explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

764: One Two

2023-01-06T17:06:19Z

141.101.98.70: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 764
| date = July 9, 2010
| title = One Two
| image = one two.png
| titletext = Cue letters from anthropology majors complaining that this view of numerolinguistic development perpetuates a widespread myth. They get to write letters like that because when you're not getting a real science degree you have a lot of free time. Zing!
}}

==Explanation==
The comic parodies {{w|Sesame Street}}, an American children's TV show. The Count is a character in Sesame Street who teaches counting to viewers. The Count usually laughs after counting numbers, an innocent version of the sinister laugh that is a stereotype of old Hollywood horror films.

In the book {{w|One Two Three ... Infinity}}, the writer describes African tribes that only have words for numbers up to three and their inability to distinguish or comprehend larger numbers. The {{w|Pirahã language}} of Brazil was originally thought to only have numerical terms for one, two, and many, although it is now thought these words are relative terms like "few" rather than absolute terms like "one." Similarly, see {{w|Edmund Blackadder}} try to teach {{tvtropes|BumblingSidekick|Baldrick}} [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u99LjJ32qOo to count beans]. Also worth mentioning, some {{w|Constructed language|conlangs}} (Most notably {{w|Toki Pona}} with 0, 1, 2, 5, many[https://omniglot.com/language/numbers/tokipona.htm]), only have very limited number choice, while [https://www.google.com/amp/s/sirterrypratchett.tumblr.com/post/159070715962/everyone-knows-trolls-cant-even-count-up-to/amp the Discworld's trolls] are less limited than their contemporaries imagine.

In the title text Randall predicts that anthropology majors will write to complain that this view of primitive tribes is a myth no longer held true by today's anthropologists. He makes a jab at them saying they would have time to write letters to complain about things because they don't have to spend time doing real science and thus real research.

==Transcript==
:[A television set with The Count from 'Sesame Street'.]
:The Count: One! Ah ah ah... Two! Ah ah ah... ...Many! ah ah ah...
:Primitive cultures develop Sesame Street.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Language]]

2719: Hydrogen Isotopes

2023-01-04T01:13:17Z

141.101.98.70: /* Explanation */ Added links (internal and best wiki one I could find) and juggled the phrasing as seemed necessary.

{{comic
| number = 2719
| date = January 2, 2023
| title = Hydrogen Isotopes
| image = hydrogen_isotopes_2x.png
| imagesize = 442x250px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Oops, All Neutrons is also known as Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BREAK ROOM DE BROGLIE MICROWAVE USER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{W|Hydrogen}} is the simplest of the chemical atoms, usually consisting of an electron 'orbiting' a single and unaccompanied proton. The comic depicts this, as well as other forms of hydrogen, in the [[2100: Models of the Atom general form]] of the Chadwick model ({{w|Discovery of the neutron#Proton–neutron model of the nucleus|or similar}}) of the atom. Starting with essentially factual figures, before moving into typical xkcd humour, the eight forms depicted are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! "Isotope"
! Real?
! Description
|-
|Hydrogen
|Yes
|Hydrogen-1 is the most common {{w|isotope}} of hydrogen, with one proton and one electron, shown with the electron orbiting the proton. It is also known as protium.
|-
|Deuterium
|Yes
|{{w|Deuterium}} is the second most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron and both a neutron and proton in its nucleus. About one of every 6,760 hydrogen atoms in seawater is deuterium.
|-
|Tritium
|Yes
|{{w|Tritium}} is the third most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron and a nucleus of one proton and two neutrons, for an atomic mass of about three {{w|Dalton (unit)|daltons}}. It is radioactive with a half-life of about twelve years, and is very rare (but not as rare as unbound "instant hydrogen" neutrons.)
|-
|Ium
|In a way
|This isotope depicts one electron orbiting around nothing. The name relates to the fact that the two heavier isotopes are named from a prefix designating the number of {{w|nucleons}} followed by the suffix "-ium", a naming scheme that is also used to identify newly detected (exotic/heavy) elements before they are given a proper name (for example, [https://www.collinsdictionary.com/de/worterbuch/englisch/unununium unununium for element 111]); this scheme is now applied to the case where there is literally nothing in the center. While there is no physical reason for a single electron to circle around nothing, a free electron can perfectly well exist on its own, and may be described by a localized probability distribution ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_packet wave packet]) in much the same way as orbitals describe the bound states around a nucleus. In this sense, "ium" would be just another word for "free electron".
|-
|Wheelium
|No
|This fictional form consists of a proton, electron, and neutron orbiting around nothing, shaped similarly to a wheel. The neutron would either bind to the proton, or much more likely, be {{w|Elastic_scattering#Nuclear particle physics|elastically scattered}} away.
|-
|Instant hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)
|Yes, but rare
|This is just a single neutron. An unbound neutron will decay into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino, with a mean lifetime of about 14 min, 39.6 s (half-life = about 10 min, 11 s). The antineutrino will carry away momentum, while the proton and electron ''can'' form into a hydrogen atom. However, this [https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/listing/1207 only happens about four times in a million] (though the proton could also capture another electron). The name is likely a reference to "instant" meals (e.g. instant noodles) which are typically reduced in form for convenient storage, and can be simply reconstituted into their usable form.
|-
|Hydrogen (maximum strength)
|No
|This fictional isotope consists of a proton, an electron, and what appear to be at least 14 neutrons. This isotope's proton would not be bound to all the neutrons. It would immediately decay by {{w|Nuclear drip line|dripping}} most all of them away, producing immense amounts of energy, which may earn it the name of maximum strength. Alternatively, this entry is a reference to maximum strength medicine, which has the highest legal amount of the active substance, similarly to how this hydrogen has the highest possible amount of neutrons (even if for a very, very short amount of time).

For comparison, the heaviest human-made isotope is {{w|Isotopes of hydrogen#Hydrogen-7|hydrogen-7 with a half-life of 652 yoctoseconds,}} as of when this cartoon was published.
|-,
|Oops, All Neutrons
|Maybe
|This fictional form consists of four neutrons, a {{w|tetraneutron}}, with one orbiting around a group of three. The name is likely a reference to an American breakfast cereal called {{w|Cap'n Crunch#Variations|Oops! All Berries}}.

The title text provides three other names of this form: 1. "Neutral Quadrium": [https://www.yourdictionary.com/quadrium Quadrium] is a rare but real isotope of hydrogen consisting of one proton and three neutrons (the "quad-" prefix designating its four nucleons). The name "quadrium" may not be official; it appears in only a few places in the literature. (See also: "quadium" in ''{{w|The Mouse That Roared}}.'') The proton and electron in quadrium have both been replaced with neutrons, making this fictional atom neutral. 2. "Nydnonen" is likely a derivation of "hydrogen" with three of its consonants replaced with the letter 'n' so it has four of them representing the four neutrons. 3. "Goth Tritium": All the particles in the depiction are black, resembling stereotypical {{w|gothic fashion}}, and in the same configuration as the particles of tritium.
|}

{{notice2|The Mountain View, California Public Library is hosting an online chat with [[Randall Munroe]] Tuesday, January 31 at 11am Pacific. [https://libraryc.org/mountainviewlibrary/22032 Register here to send your question(s) to the moderators.]|image=Crystal Project Agt announcements.png}} 

==Transcript==
:[Eight drawings of different versions of hydrogen atoms are shown. They are arranged in two rows of four. The depictions use the planetary model version with for instance a negative electron (with a "-" written inside a small circle) orbiting a positive proton (with a "+" written inside a larger circle) and a black neutron depicted as a circle of the same size as the neutron, as in the second atom - Deuterium. Each has a label underneath. Here, they are listed in reading order:]
:[An electron orbiting a proton:]
:Hydrogen

:[An electron orbiting a proton connected with a neutron:]
:Deuterium

:[An electron orbiting a proton connected with two neutrons, so they form a triangle:]
:Tritium

:[An electron orbiting nothing:]
:Ium

:[An electron a proton and a neutron all orbiting on the same circle around nothing. They are placed equidistant from each other forming a large triangle:]
:Wheelium

:[A single neutron:]
:Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)

:[An electron orbiting a proton connected with many neutrons, 13 visible with six touching the proton which are in front. Four more are close to those six and mostly shown and then three are only just visible behind the others. Looking closely there are also two smaller dots near the edge indicating at least two more, for 15 that can be seen. And several more would be behind the visible neutrons if this forms a spherical shape. The electrons orbit just barely goes around the outer neutrons:]
:Hydrogen (maximum strength)

:[Four neutrons arranged like the particles in Tritium with a neutron orbiting a triangle of neutrons.]
:Oops, all neutrons

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

2717: L6 Lagrange Point

2022-12-30T20:37:48Z

141.101.98.70: /* Explanation */ Better flow (other problems than the ground), and economy of linktext.

{{comic
| number = 2717
| date = December 27, 2022
| title = L6 Lagrange Point
| image = l6_lagrange_point_2x.png
| imagesize = 399x400px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's difficult to orbit L6 stably due to gravitational perturbation from Akron and Toledo.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LANDED LAGRANGE POINT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In celestial mechanics, the {{w|Lagrange point}}s are points of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the influence of two massive orbiting bodies. Or in simpler terms, positions in space where objects can float motionless relative to the defining bodies. The L1, L2, and L3 points are unstable, as any drifting off the point (e.g. due to the gravity of other bodies) might quickly increase the tendency to depart the area. However, there are quasi-stable {{w|Halo orbit}}s around these points, like the one used by the {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}}. The L4 and L5 points can actually retain objects stably over long periods, resulting in the Sun-Jupiter L4 and L5 points capturing the {{w|Trojan (celestial_body)|Trojan Asteroids}}.

There are five traditional Lagrange points. Two form equilateral triangles with the two massive objects (in this case the Earth and the Sun), and three more are collinear with the massive objects. Randall claims that a sixth Lagrange point has been discovered outside of {{w|Cleveland}}, {{w|Ohio}}. This is pretty obviously farcical, as this would be part of the Earth and thus not gravitationally balanced between Earth and the Sun, though it is balanced by the countering forces that hold anything stable on the surface of any body: {{w|gravity}} and {{w|electromagnetism}}. The joke here is that there actually is a small village named {{w|LaGrange, Ohio|LaGrange, OH}} (population 2,103) just outside of Cleveland ([https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lagrange,+OH+44050/ map]). However, the village name is spelled with a capital G, unlike {{w|Joseph-Louis Lagrange}} after which the Lagrange points were named.

The title text mentions {{w|Akron}} and {{w|Toledo,_Ohio|Toledo}}, two other large cities in Ohio. It says that their gravitational influence is the reason why orbits around the LaGrange L6 are unstable. Trying to orbit around a point on the ground would, of course, run into much more serious problems, {{w|lithobraking|such as the ground.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Grey on white diagram of the Earth orbiting the Sun, not to scale. Earth is depicted as a circle with pale grey continents on darker grey seas, and shows a view from above the North Pole without any Arctic ice. The sun is drawn surrounded by radially symmetrical exaggerated wave pattern.
:Also in grey, approximate locations of Lagrange points 1 to 5 are marked with dots and labels: "L1" "L2" "L3" "L4" "L5".
:In black, a point on the Earth's surface within the boundary of a continent that could be North America. Also in black, an arrow pointing towards the point, and the label "L6".
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Huge space news: Astronomers have discovered a new Lagrange point just outside Cleveland.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]

Talk:2353: Hurricane Hunters

2020-09-01T03:27:50Z

141.101.98.70:

St. Louis people coming here to see if it's coincidence or if Randell was using location services for the destination.

Where did the stuff on the desk go?
:Well, Black Hat ''is'' present in the room... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.141|162.158.103.141]] 16:27, 31 August 2020 (UTC)
: Squirrels.
: [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:36, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Re: St. Louis - I'm not in St. Louis, but it still reads St. Louis for me. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.90|108.162.219.90]] 17:02, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Considering the rock-bottom prices offered by airlines recently ($15 for a ticket on Delta or United?!?), it might not be too hard to fill a plane with people who just want to go on a dangerous joyride in a 747. Let's try some loops!
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:39, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Reminds me of https://youtube.com/watch?v=zmKXC9CYZwU (the aerobatics part). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.36|162.158.155.36]] 19:11, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Is it purposeful that the description includes a line from the Hamilton song "Hurricane"? ("In the eye of a hurricane, there is quiet for just a moment, a yellow sky.")
:"(In the) eye of a hurricane(/storm/cyclone/...)"? A fairly standard phrase, at ''least'' since we had satellite photos to get a large enough overview of prime examples; though a well-defined eyewall (if survived) probably gave everyone the appreciation of the 'arena effect' in that time between the eye passing over them and then departing (requiring further survival) that could bring even primitive man the concept of an 'eye' in the weather. Tried to track down first usage. [https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/67296 OED] seems to give us "1758 J. Adams tr. A. de Ulloa Voy. S.-Amer. II. ii. iii. 213 The cloud..begins, according to the sailors phrase, to open its eye, i.e. the cloud breaks, and the part of the horizon where it was formed becomes clear.", though whether that's referencing the centre of a full hurricane or not, I don't know... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.70|141.101.98.70]] 03:27, 1 September 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2352: Synonym Date

2020-08-30T08:27:56Z

141.101.98.70:

"This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by an AUTOMATON." That's funny. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.50|172.69.170.50]] 01:23, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
:Yeah, there's one on a lot of them and nobody's ever bothered removing them. [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 01:39, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
::"Do NOT kill this warning before it is ready to die" is especially good. [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 05:38, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
:::Do not mistake Synonym for Verbaciousness. A single ''technically'' correct but ''contextually'' dubious word (I suppose the original BOT->AUTOMATON counts) is what it should be. Merely verbosifying an antilaconic and/or polysyllaballic interwoven sentencial restructurisation is very much akin to being ballistically off-target vis-a-vis the inherent humour theme. (i.e. missing the joke.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.70|141.101.98.70]] 10:12, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

I feel like this is not Megan, but a new character, differentiated by her wearing a dress (which also makes her seem almost strange compared to the others). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.75|173.245.54.75]] 06:17, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
:Come on, can't a gal wear a dress without turning into a completely new person? I think she looks cute in that outfit! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.214|172.69.34.214]] 07:23, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

Is grub meant to disgust, or is she merely British and using a perfectly normal word for food in use since 1691.The captcha asked me to click on crosswalks, but all I could seee were Zebra crossings. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.108|162.158.155.108]] 07:58, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
:I cannot begin to explain the cascade of confusion and misunderstanding created by having first read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in a UK edition rather than a US edition where the words, "zebra crossing," are replaced by, "crosswalk." Being quite young I thought the idea of zebra crossings must be analogous to deer crossings that exist all over US roads but, perhaps, was a reference to human evolution in Africa and, given Adams's quite loose restrictions on temporal effects, that the 'cleverness' of the human species had echoed back in time and destroyed itself before the cleverness ever took place. In theory, if not in practice. Only because the proof of the non-existence of God due to the existence of the Babelfish wasn't universally accepted was the human species saved. Funny how a colorful expression changes things, in'it?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.107|162.158.79.107]] 13:03, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

We also have other species pelican, puffin, toucan (pedestrian and cycle) and pegasus crossings, the last for those riding horses. Panda crossings are extinct. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.197|162.158.158.197]] 22:42, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

Isn't Megan just overly using British English expressions, which is misinterpreted as being weird on purpose? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.6|108.162.229.6]] 15:02, 29 August 2020 (UTC)
:Maybe, given the dress, but [[1132|I'll bet you $50 she isn't.]] [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 03:07, 30 August 2020 (UTC)

Clearly, Randall has been watching the most recent episode of Star Trek - Lower Decks (released this Thursday). "Moist" is the word most commonly observed to be found unpleasant, & he just used two synonyms for it in a joke about unsettling phrasings, entitled Synonyms. Moist was right in the ''title'' of the most recent episode.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:02, 29 August 2020 (UTC)

I think I am in love.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.70|141.101.98.70]] 08:27, 30 August 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2352: Synonym Date

2020-08-29T10:12:26Z

141.101.98.70:

Talk:2351: Standard Model Changes

2020-08-27T01:51:39Z

141.101.98.70:

Re: "but for the most part [the changes] are nonsensical"
I find the symbol changes pretty compelling, actually. Much clearer :)
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.210|172.69.34.210]] 00:05, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Yeah. Can we get the president of physics in here please? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.140|172.69.34.140]] 01:35, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Top/Bottom should probably be In/Out or Front/Back or something. And that's even before Randall's proposed changes. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.70|141.101.98.70]] 01:51, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Talk:1748: Future Archaeology

2016-10-19T08:04:38Z

141.101.98.70:

Second reference is actually to music video: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfhhWA9GF0M Aaron Carter - That's How I Beat Shaq]] [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.5|141.101.98.5]] 04:11, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Here I thought it was a reference to The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.226.115|108.162.226.115]] 04:25, 19 October 2016 (UTC)
:I made the same mistake! Had to recite the entire thing in my head to see if those two fought, then impressed myself with my memory of lyrics I hadn't heard since high school. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.87|173.245.48.87]] 04:51, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

==A rare type of series?==
{sorry if it sounds dumb: first time here} Have any two consecutive xkcds ever been part of such a clear "series" without being labelled "part I", "part II", ...? Or is this a rare occurrence of such thing? In case, it should be mentioned in the trivia, maybe? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.70|141.101.98.70]] 08:04, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:389: Keeping Time

2016-07-02T21:40:06Z

141.101.98.70:

Also, as a note or fun fact: most militaries and their associated groups (like cadets in Canada) also do the same. [[User:Toad573|Ribbit it's Toad!]] ([[User talk:Toad573|talk]]) 05:38, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

Another fun fact: anyone who went to a piano to hear what this sounded like inadvertently rickrolled themselves! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.70|141.101.98.70]] 21:40, 2 July 2016 (UTC)