite one part of the system as de-excite another (so on average the populations will be equal even at very high temp), while other types of energy are 'focused' and can specifically target the low-energy states, exciting them and yielding negative temperature (non-equilibrium) states.

Huh, that's really interesting. Do you have any examples of negative temperature? I think I get the idea of it but can't quite picture a situation where this happens...

aye, I'm starting to think I wasn't paying enough attention in class. I recall thinking it was absurd that absolute zero was negative 200 some, rather than zero. I remember a lot of celsius. I remember being told not to ask all these questions. I tuned the rest out.

So I probably missed a couple of the answers I was looking for, in favor of doodling my pokie mans.

Yeah, it's -273.15 Celsius but it's just flat out zero in Kelvin, and changes on a 1-for-1 basis. (0 Celsius is 273.15 Kelvin) The reason for this, as someone already mentioned (too lazy to dig back through the posts to find out who, sorry ) Celsius is based on the freezing point of water while Kelvin is based on absolute zero.

I know, right? Now that's dedication. No wonder he wants her to come back; all that effort to spite a friend? How far would she go in a fight?

Oooooohhhh... Good point! Remind me to stay on her good side. Wait, do liches have good sides?

Sucks. Me Da's alarm clock used to do that, just on the edge of hearing. Gave me nightmares.
May you sleep sounder than I used to, man.

It keeps stopping then starting again a few minutes later in a different pitch. I think it's coming from one of the elevator shafts (which my apartment is right beside, with my bedroom being the closest point) When I'm out in the hallway I can hear it clearly, but can't quite pinpoint where it's coming from.

Thanks, everypony. The scary thing is tomorrow is going to be even more exhausting. Somehow I got roped into doing an awful lot.

Also, I should note, unlike Midnight, my family is pretty normal.

Uhm...except for the fact that I learned that I had an older half-sister when I was in my twenties. That was pretty strange, I guess.

...Maybe my family isn't normal.

A Midnight Nightmare Excerpt #5:

Spoiler

Show

The Elements.

They were the immediate danger. She did not know if they would have the same effect as they did as her former self, but they had defeated her twice before. She could not take that risk. Not with what was at stake now.

But she had realized it, the Elements weakness. Six Elements there were, therefore six Ponies made the balance of Harmony. Remove one, and the balance was destroyed. Remove one, and the others could not stop her.

Kindness. That was the one she had chosen. The one who lived far enough from the others that they would not be able to attempt a rescue. There she was, tending to her animals.

Aunt Fluttershy! Aunt Fluttershy! Can I help feed the bunnies?

There was no need for subterfuge. She was but a pegasus without the others, and one beset by fear at that. She landed before the stunned, custard pelted pony, bathing the pegasus in all of her glory.

T-Thanks for the splint, Aunt Fluttershy...I guess I was putting my hooves before my head. Oh, my Mommas are gonna kill me..

The look on her face. Shock, yes, but not fear. Relief...relief and worry. Kindness took a step forwards, not a step back. She called out her name.

Here, Aunt Fluttershy, let me pour the tea. It's easier for me.

Why...Why was she hesitating? She had but invoke the magic that was on the tip of her horn, and Flutter...and Kindness would be no more of a threat. The Elements would no longer be a threat. It was so simple.

Did you *really* stop a dragon, Aunt Fluttershy?

No! No, for her sake, she would do this!

The magic was invoked. Fluttershy's eyes widened, as she began to dissolve into colorful smoke, a bottle appearing before her. A single word escaped her lips, her name once again. She turned her head from those eyes filled with betrayal, before Fluttershy disappeared into smoke, the wisps filling the bottle and sealed inside.

It was done. She was victorious.

Then, what...what was this feeling inside her?

It's guilt.

She had done what she had needed. She had eliminated the threat to her plan. Then why...why did her chest feel so heavy?

You feel guilty because you love her. After all, I should know...

Something was rolling down her cheeks.

You've been with me all my life...

They were tears...

Oh gods you're actually doing the djinnification spell too. This is awesome.

EDIT:
OH GODS THE PITCH IS AT IT'S HIGHEST YET.

[SiuiS]

what's an LoL?

And for the negative temperature, I believe it is currently a hypothetical. All the wiki article mentioned were 'certain systems' where entropy decreased with energy input, rather than increased. No examples listed though, and I looked.

[Vent Reynolt]

It's referring to a 6-7 page comic on the Internet somewhere. Which means it is probably exactly what you dreaded I meant.

Yep, that's precisely what I was thinking of.

I was going to make a disparaging comment here, but then I realized, I have only ever read one¹, and it's mathematically impossible² that all of them are that bad.
Unfortunately, it means some are worse.

Yeah, there's actually a series that isn't half bad up on... er... shutting up now.

A Midnight Nightmare Excerpt #5:

Spoiler

Show

The Elements.

They were the immediate danger. She did not know if they would have the same effect as they did as her former self, but they had defeated her twice before. She could not take that risk. Not with what was at stake now.

But she had realized it, the Elements weakness. Six Elements there were, therefore six Ponies made the balance of Harmony. Remove one, and the balance was destroyed. Remove one, and the others could not stop her.

Kindness. That was the one she had chosen. The one who lived far enough from the others that they would not be able to attempt a rescue. There she was, tending to her animals.

Aunt Fluttershy! Aunt Fluttershy! Can I help feed the bunnies?

There was no need for subterfuge. She was but a pegasus without the others, and one beset by fear at that. She landed before the stunned, custard pelted pony, bathing the pegasus in all of her glory.

T-Thanks for the splint, Aunt Fluttershy...I guess I was putting my hooves before my head. Oh, my Mommas are gonna kill me..

The look on her face. Shock, yes, but not fear. Relief...relief and worry. Kindness took a step forwards, not a step back. She called out her name.

Here, Aunt Fluttershy, let me pour the tea. It's easier for me.

Why...Why was she hesitating? She had but invoke the magic that was on the tip of her horn, and Flutter...and Kindness would be no more of a threat. The Elements would no longer be a threat. It was so simple.

Did you *really* stop a dragon, Aunt Fluttershy?

No! No, for her sake, she would do this!

The magic was invoked. Fluttershy's eyes widened, as she began to dissolve into colorful smoke, a bottle appearing before her. A single word escaped her lips, her name once again. She turned her head from those eyes filled with betrayal, before Fluttershy disappeared into smoke, the wisps filling the bottle and sealed inside.

It was done. She was victorious.

Then, what...what was this feeling inside her?

It's guilt.

She had done what she had needed. She had eliminated the threat to her plan. Then why...why did her chest feel so heavy?

You feel guilty because you love her. After all, I should know...

Something was rolling down her cheeks.

You've been with me all my life...

They were tears...

These continue to be very impressive. I am also running out of adjectives to describe just how fantabulous these excerpts have been.

Edit:

what's an LoL?

It's League of Legends. I know that, and I don't even play.

[the_druid_droid]

Huh, that's really interesting. Do you have any examples of negative temperature? I think I get the idea of it but can't quite picture a situation where this happens...

what's an LoL?

And for the negative temperature, I believe it is currently a hypothetical. All the wiki article mentioned were 'certain systems' where entropy decreased with energy input, rather than increased. No examples listed though, and I looked.

SCIENCE!

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The simplest example is somewhat unfamiliar. Basically, there are systems that have a quantity called spin (you can think of a top spinning around) which interact with magnetic fields. One orientation of the spin is more energetically favorable than another. If you have a lot of these spins (say on some solid sheet of material, like a glass surface) it is possible to send pulsed radio waves at them in such a way that they will line up with more in the unfavorable direction than the favorable one, and this is a non-equilibrium situation that has 'negative' temperature.

I admit the example is still abstract, but you can actually set it up in a lab. Also, all laser systems are an example (possibly more concrete) of the same thing, although in those systems we're more interested in the energy released by the de-excitation of the overpopulated high-energy state than the nominally negative temperature of the lasing medium...

EDIT: For those who don't care, have pirate!Rarity instead:

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[Kyouhen]

SCIENCE!

Spoiler

Show

The simplest example is somewhat unfamiliar. Basically, there are systems that have a quantity called spin (you can think of a top spinning around) which interact with magnetic fields. One orientation of the spin is more energetically favorable than another. If you have a lot of these spins (say on some solid sheet of material, like a glass surface) it is possible to send pulsed radio waves at them in such a way that they will line up with more in the unfavorable direction than the favorable one, and this is a non-equilibrium situation that has 'negative' temperature.

I admit the example is still abstract, but you can actually set it up in a lab. Also, all laser systems are an example (possibly more concrete) of the same thing, although in those systems we're more interested in the energy released by the de-excitation of the overpopulated high-energy state than the nominally negative temperature of the lasing medium...

EDIT: For those who don't care, have pirate!Rarity instead:

Spoiler

Show

So... Negative temperature is when the temperature in an area doesn't react the way it's expected to?

[erikun]

So water freezes at 273.15 K?
That goes a long way towards dispelling my 5th grade notion of Kelvin being an utterly arbitrary scale (not that other scales aren't equally arbitrary).

Correct.

Kelvin is useful for determining the energy in a system. 0 K = 0 energy. 200 k has twice the energy of 100 K*, and is twice as hot. This is different than Celcius, where 200 C is not twice as hot as 100 C.

* This is generally true is most substances that retain the same state. Changing phases, such as from solid to liquid or liquid to gas, takes up more energy.

So energy transfer is a half-life affair? After X time, exactly one half of remaining energy will transfer until equilibrium is reached?
And would that be one half of the difference, or one half of the remaining? If the latter, then would two objects of equivalent mass trade the excess energy back and forth like oscillations of a spring?

With standard physics, two objects of different temperatures would transfer energy, from the higher temperature to the lower temperature, until both are equal. This doesn't happen instantly, and the rate of transfer would depend on factors like surface area and the materials involved - basically, how quickly the heat would move from one to the other.

Assuming that one object could remain at 0 K, I figure that the rest of the physics would remain the same. That is, we would still see the system attempt to "average" the two temperatures, the transfer rate would depend on factors like surface area, and that it would take the same time to reduce the system to half energy regardless of the starting conditions.

The last part is significant here: if a system starts at 300 K, then removing half the energy from the system would drop it to 150 K. If the system starts at 150 K, then removing half the energy would drop it to 75 K, and so on. It should take the same amount of time to remove half the energy each time. This would be identical to a half-life equation, which is used to measure something where half if it becomes eliminated at a regular interval.

Removing half the energy or half the matter would prove equilivant in this situation, so it doesn't matter which we are talking about. (unless the latter changes the conditions, such as increasing surface area)

I believe it was, specifically, the neutrons and protons of the atom were somehow overlapping with each other, and occupied such a small amount of space that the researcher could only presume they somehow phased through each other.

This is a magazine talking about a study, though, and there were no citations I could find. So grain of salt.

I wouldn't worry yourself over it. A lot of scientific research in magazines is theoretical or questionable anyways, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some inaccuracies or problems - either in the work or in the reporting.

I decided to baleet it in favor of PMs. D: The offer still stands, if you'd like me to critique your ponyfics, lemme know. :)

Aha. Well if I ever get around to finishing writing, I'll throw you a PM then. Alright?

Pinkie Pie style randomness ahead.

Confound this Nyx, she drives me to consider writing fanfic!
If you don't know what I'm talking about read this.

I saw that. On one hand, I've been following for 13 chapters. On the other hand, I don't want to read through those same 13 chapters again. I can understand the author feeling insecure about their work, but I can't help to think that writing something new would be more productive than re-writing something old.

Especially when you aren't even finished with it yet!

Negative Temperatures:

Spoiler

Show

The difficulty here is that temperature and negative temperature share a name, but they're really like apples and oranges. Temperature is something that classifies an equilibrium system (one that's had time to come to rest in a configuration that is the most favorable) while negative temperature is inherently a property of non-equilibrium systems (which are still in flux of some sort). Basically, there exists an equation that relates a system's configuration to its energy content; after everything has had time to come to rest, even at the highest possible temperature (mathematically, infinite temp) there should be equal amounts of the system in the high and low energy states.

In a non-equilibrium situation, it is possible to have more of the system in the higher-energy state; given time, this configuration will relax and return to equal parts in the two states, but while it is out of equilibrium, the equation technically defines its temperature as being negative. However, since you must put in energy to excite the system to this non-equilibrium state, and temperature is equivalent to energy (in some sense), negative temperatures require more energy to achieve and are thus 'hotter' than even infinite (equilibrium) temperature.

Basically, it's a problem of definition and the fact that thermal energy is 'random' and just as likely to excite one part of the system as de-excite another (so on average the populations will be equal even at very high temp), while other types of energy are 'focused' and can specifically target the low-energy states, exciting them and yielding negative temperature (non-equilibrium) states.

Aha! Well that explains how that works out.

Matter Overlap:

Spoiler

Show

There are some complications to this, but essentially the picture is that there are two fundamental types of matter. For one type, called bosons, two identical particles can exist at the same spatial point at the same time (in fact, more than two can; a large number can all be exactly on top of one another). For the other type, called fermions, this simply isn't allowed. No matter how hard you push them together, there is no chance of getting them to occupy the same space at the same time. Most 'normal' matter is made up of fermions (electrons, protons, neutrons, etc are fermions) so we're most used to this behavior (it is part of the reason solid objects are considered to be solid). Bosons are more exotic and less familiar (light particles, liquid helium) but have some very unique properties (liquid helium can flow uphill, for example).

Iiiiiiiinteresting. This doesn't sound like it would be productive for creating sub-absolute zero temperatures, though. And I'd have to wonder how they turn the Enterprise into pure-bosons.

aye, I'm starting to think I wasn't paying enough attention in class. I recall thinking it was absurd that absolute zero was negative 200 some, rather than zero. I remember a lot of celsius. I remember being told not to ask all these questions. I tuned the rest out.

You had a science teacher who told you to stop asking questions?! It's little wonder you never cared enough to pay much attention to it.

I hate electricity, myself. I have never received an adequate answer as to how a lightning bolt, properly applied, becomes a working computer.

Though oddly enough, I think I just puzzled some of it out. Physical gates. Lots and lots of physical gates...

Well, a computer is simply a device to determine a calculation. A slide rule is technically a type of calculator. As such, with enough gates, you could attract a lightning bolt on one side (with a lightning rod, for example) and have it run through the calculations and get a response out the other.

It wouldn't run like a desktop computer, with memory and an active monitor, but it would work.


Wow, very long post for only responding to a page or two.

[EsperDerek]

And I'm off, everypony. (Technically I was off a while ago, but I ended up having to do some stuff before I went to bed.)

Because of the wedding, I won't be on much tomorrow, I might be able to post early-early morning, and then after the wedding is done. I dunno if I'll have any more excerpts done tomorrow, but I might at least try to do a bit of editing. I dunno.

[Rebelhero]

what's an LoL?

i just lol'ed.

LoL = League of Legends. I believe we have had a conversation about it here before, and some one described it the best as a "30 minute MMORPG" Its like an RPG mixed with RTS. I forget the proper term for it.

Also since Esper posted i must attempt to hide my mini cross over in his great shadow!

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Here it is boys, The Lagann.
Its...weird looking. Whats with that large, strange looking face on it?
I just built what i saw, i believe that it wasn't built for us ponies though, it was created for some 2 legged species. But i made the proper adjustments. Go on Ponyard, the key reacts strongest to you. Ponyard climbs inside the strange red machine, with an excited grin he turns the key and the machine comes to life. Ponyard cheers and the machine runs off with ponyard's excited laughing bouncing off the walls of the ship.

[SiuiS]

Yeah, there's actually a series that isn't half bad up on... er... shutting up now.

Hey, you find one with good writing, that's an achievement. I mean, the one I found/read was bad, even for a clop fic. It was My Immortal quality writing, but with readable grammar. Seriously, like... [pony1] gasp, and [pony2] said 'that was neat huh?'.

It was face-rendingly bad. I wanted to rewrite it just so it could be done without breaking my mind. Only things that stopped me were the notion that 1) rewriting someone's work for them because it sucks is rude, and 2) I would have to write a 'clopfic'. Which would invariably be found at an awkward time, because if I delete it afterwards, I never really wrote it.

These continue to be very impressive. I am also running out of adjectives to describe just how fantabulous these excerpts have been.

I think you will find 'Splendilloquent" to be both suitable and suitably mellifluous. But use it gently; it is a family word.

It's League of Legends. I know that, and I don't even play.

Well, according to google there is no comic for it, and I haven't gotten around to looking up the characters yet. So nyeh ;þ

SCIENCE!

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The simplest example is somewhat unfamiliar. Basically, there are systems that have a quantity called spin (you can think of a top spinning around) which interact with magnetic fields. One orientation of the spin is more energetically favorable than another. If you have a lot of these spins (say on some solid sheet of material, like a glass surface) it is possible to send pulsed radio waves at them in such a way that they will line up with more in the unfavorable direction than the favorable one, and this is a non-equilibrium situation that has 'negative' temperature.

I admit the example is still abstract, but you can actually set it up in a lab. Also, all laser systems are an example (possibly more concrete) of the same thing, although in those systems we're more interested in the energy released by the de-excitation of the overpopulated high-energy state than the nominally negative temperature of the lasing medium...

EDIT: For those who don't care, have pirate!Rarity instead:

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Aye, I forgot about that. It said of the usual types of 'temperature', includif friction, kinetic, and all, it is possible for a system to have one category out of synch with the others, and allowing it to be classified as separate form the other temperature forms.

I think what's throwing us is the name temperature. It implies hot/cold, where negative temperature is an energy to entropy result, isn't it? And entropy is one of those things over, but don't understand, so that's where I lose track.

Wouldn't putting more energy into something and having it decrease in entropy be a matter of efficiency rather than temperature? Bah. I'm starting too high on the scale. This would make more sense if I had bothered to learn the lower order pieces before trying to grasp the whole puzzle.

... Drat. I had somethin pony to talk about, but I forgot what it was.
Also, a RaRity! Edited in while I was clicking, to boot! Mean.

[Kyouhen]

Pinkie Pie style randomness ahead.

Confound this Nyx, she drives me to consider writing fanfic!
If you don't know what I'm talking about read this.

Just clicked the link and now I see the whole revision thing. How did they manage to put that much into the story and only now realize there were things that needed changing? I'm almost inclined to believe that they got ahead of themselves on the whole marketing for the story and had to sacrifice quality to keep churning out the updates. This is why you should put the writing first and let it speak for itself...

[Grif]

Just clicked the link and now I see the whole revision thing. How did they manage to put that much into the story and only now realize there were things that needed changing? I'm almost inclined to believe that they got ahead of themselves on the whole marketing for the story and had to sacrifice quality to keep churning out the updates. This is why you should put the writing first and let it speak for itself...

It got a lot of flak for poor editing, especially after the first three chapter. Plus the way they released the chapter daily, together with premade fan art and all, left a pretty bad taste in some people's mouth.

Also, it is evidently written beforehand, but they choose to release it in parcels, to keep it top of EqD.

[darthbobcat]

You don't do shipping, bad results happen snip.

I call character combinations likes I sees 'em. I exaggerate about the ones that I claim result in murder for sake of humor, but I do seriously see misery on at least one pony's parts being the result when I do.

[Kindablue]

It got a lot of flak for poor editing, especially after the first three chapter. Plus the way they released the chapter daily, together with premade fan art and all, left a pretty bad taste in some people's mouth.

Also, it is evidently written beforehand, but they choose to release it in parcels, to keep it top of EqD.

To what end?

[Grif]

To what end?

See how many stars it got?

(Yes, I would be lying if I denied that I wasn't one of those who was uneasy at the marketing blitz the authors did. Other fics didn't even get 1/10th the attention Past Sins did.)

[MCerberus]

I call character combinations likes I sees 'em. I exaggerate about the ones that I claim result in murder for sake of humor, but I do seriously see misery on at least one pony's parts being the result when I do.

A challenge: rank the following cracks on level of misery

PhotoShy
TrixieDash
GildaWhooves
GuardopoPie
CherileeTia

[darthbobcat]

To what end?

Popularity, my not-quite-blue. Popularity. Nyx is adorable and I like fanart of her, but I've never felt compelled to read the story; it's the pony fanfic equivalent of a summer blockbuster, in that it's hyped all to heck before anyone sees it. In fact, it's like a lot of movie trailers, where I feel that my enjoyment of the trailer is in a weird twilight zone where my enjoyment won't be enhanced by actually seeing the movie.

On an unrelated note: I was too tired to add to Semper Fi today, so I'm just rereading it and doing editing tweaks. One thing I noticed was an answer to the question, "Why would Apple Bloom prefer to go to Soarin over Big Mac in that future scenario Welf imagined?" The answer is: I portrayed Big Mac as being authoritative, in a quiet way. She has a friendly relationship with Big Mac, unless she's done something wrong or she has to ask for something. Then she's nervous about disappointing him, so she prefers to ask everypony else for something, choosing Big Mac last, even if he's the logical choice.