1500 megawatt aperture science heavy duty supercolliding superbutton
@monorail i do wonder if the 1500 megawatt aperture science heavy duty supercolliding superbutton is designed to carry 1500 megawatts across its switch or if it takes 1500 megawatts in order to sustain its function. it would be funnier if it was the latter
@pearshapes do you think that light that comes on when you press the button takes 1500 megawatts
@monorail maybe! it might be like, an entire laser assembly deep in there that then gets scattered.
for scale comparison, the average incandescent bulb with a tungsten filament uses anywhere from 30 to 80 watts
@monorail a megawatt is a million watts
@pearshapes maybe they made the button out of something opaque but the light is just that bright
@monorail i like this explanation bc it also implies that they haven't changed the material for several decades. maybe they ordered it in bulk and just havent run out
@pearshapes "the bean counters wanted approval to update the button design. fired every last one of them. if these buttons were good enough for the olympians of yesterday, they're more than good enough for... you."
@pearshapes @monorail This is Aperture Science we are talking about, it would not be surprising to learn tjat the button, when pressed, engages a machine to breach the barrier between dimensions and ignite the lumiferous aether, creating the light we see. Doing so takes a lot of power, most of which is used to contain the aether from generating something like a small nuclear explosion. Aperture Science would like to remind every test subjects not to open the housing, there are no user servicable parts inside!
@errant @pearshapes please move quickly through the chamber lock, as the effects of prolonged exposure to the button are not part of this test
@pearshapes they got the material but cave johnson said "i want it to glow!"
"we'll have to get them to recreate the--"
"no time for that, make it work"