explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2989: Physics Lab Thermostat

2024-09-26T17:30:53Z

172.69.34.180: /* Explanation */ indirect control

{{comic
| number = 2989
| date = September 23, 2024
| title = Physics Lab Thermostat
| image = physics_lab_thermostat_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x296px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hopefully the HVAC people set it to only affect the AIR in the room.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ChatGPT, an actual bot, with the help of human copyeditors and critics as found on the talk page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about a thermostat in a physics lab which, instead of controlling the air temperature, adjusts the {{w|Boltzmann constant}} in the immediate area, a value relating temperature to energy equal to 1.38×10−23 J/K, where J is {{w|joule}}s, a unit of energy, and K is {{w|kelvin}}, a unit of temperature. The dial shows different values for the constant, implying that it can be changed, which is absurd because the Boltzmann constant is a fundamental number that is the same throughout the universe. In reality, there is no way to change the Boltzmann constant, so the comic is making fun of the idea of a scientist casually adjusting a fixed law of physics as if it were something simple like room temperature.

If the Boltzmann constant could be changed, it would directly affect how we experience temperature. The equivalent energy range relative to the actual Boltzmann constant would correspond to temperatures of 15°C (59°F) on the left, to 29°C (84°F) on the right (since raising the value of the constant decreases the temperature for a given energy level). The dial appears to be set to approximately 23°C (73°F), a not untypical desired room temperature within a fairly standard range of thermostat-style choice.  There have previously been control panels for properties of the universe in [[1620: Christmas Settings]] and [[1763: Catcalling]]. A thermometer including units compatible with this thermostat (after dividing by 2/3) is shown in [[2292: Thermometer]].

The title text builds on the absurdity of being able to adjust the Boltzmann constant. It suggests that if the constant could be changed, hopefully it would only affect the air in the room and not other substances. Imagining that this strange version of an HVAC ({{w|heating, ventilation, and air conditioning}}) system could contain such a change to ''just'' the room's air shows the ridiculousness of trying to isolate the effects of altering a universal constant.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A black circular dial is shown with a white indicator line at the upper right. The label above the dial, enclosed in a rectangular box, says:]
:Local Boltzmann Constant
:[The two extremes of the dial are labeled as follows, the first value on the left and the second value on the right:]
:1.418×10-23 J/K
:1.351×10-23 J/K
:[The indicator line is pointing to a position on the dial somewhere around 1.375×10-23 J/K (between the 12th and 13th large ticks clockwise out of 19 total).]
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Physics Lab Thermostat

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Physics]]

2989: Physics Lab Thermostat

2024-09-26T17:30:33Z

172.69.34.180: /* Explanation */ actual calculation explained in talk

{{comic
| number = 2989
| date = September 23, 2024
| title = Physics Lab Thermostat
| image = physics_lab_thermostat_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x296px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hopefully the HVAC people set it to only affect the AIR in the room.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ChatGPT, an actual bot, with the help of human copyeditors and critics as found on the talk page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about a thermostat in a physics lab which, instead of directly controlling the air temperature, adjusts the {{w|Boltzmann constant}} in the immediate area, a value relating temperature to energy equal to 1.38×10−23 J/K, where J is {{w|joule}}s, a unit of energy, and K is {{w|kelvin}}, a unit of temperature. The dial shows different values for the constant, implying that it can be changed, which is absurd because the Boltzmann constant is a fundamental number that is the same throughout the universe. In reality, there is no way to change the Boltzmann constant, so the comic is making fun of the idea of a scientist casually adjusting a fixed law of physics as if it were something simple like room temperature.

If the Boltzmann constant could be changed, it would directly affect how we experience temperature. The equivalent energy range relative to the actual Boltzmann constant would correspond to temperatures of 15°C (59°F) on the left, to 29°C (84°F) on the right (since raising the value of the constant decreases the temperature for a given energy level). The dial appears to be set to approximately 23°C (73°F), a not untypical desired room temperature within a fairly standard range of thermostat-style choice.  There have previously been control panels for properties of the universe in [[1620: Christmas Settings]] and [[1763: Catcalling]]. A thermometer including units compatible with this thermostat (after dividing by 2/3) is shown in [[2292: Thermometer]].

The title text builds on the absurdity of being able to adjust the Boltzmann constant. It suggests that if the constant could be changed, hopefully it would only affect the air in the room and not other substances. Imagining that this strange version of an HVAC ({{w|heating, ventilation, and air conditioning}}) system could contain such a change to ''just'' the room's air shows the ridiculousness of trying to isolate the effects of altering a universal constant.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A black circular dial is shown with a white indicator line at the upper right. The label above the dial, enclosed in a rectangular box, says:]
:Local Boltzmann Constant
:[The two extremes of the dial are labeled as follows, the first value on the left and the second value on the right:]
:1.418×10-23 J/K
:1.351×10-23 J/K
:[The indicator line is pointing to a position on the dial somewhere around 1.375×10-23 J/K (between the 12th and 13th large ticks clockwise out of 19 total).]
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Physics Lab Thermostat

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Physics]]

2989: Physics Lab Thermostat

2024-09-26T17:29:57Z

172.69.34.180: /* Explanation */ oh god this is so bad! We are supposed to be writing explanations, not speculative essays

{{comic
| number = 2989
| date = September 23, 2024
| title = Physics Lab Thermostat
| image = physics_lab_thermostat_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x296px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hopefully the HVAC people set it to only affect the AIR in the room.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ChatGPT, an actual bot, with the help of human copyeditors and critics as found on the talk page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about a thermostat in a physics lab which, instead of directly controlling the air temperature, adjusts the {{w|Boltzmann constant}} in the immediate area, a value relating temperature to energy equal to 1.38×10−23 J/K, where J is {{w|joule}}s, a unit of energy, and K is {{w|kelvin}}, a unit of temperature. The dial shows different values for the constant, implying that it can be changed, which is absurd because the Boltzmann constant is a fundamental number that is the same throughout the universe. In reality, there is no way to change the Boltzmann constant, so the comic is making fun of the idea of a scientist casually adjusting a fixed law of physics as if it were something simple like room temperature.

If the Boltzmann constant could be changed, it would directly affect how we experience temperature. The equivalent energy range relative to the actual Boltzmann constant might correspond to temperatures of 15°C (59°F) on the left, to 29°C (84°F) on the right (since raising the value of the constant decreases the temperature for a given energy level). The dial appears to be set to approximately 23°C (73°F), a not untypical desired room temperature within a fairly standard range of thermostat-style choice.  There have previously been control panels for properties of the universe in [[1620: Christmas Settings]] and [[1763: Catcalling]]. A thermometer including units compatible with this thermostat (after dividing by 2/3) is shown in [[2292: Thermometer]].

The title text builds on the absurdity of being able to adjust the Boltzmann constant. It suggests that if the constant could be changed, hopefully it would only affect the air in the room and not other substances. Imagining that this strange version of an HVAC ({{w|heating, ventilation, and air conditioning}}) system could contain such a change to ''just'' the room's air shows the ridiculousness of trying to isolate the effects of altering a universal constant.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A black circular dial is shown with a white indicator line at the upper right. The label above the dial, enclosed in a rectangular box, says:]
:Local Boltzmann Constant
:[The two extremes of the dial are labeled as follows, the first value on the left and the second value on the right:]
:1.418×10-23 J/K
:1.351×10-23 J/K
:[The indicator line is pointing to a position on the dial somewhere around 1.375×10-23 J/K (between the 12th and 13th large ticks clockwise out of 19 total).]
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Physics Lab Thermostat

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Physics]]

2989: Physics Lab Thermostat

2024-09-26T17:28:37Z

172.69.34.180: /* Explanation */ unnecessary

{{comic
| number = 2989
| date = September 23, 2024
| title = Physics Lab Thermostat
| image = physics_lab_thermostat_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x296px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hopefully the HVAC people set it to only affect the AIR in the room.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ChatGPT, an actual bot, with the help of human copyeditors and critics as found on the talk page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about a thermostat in a physics lab which, instead of directly controlling the air temperature, adjusts the {{w|Boltzmann constant}} in the immediate area, a value relating temperature to energy equal to 1.38×10−23 J/K, where J is {{w|joule}}s, a unit of energy, and K is {{w|kelvin}}, a unit of temperature. The dial shows different values for the constant, implying that it can be changed, which is absurd because the Boltzmann constant is a fundamental number that is the same throughout the universe. In reality, there is no way to change the Boltzmann constant, so the comic is making fun of the idea of a scientist casually adjusting a fixed law of physics as if it were something simple like room temperature.

If the Boltzmann constant could be changed, it would directly affect how we experience temperature. The constant determines how much energy particles have at a certain temperature. Adjusting the constant would disassociate the measurable temperature from the heat energy. What this practically means is hard to know, since it is not possible to test, but there is no reason to believe that this would act to heat (or cool) the room in any way. It may just require all thermometers to be recalibrated, unless it also effects the thresholds between kinetic energy and the physical states of matter (changes of state or thermal expansion).

The equivalent energy range relative to the actual Boltzmann constant might correspond to temperatures of 15°C (59°F) on the left, to 29°C (84°F) on the right (since raising the value of the constant decreases the temperature for a given energy level). The dial appears to be set to approximately 23°C (73°F), a not untypical desired room temperature within a fairly standard range of thermostat-style choice.  There have previously been control panels for properties of the universe in [[1620: Christmas Settings]] and [[1763: Catcalling]]. A thermometer including units compatible with this thermostat (after dividing by 2/3) is shown in [[2292: Thermometer]].

The title text builds on the absurdity of being able to adjust the Boltzmann constant. It suggests that if the constant could be changed, hopefully it would only affect the air in the room and not other substances. Imagining that this strange version of an HVAC ({{w|heating, ventilation, and air conditioning}}) system could contain such a change to ''just'' the room's air shows the ridiculousness of trying to isolate the effects of altering a universal constant.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A black circular dial is shown with a white indicator line at the upper right. The label above the dial, enclosed in a rectangular box, says:]
:Local Boltzmann Constant
:[The two extremes of the dial are labeled as follows, the first value on the left and the second value on the right:]
:1.418×10-23 J/K
:1.351×10-23 J/K
:[The indicator line is pointing to a position on the dial somewhere around 1.375×10-23 J/K (between the 12th and 13th large ticks clockwise out of 19 total).]
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Physics Lab Thermostat

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Physics]]

2972: Helium Synthesis

2024-08-15T05:04:53Z

172.69.34.180: /* Explanation */ not sure about this part

{{comic
| number = 2972
| date = August 14, 2024
| title = Helium Synthesis
| image = helium_synthesis_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x312px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Our lawyers were worried because it turns out the company inherits its debt from the parent universe, but luckily cosmic inflation reduced it to nearly zero.
}}

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

This comic explores the challenges of sourcing {{w|helium}} by taking an extremely long-term perspective. [[Hairy]], leading a company meeting with [[Megan]], [[Cueball]], and [[Hairbun]], are discussing the recurring problem of {{w|helium shortage}}s, a real-world issue due to helium's limited availability on Earth. Helium is a non-renewable resource that is extracted from natural gas reserves, and its scarcity can affect industries that rely on it, such as medical imaging, scientific research, and the party supplies industry.[https://www.marketplace.org/2023/01/19/heliums-been-rising-in-price-and-its-bringing-businesses-down/]

Hairbun suggests investigating the origin of helium. Cueball's study reveals that most helium originates from {{w|Big Bang nucleosynthesis}}, the process that occurred shortly after the Big Bang, when the first elements including helium were formed. Hairy tasks the team to figure out how to recreate that process, which is not actually possible for a contemporary business organization.{{cn}} Nonetheless, the team builds a machine capable of it. While one would hope they would realize would obliterate them, ironically that disadvantage seems to escape their attention in their tightly focused drive towards their ill-fated solution.

The final panels show the creation of a second {{w|Big Bang}}, and jump 14 billion years into the future, with the same characters in a meeting, presumably after having arisen from an identical series of post-Big Bang events through the entirety of the next universe's lifespan, only to arrive at the same conclusion: helium shortages are still a problem, and they still need a reliable source. That such an extreme solution didn't actually solve the problem shows the impracticality of their plan, suggesting that some problems are too complex or vast to solve through brainstorming of corporate efforts.

The title text is a wordplay on the concept of {{w|cosmic inflation}}, a theory in cosmology that describes the rapid expansion of the universe just after the Big Bang. The joke imagines the company as having inherited a debt from the parent universe, perhaps due to the expense of creating a second Big Bang. However, thanks to cosmic inflation which dramatically expanded the universe, the debt was diluted (perhaps across the vastness of space), reducing it to almost nothing—much like how {{w|monetary inflation}} reduces the relative cost of debt in fiscal terms.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Hairy sits at the head of a conference table, with Cueball and Megan also at the table.]
:Hairy: These helium shortages every few years are such a pain.
:Hairy: Our company needs a reliable source of helium.

:[The same situation, but now Hairbun is also seen at the table to Cueball's left. Cueball holds a cellphone in his left hand, which Megan looks at.]
:Hairbun: Where does helium come from, anyway?
:Cueball: Hmm, apparently most of it is from "big bang nucleosynthesis"?
:Hairy: Well, let's figure out how to do that.

:[Hairy, Megan and Hairbun are working on a large machine labeled "Big Bang nucleosynthesis."]

:[Two scene depict another Big Bang, followed by various stages of cosmic development, including galaxies and planets forming.]

:[The scene returns to the same conference room setup as before, with the characters in the same positions. Text at the top reads: "14 Billion Years Later."]
:Hairy: These helium shortages every few years are such a pain.
:Hairy: Our company needs a reliable source of helium.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]

Talk:2941: Cell Organelles

2024-06-04T01:57:44Z

172.69.34.180: Reply

I'm a little disappointed there isn't a continuous endoplasmic reticulum with a zigzag in it.
Rogue mathematician away [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.77|172.71.154.77]] 19:20, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

Sorry about the edit conflicts, attempting to fix.... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.237|108.162.245.237]] 20:12, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

Re [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2941:_Cell_Organelles&diff=343629&oldid=343628] is LLM use forbidden? I recall we have several ChatGPT-authored explanations, and had an ongoing discussion back when it was new. In any case, I've proofread and vouch for it, so I'm replacing the text. I encourage anyone who's bothered by it to paraphrase instead of delete. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.237|108.162.245.237]] 21:22, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

:If you've got the time to check AI-generated content properly and agree that it's what ''you'' would have written, you've got time to write it from scratch exactly how you'd have written it. And you get dangerously close to just putting in AI-content without checking at all, which right now is remains foolhardy.
:But, most of all, anything anyone submits can be changed by anyone else, and I don't know who picked up on it being AI and dealt with it the way they did, but only consensus can truly resolve where any attempt to impose an edit leads. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.119|162.158.74.119]] 22:36, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

::I almost completely agree with you for Wikipedia (I'd just change 'would' to 'could') and similar wikis, but it's undeniable that ExplainXkcd is different in some very substantial and obvious ways, many of which bear on whether to utilize AI. In particular, I would accept pretty much anything that helps explain the comic whether authored by human, machine, animal, or alien, but not hesitate for a second to, as the text below the Summary text input box says, edit it "mercilessly" whether I thought it was LLM-generated or not. But I wouldn't delete an even barely serviceable explanation ''just'' because I thought it came from an LLM, even if it was objectively low quality. I would try to improve it, which almost never means starting over from scratch. I'm not sure I believe the same is true for humans, who often insert, e.g., vandalism, trolling, or extremely undue and/or fringe topic passages. If an LLM is doing that, there's probably a human behind it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.17|108.162.245.17]] 00:21, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

:Both the paragraphs and the table have been edited so far from what ChatGPT pretty obviously came up with (almost all of which I would say merit inclusion unaltered, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2941:_Cell_Organelles&diff=343604&oldid=343601 looking at the initial edits; although there is evidence that the LLM output was copyedited and wikilinked in a way that it would probably not do,] i.e., we use the {{tl|w}} template here which is not at all a Mediawiki standard, the Wikimedia wikis having a different form <nowiki>[[w:...]]</nowiki>) so whatever deleterious LLM contamination they had has surely been beat out of them at this stage. Perhaps the GenAI deletionist is trying to encourage others to not fall prey to reliance on LLMs? A worthy goal, but I agree paraphrasing is far superior. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.180|172.69.34.180]] 01:57, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

Re: the chloroplasts explanation: how do we know that this is an animal cell? (Would be good to say why...) -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 22:18, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
:The cell has a membrane instead of a wall. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.199|162.158.90.199]] 22:24, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
::No, that’s human skin. [[User:Usb-rave|Usb-rave]] ([[User talk:Usb-rave|talk]]) 00:48, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

Why does Golgi look like an alien, he's so little and cute. Wtf. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 23:11, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

:You know what I would like to see from AI? A tiny white Grey Golgi alien working in the cytoplasm to build his apparatus. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.57|172.71.146.57]] 01:46, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

Should 2732: Bursa of Fabricius be referenced? It feels like the Golgi Apparatus is making a similar joke, if somewhat inverted. [[User:Dkfenger|Dkfenger]] ([[User talk:Dkfenger|talk]]) 01:19, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

1862: Particle Properties

2024-05-30T01:07:21Z

172.69.34.180: /* Explanation */ typo

{{comic
| number = 1862
| date = July 12, 2017
| title = Particle Properties
| image = particle_properties.png
| titletext = Each particle also has a password which allows its properties to be changed, but the cosmic censorship hypothesis suggests we can never observe the password itself—only its secure hash.
}}

==Explanation==
A table is presented comparing the range (maximum and minimum value) and scale (how big number increments are) of several measures. The table begins by listing properties pertinent to {{w|particle physics}} as the title suggests, but quickly devolves to other domains such as role-playing games (such as D&D) and sports after failing to provide a good definition of {{w|Flavour (particle physics)|flavor}}.

{| class=wikitable
! Property
! Scale
! Explanation
|-
| Electric charge
| [-1,1]
| The {{w|electric charge}} is shown in increments of a third from -1 to +1 which are the only known charges of fundamental particles (leptons, quarks and gauge bosons); however there are some exotic composite particles with twice integer charge, e.g. the recently discovered {{w|Ξcc++|double charmed Xi baryon}} with a charge of +2.

Quarks are the only particles with charges of ± ⅓ or ± ⅔, but cannot exist individually; below the {{w|Hagedorn temperature}}, they are only found within hadrons. To date, all hadrons (particles composed of quarks), leptons, and bosons have integer charge, and current models indicate that this must be the case.
|-
| Mass
| [0,∞) in kg
| Mass (specifically {{w|rest mass}}) is the measure of an object or particle's resistance to force, as well as its ability to distort {{w|spacetime}} (its gravitational attraction).
Theoretically, any object's mass could approach infinity, but mass cannot be below 0 (as far as {{w|Negative mass|we know}}). The mass units shown (kilograms) are, however, far too large for particles. Some particles, such as photons, have zero rest mass and are therefore massless.

All particles with rest mass obtain it through confinement, either by the {{w|Higgs field}} (the quarks; leptons; and W, Z, and Higgs bosons) or the strong nuclear force (hadrons).
Particles with no rest mass (photons and gluons) can only move at lightspeed.
|-
| Spin number
| (-∞,∞) (Intervals of ½)
| {{w|Spin (physics)|Spin}} is an intrinsic property of particles, a relativistic form of angular momentum. The spin of a particle determines what statistics the particle follows, half odd integer spin particles are classified as fermions and integer spin particles are bosons.

Two fermions cannot have exactly the same state, an observation known as the Pauli exclusion principle. Thus, for fermions to exist in the same position, they must have opposite spins, of + ½ and - ½. It follows that a maximum of two fermions of the same flavor (e.g. two electrons) may exist in the same position.
|-
| Flavor
| Misc. quantum numbers
| Flavor is a series of {{w|quantum numbers}} that do not fit neatly onto a set of dimensional axes.

The most general theory breaks flavor down into four distinct conserved values, the electric charge, the weak isospin, the baryon number and the lepton number, but more specific models increase the number of distinct values. Quarks, for example, add five more flavor numbers: isospin (upness vs. downness), strangeness, charm, topness and bottomness (the last four are literally just the number of strange, charmed, top and bottom quarks, minus the corresponding anti-quarks).
|-
| Color charge
| Coordinate system with R, G and B axes
| The primary {{w|strong nuclear force}} has six mutually attractive charges, arranged in three perpendicular axes each analogous to electric charge. These charges are commonly referred to as "{{w|Color charge|color}}" and the three axes are given the names of the three primary colors of light: Red, Green and Blue. The black dots in the diagram represent the actual colors while the white dots are the anti-color charges: anti-Red (colored cyan in diagrams), anti-Green (magenta) and anti-Blue (yellow). To complete the analogy, a color charge of zero is referred to as "White". The names of these charges are purely allegorical, but they do make it convenient to refer to them, especially in diagrams.

The color of a particle not confined by the strong force must be White, either as the sum of a color and its anti-color (as in a meson), as the sum of RGB or anti-RGB (as in a baryon), or as a sum of those sums (As in tetra-, penta- or hexaquarks). The attraction of the strong nuclear force is so strong that attempting to separate two quarks from each other creates enough energy to create two new quarks, which then bind to the original quarks. This property is known as "confinement" and means that color charge can never be observed directly.

Randall is incorrect in stating "Quarks only", since {{w|gluon}}s (the particle that carries the color force) are themselves colored. However, the colors of gluons are much more complicated, with a total of eight distinct superpositions of every possible color-anticolor pair. The fact that gluons are subject to the force they mediate also means that the strong force has a defined radius of effect, unlike the electromagnetic force, whose gauge bosons (the photon) are uncharged.

This is the last entry currently used to describe particles by particle physicists.
|-
| Mood
| 5 emojis on a number line ranging from angry to joyful
| Particles are not considered to have mood, even in the allegorical way they have color or flavor, but Randall implies that there is a quantized 5 point scale (from "angry" to "ecstatic") which would have some effect on the properties of the particle. This would be more appropriate for measuring customer satisfaction. Charts such as this are also sometimes used in medicine to indicate levels of pain, and in some psychiatric treatments as a quick way to track changes in the patient's condition.

In grammar, {{w|Grammatical particles|particles}} are a nebulous class of words, usually defined by a lack of declension or conjugation (such as prepositions in English). Some languages use particles instead of or in addition to "standard" declension/conjugation, much like auxiliary verbs are used in English. These particles may well carry "{{w|Grammatical mood|mood}}" as an attribute, as well as tense and aspect.
|-
| Alignment
| 3x3 grid with varying shades (columns Good-Evil, rows Lawful-Chaotic)
| A reference to the tabletop RPG ''{{w|Dungeons & Dragons}}'', where characters have an {{w|Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)|alignment}} that is either Good, Neutral, or Evil (describing whether they have a propensity to help or harm others) and either Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic (describing how much they care about organizations, social norms, and the status quo). Common examples of these alignments include Darth Vader (Lawful Evil), Superman (Lawful Good), Robin Hood (Chaotic Good), and the Joker (Chaotic Evil). This may be a reference to the now defunct names of the two heaviest known quarks ("truth" and "beauty").
|-
| Hit points
| [0,∞)
| Games (videogames, board games, CCGs, RPGs, etc.) often have values for players and other entities that represent {{w|Health (video game)|health}} (also called hit points or HP). Generally there is not necessarily a limit on this value, but it does not often go below 0 as the zero value is considered "dead" (or some equivalent).
|-
| Rating
| 5-star scale
| The five-star rating system is often used to rate films, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. Randall has previously criticized this system in [[937: TornadoGuard]] and [[1098: Star Ratings]].

Interestingly, unlike the "Heat" rating with the chili peppers below, this scale doesn't have a creatively labeled number line, merely a rating (3.5, in this case). Considering [[1098]], could Randall be subtly self-deprecating here?
|-
| String type
| Bytestring-Charstring
| In computer science, this denotes what type of data is stored subsequent set of elements or a {{w|String_(computing)|string}}. This is likely a pun on {{w|String_(physics)|string}} types that appear in {{w|string theory}} and particle physics, and may also be a reference to {{w|Python (programming language)|Python}}, in which the difference between a byte string and a (Unicode) character string is a cause of difficulties for some programmers.
|-
| Batting average
| [0,100] in %
| In {{w|baseball}}, a player's {{w|batting average}} is calculated by dividing their hits by their at-bats. Instead of using the percent sign (%), it is usually presented as a number between 0 and 1 (inclusive) expressed as three decimal places with no leading zero: [.000, 1.000]. It is pronounced as though it is multiplied by 1,000: A batter with a batting average of .342 (which is very good) is said to be "batting three forty-two." A perfect batting average (unattainable except in very small samples) gives rise to the expression "batting a thousand." The 0-100 scale would be a better match for the batting average statistic in {{w|cricket}}, although percents would still not be used.
|-
| Proof
| [0,200]
| This refers to {{w|alcohol proof}}, which is the measure of the amount of ethanol in a beverage by volume. In the United States, 100 proof correspond to 50% alcohol, so the proof of a beverage is two times the percentage of ethanol, so the maximum value is 200.
|-
| Heat
| No jalapeño icons - 3 jalapeño icons, increasing
| Spicy dishes are sometimes measured by the intensity of the spicy flavor, usually ranging from values like "mild" to "hot". The gray jalapeño likely represents negligible or no spicy taste in the food. However, as an objective scale it is largely meaningless, since there is no reliable consistency in how these ratings are applied - what may be considered a 3-chilli dish in one establishment may only be a 1-chilli dish in another (as restaurants rarely if ever intend their dishes to be rated on the {{w|Scoville scale}}). The scale being unlimited may be a reference to the practice of some restaurants where a fourth or fifth chilli may be added to exaggerate the heat of their dishes.
|-
| Street value
| [0,∞) in $
| The value of an illegal good or a legal/controlled good when bought or sold by illegal means usually by or to the end user.
|-
| Entropy
| ''This already has like 20 different confusing meanings, so it probably means something here, too.''
| The term "entropy", which {{w|History of entropy|began}} as a {{w|Entropy (classical thermodynamics)|thermodynamic measure}}, has since been adopted {{w|Entropy in thermodynamics and information theory|by analogy}} into {{w|Entropy (disambiguation)|multiple seemingly unrelated domains}} including, for example, information theory. The table allows that the term "entropy" must mean something in the context of particle physics, but isn't certain whether it's the classical, Gibbs' modern {{w|Entropy (statistical thermodynamics)|statistical mechanics}}, Von Neumann's {{w|Von Neumann entropy|quantum entropy}}, or some other meaning.

Imagine two identical balloons filled with the same gas and heated from two opposite sides with identical heat sources, creating symmetric temperature gradients in both; because the distribution of temperatures is the same, the Gibbs statistical thermodynamic entropy 𝑆 of the gas molecule particles in each balloon will be the same. In contrast, if one balloon is heated from one side by a low-power heat source and another by a high-power heat source, the balloon next to the high-power heat source will have a steeper temperature gradient, increasing the number of accessible microstates, hence the Gibbs entropies 𝑆low power < 𝑆high power. Now consider electrons in two atoms excited by absorbing identical photons to a mixed state; if the mixed states have the same probabilities for different energy levels, their Von Neumann quantum entropy 𝑆 values will be the same. Conversely, if one atom has electrons excited to a {{w|Purity_(quantum_mechanics)|pure}} state and another to a mixed state by photons of different energies, the mixed state will have higher entropy due to greater uncertainty, i.e., 𝑆pure = 0 and 𝑆mixed = ln(2).
|}

The title text says that in addition each particle has a password, but only hash of the password can be observed. This is a computer science reference. In computer science, properties (e.g. of an object or program) often can be changed with a single command. In physics as we observe it, properties can locally change with the environment. There are several {{w|Time-variation_of_fundamental_constants|experiments}}, whether physical constants are really time-const. Password hashing is the practice of hiding the password itself by storing only an irreversible representation of the password. Since the password itself is not stored, the password cannot ever be viewed by the user or a hacker (outside of the login page). This method is considered to be safest way of storing passwords. Password hashing using some {{w|key derivation function}} makes it impossible to steal passwords even if the server that stores hashes is cracked, unless the hash function is also broken, which should be a task which cannot be completed in any feasible time for sufficiently strong passwords. The title-text claims this is predicted by the {{w|cosmic censorship hypothesis}}, which in reality claims that a {{w|gravitational singularity}} must always be obscured by an event horizon (i.e.: there can't be a {{w|naked singularity}}). There is also a hint of quantum mechanics in the statement, as observation is one of the central concepts of the field, and {{w|Heisenberg's uncertainty principle}} actually states that it is impossible to observe (measure) some property of a particle with arbitrary precision when another one is known (e.g.: you can't determine the momentum and position of a particle). This makes the title text a mix of several domains, as was the above table.

==Transcript==
:<big>Particle Properties in Physics</big>
{| class=wikitable
! Property
! Type/scale
|-
| Electric charge
| [Scale with -1, 0 and +1 labeled and markings dividing the units in thirds. The endpoints are both dots.]
|-
| Mass
| [Scale with 0, 1kg and 2kg labeled and markings dividing the units into thirds. The endpoints are a dot on the zero end and an arrow on the other end.]
|-
| Spin number
| [Scale with -1, -½, 0, ½ and 1 labeled and no additional markings. The endpoints are both arrows, pointing out.]
|-
| Flavor
| (Misc. quantum numbers)
|-
| Color charge
| [Coordinate system of three axes labeled R, G and B clockwise from the 10 o'clock position. Endpoints are arrow-dots on all ends, with black dots for the labeled ends and white dots for the unlabeled ends.] (Quarks only)
|-
| Mood
| [Scale labeled with 5 emoticons, from angry to happy, and markings dividing the units in thirds. Endpoints are both arrows, pointing out.]
|-
| Alignment
| [3x3 grid with varying shades] Good-Evil, Lawful-Chaotic
|-
| Hit points
| [Scale starting from 0, markings but no labels other than zero. Endpoints are a dot at zero end and an arrow at the other end.]
|-
| Rating
| [Star rating of 3.5/5 stars.]
|-
| String type
| Bytestring-Charstring
|-
| Batting average
| [Scale from 0% to 100%. Endpoints are dot at 0% end and arrow-dot at 100% end.]
|-
| Proof
| [Scale from 0 to 200. Endpoints are dot at 0 end and arrow-dot at 200 end.]
|-
| Heat
| [Scale labeled with pepper icons, from 0 (a grayed-out pepper) to 3 black peppers. Endpoints are a dot at zero end and an arrow at the other end.]
|-
| Street value
| [Scale with $0, $100 and $200 labeled. Endpoints are a dot at zero end and an arrow at the other end.]
|-
| Entropy
| (This already has like 20 different confusing meanings, so it probably means something here, too.)
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Baseball]]

1862: Particle Properties

2024-05-30T01:06:17Z

172.69.34.180: /* Explanation */ actually explain

{{comic
| number = 1862
| date = July 12, 2017
| title = Particle Properties
| image = particle_properties.png
| titletext = Each particle also has a password which allows its properties to be changed, but the cosmic censorship hypothesis suggests we can never observe the password itself—only its secure hash.
}}

==Explanation==
A table is presented comparing the range (maximum and minimum value) and scale (how big number increments are) of several measures. The table begins by listing properties pertinent to {{w|particle physics}} as the title suggests, but quickly devolves to other domains such as role-playing games (such as D&D) and sports after failing to provide a good definition of {{w|Flavour (particle physics)|flavor}}.

{| class=wikitable
! Property
! Scale
! Explanation
|-
| Electric charge
| [-1,1]
| The {{w|electric charge}} is shown in increments of a third from -1 to +1 which are the only known charges of fundamental particles (leptons, quarks and gauge bosons); however there are some exotic composite particles with twice integer charge, e.g. the recently discovered {{w|Ξcc++|double charmed Xi baryon}} with a charge of +2.

Quarks are the only particles with charges of ± ⅓ or ± ⅔, but cannot exist individually; below the {{w|Hagedorn temperature}}, they are only found within hadrons. To date, all hadrons (particles composed of quarks), leptons, and bosons have integer charge, and current models indicate that this must be the case.
|-
| Mass
| [0,∞) in kg
| Mass (specifically {{w|rest mass}}) is the measure of an object or particle's resistance to force, as well as its ability to distort {{w|spacetime}} (its gravitational attraction).
Theoretically, any object's mass could approach infinity, but mass cannot be below 0 (as far as {{w|Negative mass|we know}}). The mass units shown (kilograms) are, however, far too large for particles. Some particles, such as photons, have zero rest mass and are therefore massless.

All particles with rest mass obtain it through confinement, either by the {{w|Higgs field}} (the quarks; leptons; and W, Z, and Higgs bosons) or the strong nuclear force (hadrons).
Particles with no rest mass (photons and gluons) can only move at lightspeed.
|-
| Spin number
| (-∞,∞) (Intervals of ½)
| {{w|Spin (physics)|Spin}} is an intrinsic property of particles, a relativistic form of angular momentum. The spin of a particle determines what statistics the particle follows, half odd integer spin particles are classified as fermions and integer spin particles are bosons.

Two fermions cannot have exactly the same state, an observation known as the Pauli exclusion principle. Thus, for fermions to exist in the same position, they must have opposite spins, of + ½ and - ½. It follows that a maximum of two fermions of the same flavor (e.g. two electrons) may exist in the same position.
|-
| Flavor
| Misc. quantum numbers
| Flavor is a series of {{w|quantum numbers}} that do not fit neatly onto a set of dimensional axes.

The most general theory breaks flavor down into four distinct conserved values, the electric charge, the weak isospin, the baryon number and the lepton number, but more specific models increase the number of distinct values. Quarks, for example, add five more flavor numbers: isospin (upness vs. downness), strangeness, charm, topness and bottomness (the last four are literally just the number of strange, charmed, top and bottom quarks, minus the corresponding anti-quarks).
|-
| Color charge
| Coordinate system with R, G and B axes
| The primary {{w|strong nuclear force}} has six mutually attractive charges, arranged in three perpendicular axes each analogous to electric charge. These charges are commonly referred to as "{{w|Color charge|color}}" and the three axes are given the names of the three primary colors of light: Red, Green and Blue. The black dots in the diagram represent the actual colors while the white dots are the anti-color charges: anti-Red (colored cyan in diagrams), anti-Green (magenta) and anti-Blue (yellow). To complete the analogy, a color charge of zero is referred to as "White". The names of these charges are purely allegorical, but they do make it convenient to refer to them, especially in diagrams.

The color of a particle not confined by the strong force must be White, either as the sum of a color and its anti-color (as in a meson), as the sum of RGB or anti-RGB (as in a baryon), or as a sum of those sums (As in tetra-, penta- or hexaquarks). The attraction of the strong nuclear force is so strong that attempting to separate two quarks from each other creates enough energy to create two new quarks, which then bind to the original quarks. This property is known as "confinement" and means that color charge can never be observed directly.

Randall is incorrect in stating "Quarks only", since {{w|gluon}}s (the particle that carries the color force) are themselves colored. However, the colors of gluons are much more complicated, with a total of eight distinct superpositions of every possible color-anticolor pair. The fact that gluons are subject to the force they mediate also means that the strong force has a defined radius of effect, unlike the electromagnetic force, whose gauge bosons (the photon) are uncharged.

This is the last entry currently used to describe particles by particle physicists.
|-
| Mood
| 5 emojis on a number line ranging from angry to joyful
| Particles are not considered to have mood, even in the allegorical way they have color or flavor, but Randall implies that there is a quantized 5 point scale (from "angry" to "ecstatic") which would have some effect on the properties of the particle. This would be more appropriate for measuring customer satisfaction. Charts such as this are also sometimes used in medicine to indicate levels of pain, and in some psychiatric treatments as a quick way to track changes in the patient's condition.

In grammar, {{w|Grammatical particles|particles}} are a nebulous class of words, usually defined by a lack of declension or conjugation (such as prepositions in English). Some languages use particles instead of or in addition to "standard" declension/conjugation, much like auxiliary verbs are used in English. These particles may well carry "{{w|Grammatical mood|mood}}" as an attribute, as well as tense and aspect.
|-
| Alignment
| 3x3 grid with varying shades (columns Good-Evil, rows Lawful-Chaotic)
| A reference to the tabletop RPG ''{{w|Dungeons & Dragons}}'', where characters have an {{w|Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)|alignment}} that is either Good, Neutral, or Evil (describing whether they have a propensity to help or harm others) and either Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic (describing how much they care about organizations, social norms, and the status quo). Common examples of these alignments include Darth Vader (Lawful Evil), Superman (Lawful Good), Robin Hood (Chaotic Good), and the Joker (Chaotic Evil). This may be a reference to the now defunct names of the two heaviest known quarks ("truth" and "beauty").
|-
| Hit points
| [0,∞)
| Games (videogames, board games, CCGs, RPGs, etc.) often have values for players and other entities that represent {{w|Health (video game)|health}} (also called hit points or HP). Generally there is not necessarily a limit on this value, but it does not often go below 0 as the zero value is considered "dead" (or some equivalent).
|-
| Rating
| 5-star scale
| The five-star rating system is often used to rate films, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. Randall has previously criticized this system in [[937: TornadoGuard]] and [[1098: Star Ratings]].

Interestingly, unlike the "Heat" rating with the chili peppers below, this scale doesn't have a creatively labeled number line, merely a rating (3.5, in this case). Considering [[1098]], could Randall be subtly self-deprecating here?
|-
| String type
| Bytestring-Charstring
| In computer science, this denotes what type of data is stored subsequent set of elements or a {{w|String_(computing)|string}}. This is likely a pun on {{w|String_(physics)|string}} types that appear in {{w|string theory}} and particle physics, and may also be a reference to {{w|Python (programming language)|Python}}, in which the difference between a byte string and a (Unicode) character string is a cause of difficulties for some programmers.
|-
| Batting average
| [0,100] in %
| In {{w|baseball}}, a player's {{w|batting average}} is calculated by dividing their hits by their at-bats. Instead of using the percent sign (%), it is usually presented as a number between 0 and 1 (inclusive) expressed as three decimal places with no leading zero: [.000, 1.000]. It is pronounced as though it is multiplied by 1,000: A batter with a batting average of .342 (which is very good) is said to be "batting three forty-two." A perfect batting average (unattainable except in very small samples) gives rise to the expression "batting a thousand." The 0-100 scale would be a better match for the batting average statistic in {{w|cricket}}, although percents would still not be used.
|-
| Proof
| [0,200]
| This refers to {{w|alcohol proof}}, which is the measure of the amount of ethanol in a beverage by volume. In the United States, 100 proof correspond to 50% alcohol, so the proof of a beverage is two times the percentage of ethanol, so the maximum value is 200.
|-
| Heat
| No jalapeño icons - 3 jalapeño icons, increasing
| Spicy dishes are sometimes measured by the intensity of the spicy flavor, usually ranging from values like "mild" to "hot". The gray jalapeño likely represents negligible or no spicy taste in the food. However, as an objective scale it is largely meaningless, since there is no reliable consistency in how these ratings are applied - what may be considered a 3-chilli dish in one establishment may only be a 1-chilli dish in another (as restaurants rarely if ever intend their dishes to be rated on the {{w|Scoville scale}}). The scale being unlimited may be a reference to the practice of some restaurants where a fourth or fifth chilli may be added to exaggerate the heat of their dishes.
|-
| Street value
| [0,∞) in $
| The value of an illegal good or a legal/controlled good when bought or sold by illegal means usually by or to the end user.
|-
| Entropy
| ''This already has like 20 different confusing meanings, so it probably means something here, too.''
| The term "entropy", which {{w|History of entropy|began}} as a {{w|Entropy (classical thermodynamics)|thermodynamic measure}}, has since been adopted {{w|Entropy in thermodynamics and information theory|by analogy}} into {{w|Entropy (disambiguation)|multiple seemingly unrelated domains}} including, for example, information theory. The table allows that the term "entropy" must mean something in the context of particle physics, but isn't certain whether it's the classical, Gibbs' modern {{w|Entropy (statistical thermodynamics)|statistical mechanics}}, Von Neumann's {{w|Von Neumann entropy|quantum entropy}}, or some other meaning.

Imagine two identical balloons filled with the same gas and heated from two opposite sides with identical heat sources, creating symmetric temperature gradients in both; because the distribution of temperatures is the same, the Gibbs statistical thermodynamic entropy 𝑆 of the gas molecule particles each balloon will be the same. In contrast, if one balloon is heated from one side by a low-power heat source and another by a high-power heat source, the balloon next to the high-power heat source will have a steeper temperature gradient, increasing the number of accessible microstates, hence the Gibbs entropies 𝑆low power < 𝑆high power. Now consider electrons in two atoms excited by absorbing identical photons to a mixed state; if the mixed states have the same probabilities for different energy levels, their Von Neumann quantum entropy 𝑆 values will be the same. Conversely, if one atom has electrons excited to a {{w|Purity_(quantum_mechanics)|pure}} state and another to a mixed state by photons of different energies, the mixed state will have higher entropy due to greater uncertainty, i.e., 𝑆pure = 0 and 𝑆mixed = ln(2).
|}

The title text says that in addition each particle has a password, but only hash of the password can be observed. This is a computer science reference. In computer science, properties (e.g. of an object or program) often can be changed with a single command. In physics as we observe it, properties can locally change with the environment. There are several {{w|Time-variation_of_fundamental_constants|experiments}}, whether physical constants are really time-const. Password hashing is the practice of hiding the password itself by storing only an irreversible representation of the password. Since the password itself is not stored, the password cannot ever be viewed by the user or a hacker (outside of the login page). This method is considered to be safest way of storing passwords. Password hashing using some {{w|key derivation function}} makes it impossible to steal passwords even if the server that stores hashes is cracked, unless the hash function is also broken, which should be a task which cannot be completed in any feasible time for sufficiently strong passwords. The title-text claims this is predicted by the {{w|cosmic censorship hypothesis}}, which in reality claims that a {{w|gravitational singularity}} must always be obscured by an event horizon (i.e.: there can't be a {{w|naked singularity}}). There is also a hint of quantum mechanics in the statement, as observation is one of the central concepts of the field, and {{w|Heisenberg's uncertainty principle}} actually states that it is impossible to observe (measure) some property of a particle with arbitrary precision when another one is known (e.g.: you can't determine the momentum and position of a particle). This makes the title text a mix of several domains, as was the above table.

==Transcript==
:<big>Particle Properties in Physics</big>
{| class=wikitable
! Property
! Type/scale
|-
| Electric charge
| [Scale with -1, 0 and +1 labeled and markings dividing the units in thirds. The endpoints are both dots.]
|-
| Mass
| [Scale with 0, 1kg and 2kg labeled and markings dividing the units into thirds. The endpoints are a dot on the zero end and an arrow on the other end.]
|-
| Spin number
| [Scale with -1, -½, 0, ½ and 1 labeled and no additional markings. The endpoints are both arrows, pointing out.]
|-
| Flavor
| (Misc. quantum numbers)
|-
| Color charge
| [Coordinate system of three axes labeled R, G and B clockwise from the 10 o'clock position. Endpoints are arrow-dots on all ends, with black dots for the labeled ends and white dots for the unlabeled ends.] (Quarks only)
|-
| Mood
| [Scale labeled with 5 emoticons, from angry to happy, and markings dividing the units in thirds. Endpoints are both arrows, pointing out.]
|-
| Alignment
| [3x3 grid with varying shades] Good-Evil, Lawful-Chaotic
|-
| Hit points
| [Scale starting from 0, markings but no labels other than zero. Endpoints are a dot at zero end and an arrow at the other end.]
|-
| Rating
| [Star rating of 3.5/5 stars.]
|-
| String type
| Bytestring-Charstring
|-
| Batting average
| [Scale from 0% to 100%. Endpoints are dot at 0% end and arrow-dot at 100% end.]
|-
| Proof
| [Scale from 0 to 200. Endpoints are dot at 0 end and arrow-dot at 200 end.]
|-
| Heat
| [Scale labeled with pepper icons, from 0 (a grayed-out pepper) to 3 black peppers. Endpoints are a dot at zero end and an arrow at the other end.]
|-
| Street value
| [Scale with $0, $100 and $200 labeled. Endpoints are a dot at zero end and an arrow at the other end.]
|-
| Entropy
| (This already has like 20 different confusing meanings, so it probably means something here, too.)
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Baseball]]

1054: The bacon

2020-03-30T09:56:19Z

172.69.34.180: /* Grammar */

{{comic
| number = 1054
| date = May 11, 2012
| title = The bacon
| image = thebacon.png
| titletext = Normally pronounced 'THEH-buh-kon', I assume.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic plays off the American {{w|colloquialism}} "bring home the bacon", which generally means to work hard and bring money home to your family to put food on the table. If a man is out of work he may be stressed out about how to "bring home the bacon."

Some men would not be assuaged if their wife took over, but at first it seems that [[White Hat]] is happy that his wife, who works as a pharmacist, does bring home the bacon, and he tells this to [[Cueball]].

Later, however, Cueball finds out, that what White Hat actually was saying was "{{w|Thebacon}}", which is a common name for ''dihydrocodeinone enol acetate'' an {{w|opioid}} commonly marketed under names like Acedicon and Diacodin. As a pharmacist White Hat's wife has easy access to such drugs, and this may be the reason that he is so calm, because his wife supplies him with painkiller drugs.

Thebacon is compared to the better known drug {{w|Vicodin}}, another opioid sold as a painkiller, which can (and often has) become a drug of abuse.

The title text lists what [[Randall]] assumes to be the normal pronunciation for Thebacon.

According to {{w|thebacon|Wikipedia}}, Randall seems to be mistaken in no fewer than ''three'' places (which seems to indicate that Randall has only passing knowledge of the drug and did not do extensive research beforehand):
*The proper name is
**Dihydrocodeinone enol acetate, not
**Dihydrocodeine enol acetate.
*It is a {{w|semisynthetic|''semisynthetic''}} opioid not a synthetic opioid.
*The pronunciation is /ˈθiːbəkɒn/
**THEE-buh-kon, not
**THEH-buh-kon.
***By saying ''I assume'', Randall indicates that he didn't research the pronunciation.
***As an alternative explanation, there may be a joke/pun in the mistake.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat is holding out a hand towards Cueball while telling him about his job situation. The space between the and bacon is very small.]
:White Hat: I'm out of work, but I'm not stressed about it because my wife is a pharmacist and she brings home the bacon.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Only later did I learn that "Thebacon" is the common name for dihydrocodeine enol acetate, a synthetic opioid similar to Vicodin.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Food]]

2283: Exa-Exabyte

2020-03-27T05:05:58Z

172.69.34.180: Rearrange

{{comic
| number = 2283
| date = March 20, 2020
| title = Exa-Exabyte
| image = exa_exabyte.png
| titletext = To picture 10^18, just picture 10^13, but then imagine you connect the left side of the 3 to close off the little bays.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 10 EXA-EXABYTES OF APPLES. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is the eight comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}. This comic does not clearly mention the virus but is a deliberate allusion to the biology and complexity behind the Coronavirus outbreak, or, if not a deliberate allusion, its theme of biological complexity could have been inspired thereby.

This is a comic about the difficulty of picturing or understanding large numbers. As mentioned in the comic, an {{w|exabyte}} is 1018 bytes, while an "exa-exabyte"—not a common word, but one that makes sense if you apply the principles of {{w|metric prefix}}es—is 1036 bytes. 1036 is properly given the name undecillion (in short scale, and sextillion in long scale).
According to [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/science/counting-all-the-dna-on-earth.html a 2015 article] by ''The New York Times'', researchers estimate that there are about 5 * 1037 DNA {{w|base pair}}s on Earth (50 trillion trillion trillion). So [[Miss Lenhart]]'s claim of 10 exa-exabytes—1 * 1037 bytes is a reasonable approximation ({{w|Fermi estimation}}). (The estimate was 5 plus or minus 4 * 1037. There are 4 possible base pairs, or 2 bits per pair, a byte is 8 bits.)

These numbers are larger than most people can imagine. Even much smaller numbers such as a billion (109) or a trillion (1012) are [[2091: Million, Billion, Trillion|hard to imagine.]] For instance:
* 1 billion seconds is equal to 31.7 years; 1 trillion seconds is equal to 31,688.74 years.
* [https://medium.com/@alecmuffett/a-billion-grains-of-rice-91202220e10e 1 billion grains of rice] weigh approximately 34,447 lb (15,625 kg).

Wikipedia has an article on the {{w|exabyte}} and one on large numbers which describes {{w|Orders of magnitude (numbers)#1018|various things close to 1018}}.
* [https://abc7news.com/science/possibly-habitable-planet-found-100-light-years-away/5821548/ TOI 700 d], a potentially habitable Earth-like {{w|exoplanet}} is 100 light years away, which is about 1018 meters.

[[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty in visualizing a number even as large as ''one'' exabyte (1018 bytes).

[[Megan]] trivializes the problem away by describing an exabyte as 10 apples, with "18 smaller apples, floating next to them and a little above", representing the notation 1018 using apples for digits. This is entirely unhelpful, as using apples in a [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unary_numeral_system base-1] enumeration offers no obvious advantages over base-10 in understanding exponents; Megan's bad advice & Cueball's seemingly ready acceptance of it causes Miss Lenhart to yell out "No!" in frustration.

The title text further trivializes the problem of visualizing large numbers by suggesting that you can visualize 1018 as a number by simply visualizing the similar-looking number of 1013 with some extra lines drawn to turn the 3 into an 8. Changes in exponents can cause huge changes in the value shown, and this is no exception: Changing that 3 into an 8 changes the value by a factor of 100,000.

Randall has previously discussed the difficulty of large numbers in [[2091: Million, Billion, Trillion]], [[1894: Real Estate]], and [[558: 1000 Times]].

[[1605: DNA]] also discusses how "hard" biology is.

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is holding a pointer, and is pointing it towards a blackboard behind her, while she addresses her student Cueball who is sitting on a chair at a desk to the left of her, holding his hands on his knees.]
:Miss Lenhart: Biology is hard because there's so ''much'' of it. Earth hosts about 10 exa-exabytes worth of DNA.

:[In a frame-less panel, the panel has panned to the left and is now showing Miss Lenhart holding the pointer to her side, but without the blackboard. In front of her is now both Cueball and Megan sitting at their desks. Cueball has taken one hand on to the table. Megan has both hands folded on the table in front of her.]
:Cueball: What's an exa-exabyte?
:Miss Lenhart: It's 1036 bytes.
:Cueball: How do I picture '''''that?'''''
:Miss Lenhart: Imagine you had an exabyte of data, but each byte ''contained'' an exabyte of data.

:[Zoom in on Cueball's head. A starburst to the right indicates Miss Lenhart's voice from off-panel.]
:Cueball: I can't even picture what an exabyte is.
:Miss Lenhart (off-panel): It's 1018 bytes.
:Cueball: But how do I picture 1018?

:[Zoomed out to showing Megan, Cueball, and Miss Lenhart along with the blackboard. Megan has raised a hand palm up. Cueball is looking back at her over his shoulders. Miss Lenhart is forming a closed first with her empty hand, the one without the pointer.]
:Megan: Imagine you had 10 apples.
:Megan: Now imagine 18 smaller apples, floating next to them and a little above.
:Cueball: Cool, got it.
:Miss Lenhart: '''''No!'''''

==Trivia==

In [[1519: Venus]], release date May 1, 2015, [[Miss Lenhart]] indicated that she was retiring as a primary or secondary school teacher in a month. Here we see Megan and Cueball, both adults, sitting in a classroom setting with Miss Lenhart providing instruction. A reasonable assumption is that Miss Lenhart has taken some form of {{w|adult education}} job during her retirement. For example, in the United States it is common for {{w|community colleges}} to use low paid {{w|adjunct professors}} who either have a day job or another source of income such as a teacher's pension.

There is also a hint of irony in her having to now put up with the same type of blatantly incorrect explanations that she herself was freely giving out just prior to her retirement.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Biology]]

2283: Exa-Exabyte

2020-03-27T05:05:12Z

172.69.34.180: /* XKCD Continuity */ trivia

{{comic
| number = 2283
| date = March 20, 2020
| title = Exa-Exabyte
| image = exa_exabyte.png
| titletext = To picture 10^18, just picture 10^13, but then imagine you connect the left side of the 3 to close off the little bays.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 10 EXA-EXABYTES OF APPLES. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is the eight comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}. This comic does not clearly mention the virus but is a deliberate allusion to the biology and complexity behind the Coronavirus outbreak, or, if not a deliberate allusion, its theme of biological complexity could have been inspired thereby.

This is a comic about the difficulty of picturing or understanding large numbers. As mentioned in the comic, an {{w|exabyte}} is 1018 bytes, while an "exa-exabyte"—not a common word, but one that makes sense if you apply the principles of {{w|metric prefix}}es—is 1036 bytes. 1036 is properly given the name undecillion (in short scale, and sextillion in long scale).
According to [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/science/counting-all-the-dna-on-earth.html a 2015 article] by ''The New York Times'', researchers estimate that there are about 5 * 1037 DNA {{w|base pair}}s on Earth (50 trillion trillion trillion). So [[Miss Lenhart]]'s claim of 10 exa-exabytes—1 * 1037 bytes is a reasonable approximation ({{w|Fermi estimation}}). (The estimate was 5 plus or minus 4 * 1037. There are 4 possible base pairs, or 2 bits per pair, a byte is 8 bits.)

These numbers are larger than most people can imagine. Even much smaller numbers such as a billion (109) or a trillion (1012) are [[2091: Million, Billion, Trillion|hard to imagine.]] For instance:
* 1 billion seconds is equal to 31.7 years; 1 trillion seconds is equal to 31,688.74 years.
* [https://medium.com/@alecmuffett/a-billion-grains-of-rice-91202220e10e 1 billion grains of rice] weigh approximately 34,447 lb (15,625 kg).

Wikipedia has an article on the {{w|exabyte}} and one on large numbers which describes {{w|Orders of magnitude (numbers)#1018|various things close to 1018}}.
* [https://abc7news.com/science/possibly-habitable-planet-found-100-light-years-away/5821548/ TOI 700 d], a potentially habitable Earth-like {{w|exoplanet}} is 100 light years away, which is about 1018 meters.

[[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty in visualizing a number even as large as ''one'' exabyte (1018 bytes).

[[Megan]] trivializes the problem away by describing an exabyte as 10 apples, with "18 smaller apples, floating next to them and a little above", representing the notation 1018 using apples for digits. This is entirely unhelpful, as using apples in a [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unary_numeral_system base-1] enumeration offers no obvious advantages over base-10 in understanding exponents; Megan's bad advice & Cueball's seemingly ready acceptance of it causes Miss Lenhart to yell out "No!" in frustration.

The title text further trivializes the problem of visualizing large numbers by suggesting that you can visualize 1018 as a number by simply visualizing the similar-looking number of 1013 with some extra lines drawn to turn the 3 into an 8. Changes in exponents can cause huge changes in the value shown, and this is no exception: Changing that 3 into an 8 changes the value by a factor of 100,000.

Randall has previously discussed the difficulty of large numbers in [[2091: Million, Billion, Trillion]], [[1894: Real Estate]], and [[558: 1000 Times]].

[[1605: DNA]] also discusses how "hard" biology is.

==Trivia==

In [[1519: Venus]], release date May 1, 2015, [[Miss Lenhart]] indicated that she was retiring as a primary or secondary school teacher in a month. Here we see Megan and Cueball, both adults, sitting in a classroom setting with Miss Lenhart providing instruction. A reasonable assumption is that Miss Lenhart has taken some form of {{w|adult education}} job during her retirement. For example, in the United States it is common for {{w|community colleges}} to use low paid {{w|adjunct professors}} who either have a day job or another source of income such as a teacher's pension.

There is also a hint of irony in her having to now put up with the same type of blatantly incorrect explanations that she herself was freely giving out just prior to her retirement.

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is holding a pointer, and is pointing it towards a blackboard behind her, while she addresses her student Cueball who is sitting on a chair at a desk to the left of her, holding his hands on his knees.]
:Miss Lenhart: Biology is hard because there's so ''much'' of it. Earth hosts about 10 exa-exabytes worth of DNA.

:[In a frame-less panel, the panel has panned to the left and is now showing Miss Lenhart holding the pointer to her side, but without the blackboard. In front of her is now both Cueball and Megan sitting at their desks. Cueball has taken one hand on to the table. Megan has both hands folded on the table in front of her.]
:Cueball: What's an exa-exabyte?
:Miss Lenhart: It's 1036 bytes.
:Cueball: How do I picture '''''that?'''''
:Miss Lenhart: Imagine you had an exabyte of data, but each byte ''contained'' an exabyte of data.

:[Zoom in on Cueball's head. A starburst to the right indicates Miss Lenhart's voice from off-panel.]
:Cueball: I can't even picture what an exabyte is.
:Miss Lenhart (off-panel): It's 1018 bytes.
:Cueball: But how do I picture 1018?

:[Zoomed out to showing Megan, Cueball, and Miss Lenhart along with the blackboard. Megan has raised a hand palm up. Cueball is looking back at her over his shoulders. Miss Lenhart is forming a closed first with her empty hand, the one without the pointer.]
:Megan: Imagine you had 10 apples.
:Megan: Now imagine 18 smaller apples, floating next to them and a little above.
:Cueball: Cool, got it.
:Miss Lenhart: '''''No!'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Biology]]