Talk:Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei:Volume 7 Chapter 9

thank you for the update.

Electrons

Not that I have RAWs to check it, but since they are talking about nuclear fusion (mind that "nuclear"), shouldn't it be "protons" (or nuclei) instead of "electrons"?--Kemm (talk) 14:38, 14 February 2013 (CST)

Though some of them could be "electric" (electron repulsion forces -> electric repulsion forces). --Kemm (talk) 16:31, 14 February 2013 (CST)

"Electron" was written in hiragana/katakana, instead of kanji, so it was not a mistake. Remember, the energy used for nuclear fusion is used to force the nuclei together, but the electrons are left floating on their own, exerting their own repulsive forces, which is why it is called electron repulsive forces. While I can't be 100% sure, I have translated this passage twice, using google/atlas for the web novel, and a dictionary for the light novel. On top of that, I did the research when reading the web novel and reviewed the material when reading the light novel, so I have some confidence in it :P --EnigmaticAxiom (talk) 17:10, 14 February 2013 (CST)

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#Requirements, the "primary obstacle for thermonuclear power" that Suzune is talking about should be the repulsive electrostatic force between positively charged protons. Nuclear fusion involves bringing the two protons together and fuse them to form helium nuclei, and this involves very short distances that I don't think the free electrons will come to play at all. Also, it has been a while since I took chemistry, but I think the term "ionized electron" doesn't make any sense. Ions always refer to the atomic nucleus that has lost or gained electrons so that the whole become positively/negatively charged. So, if we are strictly following the physics, I believe it should be changed to protons. But if that is what is in the original raw, I guess it is more important to maintain translation accuracy?

[this response is now redundant with the above, but I don't feel like throwing away what I typed. simultaneous edits...] While I'm not a nuclear physicist, I would have to agree with Kemm that the explanation of a thermonuclear reaction in the chapter seemed off. The repulsion forces between the nuclei are the primary barrier that must be overcome for fusion to occur. Electrons do of course repel each other, but they don't have any reason to collide or fuse in a nuclear fusion reaction. That said, I could believe that the translation is accurate as it is. Light novel authors aren't necessarily picky about their scientific details, or being scientifically accurate (though this is one of the larger hic-ups I've seen). Of course, the author could also always just say that physics and "thermonuclear fusion" don't work the same way in this universe; there is already magic. --Cthaeh (talk) 17:38, 14 February 2013 (CST)

Technobabble in stories ALWAYS needs to be accurate based on what the original text says, not on what actual research says. Making "helpful" corrections to factually true information can actually piss a lot of people off if it gets referenced later on by something else and there's no consistency. Rava (talk) 17:49, 14 February 2013 (CST)