MLP Theory Ep.2 repost: A matter of transfiguration · 11:53pm Jan 21st, 2022
The idea of transfiguration is an interesting one, but let me tell you why it's nonsense, and it all has to do with one equation that I am not going to do. I will be using the HISI (Metric) system for weight comparisons, but you should be able to figure out weights by the object in question.
The weight of a teacup is about 0.2 kg, while the weight of a saucepan is about 0.9 kg. This means that the saucepan is about 4.5 times the weight of the teacup. In a show that "The great and powerful Trixie" did a few years ago, which I happen to have found a recording of, she tranfigures a saucepan into a teacup. The very important equation in question is e=mc² what this equation basically means, is that to get a tiny bit of matter, out of no matter you need a LOT of energy. This also applies in reverse, if you remove a bit of matter, you will get an large explosion. The left over 0.7 kg will give you about 62,912,862,512 Megajoules of energy if turned into nothingness. The largest bomb humanity has ever created creates an explosion of about 210,000,000,000 MJ. The energy that turning the saucepan into a teacup generates is 1/4 of the amount of energy the largest bomb that has ever been made on Earth released. That is a large enough explosion to decimate the entire city.
But clearly, that did not happen. But where did the extra matter go? Did it get evaporated into the air? If so, does the air around what used to be the object in question smell weird after that?
But things get even more strange when you try to go the other direction. To turn the teacup into the saucepan, you either need 62,912,862,512 Megajoules of energy, which is basically impossible, or you need to somehow get 0.7 kg of weight from the air. Air is very light. The molecules in the air are very spread out, so something needs to pull them together. Is telekinesis being acted upon the molecules in the air? You would need a lot of air, so it should look like a large colorful mist is gathering around the object. Do you see that? No. Even if, you would need to somehow convert the oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the air into metallic atoms, which involves either nuclear fusion, which would create an explosion, or breaking and rearranging the strong bonds of the nucleus, which, requires impossible amounts of energy and magical power.
You might say, "But my friend is a unicorn and is great at magic and I've seen them do transfiguration without a large explosion." To that I ask, was the weight of the object the same as the object it turned into? Here's an experiment for you and you friend to do. Get a large object, and have your friend turn it into a small object. Stand next to it. Right after the magic happens, get really close to the new object and sniff the air. Does it smell different? If not, your friend just broke the laws of physics. If it does, then the matter in the object must have somehow been transpositioned into the air.
2 alternate explanations are,
Magic can break the laws of reality somehow,
or
The multiverse we live in is actually a simulation, and thus that's how you can do the impossible.
Transfiguration, as in the Show, is incompatible with Physics. Transfiguration where one rearranges the atoms of an object to make another object is possible. This reminds me of the 3D-Morphing of Terminator 2 versus Deep Space 9:
In T2, the T1K had to conserve volume and mass. In DS9, the Founders could take very small and very large forms. ¿Were the large forms mostly empty hollow shells? It gets worse:
Odo states that, to a TriCorder, a changeling is the object it mimics. ¿Do Changelings somehow transmute their atoms and then arrange them into the chemical structures they emulate? or ¿do they simply fool TriCorders somehow?