a-new-discovery
Explanation
The Joke
A scientist excitedly announces she has figured out how to use radioactive decay to convert noodles into dairy products. Her colleague responds with a bemused "I mean, that's amazing, but why that in particular?" The final panel reveals a chalkboard showing the "quantum superposition of MACARONI & CHEESE" with an instruction to "collapse the wave function," depicted as a bowl of mac and cheese.
The Humor
The comic plays on the concept of quantum superposition from physics. In quantum mechanics, a particle can exist in multiple states simultaneously until observed (the wave function collapses). Here, Weinersmith applies this to macaroni and cheese -- a dish that is both a noodle product and a dairy product at the same time. The scientist has not just made a bizarre culinary breakthrough; she has found a way to exploit quantum mechanics to solve the deeply important problem of combining pasta and cheese. The absurdity lies in applying one of the most profound and difficult concepts in physics to something as mundane as making mac and cheese.
The votey ("With many worlds of sodium!") extends the quantum physics joke by referencing the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics, suggesting that across all possible parallel universes, the mac and cheese contains a lot of sodium -- a playful dig at how unhealthy the dish is.
References
- Quantum superposition is the principle that a quantum system can exist in multiple states simultaneously until measured.
- Wave function collapse is the process by which a quantum system transitions from a superposition of states to a single state upon observation.
- Many-Worlds Interpretation is an alternative to wave function collapse, proposed by Hugh Everett III, suggesting that all possible outcomes of quantum measurements are realized in separate branching universes.