explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1744: Metabolism

2016-10-12T18:57:51Z

108.162.218.154:

I think the comics explanation should include dieticians.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.49.12|162.158.49.12]] 14:58, 10 October 2016 (UTC)

A reference on the topic of metabolic energy balance and common beliefs surrounding it: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/95/4/989.full [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.149|162.158.34.149]] 17:47, 10 October 2016 (UTC)

If it was White Hat saying this, I'd expect him to be literally able to eat whatever he wants, even items that are not normally edible. It is not, however (which is strange, because, even aside from that alternate interpretation, it sounds a lot like his style). --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.11.36|172.68.11.36]] 02:56, 11 October 2016 (UTC)
: I'd say in that case it had to be Beret Guy instead of White Hat. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:31, 11 October 2016 (UTC)
:: I agree - not sure why I mistook one for the other. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.11.39|172.68.11.39]] 12:11, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

I have one of those metabolisms where if I eat more than what I need, I sweat a lot during the night and I never fatten. I'm always underweight. é_è [[User:Seipas|Seipas]] ([[User talk:Seipas|talk]]) 09:07, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

The explaination is mistaken. It is indeed possible to eat and not gain weight, and well document and most parts of it understood by medicine. Excess energy is only stored as fat if the body is stressed, you can piss out the sugar or the intestines can absorb less. The problem with the idea is that is hard to impossible to correct what your body does in this regard which makes is a red herring for the already overweight. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.87.11|162.158.87.11]] 16:45, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

[https://xkcd.com/1475/ Technically], Cueball says he can eat "'whatever I want," which would imply he could eat traditionally non-edible items. I don't think this is actually intended based on context, but...

Talk:1744: Metabolism

2016-10-12T18:56:59Z

108.162.218.154:

I think the comics explanation should include dieticians.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.49.12|162.158.49.12]] 14:58, 10 October 2016 (UTC)

A reference on the topic of metabolic energy balance and common beliefs surrounding it: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/95/4/989.full [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.149|162.158.34.149]] 17:47, 10 October 2016 (UTC)

If it was White Hat saying this, I'd expect him to be literally able to eat whatever he wants, even items that are not normally edible. It is not, however (which is strange, because, even aside from that alternate interpretation, it sounds a lot like his style). --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.11.36|172.68.11.36]] 02:56, 11 October 2016 (UTC)
: I'd say in that case it had to be Beret Guy instead of White Hat. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:31, 11 October 2016 (UTC)
:: I agree - not sure why I mistook one for the other. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.11.39|172.68.11.39]] 12:11, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

I have one of those metabolisms where if I eat more than what I need, I sweat a lot during the night and I never fatten. I'm always underweight. é_è [[User:Seipas|Seipas]] ([[User talk:Seipas|talk]]) 09:07, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

The explaination is mistaken. It is indeed possible to eat and not gain weight, and well document and most parts of it understood by medicine. Excess energy is only stored as fat if the body is stressed, you can piss out the sugar or the intestines can absorb less. The problem with the idea is that is hard to impossible to correct what your body does in this regard which makes is a red herring for the already overweight. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.87.11|162.158.87.11]] 16:45, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

[https://xkcd.com/1475/ Technically], Cueball says he can eat "'whatever I want", which would imply he could eat traditionally non-edible items. I don't think this is actually intended based on context, but...

Talk:1733: Solar Spectrum

2016-09-15T13:29:17Z

108.162.218.154:

Sun in sunglasses is also in whatif "Into the sun" and I'm 99% sure this is not the only xkcd appearance of that... --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.119|162.158.86.119]] 11:38, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

Why is Randall using JPEG for the second time in a row? Gosh, the comics look horrifying when zoomed in. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.244.67|108.162.244.67]] 12:35, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

It looks like a .PNG to me, maybe the .jpg was temporary for an upload deadline? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.127|108.162.241.127]] 12:54, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

Are the spectral lines actually accurate apart from the sunglasses? Wouldn't surprise me to much... (Meh, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraunhofer_lines, believably close). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.10|141.101.105.10]] 12:51, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

I feel we need an explanation of the concept of spectral lines for those readers not familiar with absorption spectra [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.91|141.101.70.91]] 13:21, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

I think he's referring to the spectral lines of transition metals - not pictures of the sun wear glasses. The transition lenses reference is a play on words.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.154|108.162.218.154]] 13:27, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1733: Solar Spectrum

2016-09-15T13:27:43Z

108.162.218.154:

Sun in sunglasses is also in whatif "Into the sun" and I'm 99% sure this is not the only xkcd appearance of that... --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.119|162.158.86.119]] 11:38, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

Why is Randall using JPEG for the second time in a row? Gosh, the comics look horrifying when zoomed in. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.244.67|108.162.244.67]] 12:35, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

It looks like a .PNG to me, maybe the .jpg was temporary for an upload deadline? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.127|108.162.241.127]] 12:54, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

Are the spectral lines actually accurate apart from the sunglasses? Wouldn't surprise me to much... (Meh, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraunhofer_lines, believably close). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.10|141.101.105.10]] 12:51, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

I feel we need an explanation of the concept of spectral lines for those readers not familiar with absorption spectra [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.91|141.101.70.91]] 13:21, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

I think he's referring to the spectral lines of transition metals - not pictures of the sun wear glasses glasses.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.154|108.162.218.154]] 13:27, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

59: Graduation

2016-05-30T14:37:13Z

108.162.218.154: /* Explanation */ Removing ad

{{comic
| number = 59
| date = February 3, 2006
| title = Graduation
| image = graduation.jpg
| titletext = Opening dialogue by Scott
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] and a [[Miss Lenhart|young blonde]] discuss their plans after the college. The blonde doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, so she is going to go to {{w|Graduate school|grad school}}. Graduate school is the next level of education after {{w|undergraduate education|undergraduate work}}, where students pursue a master's or doctoral degrees.

Megan, on the other hand, has decided to become a lighthouse operator, a path that has become increasingly less traveled. Fewer people need lighthouses. Before GPS technology, lighthouses were invaluable markers of where the sea ended and where land began. Megan likes the idea of being the maid in the highest tower. Except where most fairy tales portray the {{w|Rapunzel|maid in the tower}} as helpless, waiting to be rescued, operating a lighthouse is far from helpless. It can be one of the most needed jobs for sea-farers to find their way safely back home.

Other comics with a similar theme about finding or taking unexplored paths, instead of fitting into the mold, includes [[137: Dreams]] and [[267: Choices: Part 4]].

[[Scott]] appears to be a friend of [[Randall Munroe]]. Comics 57 through 59 all have the title text ''[[:Category:Opening dialogue by Scott|Opening dialogue by Scott]]'', forming a sort of informal mini-series inspired by him. They are:
*[[57: Wait For Me]]
*[[58: Why Do You Love Me?]]
*[[59: Graduation]]
As there already was a comic released on Monday that week, the first of these three were released already on Tuesday, then Wednesday and Friday.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Blonde are talking.]
:Blonde (or Ms. Lenhart): What do you want to do when you graduate?
:Megan: I want to become a lighthouse operator.
:Blonde: Oh?
:Megan: Yeah.
:[Cut to scene of lighthouse with text overlaid.]
:Megan: Lighthouses are built on interesting pieces of coast, so I'll have an interesting place to walk and swim, and great views of all kinds of weather. I'd feel good about myself and my work every single day.
:[Cut back to the two girls.]
:Megan: I'd get to be the girl in the tower, only I'd be the one rescuing people.
:Megan: Why, what do you want to do?
:Blonde: I'm going to grad school. I don't really know why.
:Megan: Wanna come hang in my lighthouse over breaks?
:Blonde: ...yeah.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Scott]]
[[Category:Opening dialogue by Scott]]

1683: Digital Data

2016-05-20T13:30:22Z

108.162.218.154: jpeg artifacts is more descriptive than pixelated

{{comic
| number = 1683
| date = May 20, 2016
| title = Digital Data
| image = digital_data.png
| titletext = â€&oelig;If you can read this, congratulationsâ€”the archive youâ€™re you're using still knows about the mouseover textâ€!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Initial draft.}}
{{w|Digital information}}, strictly speaking, does not degrade. While physical media themselves (such as books, or hard drives) may degrade as the universe continues, information, by itself, does not decay over time, and can be copied indefinitely with no changes. [This could be phrased much better.]

However, in this comic, [[Randall]] points out that while information itself doesn't degrade, things that are on the internet are often degraded through copying, because the copy is not 1:1. In addition, as technology advances the method to save or call the information changes and the medium to view it changes, occasionally causing misinterpreted information. (This is also demonstrated with the title text.) As the frames continue, they gain the appearance of images which have been screenshotted repeatedly, with a resulting loss of quality due to compression of the original resolution and jpeg artifacting. In the last frame, this is taken to an extreme, as the frame appears to have been very sloppily screenshotted off of at least two different smartphones (not the same device that uses the bottom frame in the third panel as the top border in panel four), and the final image is covered both with a watermark from an unregistered screenshot program, as well as references to at least two different web site, {{w|9GAG}} (bottom right image) and {{w|tumblr}} in the web address bottom left.

"9gag" is a humor website often accused of rehosting other sites' funny content without attribution and adding their own watermark to the image or video.



The title text contains seemingly garbage characters, which typically result from data being interpreted according to a character encoding different from the one used to encode it. In this case, the characters are the result of encoding the string <tt>“If you can read this, congratulations—the archive you’re you're using still knows about the mouseover text”!</tt> using UTF-8, then interpreting the resulting bytes as Windows-1252, both of which are quite commonly used. This shows that degradation of digital data through conversions isn't restricted to images. Furthermore, as screen navigation moves away from mouses toward touch, voice recognition, and modes still to be implemented, mouseover text will itself become anachronistic.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and a White Hat are walking, Cueball holds both hands in front of him palms up.]
:Cueball: The great thing about digital data is that it never degrades.

:[They walk on in the next panel which shows jpeg compression artifacts, as if it is a screen shot of the actual image.]
:Cueball: Hard drives fail, of course, but their bits can be copied forever without loss.

:[They continue walking in the third panel which is now clearly pixelated, the white is slightly discolored, and it contains part of the interface of some program, probably supposed to be a screen shot from a smartphone. At the bottom there are three blue buttons and one gray. the first is a blue "<" indicating back in a browser. Then a grayed out ">" that is not active. And then three more standard buttons in blue to the right of those two.]
:Cueball: Film degrades, paint cracks, but a copy of a century-old data file is identical to the original.

:[Still walking, now Cueball holds out both arms to the sides, and finally White Hat replies. This panel is heavily pixelated and discolored and has a distorted aspect ratio. It contains a clear watermark (although difficult to read all letters in the end of the first word), even more 'frame' elements, and text above the image at the bottom (where the last letter is obscured by the frame of the image). There is also an internet address at the bottom left, but is is not readable except for the .com ending. In this panel it is clear that it is a screen shot from a smart phone. The frame around the image obscure the very top of Cueball's text and the half of the last letter in White Hat's reply.]
:Cueball: If humanity has a permanent record, we are the first generation in it.
:White Hat: Amazing

:Watermark: Screenshoturd2
:Watermark: Unregistered~

:Top border: Verizon LTE '''4:45 PM'''
:Bottom text: 9GAG
:Internet address at the bottom: [?????].tumblr.com

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]

Talk:1665: City Talk Pages

2016-04-09T10:58:10Z

108.162.218.154:

I redid the numbering in the transcript to be consistent with the comic. Unfortunately that added blank lines around the indented section, which looks a little awkward. Perhaps someone with better markup skills than me can fix it.[[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 16:51, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
:You didn't need to say font color blue over and over. Just once for the whole list was enough. [[User:Numbermaniac|Numbermaniac]] ([[User talk:Numbermaniac|talk]]) 00:32, 9 April 2016 (UTC)
::That wasn't me [[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 02:40, 9 April 2016 (UTC)

So now does Wikipedia have to lock down every talk page to prevent xkcd-inspired vandalism edits? [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 17:14, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Aren't all of these points based on actual wikipedia talk pages? I came by to find the links to them. Maybe this is a big Whooosh for me, but i'd bet i'll not be the last person to think this. [[User:Harodotus|Harodotus]] ([[User talk:Harodotus|talk]]) 17:23, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
: Not ACTUALLY, directly based, no. I believe that Randall is engaging in what Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory declared as being called "reductio-ad-absurdum", taking an idea to an extreme in order to then make fun of it. It's definitely an xkcd staple, we see it often. In this case, Randall has seen ridiculous talk pages, and has come up with even more ridiculous "suggestions" if you will (for example, I doubt there's any city with such a huge murder problem that nobody can find a nice picture without a murder happening in the background). People here could find ridiculous city talk pages and link them here as examples, but it's unlikely any/many will have these exact entries, so linking them would be more of an opinion ("Here's one I personally find ridiculous"), which makes it less than ideal for linking to in what should be a fact-based environment. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.154|108.162.218.154]] 18:07, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
:: "What sheldon on the Big Bang Theory called" *facepalms hard* Reductio ad absurdem was a logical fallacy and rhetorical tactic long before that godawful show. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.64|173.245.54.64]] 21:37, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
::: Well, of COURSE I know they didn't invent it, I'm just pointing out a more accessible place where people may have heard the concept. And I didn't say he called it that, I said that he DECLARED that it's called that. I never suggested I thought he named it. That's one thing I love about the show, that it brings intelligence out to the masses. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.154|108.162.218.154]] 10:58, 9 April 2016 (UTC)

Andrew Lloyd Webber has two "b"s.
[[User:Shakhteremeslo|Shakhteremeslo]] ([[User talk:Shakhteremeslo|talk]]) 17:41, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
:Wonder if it is a mistake or to make it look real. Talk pages are probably often filled with spelling errors and mistakes that do not get fixed. So maybe it was intentional. Else it might get fixed in an update later. Mentioned this in the explanation now. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:27, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Is the "it's apparently not a mistake" line a possible reference to citogenesis? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.47|173.245.54.47]] 17:43, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
: Probably, that seems to be the only logical explanation for how it's possible for that NOT to be a mistake, LOL! - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.154|108.162.218.154]] 18:10, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

I assume the reference to the 1982 secession is referring to Key West, FL, which "seceded" from the United States and formed the Conch Republic in April 1982, to protest Border Patrol roadblocks in the Keys. It makes sense to me -- If you have to deal with the Border Patrol, you must be leaving the country. They still celebrate Independence Day every April 23. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 21:57, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

;"Mining disasters" section too long

Why is this comic so bad at mining? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.134|108.162.242.134]] 17:46, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

I just *couldn't resist* coming to the talk page of this particular comic to say "hello world". LOL -JP {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.41}}

I tried clicking on [HIDE] but it didn't. {{unsigned ip|162.158.72.197}}

;Too blue (DISCOSS!)

The article has too many hyperlinks. Can we make them green instead of blue? [[User:Mikemk|Mike]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 22:38, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

;I think the murderer is here now
He's also reverting my edits? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.239|108.162.218.239]] 00:15, 9 April 2016 (UTC)

;Random examples

Wikipedia has a {{w|Special:RandomInCategory|special page for random pages in a category}}. {{w|Special:RandomInCategory/City|This link}} finds random pages related to cities, which might help in finding amusing talk pages. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 00:20, 9 April 2016 (UTC)

I just had to go check out the talk page on my hometown. Oh my goodness, I didn't realize... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.65|108.162.221.65]] 02:03, 9 April 2016 (UTC) sam

;Notability

Notability is not really a criterion for including material in articles. It is a criterion for whether to create an article based on a particular topic. Big difference there. There is plenty of information that will never meet notability thresholds that is perfectly fine to include in an article. Complicating this problem is the fact that many Wikipedians do not understand this distinction. It is therefore an entirely plausible situation that some Wikilawyer would try to suppress useful information by denying its notability. This would not be an actually tenable position, though, and therefore the above "explanation" of it is incorrect and incomplete. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.139|162.158.142.139]] 02:42, 9 April 2016 (UTC)

:Out of curiosity, what is the wikipedia rule then that prevents facts like "On 12 August, 1989, Famous Person X had a Turkey on Rye sandwich, featuring mustard and pickles" or "City Z has many fire hydrants. Here are the GPS coordinates of each fire hydrant: ..."? Although, that fire hydrant edit would be interesting.... [[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 06:48, 9 April 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1665: City Talk Pages

2016-04-08T18:12:51Z

108.162.218.154:

Talk:1665: City Talk Pages

2016-04-08T18:10:46Z

108.162.218.154:

Talk:1665: City Talk Pages

2016-04-08T18:07:59Z

108.162.218.154:

Talk:567: Urgent Mission

2016-03-06T14:22:15Z

108.162.218.154: Just a little correction

The explanation is backwards. Current is defined as the flow of *positive* charge, thus moving from positive to negative terminals. In most cases, the current is actually electrons, which are moving from the negative terminals to the positive.
[[Special:Contributions/72.45.165.98|72.45.165.98]] 16:48, 27 June 2013 (UTC)
:Hopefully fixed. This was hard to write clearly. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 01:43, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

I might be completely mistaken but I've thought that the reason why the positive and negative terminals are assigned as they are originated from observing the electric current passing through the solutions of salt. In the said solutions the current consists of the positively charged ions that get deposited onto the negative electrode, while the positive electrode slowly dissolves. This naturally makes one think that the electric current carries the charged particles from the positive to the negative electrode. Of course it might be that I've completely forgotten what I've been taught in school and gotten everything wrong. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.5|108.162.246.5]] 01:50, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

In a circuit, it is the electrons, or the negative charges, that are actually travelling. The positive charges, the nuclei of the material carrying the current, remain fixed. This is opposite to the definition of current, which is defined as the flow of positive charge. In other words, the particles that we define as flowing in a current are not the ones that actually move. Confusing, right? I think what you may be referring to is when a salt solution undergoes electrolysis, the anions (negatively charged part of the salt) travel to the anode (positively charged electrode), and the cations (positively charged particles) travel to the cathode (negatively charged electrode). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.196|173.245.52.196]] 06:03, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

Do the same thing with dating conventions, Venerable Bede, and 0 AD. :-) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.150|108.162.221.150]] 23:25, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

Ben Franklin just decided to call two opposing charges positive and negative. Blame the guy who decided electrons should be considered negative and protons should be considered positive.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.71|108.162.217.71]] 03:28, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

Up until Franklin's experiments with electricity, there was debate as to whether electricity came in two forms, vitreous, as in a glass rod rubbed with silk, and resinous, which other experiments before him was shown to be the one in the rubber rubbed with fur (or amber rubbed with fur, hence the name). Franklin felt there was a single "fluid" which flowed to produce an electric current. He felt that when an object such as the glass rod had an excess of this fluid, it was "positive", and when there was a deficiency of this fluid, the object was "negative". Current flow was the flow of a region of excess "fluid" to a region deficient in it. Unfortunately what actually flowed was electrons and the glass rod form contained excess electrons, not a deficiency of the positively charged fluid. Therefore, HE was the one who started the convention of calling electrons positive.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.196|173.245.52.196]] 03:47, 24 August 2014 (UTC)

:What we need here is a time machine so we won't waste too much time arguing. {{unsigned|Weatherlawyer}}

Wait, I interpereted it completely differently. What if Cueball thought that the Apocalyptic Inventor went evil out of rage over the charge confusion? Trying to make sure that the guy's reason for going evil counts as averting the apocalypse. -[[http://vectorlightning.tumblr.com VectorLightning the guest]]

At the risk of stating the obvious, the scene is a joke on Terminator (where a time machine was used to fight a robot apocalypse). The time-travelling cueball appears in a Terminator-like bolt. [[User:Danshoham|Mountain Hikes]] ([[User talk:Danshoham|talk]]) 03:48, 10 December 2015 (UTC)

:No, in no way is this even close to the Terminator time travel scenes. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.154|108.162.218.154]] 14:22, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

526: Converting to Metric

2015-07-27T01:40:18Z

108.162.218.154: /* Speed */

{{comic
| number = 526
| date = January 5, 2009
| title = Converting to Metric
| image = converting to metric.png
| titletext = According to River, "adequate" vacuuming systems drain the human body at about half a liter per second.
}}
==Explanation==
Most people will eventually develop an intuitive feel for how big certain measurements are (e.g., how long an inch or a foot is, how much a pound weighs). This comic points out that people who were brought up using the {{w|United States customary units|United States system of customary units}} probably don't have the same intuitive understanding for metric units and attempts to provide some benchmarks for these people. Most of the benchmarks are common sense, highly-useful ones (e.g., if it's 30 degrees centigrade [86 °F], you'd be quite comfortable outside dressed for the beach) but some of the benchmarks are humorous and/or completely useless. Benchmarks include:

===Temperature===
* {{w|Extremes on Earth|Earth's hottest}}: 60⁠°C [140 °F]: The hottest temperature recorded on earth is actually {{W|List_of_weather_records#Heat|"only" 56.7}}. There have been reports of ten-twenty degrees higher (70-80⁠°C) but these measurements are not verified or accepted as world records.
* Various heat waves: {{w|Dubai}} is a city in the United Arab Emirates, and is smack-dab in the middle of an equatorial desert, so their heat waves can get ''hot!''. The southern Unites States will typically be a few degrees hotter than the northern United States simply because it's closer to the equator, but as mentioned they're both above "Beach Weather".
*30°C [86 °F]: A little too hot so perfect for a trip to the beach.
*20°C [68 °F]: Is defined as room temperature in many experimental settings. For some this would feel a little cool. But 25°C [77°] would as mentioned be too warm for room temperature...
*10°C [50 °F]: Definitely wear a jacket. Especially if there is just a little breeze.
*0⁠°C [32 °F]: The freezing point of water (32°⁠F)
*-5 to -10°C: In Moscow -10°C is not really that cold - it can go "spit goes clink" cold in {{W|Moscow#Climate|Moscow}}, whereas -5°C [23 °F] in {{W|Boston#Climate|Boston}} may be very cold...
*-20°C: FuckFuckFuckCold and -30°C - Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!: This is implied to be basically what some people would say when they step outside at this temperature. In reality, it would be best to keep ones's mouth firmly closed. At -30°C, without taking wind chill into account, exposed skin will feel painful in under a minute and frostbite could begin in as little as ten minutes [http://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=5FBF816A-1].
*-40⁠°C: Spit goes "clink": As shown in the drawing your spit would freeze ''before'' it hits the ground. This is the crossing point of the two temperature scales i.e. -40°C = -40 °F.

===Length===
*1 cm [.4 inch] : Width of microSD card and 3 cm - Length of SD card: Refers to the {{w|MicroSD card|memory cards}} used in cell phones, digital cameras, etc.
*12 cm [almost 5 inches]: CD-ROM is a common object so nice to know it is a dozen centimeters.
*14 cm [5 1/2 inches]: Most males would probably exaggerate the size of their penis, but 14–15 cm is very average.
*15 cm [almost 6 inches]: A Bic pen
*80 cm [31 1/2 inches]: A typical doorway is also of standard size. This is barely over the minimum size typically required by codes for buildings [30 inches or 76.2 cm], but more than 50% over the size required for aircraft emergency exits. (It may seem illogical that larger doors are required in buildings than in airplanes, given airplanes are arguably more dangerous. However, there is no real disadvantage to using larger doors in buildings, which are not significantly pressurized, but using larger doors in aircraft would increase the force on the door caused by cabin pressure proportionally.)
*1 m [39.37 inches]: {{w|Lightsaber|Lightsaber blade}}: Refers the weapon used in the {{w|Star Wars}} movie franchise. Canonically, the length of a lightsaber's blade varies greatly depending on the setting of the weapon, but "one meter" is by no means a bad approximation.
*170 cm [5 feet, 7 inches]: {{w|Summer Glau}}: Refers to the height of the actress who portrays the character River Tam on the TV show {{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}.
*200 cm [6 feet, 6 and 3/4 inches]: Darth Vader: Refers to the height of the main antagonist from Star Wars.
*2.5 m [almost 10 feet]: Ceiling - of course very much depending on which type of building you are in!
*5 m [almost twenty feet]: Car length - also very much depending on the car...
*16 m 4 cm: Human tower of Serenity crew: Again, this refers to the Firefly TV show, which takes place mostly on a space ship called Serenity.
**Presumably, if all the crew of Serenity were stacked on top of each other, this would be their combined height.
**The comic depicts four characters from the show standing on top of each other; the bottom figure is the crew's captain, {{w|Malcolm Reynolds}} in his signature coat. Judging from the other drawing of Summer Glau from the volume section, she is standing on top of the captain.
**The other five members of the crew should also be stacked on top of these four to reach the 16m height - giving them an average height of 1.82 m (12 cm more than Summer Glaus height!)

===Speed===
:Here both the SI unit m/s as well as the more used unit kph (km per hour) is given.
*5 kph [3 mph] - 1.5 m/s: Walking at a normal pace
*13-25 kph [8-15 mph]: Jogging to sprinting.
*35 kph [21.75 mph] - 10 m/s: Fastest human: As of 2009, the fastest a human has been recorded to run in a single sprint is actually 45 kph, a record set by {{w|Usain Bolt}}.
*45-55 kph: Both cats and rabbits go much faster than normal people.
*75 kph [46.6 mph] - 20 m/s: Raptor: It's a comic written by [[Randall]], of course a reference to the {{w|velociraptors}} from ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}'' was going to be here.
*100 kph - 25 m/s: A slow highway (62 mph).
*110 kph [68.35 mph] - 30 m/s: Interstate (65 mph): Refers to the {{w|Interstate|American highway system}}. (65 mph would actually be only 104.6 kph.)
*120 kph - 35 m/s: Speed you actually go when it says "65": People routinely break the aforementioned speed limit, and the police typically don't mind as long as it's not posing any danger. For the record, 120 kph is 74 mph.
*140 kph - 40 m/s (87-89mph): Raptor on hoverboard: The {{w|hoverboard}} is probably a reference to the ''{{w|Back to the Future Part II}}'', though it's a fairly common trope in older science fiction stories. Randall obviously did a lot of google searching on this subject the week before - see [[522: Google Trends]].

===Volume===
*3 ml: The amount of blood in a fieldmouse. A similar amount is used in comic [[434: xkcd Goes to the Airport]], but instead of a fieldmouse, the measurement of blood is of a churchmouse, an imaginary animal created by Lewis Carroll. Click [[434: xkcd Goes to the Airport|here]] for a more on [[434: xkcd Goes to the Airport|comic 434]].
*5 ml: A teaspoon - a very common measure.
*30 mL: Nasal passages and 40mL - Shot glass: The comic points out that you could just about fill a shot glass using the mucus from your nose. Since shot glasses are usually used for mixed drinks, the comic jokes that this mucus could constitute a new, disgusting drink - and this is depictured in the drawing.
*350 ml: Soda can (this is roughly correct for the cans used in the U.S., which hold 12 fluid ounces; in Europe, soda cans commonly hold 330ml or 500 ml).
*500 ml: Water bottle (this is the also the volume of a European water bottle).
*3 L: Two-liter bottle: Refers to a bottle which contains two liters (in the US usually soda). There is debate as to the reason for the discrepancy in volume. It may be a reference to stereotypical Americans consuming a lot of high-calorie foods and drinks.
*5 L: An adult male has about 5 L of blood in his body (An ''adequate'' vacuuming system could drain this blood out in 10 s - as per the title text!)
*30 L: Milk crate: Refers to a {{w|Milk crate|type of small box}} originally used to transport milk but now often in demand to be used as bicycle basket, storage spaces, etc.
*55 L: Summer Glau: Again, this refers to the actress from Firefly.
*65 L: {{w|Dennis Kucinich}}: An American politician belonging to the {{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic party}}, noted for his relatively strong (for the US) leftist views.
*75 L: {{w|Ron Paul}}: An American politician belonging to the rival {{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republican party}}, noted for his strong rightist views.
*200 L: Volume of refrigerator.
*As shown in the drawing of this part of the comic, the three persons mentioned above - Glau, Kucinich and Paul (summing up to 195 L) - could in principle all fit inside a standard refrigerator. Cueball thus attempts to push them all inside of one - though it would obviously be very uncomfortable for all parties involved to be trapped in such a small space with not much room between them.

===Mass===
*3 g: {{w|M&M's|Peanut M&M}}: A small chocolate candy with a peanut inside
*100 g: Cell phone - this very much depends on the age of the cell phone, and the type etc.
*500 g [1 lb.]: A bottle of water contains 500 ml according to the volume section and thus have mass of 500 g.
*1–3 kg: Different types of laptops. The newest and the best is the lightest...
*5 kg [11 lb.]: {{w|LCD monitor}}: A modern flat-screen-style monitor.
*15 kg: {{w|CRT monitor}}: An older-style, cathode ray tube-based monitor.
**This ends the section on computer screens, which overrode the normal sequence by weight as the next two feline inspired entries are lighter than the two before.
*4 kg: Cat and 4.1 kg - Cat (with caption): Refers to the internet's love of putting {{w|Lolcat|captions on cats}}. Usually, this is done in a graphics program, but here the cat is actually physically carrying around his caption. The "with caption" part is most likely a reference to [[262: IN UR REALITY]], where [[Black Hat]] glues captions to cats, after running out of staples.
*60 kg [130 lb.]: Lady - for instance if she is Summer Glau - could be her again depicted in the comic - average weight of an adult woman.
*70 kg [150 lb.]: Dude - here depicted as Cueball who is the average guy, and 70 kg is average weight for an adult man.
*150 kg: Shaq: {{w|Shaq|Shaquille O'Neal}}, a famously tall basketball player.
*200 kg [440 lb.]: Your mom
*220 kg: Your mom (incl. 20 kg of cheap jewelry) and
*223 kg: Your mom (also incl. 3 kg of makeup)
*These last refers to a common type of {{w|Your mom}} joking insult whereby someone insults someone else's mother in a creative way. Here, the comic slyly calls your mom fat, then implies she wears way too much jewelry and finally also almost 7 pounds of makeup. This is a common theme in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Your_Mom xkcd]. (Twenty kg of "cheap" jewelry has several times the volume than 20 kg of gold jewelry, because of the difference in density.)

===Title text===
The title text refers once again to Summer Glau's Firefly character, {{w|River Tam}}, who (after being subjected to a long series of medical experiments) is severely mentally ill and often comes out with macabre — though scientifically accurate — pronouncements.

==Transcript==
:'''Guide to Converting to Metric'''

:[There are five frames with tables for different units. Between the two upper frames is the following text:]
:The key to converting to metric is establishing
:new reference points. When you hear "26°C",
:instead of thinking "That's 79°F" you should think,
:"that's warmer than a house but cool for swimming."
:Here are some helpful tables of reference points:

:[The frame to the left of the above text:]
:Temperature:
:{| class="wikitable"
|60°C||Earth's hottest
|-
|45°C||Dubai heat wave
|-
|40°C||Southern US heat wave
|-
|35°C||Northern US heat wave
|-
|30°C||Beach weather
|-
|25°C||Warm room
|-
|20°C||Room temperature
|-
|10°C||Jacket weather
|-
|0°C||Snow!
|-
| -5°C||Cold day (Boston)
|-
| -10°C||Cold day (Moscow)
|-
| -20°C||Fuckfuckfuckcold
|-
| -30°C||Fuuuuuuuuuuck!
|-
| -40°C||Spit goes "clink"
|}
:[Next to the last three entries we see Cueball spitting on the ground. The spit bounces.]
:Cueball: Ptoo
:Spit: Clink!

:[The frame to the right of the above text:]
:Length
:{| class="wikitable"
|1 cm||Width of microSD card
|-
|3 cm||Length of SD card
|-
|12 cm||CD diameter
|-
|14 cm||Penis
|-
|15 cm||BIC pen
|-
|80 cm||Doorway width
|-
|1 m||Lightsaber blade
|-
|170 cm||Summer Glau
|-
|200 cm||Darth Vader
|-
|2.5 m||Ceiling
|-
|5 m||Car-length
|-
|16 m 4 cm||Human tower of Serenity crew
|}
:[To the right of the table is a human tower of four of the people from the Serenity crew. The head of the upper person is right below the first entry.]

:[The frame below to the left:]
:Speed
:{| class="wikitable"
|kph|| m/s||
|-
|5||1.5||Walking
|-
|13||3.5||Jogging
|-
|25||7||Sprinting
|-
|35||10||Fastest human
|-
|45||13||Housecat
|-
|55||15||Rabbit
|-
|75||20||Raptor
|-
|100||25||Slow highway
|-
|110||30||Interstate (65 mph)
|-
|120||35||Speed you actually go when it says “65”
|-
|140||40||Raptor on hoverboard
|}

:[The frame below in the middle:]
:Volume
:{| class="wikitable"
|3 mL||Blood in a fieldmouse
|-
|5 mL||Teaspoon
|-
|30 mL||Nasal passages
|-
|40 mL||Shot glass
|-
|350 mL||Soda can
|-
|500 mL||Water bottle
|-
|3 L||Two-liter bottle
|-
|5 L||Blood in a human male
|-
|30 L||Milk crate
|-
|55 L||Summer Glau
|-
|65 L||Dennis Kucinich
|-
|75 L||Ron Paul
|-
|200 L||Fridge
|}
:[Next to the entry on nasal passages and shoot glass (starting one entry higher and finishing one entry lower) are the following text:]
:So, when it's blocked
:the mucus in your
:nose could about
:fill a shot glass.
:[Below this text is a drawing of a mucus filled shot glass.]
:Related: I've
:invented the
:worst mixed
:drink ever.
:[Below this next to the four last entries we see Cueball shoving Summer Glau, Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul into an open fridge. Above the fridge in a loosely drawn ellipse are the following text:]
:55+65+75<200

:[The frame below to the right:]
:Mass
:{| class="wikitable"
|3 g||Peanut M&M
|-
|100 g||Cell phone
|-
|500 g||Bottled water
|-
|1 kg||Ultraportable laptop
|-
|2 kg||Light-medium laptop
|-
|3 kg||Heavy laptop
|-
|5 kg||LCD monitor
|-
|15 kg||CRT monitor
|-
|4 kg||Cat
|-
|4.1 kg||Cat (with caption)
|-
|60 kg||Lady
|-
|70 kg||Dude
|-
|150 kg||Shaq
|-
|200 kg||Your mom
|-
|220 kg||Your mom (incl. cheap jewelry)
|-
|223 kg||Your mom (also incl. makeup)
|}
:[Next to the entries of cat and cat (with caption) are two drawings of cats. The second one has a caption across its chest.]
:Cat (with caption): Mrowl?
:[Below this and next to the lady and dude entries (and the Shaq entry) are drawings of Megan and Cueball.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]
[[Category:Firefly]]

1276: Angular Size

2015-07-21T19:16:02Z

108.162.218.154: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1276
| date = October 11, 2013
| title = Angular Size
| image = angular size.png
| titletext = If the celestial sphere were mapped to the Earth's surface, astronomy would get a LOT easier; you'd just need a magnifying glass.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a comparison of the {{w|angular diameter|angular diameters}} (or apparent diameter) of various celestial objects at the surface of the earth relative to a vertex at the center of the Earth as diagrammed in the opening panel. The objects' scales are compared to actual objects on earth. Each size given is for the object at its closest approach to earth.

London's {{w|M25 motorway}} is around 60 km (35 miles) across, a {{w|soccer field}} is about 100 meters long (109yd.), a {{w|Table tennis table|ping pong table}} is 274 centimeters (9ft.) long, a {{w|laptop}} is about 35 centimeters across (13.75in.), the {{w|tilde}} symbol on a keyboard is about 5 millimeters (197 mils) long, and a cell of ''{{w|Escherichia coli|E. coli}}'' is about 2 microns long (78.75 millionths of an inch).

A simple {{w|Intercept theorem|formula}} can be used to find the size on earth of a celestial object when the size of or distance to the object is known. This is done by taking the radius of the earth, multiplying by the diameter of the object, and dividing by the distance to the object from the center of the earth.

The space objects referenced in the panels are:

*The {{w|Sun}} and the {{w|Moon}}, and also the open cluster {{w|Messier 25}}, have approximately the same size (around 0.5 degrees of arc) when seen from the Earth.

*{{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}, {{w|Venus}}, {{w|Mars}}, {{w|Jupiter}}, {{w|Saturn}}, {{w|Uranus}}, and {{w|Neptune}} are the other planets of the {{w|Solar System}}.

*{{w|Io (moon)|Io}}, {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}, {{w|Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede}}, and {{w|Callisto (moon)|Callisto}} are the main moons of Jupiter; {{w|Titan (moon)|Titan}} is the largest moon of Saturn; and {{w|Triton (moon)|Triton}} is the largest moon of Neptune. {{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}} and {{w|Pluto}} are {{w|dwarf planet}}s.

*{{w|Phobos (moon)|Phobos}} and {{w|Deimos (moon)|Deimos}} are the moons of Mars. {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}} is another dwarf planet. {{w|R Doradus}} and {{w|Betelgeuse}} are giant stars, respectively around 180 and 640 light-years away. R Doradus is the star with the largest apparent diameter (other than the sun, of course).

*{{w|4942 Munroe}} is an asteroid [http://blog.xkcd.com/2013/09/30/asteroid-4942-munroe/ named] after xkcd author [[Randall]] Munroe. {{w|Proxima Centauri}}, {{W|Alpha Centauri|Alpha Centauri AB}}, {{w|Barnard's star}} and {{w|Sirius}} are nearby stars (all within 10 light-years from the Sun).

*{{w|HD 189733 b}}, {{w|Gliese 581 g}}, {{w|Gliese 667 Cc}}, {{w|82 G. Eridani#Planetary_system|HD 20794 c}}, {{w|Tau Ceti#Planets|Tau Ceti c}}, and {{w|KOI-1686.01}} are {{w|extrasolar planet}}s; the parenthetical names are references to the comic [[1253: Exoplanet Names]]. However, some of the planets' parenthetical names do not match the table in the previous comic. For example, HD 20794 c is called "Legoland" rather than "Moonchild" in [[1253: Exoplanet Names]]. The {{w|black hole}} at the center of our Galaxy is {{w|Sagittarius A*}}, a massive object containing a mass more than 4 million times of our Sun.

*{{w|Voyager 1}} and {{w|Voyager 2|2}} are space probes launched in 1977, and currently around 125 and 100 {{w|astronomical unit}}s away, respectively.

The title text states that astronomy would be much easier if the celestial sphere were mapped to the earth - like a giant {{w|globe}}. Due to the distance of the stars you would just need magnifying glass to see the areas representing distant stars instead of an expensive powerful telescope to see huge distances.

Approximate values for the mappings to the Earth sphere (based on mean Earth radius at 6,371.0 km):
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Panel
! Object
! Distance
! Diameter
! Size at Earth sphere
|-
| rowspan="4"| Panel 1
|| Sun
|| 149,600,000 km
|| 1,392,684 km
|| 59.3 km
|-
|| Moon Semi-major axis
|| 384,399 km
|| 3,476.28 km
|| 57.6 km
|-
|| Moon Perigee
|| 363,295 km
|| 3,476.28 km
|| 60.9 km
|-
|| Messier 25
|| 2,100 light-years 19.867 × 10^15 km
|| 19 light-years 179.753 × 10^12 km
|| 57.6 km
|-
| rowspan="7"| Panel 2
|| Mercury closest approach
|| 92 million km
|| 4,879.4 km
|| 0.34 km
|-
|| Venus closest approach
|| 41 million km
|| 12.103.6 km
|| 1.9 km
|-
|| Mars closest approach
|| 56 million km
|| 6,792.4 km
|| 0.77 km
|-
|| Jupiter
|| 778,547,200 km
|| 139,822 km
|| 1.14 km
|-
|| Saturn
|| 1,433,449,370 km
|| 120,536 km
|| 0.54 km
|-
|| Uranus
|| 2,876,679,082 km
|| 51,118 km
|| 0.11 km
|-
|| Neptune
|| 4,503,443,661 km
|| 49,528 km
|| 0.07 km
|-
| rowspan="8"| Panel 3
|| Io
|| 778,547,200 km
|| 3,643 km
|| 29.8 m
|-
|| Europa
|| 778,547,200 km
|| 3,122 km
|| 25.5 m
|-
|| Ganymede
|| 778,547,200 km
|| 5,262 km
|| 43.1 m
|-
|| Callisto
|| 778,547,200 km
|| 4,821 km
|| 39.5 m
|-
|| Titan
|| 1,433,449,370 km
|| 5,150 km
|| 22.9
|-
|| Triton
|| 4,503,443,661 km
|| 2,705.2 km
|| 3.8 m
|-
|| Ceres Perihelion
|| 380,995,855 km
|| 974.6 km
|| 16.3 m
|-
|| Pluto Perihelion
|| 4,437,000,000 km
|| 2,306 km
|| 3.3 m
|-
| rowspan="6"| Panel 4
|| Phobos
|| 56 million km
|| 26.8 × 22.4 × 18.4 km
|| 3.05 m
|-
|| Deimos
|| 56 million km
|| 15 × 12.2 × 10.4 km
|| 1.71 m
|-
|| Eris Perihelion
|| 5.723 × 10^9 km
|| 2326 km
|| 2.59 m
|-
|| Eris Aphelion
|| 14.602 × 10^9 km
|| 2326 km
|| 1.01 m
|-
|| Betelguse
|| 643 ± 146 light-years max. 7.464 × 10^15 km
|| 950–1,200 solar radii max. 1.671 × 10^9 km
|| 1.43 m
|-
|| R Doradus
|| 178 ± 10 light-years max. 1.778 × 10^15 km
|| 370 ± 50 solar radii max. 0.515 × 10^9 km
|| 1.85 m
|-
| rowspan="6"| Panel 5
|| 4942 Munroe
|| 2.2 AU (1.2 AU closest to earth, 179.4 × 10^6 km)
|| 9–10 km
|| 35.5 cm
|-
|| Proxima Centauri
|| 4.243 light-years 40.142 × 10^12 km
|| 0.141 solar radii 0.196 × 10^6 km
|| 3.11 cm
|-
|| Barnard's Star
|| 5.980 light-years 56.574 × 10^12 km
|| 0.196 solar radii 0.272 × 10^6 km
|| 3.06 cm
|-
|| Alpha Centauri B
|| 4.366 light-years 41.305 × 10^12 km
|| 0.865 solar radii 1.204 × 10^6 km
|| 18.6 cm
|-
|| Sirius
|| 8.6 light-years 81.362 × 10^12 km
|| 1.711 solar radii 2.382 × 10^6 km
|| 18.7 cm
|-
|| Alpha Centauri A
|| 4.366 light-years 41.305 × 10^12 km
|| 1.227 solar radii 1.708 × 10^6 km
|| 26.3 cm
|-
| rowspan="9"| Panel 6
|| HD 189733 b
|| 63 light-years 596.024 × 10^12 km
|| 1.138 Jupiter radii 159,117 km
|| 1.7 mm
|-
|| Gliese 581 g
|| 20.3 light-years 192.052 × 10^12 km
|| 1.3 to 2.0 Earth radii max. 25,484 km
|| 0.85 mm
|-
|| Gliese 581 (Parent star)
|| 20.3 light-years 192.052 × 10^12 km
|| 0.29 solar radii 403,878 km
|| 1.34 cm
|-
|| Black Hole at the center of our Galaxy
|| 25,900 light-years 245.032 × 10^15 km
|| Mass 4.31 × 10^6: 12.684 × 10^6 km
|| 0.33 mm
|-
|| Gliese 667 Cc
|| 22.7 light-years 214.757 × 10^12 km
|| 2.0 Earth radii 25,484 km
|| 0.76 mm
|-
|| Gliese 667 (Parent star)
|| 22.7 light-years 214.757 × 10^12 km
|| 0.42 solar radii 584,927 km
|| 1.74 cm
|-
|| HD 20794 c (Parent star)
|| 20 light-years 189.214 × 10^12 km
|| 0.92 solar radii 1,281,269 km
|| 4.31 cm
|-
|| Tau Ceti C (Parent star)
|| 11.905 light-years 112.629 × 10^12 km
|| 0.793 solar radii 1,104,398 km
|| 6.25 cm
|-
|| Koi-1686.01 (Parent star)
|| 1033.8 light-years 9.780 × 10^15 km
|| 0.52 solar radii 724,195 km
|| 0.47 mm
|-
| Panel 7
|| Voyager probes
|| (Voyager 1 at 126.10 AU) 1.886×10^10 km
|| 20 meters (with antennas)
|| 6.76 µm
|}

==Transcript==
:The size of the part of Earth's surface directly under various space objects
:[Several images are shown, of space objects of differing size and at different distances from Earth, illustrating the differing sizes of their "shadows" as mapped onto Earth's surface viewed from the center of the Earth.]

:[The first image merely sets the stage: Earth is a full circle, with two figures — Cueball and Megan — standing on it; a small space object casts a "shadow" on Megan, while a slightly larger object, though proportionally farther away, casts just about the same size shadow next to Cueball.]

:[The second image is a map showing London, with the Thames running through it, and a ring highway running around it labeled "London's M25 Orbital Freeway". A grey circle is overlaid, just about the diameter of the M25; it is labeled "The Sun and The Moon (about the same size)".]

:[The third image has a small grey rectangle in one corner labeled "Soccer field" for comparison. The image is dominated by four large, grey circles, considerably larger than the soccer field, labeled "Saturn", "Mars", "Jupiter", and "Venus", with Mars slightly larger than Saturn, Jupiter approximately twice the diameter of Saturn, and Venus approximately three times the diameter of Saturn. Smaller circles are labeled "Mercury", "Uranus", and "Neptune", with Mercury still somewhat larger than the soccer field, Uranus about its size, and Neptune slightly smaller.]

:[The fourth image has the soccer field blown up to take up much of the view; its center circle, goal areas, and corner kick areas are visible. Labeled grey circles of various circles are again overlain: Callisto and Ganymede are about as large as one half of the field; Io, Titan, and Europa are somewhat smaller than half the field; and Ceres, Triton, and Pluto are much smaller (all three together would probably fit into the soccer field's center circle).]

:[In the fifth image, there is a different grey rectangle, this one labeled "Ping Pong table", with a few balls and paddles visible. An irregular ovoid labeled "Phobos" is about the size of the table, as is a circle labeled "R. Doradus". An irregular circular shape labeled "Deimos" is about the size of half the table; a circle labeled "Betelgeuse" is a little smaller, and a circle labeled "Eris" is a little smaller, though still comfortably filling most of half of the table.]

:[In the sixth image, a light grey image of laptop computer keyboard and screen is shown, viewed from directly above. An irregular shape labeled "4942 Munroe" is slightly larger than the laptop, while circles labeled "Alpha Centauri A", "Sirius", and "Alpha Centauri B" form a descending series somewhat smaller than it. Circles labeled "Proxima Centauri" and "Barnard's Star" are considerably smaller than the laptop: Proxima Centauri would fit on the trackpad, while Barnard's Star covers perhaps four keys on the keyboard.]

:[In the seventh image we see a greatly zoomed-in shape which is identified as the "Tilde on laptop keyboard". A circle labeled "HD 189733 b (permadeath)" is almost as large as the tilde is wide; a circle labeled "Tau Ceti C (giant dog planet)" is somewhat smaller. Circles labeled "Gleise 581 g (jelly-filled planet)", "Gleise 667 C c (PILF)", and "HD 20794 c (moonchild)" are all 1/2 to 1/3 as wide as the tilde is wide. A smaller circle labeled "Event horizon of the black hole at the center of our galaxy" fits comfortably within the tilde's stroke width. A very small dot off in one corner (much smaller than the tilde or anything else in the image) is labeled "KOI-1686.01 (emergency backup earth)".]

:[Finally, in the eighth image, the size comparison is to the grey outlines of four bacilliform bacteria labeled "E. coli". The outlines of two interstellar probes are shown, with circular main housings and protruding instruments and antennae. They are labeled "Voyager 1" and "Voyager 2".]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Exoplanets]]
[[Category:Soccer]]