Magnetohydrodynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics
[Ponytail holding her hands up is facing Cueball and Megan .] Ponytail: The Sun's atmosphere is a superhot plasma governed by magnetohydrodynamic forces... Cueball: Ah, yes, of course.
[Caption below the panel:] Whenever I hear the word "magnetohydrodynamic" my brain just replaces it with "magic."

In this comic, Ponytail explains to Cueball that the Sun's atmosphere is a super hot plasma controlled by " magnetohydrodynamics " (a real word), the study of magnetic properties of electrically conducting fluids. This is true, as plasma is both electrically charged (following the laws of electrodynamics) and a fluid (following the laws of hydrodynamics). However, the combination is so difficult for Cueball that he finds it easier to comprehend any statements containing the word "magnetohydrodynamic" by dropping the central part of the word ("netohydrodynam"). Thus, he pretends that Ponytail instead said "The Sun's atmosphere is a superhot plasma governed by magic forces". If Cueball really thinks that magic is more comprehensible than magnetohydrodynamics, then considering just how vaguely and inconsistently magic is portrayed across fiction, that must mean that magnetohydrodynamics is really, really hard! [ citation needed ]
In the title text, Randall riffs on the sheer difficulty of magnetohydrodynamics, claiming that they are as simple and understandable as Maxwell's equations and the Navier–Stokes equations -- which is to say, not at all. Maxwell's equations require an advanced knowledge of calculus to even be able to interpret the symbols used, and the solutions of Navier–Stokes equations are on the Millennium Problems list . Randall also notes the alarming frequency with which the subject of magnetohydrodynamics is paired with quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity ; he sarcastically quips that physicists must find magnetohydrodynamics so easy to work with, since they're so compelled to spice it up.
[Ponytail holding her hands up is facing Cueball and Megan .] Ponytail: The Sun's atmosphere is a superhot plasma governed by magnetohydrodynamic forces... Cueball: Ah, yes, of course.
[Caption below the panel:] Whenever I hear the word "magnetohydrodynamic" my brain just replaces it with "magic."
