2781: The Six Platonic Solids

2023-05-27T18:18:02Z

172.69.79.231: /* Explanation */ Tyop

{{comic
| number = 2781
| date = May 26, 2023
| title = The Six Platonic Solids
| image = the_six_platonic_solids_2x.png
| imagesize = 368x370px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Plato made the solids, and five were gifted to the mathematicians. But in secret Plato forged a sixth solid to rule over all the others.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a JORB WELL DONE - Why call it Jorb? Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic imagines an alternate reality where mathematicians discover a new {{w|Platonic solid}}. There are five Platonic solids, and it has been [https://sites.math.washington.edu/~julia/teaching/445_Spring2013/Paper_Euler.pdf mathematically proven] that there are exactly five in three-dimensional space. However, in 4 dimensions there exist 6 regular polytopes, 5 which are analogous to the 5 in 3d space, and a sixth which is analogous to the {{w|rhombic dodecahedron}}. In the comic, Randall reveals the discovery of a new Platonic solid, called the "jorb", which appears to be a roughly conical shape with a round base, a triangular tip, and a rectangular extension at the bottom. Its surface also seems to have parallel grooves or ribs, which may indicate a curved surface. The jorb does not fit the criteria for a Platonic solid, since a Platonic solid's faces have to be regular polygons and also all have to be the same shape. Furthermore, each vertex of the solid must be the intersection of the same number of faces(/edges) as the other vertices.

This could be a reference to the fact that [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_hjRvZYkAgA many regular polyhedra have only been discovered recently]. Some of these do not fit the naive understanding of a regular polyhedra, being infinite or self-intersecting.

The name "jorb" may be a reference to the Homestar Runner cartoon "A Jorb Well Done", with the shape bearing a resemblance to Coach Z's hat.

The title text references {{w|Lord of The Rings}}, in which the One Ring was forged in secret to rule the three magic rings given earlier to the elves, the 7 given to the dwarves, and the nine given to the humans. Sauron could in principle control these other 19 rings with his master ring, the "One Ring to rule them all." The joke is that Plato forged a sixth platonic solid (the Jorb) to rule the five he gave to the mathematicians, just like Sauron ruled the other magic rings in Middle Earth with his One Ring.

==Transcript==
:[Six geometrical shapes are shown. All have gray surface areas with different shading to reflect their orientation. There is one shape in the middle with the other five arranged around it roughly in a pentagon. With two at the top, two just below the central and one directly below the central shape. Each shape has a label. The five above the bottom one are names after the platonic solids, and are drawn to look like them. The last one at the bottom has a roughly conical shape with a round base, a triangular tip, and a rectangular extension at the bottom. It surface also seems to have parallel grooves or ribs. Here the labels in reading order with the four rows mentioned above used.]
:Cube
:Dodecahedron
:Icosahedron
:Octahedron
:Tetrahedron
:Jorb

:[Caption below the comic:]
:Mathematicians long believed there were only five platonic solids, all regular polyhedra, until this year's discovery of the Jorb.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Geometry]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

Talk:2780: Physical Quantities

2023-05-27T18:14:17Z

172.69.79.231:

Planck Length here actually refers to the length of Planck himself. The same may apply to other names. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 03:02, 25 May 2023 (UTC)
: And here I was thinking it meant the length of Planck ''planking''. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 22:00, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

I wonder if this is alluding to the [[wikipedia:Smoot|Smoot]], a unit of measure devised by MIT students to represent the height of Oliver R. Smoot. Probably worth a mention in the description nonetheless. [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 03:45, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

Hawking radiation: ~100 W (through heat)

Planking is a thing.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planking_(fad) One pretends that one is a board, or plank. Are some funny pics. The opposite of planking would be good god how? How can even a cat!?!! [Special:Contributions/172.69.58.161|172.69.58.161]] 06:26, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

Hubble length is {{w|Hubble Space Telescope|13.2 m}}. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.64|141.101.98.64]] 10:30, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

The m³ unit for Broca's area is surely a typo, right? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.47|162.158.94.47]] 14:55, 25 May 2023 (UTC)
:That would be my guess. I sent a note to Randall to ask. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 21:24, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

Just a couple of others: 1 Watt is what it takes to invent the condensing steam engine and Euler's number doesn't exist, because he died before telephones were invented. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.247.45|172.69.247.45]] 15:08, 25 May 2023 (UTC)
:There are lots of <someone>'s Number constants. We could have an entire phonebook of these. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:53, 25 May 2023 (UTC)
::I tried phoning Graham's Number, once. I'm still not yet finished dialling! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.186|172.70.91.186]] 19:22, 25 May 2023 (UTC)
:::I thought you meant Alexander Graham Bell's number. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.129|172.69.22.129]] 23:04, 25 May 2023 (UTC)
::::Shouldn't AG Bell's number be 1? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:03, 27 May 2023 (UTC)
:::::Or 2. (Thomas Watson being on 1.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.231|172.69.79.231]] 18:14, 27 May 2023 (UTC)
:Chandresekhar's Limit = 3 pints? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:53, 25 May 2023 (UTC)
:Don't forget that numbers are now [[2721|Euler letters]]! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.137|172.70.85.137]] 20:41, 25 May 2023 (UTC)

From a friend, regarding Fermi's current temperature:
''The typical ground temperature of a burial plot in Chicago depends on the depth and the season. According to the Illinois State Climatologist Office, the average soil temperature at 4 inches depth ranges from about 25°F in January to about 75°F in July. The average soil temperature at 8 inches depth ranges from about 30°F in January to about 77°F in July. These measurements are made under grass, so the soil temperature under other ground covers or under bare ground may vary somewhat from those shown here. In the winter, when the ground is frozen, cemeteries are able to continue burying the dead by using special equipment such as frost rippers or steamers to break through the frozen layer of soil. They also use heaters or blankets to keep the graves open until the burial service is completed.'' [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 23:09, 25 May 2023 (UTC)
:Assuming his grave is 6 feet deep and his body is at 5 feet deep, he's going to be below the frost line, which is 40" in Chicago, so the temperature is never going to drop below 32°F. Based on the charts at https://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Cooling/EarthTemperatures.htm, he should see temperatures ranging from 40° to 62°. Interestingly enough, at that depth, the soil temperature will lag behind the surface temperature enough that the coldest temperatures will be in March and the warmest will be in September. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.89|162.158.63.89]] 03:36, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

Pretty sure the Schwarzschild radius is the radius of a curled up child, not of Mr. Schwarzschild. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.40|162.158.203.40]] 08:49, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

: 68cm diameter of a person curled up seems about right. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.139.32|172.68.139.32]] 15:23, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

Besides Smoot, there's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s_number Erdős number].

: The Erdős number (Hungarian: [ˈɛrdøːʃ]) describes the "collaborative distance" between mathematician Paul Erdős and another person, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.

The Erdős number or Paul Erdős is 0. Anyone who collaborated with him has Erdős number 1, and anyone who collaborated with someone with Erdős number 1 (but not Paul Erdős himself) has Erdős number 2 - and so on. Taking this comic's interpretation, the Erdős number should be either 1, 'cause there was only one Paul Erdős, or 0, because he's dead. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.139.32|172.68.139.32]] 15:23, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2781: The Six Platonic Solids

Talk:2780: Physical Quantities