xkcd once again got it soooo right!

[rogin]

This is so true! I can't count the occasions on which I wanted to do exactly that. To the day, I'm mad at Franklin, he's confused billions of students (including little legastenic me).

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/urgent_mission.png

Comments

[tibialisant.livejournal.com]

*snort*

that's wicked nerdy. loves it :D

[flake-sake.livejournal.com]

:) Isn't it?

I already stuck it up on my study wall, for all the students that come for tutoring and ask me: "But if I add electrons to the atom, why does it become negative, that doesn't make any sense?" Usually I just apologized in the name of science at that point.

[tibialisant.livejournal.com]

Haha, yes, I often feel that way when explaining the rules of the English language to my kids... I'm sorry, I'm so terribly sorry.

:D

[flake-sake.livejournal.com]

Hehe, oh yes, languages got so many of those bugs. I still wish I could have a go who decided on the sexes for romanic words (like who decided vagina was male???)

*hugs*

[trialbymagic.livejournal.com]

I wish I understood it!!

[flake-sake.livejournal.com]

When Franklin discovered electricity he randomly decided which charge he named positive and which negative. Unfortunately he named them so that the later discovered electrons are now negative. This makes several things in physics unnecesserarily complicated. Like that when you add electrons to an atom it becomes negative and when you remove them it becomes positive.
Also now the current goes from plus to minus, but the actual electron flow goes from minus to plus, making life harder electrical engineers.

Uhm, it's a bit of science nerd humor I'm afraid, but I got so confused with all the current goes here, electrons the other way thing in physical chemistry that I can horribly relate to it. :)