Extra Ordinary Comics

i looked that up on wikipedia its totally true

Yeah, like everything else in the internet is true.

Yes, because Wikipedia is totally legit.

Is that shrimp throwing up a claw which is emitting an explosion in the second panel?

AHHH I LOVE PISTOL SHRIMP!!

I'm ALWAYS telling people about them and they never believe me =(

But I can be believed because I'm a bio major and we KNOW.

People throw around the phrase "hotter than the sun" far too often when they usually mean "hotter than the surface of the sun"

Dude... surface, or core, or whatever -- the sun is still HOT!!

The sun is so hot that anything attempting to approach it will vaporize LONG before it gets ANYWHERE NEAR the surface. If the pistol shrimp managed to produce temperatures even 1/10 as hot as the sun's radiant heat, I very much doubt that ANYTHING in the area (including itself) would survive.

The bubbles are approximately a micrometer in diameter, and last only picoseconds - but temperatures within are indeed around the level of the Sun's surface temperature.

My great holy ship... That shrimp's bubble only explodes creating fast soundwaves, which are enough to make those little fishes unconciciousness...

Bad english spelling FTW.

By the way, Extreme Animal Planet, and BBC Wildlife:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC6I8iPiHT8

My Acoustics professor taught us about them!

The surface temperature of the sun is around 5500 to 6000 degrees C, which is not that fabulously hot. Especially when you consider the pressure, area it's being applied to and the time-scale upon which it acts. On the other hand, it's a super awesome acheivement for a shrimp, you go little guy!

i want flame shooting shrimp so i can set all things on fire

these shrimp rocks!

It hurts soooo much when they snap at you.

I think it reaches temperatures hotter then the surfaces of the sun, not the core.

I am a fan of your comics. Keep it up :D

Have to point this out because if I dont I will never be able to fall asleep.

the core of the sun is much cooler than the surface of the sun.


also as an interesting side note, the actual action of creating the bubbles is called "Cavitation"

uh...

Voila:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPrGxB1Kzc

Check it out. It's pretty cool.

Its true pistol shrimp do have claws that are quite disproportionate to their body size (about have their body size) and their claws aren't like serrated they have a hammer and anvil kinda effect in which the upper claw rises and a joint is released allowing it to hit the bottom claw at such speeds that it creates captivation bubbles that collapse to form a very high pressure state that can reach up to 4700 degrees which is close but not equal to the estimated heat of the surface of the sun. this effect is very temporary and lasts for several milliseconds at most i would imagine yet the pressure of the bubbles (up to 80 kPa) can kill small fish or break glass even, as well, it makes quite a loud sound that can interfere with sonar and such. They are truly remarkable creatures and oh yes they are very real.

excuse me, cavitation* bubbles. damn you autocorrect!

Guys, temperature is not synonymous with energy. Could e that hot, but in such small amounts of energy it wouldn't be noticed by any organism of our size.

I learned about this in my chemical module,they also generate flashes of light i believe.

Patrick speaks the truth! The surface of the Sun is actually much hotter than the core.

Also: temperatures much higher than any part of the Sun are routinely created in many laboratories, often with equipment that only use a single mains plug. The trick is to do it for only a very small amount of matter, and for a very short time, as is the case with the pistol shrimp.

Simon and Patrick! I've been searching for ages, but can't find anywhere that says the surface of the sun is hotter then the core.. A friend was CERTAIN he read it somewhere, and told us he was right, and it made us lose a pub quiz because everyone else said that the core is MUCH hotter.
I'm confused. Could someone explain? :)

P.S. I discovered Pistol Shrimps whilst researching an art project, they are SO COOL.

Some one has been read "The oatmeal"

I want to share your comics from this site.... How?

I live Mantis Shrimp!!!

*ahem* The corona is hotter the the surface or core

Did you know: The Peacock Mantis Shrimp does something similar?

The mantis shrimp has these claw-things on the front, that when exelled, can cause so much heat, it can cause the water around it to boil.

It also sends a shockwave through the water, that is so powerful, it can kill the target, even if it misses?

They are basically the rainbow assassins of the sea.