Inverse-square-law Memes

Posts tagged with Inverse-square-law

Coulomb See, Coulomb Do

Coulomb See, Coulomb Do
Newton's sitting there with his fancy gravitational formula while Coulomb's brain literally lights up watching him. Classic case of scientific monkey see, monkey do. Coulomb later went "wait a minute" and adapted that inverse square relationship for electric charges instead of masses. Same mathematical structure, different forces. That's how science works—steal formulas from other scientists and hope nobody notices.

When Nature Reuses Its Homework

When Nature Reuses Its Homework
Newton and Coulomb sitting in an exam, copying each other's formulas but with different letters. Classic physics doppelgängers moment. Both laws follow the inverse square relationship (1/d² or 1/r²) but for different forces—gravity versus electrostatic. It's the scientific equivalent of turning in the same essay but changing enough words to avoid the plagiarism detector. The universe really does have limited creative options when designing fundamental forces.

Classical Vs Quantum: The Kitten Knows

Classical Vs Quantum: The Kitten Knows
The kitten has spoken the truth! This meme brilliantly captures the fundamental difference between classical and quantum physics using our feline friend's reactions. In classical physics, gravity and electrostatics follow the same mathematical pattern—both have inverse square laws where the force decreases with the square of the distance. Hence the happy "hehe" kitten! Everything makes sense and is predictable. But quantum physics? That's where things get weird and less amusing ("LESS hehe"). Suddenly particles can be in multiple places, cats can be simultaneously alive and dead, and nothing behaves as common sense would dictate. The kitten's slightly concerned face perfectly embodies how physicists feel when the comfortable rules of classical physics break down at the quantum level!

I Understand The Meme But I Wish I Understood The Math

I Understand The Meme But I Wish I Understood The Math
Behold, the mathematical equivalent of copying your lab partner's homework but changing it just enough so the professor doesn't notice. Newton's gravitational force formula (F = G m₁m₂/d²) and Coulomb's electrostatic force law (F = k q₁q₂/r²) are basically identical twins with different variables. Both describe forces that follow the inverse square law—just swap masses for charges and you're done. Physics professors everywhere pretend these are completely different concepts while secretly knowing they're just recycling the same math with different letters. The ultimate scientific ctrl+c, ctrl+v situation.