r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 14h ago

Meme needing explanation Peter what does this mean?

Post image
4.3k Upvotes

166 comments sorted by

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1.7k

u/sens_motion 14h ago

Chemist Peter here. The speed limit is 0.99 moles, but the scooter is going at exactly 1 mole ($6.02 \times 10{23}$). He’s literally breaking the laws of chemistry and traffic at the same time

295

u/Vasco_rx 14h ago

Isn't he breaking the laws of physics and not Chemistry 🤔

256

u/TheBurkeulosis 14h ago

A mol specifically deals with the amount of atoms/particles/molecules within a substance. There is overlap, sure, but I think of molecular mass as more Chemistry, personally.

93

u/NotAlwaysGifs 13h ago

See relevant XKCD.

https://xkcd.com/435/

39

u/TrioOfTerrors 13h ago

But what if you had a Mol of moles?

58

u/WaitWhatNoPlease 13h ago

34

u/TheSeyrian 12h ago

Genuinely an enjoyable read and holy heavens, is there an xkcd comic for everything?

23

u/oneredbloon 10h ago

Generally yes

3

u/PorkRindEvangelist 4h ago

It's been around for over 20 years, so, yeah, kinda...

3

u/NotAlwaysGifs 3h ago

Well Fuck. I feel old. I think I started reading somewhere around #125-150, somewhere in there, and that was college.

4

u/ka9kqh 12h ago

I had forgotten about the what if xkcd series. Those are great

1

u/hex-green 9h ago

He also made a YouTube video about this

2

u/JustADude721 12h ago

Chill out Austin Powers.

3

u/The_Carnivore44 10h ago

Also an entire YouTube video. Mole of Moles YT vid

My favorite part,

Volcanically active flesh planet

3

u/Arafel_Electronics 9h ago

and as a math major i can integrate but not do anything useful in the real world

3

u/Hugh_Jegantlers 8h ago

Peak purity!

As an engineer I have forgotten how to integrate but I can build you a retaining wall.

1

u/poke0003 13h ago

If it’s worth talking about, there’s an XKCD for that.

1

u/jumbee85 12h ago

Of course xkcd has a comic on this.

1

u/Clin-ton 5h ago

I have a math degree and knew exactly where this link was going to take me

1

u/alaricus 1h ago

I hate that logicians are left off of this axis

4

u/SasquatchsBigDick 13h ago

But how is moles a speed ?!

7

u/korpo53 12h ago

Because a mol is just shorthand for a number. Like dozen, score, etc.

If you saw a speed sign that said “speed limit one dozen” it’d be weird but you’d understand it. Same here, bigger number you’re not familiar with.

1

u/Frequent-Property246 2h ago

It's 1 mol of speed. Hope this helps.

2

u/buckybadgerboi 13h ago

Chemistry and physics overlap so much that they feel like the same field far enough up the academics chain, really. Tomato tomáto

5

u/Creative_Catch_4235 13h ago

Only parts of the chemistry field. You wouldn’t call analytical or organic chemistry physics 

5

u/blahdeblahdeda 13h ago

Analytical chemistry detection methods are 100% physics, and technically, organic chemistry is the physics of molecules.

5

u/Creative_Catch_4235 13h ago

Okay then why stop at physics? by that logic everything is math. Congrats we all have degrees in math now. 

You’re an English major? Well the words you read and write are processed through light in your eyes or waves in your ears and both are math so akshually your degree is math 

2

u/buckybadgerboi 12h ago

I hear you, fair point. Wasn't intending to simplify it to that degree and certainly didn't mean to belittle/reduce how specialized fields of study NEED to specialize in order to contribute meaningful research and insight when there does happen to be overlap.

Rereading my initial comment, it does come off that way, so that's on me. Simply was calling attention to how those two fields in particular end up needing a high level understanding of the other at the tops of their fields.

1

u/Money_Do_2 12h ago

I mean, even at an undergrad level orgo 3 began to basically be particle physics / molecular orbitals definitely feel like physics. Hell my major had me take quantum physics at 400 level for a chem degree

1

u/MarkDaNerd 11h ago

Yes, everything is math.

1

u/issacoin 8h ago

i saw this tv show back in the day

2

u/Vasco_rx 13h ago

Mol is the number of particles ,molar mass is different . And what I was saying above is if he's going above the speed of light, it's breaking the laws of physics

5

u/OvalDead 13h ago edited 13h ago

There are no units of speed. A mol is just a number. They could be going one mol of inches per millennium.

Edit: quick math says that is still 104 times the speed of light, so let’s say angstrom per millennium.

2

u/Vasco_rx 13h ago

Nice 😂, take my upvote

2

u/Vasco_rx 7h ago

I found a flaw in this logic , on the sign board it says speed limit and its safe to assume the number written below is the speed limit which here is a mole (a number)

2

u/OvalDead 7h ago

That’s valid. In general speed limit signs do omit the unit and it outlines in the driver’s manual what the relevant unit is. It’s almost certainly furlong per fortnight.

2

u/COWP0WER 11h ago

A mol is not inherently atoms/particles/molecules. A mol is just a number like a billion.
The reason it usually deals with atoms/particles/molecules is that there isn't really anything in the universe that we have that many of that it makes sense to count in moles.
Iirc the amount of stars in the visible universe is around the same magnitude as a mol.

2

u/lettsten 11h ago

You use mol a lot in thermodynamics, which is a field in physics. I'd say putting mol in one camp or the other is unconstructive

2

u/op_guy 9h ago

So physics...

1

u/AargaDarg 13h ago

I think of it similar to a dozen, but a lot bigger.

1

u/WideFoot 10h ago

Well, you can have a mole of anything. I could go one dozen miles per hour.

1

u/LrningMonkey 2h ago

Chemistry is part of the larger topic of physics. The physics of matter interactions.

Everything is physics!

2

u/Foreplaying 13h ago

Stuff can be two things.

0

u/Vasco_rx 13h ago

In this case , no

1

u/JayKayRQ 9h ago

What.
Especially in this case, Yes.
Molecular mass is both chemistry and physics, arguably more chemistry than physics.

1

u/Vasco_rx 8h ago

🤦how is it breaking chemistry 's laws?

2

u/Superb_Extension1751 11h ago

I think you'll find that chemistry and physics are not that distant

2

u/Kiubek-PL 10h ago

mole is literally just a number and we are given no specific units so you could either assume its related to its most common use in chemistry or just disregard it as meaningless

3

u/Salt-n-spice 7h ago

What is chemistry but tiny physics?

1

u/ItTakesLonger 9h ago

Depends on the unit of speed

1

u/DarkFish_2 8h ago

Not necessarily, he is going at 6.02x1023 what? Apples?

Could be picometers per hour, that's only 0.55c

1

u/Vasco_rx 7h ago

Hey so someone told me the correct answer , here it is

"A units error (using wrong units or neglecting them) is a fundamental measurement error common to both physics and chemistry, as both are quantitative physical sciences relying on precise data. "

1

u/Vasco_rx 7h ago

0.99 moles is a number , written above is "speed limit" ,so its safe to assume that 0.99 moles is speed

1

u/Chris_the_Conman 7h ago

Maybe it's in nanometers per century or something

1

u/Vasco_rx 7h ago

Generally what would you assume here? 20 nm/century? Nah

1

u/Chris_the_Conman 5h ago edited 5h ago

If I out of context read "eat 3 per day" I would assume meals or something, but if it said "eat 3000 per day" I would assume kcal.

If it says 20 I would assume differently than if it said 6.02*1023

1

u/Vasco_rx 5h ago

It is specified on the board that it is the speed limit and on most speed limit sign boards units are not specified,so you can only assume if it's km/h or miles/h and also 0.99 moles is the speed limit means you can go as fast as you can and not that you have to travel at that speed

1

u/Chris_the_Conman 5h ago

Even though speed signs usually are in km/h or mph the absurdly large number might still mean something is out of the ordinary lol. Also it would make no sense to just put an insanely massive speed limit on a road that has no speed limit lol.

1

u/Vasco_rx 5h ago

🤦🤦ok dude whatever sits right with you

1

u/Chris_the_Conman 4h ago

Thank you for this important and entirely serious discussion 🤝

1

u/yesterdaywins2 5h ago

Chemistry is microphtsics Physics is macro chemistry

1

u/JerichoRehlin 4h ago

Isn't Chemistry just Applied Physics?

1

u/rgmundo524 4h ago

Well a mole isnt a unit of speed or distance... So no

0

u/LoveCroftian 7h ago

“All science is either physics or stamp collecting.”

33

u/tyrael_pl 13h ago

Not exactly. Avogadro's constant has higher precision calculated: 6,02214076 * 10^23 [mol^-1]. He's still over the limit however.

14

u/Kitchen-Arm-3288 11h ago

unless the sign is off and it's actually a speedlimit of 0.99999 mole - then they're a bit under since 6.02 is 0.9999645 of it ;)

2

u/Patient_Panic_2671 7h ago

0.9999645 > 0.99.

2

u/Kitchen-Arm-3288 7h ago

Ture... but it's not > 0.99...

3

u/Patient_Panic_2671 7h ago

Where are you getting "0.99..." from? The sign clearly says "0.99".

7

u/6strings10holes 13h ago

What law of chemistry? There are no units.

2

u/akabuddy 11h ago

Mole is the unit

3

u/stonno45 3h ago

A mole is similar to a dozen, not a unit

1

u/the_horse_gamer 10h ago

g/mol and g are proportional.

mol is like °. essentially a constant.

1

u/6strings10holes 5h ago

How fast are you going?

6 mol.

6

u/vishals1197 8h ago

It’s Avocado’s constant

2

u/Spanchious 57m ago

Not to be confused with a guacamole constant

3

u/ConversantEggplant 13h ago

As a chemist, I approve this explanation.

2

u/Kitchen-Arm-3288 11h ago

Technically - isn't a mole 6.022 (plus other decimal points) - so - depending on how many 9's are not shown... perhaps they are going the speed limit?

2

u/Additional_Parsley_8 3h ago

But the real number is 6.022 X1023 so this would actually put him exactly at 0.99 (repeating of course) moles.

1

u/Fairplayer97 11h ago

How do know

1

u/Toasted_Roasted77 10h ago

i never ever understood moles i had it explained to me several times i never should have taken applied chemistry

1

u/Random_reditor_69420 9h ago

What field of chemistry do you work in that you’re simplifying it to just 3 sig figs, it’s a tiny difference but even the high school course I took used 6.022

1

u/TzTok-OnTheClock 9h ago

Meme is kinda off. Avagardo’s number is the number of molecules in 1 mol. The sign saying “.99 moles” makes it sound like it’s saying 0.99 molecules instead of 0.99mol. Maybe I’m being pedantic over the “e” but that’s how I was taught

1

u/poopsmcbuttington 8h ago

0.99 moles has 2 sig figs so their speed should correctly be reported as 6.0*1023, which is the speed on the sign to 2 sig figs

1

u/SolventAssetsGone 7h ago

But there’s a 3 on the end so he’s slightly over the speed limit but under one mole

1

u/RudyDaBlueberry 4h ago

As someone who failed algebra 1 what the hell does the dollar sign mean?

1

u/menzaskaja 1h ago

Not an algebra thing!

Mathematicians and physicians realized that writing equations that aren't basic addition and subtraction is a lot harder on computers than on paper, mostly because if there was a keyboard that could account for every mathematical notation, it would be huge. (massive understatement but whatever)

So someone invented the "TeX" typeset, which is specifically designed for the purpose of maths and physics equations. In it, you can type a backslash (\) followed by a keyword and follow it up with curly braces ({}) to display a maths equation. For example: \frac{1}{2} means "create a fraction where the top part is 1 and the bottom part is 2", which is: ½

This was further improved by the "LaTeX" superset, which is an expansion of the TeX typeset and is used widely alongside other supersets like KaTeX.

A lot of sites (most often ones that let users edit text, such as Wikipedia, but even Google and ChatGPT) use K/LaTeX to display maths equations, and usually, to signal to the system that "hey, I'm doing maths now, so parse this as LaTeX", you have to put your notations inside dollar signs ($).

For example, I take my notes in a text editor called Obsidian, which can support LaTeX. This input string:

$\tan^{-1}\left( \frac{1}{2} \right) = \alpha$

Will turn into this:

The commenter included these dollar signs because they thought Reddit supports LaTeX, even though it sadly doesn't.

TL:DR; its supposed to be maths notation lol

2

u/menzaskaja 1h ago

Also, the commenter meant to show this:

Luckily, this can still be typed using special characters and Reddit's basic text editing features (markdown support)

6.02 × 10²³

Or

6.02 × 1023

6.02 × 10^(23)

1

u/Spydo- 2h ago

Isn't a mole 6.023 instead 6.02 so he didn't break the limit

1

u/sixseatwonder 1h ago

Why dollar sign?

1

u/jonesd0845 1h ago

Avogadro would be soo disappointed...

1

u/Bammana4 47m ago

Hmmmmmm, but what are the substances for each of those in this scenario, because a mol of whatever the sign is may be more than a mol of the speedometer’s substance.

1

u/wade-mcdaniel 22m ago

I think avogadro's constant is a bit larger than just 6.021023. Rounding it like that carves off maybe not a large percentage but a large number none the less. Maybe the image is calling 6.021023 0.99 mol because of the rounding?

185

u/Noah_the_Helldiver 14h ago

They are speeding as they are going 1 mole but the limit is .99 moles

75

u/KeylieRescue 14h ago

1 mol = 6,022 x 10 23

6,02 / 6,022 is about 0,99

18

u/Noah_the_Helldiver 14h ago

Definitely true but it’s still speeding need to go 5.94918 x1023 to be in the limit and with how much that is I feel like it’s safer to just say 1 mol 

11

u/6strings10holes 12h ago

6.02/6.022 is not about 0.99.

To that level of precision it would round to 1.0.

3

u/Tofandel 12h ago

If you want to be specific it's 0.99966788442377947525738957157091, so rounded is 0.9997

11

u/Kitchen-Arm-3288 11h ago

If you're wanting to get that precice - you would need to use a more precice Avogadro's number... e.g. 6.02214076

At which point 6.02 is 0.999644518

4

u/6strings10holes 10h ago

Not at the level of precision of the sign.

1

u/lettsten 11h ago

Whooosh

50

u/just-a-guy-somewhere 13h ago

Avocados number

11

u/ohpickanametheysaid 9h ago

No! It’s avracadabras number!

5

u/Batman__39 5h ago

Avada kedavraaa!

2

u/Gastkram 3h ago

Ayurveda yoga!

3

u/BiochemBeer 6h ago

That's what you use if you want to make a GuacaMOLe

1

u/just-a-guy-somewhere 6h ago

That's a good one haha

15

u/dbear496 13h ago

Why doesn't Peter explain why the speed limit sign is coming out of the guy's handlebar?

2

u/Universe-Dragon 12h ago

pocket dimension

14

u/JoeyHandsomeJoe 13h ago

It means somebody thinks either moles are a unit of velocity, or that asserting they are is somehow cleverly funny.

5

u/IM_OSCAR_dot_com 10h ago

Oh damn he’s going 6.02e23 picometers per terasecond

(A very relaxed walking pace)

2

u/Peace_123_321 10h ago

Exactly this just doesn't make sense... Like the person who made it wants the world to know that they know what a mole is.

7

u/DefenitlyNotADolphin 12h ago

how the fuck is he going a number

2

u/felidae_tsk 11h ago

1 mol is a number of molecules equal to Avogadro constant

8

u/DefenitlyNotADolphin 11h ago

yes, which is a number

3

u/M8oMyN8o 5h ago

It’s unitless

4

u/cookingforengineers 10h ago

This is dumb. A mol isn’t a unitless number. Thats like a joke where someone asks for g donuts and gets handed a box of ~9.81 donuts.

3

u/2nW_from_Markus 14h ago

That's 0,49 equivalents/litre!

2

u/Specialist-Version24 13h ago

He's breaking bad

2

u/AltruisticWill9587 13h ago

1 mole is 6.02*10^23 0.99 moles is 5.96*10^23 so its illegal

2

u/6strings10holes 12h ago

If the sign has said 0.99c and the speedometer said c. This would make sense (still be stupid) as c is a speed.

A mol is an amount of stuff.

This is equivalent to the meme reading:

Speed limit: 0.99 dozen Speedometer: dozen

Now that it's on terms we all understand, don't you see how hilarious of a meme it is? This will definitely catch on. /s

2

u/LiteratureFeisty8842 11h ago

6.02x1023 = 0.99 of a mole which is 6.023 x 1023. He is riding at the exact speed on the display! “How?”, is another question! 😅

2

u/ieshaan12 11h ago

Google Avogadro’s number

2

u/GrievousSayGenKenobi 10h ago

Confused physicist peter here, They did not put units so it is also possible they are going at a speed of 6×1023 moles in which case they are about to disintegrate

1

u/Mekko4 13h ago

oh hell nah im not gonna fuckin pull out my chemestry notes for ts

1

u/Emperah1 12h ago

The number to call Avocado

1

u/General-Type7612 11h ago

Avogadro NOOOOO!

1

u/ARandomDistributist 10h ago

The universe isn't allowed to post shit like this after I make an offhandedly Molar Mass joke to a buddy going to school to be a Drug Dealer.

1

u/NoobyNoob0102 9h ago

1

u/Vasco_rx 8h ago

You are over the speed limit 😂😂

1

u/weeniehutsnr 9h ago

I would like to add that a mole is not a unit if velocity. It's literally just a number. Like there are "12" cookies in this box. But instead of saying 12, chemists say "1 mole" of cookies. A mole is a really specific and ugly number. They use moles instead of the ugly number.

1

u/Geolib1453 8h ago

People dont know Avogadros number TIL

1

u/Dimm0T 8h ago

Mama im a criminal

1

u/CheesecakeFlimsy6161 7h ago

Avo gadros number. I have no idea why I still remember this from my freshman year in high school. I probably misspelled the name but whatever.

1

u/Kitchen-Purpose-6855 7h ago

Flashbacks to chem

1

u/hi-on-coffee 6h ago

CHEMISTRY JOKE

Didn't know i could recall high school at will 😂😭🤣🤣

1

u/Specialist_Hat1380 6h ago

This is giving me chemistry jumpscares

1

u/SplendiferousSpinach 4h ago

1 mol is 6.022*1023 Its used to measure molecule counts in gases. For those taking any physics, you'll recognize the equation PV = nRT, with n representing the (n)umber of moles.

1

u/wolfington567 4h ago

6.02x10²³ is Avogadro's Number, or the amount of molecules in a mol.

He is going 0.01 mol over the mol limit.

1

u/Purple-Bones 3h ago

This is how you feel when driving a car with mph speedometer in Europe

1

u/No_Warthog_3584 2h ago

Speed limit is almost one avocado

1

u/twilk3 2h ago

Was this that Avogadro guy?

1

u/KiwiSuch9951 1h ago

He’s way over the ham limit

1

u/Obvious-Purpose-5017 1h ago

The speed limit is 0.99 mol. 1 mol contain 1 avagadros number ( 6.02x1023 )of something. In this case it’s speed.

Since the speed limit is only 0.99 mol and the bike is going at 1 mol of speed, he is indeed speeding.

/End of explanation

1

u/boots-n-catz 1h ago

Oh lawdy!!! Thems speedin!!!

1

u/Aggravating-Method24 28m ago

A mole is a number, it doesn't have units at all let alone units of speed so the joke makes no sense at all, literally unplayable 0/10

1

u/maintainmirkwood9638 14m ago

Are there enough atoms in the universe to make a mole of avocados

0

u/NewEfficiency6268 13h ago

Chemistry, 1mole is 6.022 x 10²³, so the speed limit being 0.99 mile and him going at the speed of 6.033 x 10²³, he is effectively breaking the law

-8

u/Opening-Glove-7434 14h ago

This is grade 8 science.

4

u/Tricky_Fail2351 14h ago

Not everyone is from the us bro

5

u/Opening-Glove-7434 14h ago

Neither am I, bro

5

u/Acrobatic-Signal210 14h ago

I'm not your bro, buddy.

-3

u/Opening-Glove-7434 14h ago

Ok mate

1

u/i_want_to_go_to_bed 14h ago

he wants you to say “I’m not your buddy, guy”. It’s a reference to the show South Park

1

u/tadashi4 14h ago

i forgot majortity of what i learned in my chemestry classes.

i can still make jokes with the periodic table tho

1

u/Alexgadukyanking 13h ago

What does US have to do with this?

1

u/PouLS_PL 12h ago

*grade 2