#xkcd 135

[yesterdays-xkcd]

YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Substitute [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[In a classroom, the board says "Math" on the top-left corner, and "Mr. Munroe" in the middle. A Cueball portrays Randall, standing in front of it, speaking to the class.] Randall: Miss Lenhart couldn't be here today, so she asked me to substitute. Randall: I've put out your tests. Please get started.

[A student in the first row raises the exam paper and says:] Student: Mr. Munroe, Miss Lenhart never taught us this.

Randall: That's because Miss Lenhart doesn't understand how important certain kinds of math are. Student: But this just looks-- Randall: This material is more vital than anything you've ever learned Student: But-- Randall: No buts. Randall: This is a matter of life and death.

[Excerpt from the exam paper.] Name: _________ [A stick figure is standing, hands over head. A velociraptor is running towards it.] 1. The velociraptor spots you 40 meters away and attacks, accelerating at 4 m/s^2 to its top speed of 25 m/s. When it spots you, you begin to flee, quickly reaching your top speed of 6 m/s. How far can you get before you're caught and devoured? 2. You're at the center of a 20m equilateral triangle with a raptor at each corner. The top raptor has a wounded leg and is limited to a top speed of 10 m/s. [A stick figure is shown in the above situation. The picture has a legend "(Not to scale)."] The raptors will run toward you. At what angle should you run to maximize the time you stay alive? 3. Raptors can open doors, but they are slowed by them. Using the floor plan on the next page, plot a route through the building, assuming raptors take 5 minutes to open the first door and halve the time for each subsequent door. Remember, raptors run at 10 m/s and they do not know fear.

#xkcd #xkcd 135 #substitute #jurassic park #2000s #2006

[thehoardofthegreatdragon]

Quirk Science and the Todoroki Flame: Fan Made, Physicist Approved

In the words of xkcd: Stand back, I’m about to try science. Except with quirks and not the real word because self control what self control?

In preparation for the new chapter of BCC (get hyped people, its gonna wreck y’all), I have written up a detailed head canon on Todoroki flames-- why they are so well controlled, how the temperature could vary, and the likely consequences hundreds of years of quirks would have on forensic science in BNHA. All of this has been run by an honest to god physicist to ensure I am not being unrealistic. 

Enjoy!

Yes, I know, I have better things to do with my time. Do I care? Oh absolutely, but I did it anyway. 

Alright, so let’s get into this. We will use Enji as a case study for the below. The key idea is that his flames burn in a grid pattern, and that as he varies the size of the grid pattern he can reduce the temperature and increase the efficiency of his burn. 

Think of fire like a digital brush. You can just use a solid fill-- but this is a waste of paint if you are just trying to shade an area in. On the microscopic level, you are better off using a pattern like a grid. The finer you make the grid, the hotter the flame. Overall, you use less energy for a similar concentration of flame. Expand the grid pattern, and you space out the effects of the flame-- the temperature drops and flame becomes less dangerous. 

(I’m happy to talk more of the actual details of this, but figured I should leave the actual measurements of carbon-carbon bonds out. I am only mostly crazy.)

Why a grid pattern, you ask? Simple-- its more efficient. Fire is, at its core, energy and movement. The more chemical bonds you can break down with less energy put into the system, the more efficient your fire-starting is. (Enji’s all about efficiency, after all.)

Not only would this explain the control Enji has over the temperature and amount of damage his flame does, it also brings up interesting questions about quirk-forensic science-- I cannot believe that after over a hundred years of quirks being around-- and being used in criminal activity!-- that the police don’t actively search for ways to track quirk usage. Take the study of the noumu, for instance-- while its unclear to me if they can actually test for different quirks, they can certainly test for the DNA of several people. This implies the society has at least the medical technology we do. But we have also seen that they have some understanding of the origin and function of quirks-- see chapter 135 and Aizawa talking about ‘quirk factor.’ 

If they can trace the remnants of several different people in the noumu through DNA, I would argue that they should be able to trace this ‘quirk factor’ in a similar way. This would allow for the investigation and criminal processing of people like Toga-- they’d be able to identify her quirk factor, even though her quirk effectively disguises her. 

But back on topic. Given advancements in medical science and the increased study of quirk effects, it’s likely quirk related injuries would be hyper-analyzed. There would be doctors dedicated to identifying the marks of different types of quirks, likely even quirks that are able to trace the effects of other quirks. 

If there is one thing biology teaches us, it’s that humans never fail to adapt to new situations: I struggle to believe that we wouldn't adapt to quirks just as quickly. 

Enji is the Number One hero-- his quirk must have been studied to hell and back. People want to replicate it (Enji himself wants this!), villains want to know how to stop it, doctors want to be able to heal the wounds it causes. It is likely one of the most well-understood quirks in the BNHA universe. This brings us to a fascinating question. 

Can Enji’s burn pattern be matched, like a finger print?

It’s a logical question, with terrifying ramifications-- if Enji’s burn pattern was traceable, would Shoto have the same pattern? Would Dabi? 

It’s hard to say for sure, but what is sure is this: quirk science exists, and is an area of untapped potential for fandom. 

We have work to do, people. 

#meta #bnha #bnha meta #this is my challenge to fandom #let's explore this