Screw You, Carnot Cycle!

Another hero with a disregard for science:

The Silver Surfer! Goodness, I think he has to have one of the hokiest shticks in comics, but he’s so serious that you’re not allowed to laugh at him.

And if you did he could just use cosmic powers to unmake you, so poking fun probably isn’t the right way to go with Mr. Radd. (BUT he’s a SURFER whose name is RADD?! How is there surfers on his planet? Why did this ever make sense? He is SUCH a product of the 60s!). Yeah, so cool.

Anyway, I’m not here to debunk his name or sweet wave domination skills. This is a cosmic being that has many crimes against science, but the one we’re talking about is his talent of converting matter into energy. See, science doesn’t know how to do that. If you’re going to convert matter from one state to another, as Norrin does for food and weaponry, some energy needs to be used in order for that process to happen. You can’t just snap your fingers from one state to another. Unless you’re the Silver Surfer. The gentleman that would be most upset with Surfers’ screwing over science is Nicolas Carnot. He proposed the theory that thermodynamics measures the efficiency of all engines against. There’s an idea of a theoretically perfect engine, that accomplishes what Surfer does, which is impossible. It’s by imagining this engine that you can compare all other engines. Depending on the engine, efficiency is all over the map.  Wikipedia tells me cars rate about 25% and the highest is a steam-cooled combined cycle gas turbine at 60% efficiency. One thing is very clear: it is not possible to be 100% efficient.

Unless you are a dude made of Ag.

By the by, you’re not reading your calendar wrong, this update is totally late. I’ve been priding myself on doing awesome, but while this was drawn, I didn’t set it to post. Annnnd spent the holiday weekend without internet down the shore. No fear, I have plans to be chained to my desk for awhile, so I’ll be back to doodlin’ on time.

Thanks for stopping!