explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3012: The Future of Orion

2024-11-18T09:10:22Z

172.70.210.218: /* Explanation */ better word meaning for particular context

{{comic
| number = 3012
| date = November 15, 2024
| title = The Future of Orion
| image = the_future_of_orion_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x300px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Dinosaur Cosmics
}}

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

Stars in the night sky sometimes change, occasionally varying in brightness, very rarely exploding, and imperceptibly moving. For example, {{w|Betelgeuse}}, a star in the constellation {{w|Orion (constellation)|Orion}}, is expected to explode as a {{w|supernova}} between [https://astrobites.org/2023/07/01/betelgeuse-betelgeuse-betelgeuse-is-it-supernovatime/ tens of] and [https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday/ a thousand] years, and then disappear from the night sky. And all stars move relative to us and each other, which results in apparent movement in the sky called {{w|proper motion}}, a function of a star's relative movement in three dimensions and its distance from us.

This comic shows changes in Orion from Betelgeuse disappearing and three of its fastest moving stars, and recommends revising the {{w|constellation}} (or creating a new {{w|Asterism (astronomy)|asterism}}) from one which depicts a hunter to another matching a different hunter, the {{w|Tyrannosaurus}} from Ryan North's [https://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics]. The proper motion of {{w|Chi1 Orionis|χ¹ Orionis}} shown near the top at the end of Orion's arm (and the back of the dinosaur's head) is 0.20 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse the depicted angular distance of 0.84 degrees in about 15,000 years. {{w|Pi1 Orionis|π¹ Orionis}} at the top of Orion's bow (and the end of the dinosaur's tail) has a proper motion of 0.14 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse its distance of 0.87° in about 23,000 years. However, with a proper motion of 0.46 as/yr, {{w|Pi3 Orionis|π³ Orionis}}, in the middle of the bow, will take only about 9,600 years to traverse its longer depicted distance of 1.24°. (The angular distances traversed by the stars were measured relative to the distance between Orion's two outermost belt stars, {{w|Alnitak}} and {{w|Mintaka}}, the dinosaur's hips.) Thus, the new constellation won't form until its current name has lasted more than three times as long as it already has.

[[File:School of Athens Raphael detail 03.jpg|thumb|Hipparchus and Ptolemy compare globes in {{w|Raphael}}'s famous fresco ''{{w|The School of Athens}}''. Ptolemy is shown with a crown because of his erroneous association with the royal house of Ptolemaic Egypt.]]
There are no official constellations depicting dinosaurs. However, {{w|Draco (constellation)|Draco}} represents a mythological reptilian dragon, and the lizard {{w|Lacerta}} was described in 1687. The first fossil to be later identified as a dinosaur was found in 1676, but the term "dinosaur" was not introduced until 1842. The earliest constellations in the northern hemisphere were recognized around 3000 BC. By the 2nd century AD, the Greek mathematician and astronomer {{w|Ptolemy}} listed 48 constellations visible from the northern hemisphere in his ''{{w|Almagest}},'' following the star catalogs and globes made by {{w|Hipparchus}} which have since been lost to history. The remaining modern southern constellations were mostly finalized by {{w|Nicolas Louis de Lacaille}} in 1756. Dozens of {{w|former constellations}} have been recognized, sometimes for hundreds of years, before being disregarded, replaced by others, or because they were only recognized by cultures apart from dominant Western traditions. ({{w|Micronesian navigation#Navigation by the stars|Polynesian navigators}} settled {{w|Polynesian Triangle|a vast expanse of the south Pacific Ocean}} from 20,000 to 1,000 years ago apparently without naming constellations, but instead [https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/items/f617b33c-531b-41b4-b550-5aec81face2c recording the positions of stars] on {{w|Compass rose#Sidereal|sidereal compass dials}}.) The {{w|International Astronomical Union}} established the current official list of 88 constellations in 1922.

The title text is another joke regarding Dinosaur Comics, replacing "comics" with "cosmics" because we're talking about a dinosaur in the sky.

Orion is also mentioned in [[1020: Orion Nebula]]. T-Rex is also featured in [[1452: Jurassic World]]. In 2006, Randall emulated the style of Dinosaur Comics with [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Orion Today:
:[Star map of Orion constellation 2024]

:Predicted Changes:
:[Scribbled on]: Star movement
:[Scribbled on]: Star Death (Betelgeuse)
:[Star map's predicted changes over next couple centuries]

:Orion in the future:
:[Scribbled on]: Suggested lines
:[New lines are drawn overlaying the future changes]

:[[https://www.qwantz.com/ Dinosaur Comics] dinosaur overlayed]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]

3012: The Future of Orion

2024-11-18T04:33:25Z

172.70.210.218: /* Explanation */ explain terms with wikilink

{{comic
| number = 3012
| date = November 15, 2024
| title = The Future of Orion
| image = the_future_of_orion_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x300px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Dinosaur Cosmics
}}

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

Stars in the night sky sometimes change, occasionally varying in brightness, very rarely exploding, and imperceptibly moving. For example, {{w|Betelgeuse}}, a star in the constellation {{w|Orion (constellation)|Orion}}, is expected to explode as a {{w|supernova}} between [https://astrobites.org/2023/07/01/betelgeuse-betelgeuse-betelgeuse-is-it-supernovatime/ tens of] and [https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday/ a thousand] years, and then disappear from the night sky. And all stars move relative to us and each other, which results in apparent movement in the sky called {{w|proper motion}}, a function of a star's relative movement in three dimensions and its distance from us.

This comic shows changes in Orion from Betelgeuse disappearing and three of its fastest moving stars, and recommends revising the {{w|constellation}} (or creating a new {{w|Asterism (astronomy)|asterism}}) from one which depicts a hunter to another matching the {{w|Tyrannosaurus}} from Ryan North's [https://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics]. The proper motion of {{w|Chi1 Orionis|χ¹ Orionis}} shown near the top at the end of Orion's arm (and the back of the dinosaur's head) is 0.20 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse the depicted angular distance of 0.84 degrees in about 15,000 years. {{w|Pi1 Orionis|π¹ Orionis}} at the top of Orion's bow (and the end of the dinosaur's tail) has a proper motion of 0.14 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse its distance of 0.87° in about 23,000 years. However, with a proper motion of 0.46 as/yr, {{w|Pi3 Orionis|π³ Orionis}}, in the middle of the bow, will take only about 9,600 years to traverse its longer depicted distance of 1.24°. (The angular distances traversed by the stars were measured relative to the distance between Orion's two outermost belt stars, {{w|Alnitak}} and {{w|Mintaka}}, the dinosaur's hips.) Thus, the new constellation won't form until its current name has lasted more than three times as long as it already has.

[[File:School of Athens Raphael detail 03.jpg|thumb|Hipparchus and Ptolemy compare globes in {{w|Raphael}}'s famous fresco ''{{w|The School of Athens}}''. Ptolemy is shown with a crown because of his erroneous association with the royal house of Ptolemaic Egypt.]]
There are no official constellations depicting dinosaurs. However, {{w|Draco (constellation)|Draco}} depicts a mythological reptilian dragon, and the lizard {{w|Lacerta}} was recognized in 1687. The earliest constellations in the northern hemisphere were recognized around 3000 BC. By the 2nd century AD, the Greek mathematician and astronomer {{w|Ptolemy}} listed 48 constellations visible from the northern hemisphere in his ''{{w|Almagest}},'' following the star catalogs and globes made by {{w|Hipparchus}} which have since been lost to history. Dozens of {{w|former constellations}} were recognized, sometimes for hundreds of years, before being disregarded or replaced by others. The remaining modern southern constellations were mostly finalized by {{w|Nicolas Louis de Lacaille}} in 1756. {{w|Polynesian culture|Polynesian}} navigators settled {{w|Polynesian Triangle|a vast expanse of the south Pacific Ocean}} from 20,000 to 1,000 years ago apparently without naming constellations, but instead [https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/items/f617b33c-531b-41b4-b550-5aec81face2c recording the positions of stars] on {{w|Compass rose#Sidereal|sidereal compass dials}}. The {{w|International Astronomical Union}} established the current official list of 88 constellations in 1922. The first fossil to be later identified as a dinosaur was found in 1676, but the term "dinosaur" was not introduced until 1842.

The title text is another joke regarding Dinosaur Comics, replacing "comics" with "cosmics" because we're talking about a dinosaur in the sky.

Orion is also mentioned in [[1020: Orion Nebula]]. T-Rex is also featured in [[1452: Jurassic World]]. In 2006, Randall emulated the style of Dinosaur Comics with [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Orion Today:
:[Star map of Orion constellation 2024]

:Predicted Changes:
:[Scribbled on]: Star movement
:[Scribbled on]: Star Death (Betelgeuse)
:[Star map's predicted changes over next couple centuries]

:Orion in the future:
:[Scribbled on]: Suggested lines
:[New lines are drawn overlaying the future changes]

:[[https://www.qwantz.com/ Dinosaur Comics] dinosaur overlayed]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]

3001: Temperature Scales

2024-10-22T04:48:33Z

172.70.210.218: /* Explanation */ neaten further

{{comic
| number = 3001
| date = October 21, 2024
| title = Temperature Scales
| image = temperature_scales_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x535px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In my new scale, °X, 0 is Earths' record lowest surface temperature, 50 is the global average, and 100 is the record highest, with a linear scale between each point and adjustment every year as needed.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an EXPONENTIAL TEMPERATURE SYSTEM - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

There are many different temperature scales. Most of the world uses {{w|Celsius}} for everyday temperature measurements, as it is part of the {{w|metric system}} that has been widely adopted as at least the more officially favored civil measurement. However, the United States and Liberia retain the US customary (or 'imperial') system, where the unit is {{w|Fahrenheit}}. There are also many more temperature scales. Most notable is {{w|Kelvin}}, using the 'separation' of Celsius degrees but rooted upon {{w|absolute zero}} (as {{w|Rankine scale|Rankine}} does with Fahrenheit degrees), which is more directly useful for the purposes of scientific calculation. This comic showcases all these, as well as a lot of mostly unused scales.

{| class=wikitable
! scope="col" | Unit
! scope="col" | Water Freezing Point
! scope="col" | Water Boiling Point
! scope="col" | Notes
! scope="col" | Cursedness
! scope="col" | Explanation
|-
| {{w|Celsius}} || 0 || 100 || Used in most of the world || 2/10 || All but a handful of countries use degrees Celsius as their default measurement of temperature, and most of those use Celsius in conjunction with another scale. Celsius is defined (indirectly, these days, by way of comparison to Kelvin) so that the freezing and boiling points of pure water at standard atmospheric pressure are 0 and 100 degrees respectively. This (along with Kelvin) is considered the least cursed temperature system (at least from those where the ranking values make any sense), likely due to Randall's background. Notably it is still considered a 2/10, implying an inherent degree of cursedness for all systems.
|-
| {{w|Kelvin}} || 273.15 || 373.15 || 0K is absolute zero || 2/10 || Kelvin is a scientific unit of measure invented by {{w|Lord Kelvin}} that intends to use the same base metric as degrees Celsius, but zero is set to absolute zero and (by way of using the {{w|Boltzmann constant}}, as of 2019) the melting point of ice (0°C) is considered to be 273.15K. Immediately prior to this, the {{w|Triple point#Triple point of water|triple-point of water}} was precisely 273.16K (and 0.01°C), and the conversion remains commonly considered that ''°C = K - 273.15'', within any useful degree of precision.
|-
| {{w|Fahrenheit}} || 32 || 212 || Outdoors in most places is between 0-100 || 3/10 || Fahrenheit is a system officially used in only 5 countries in the world (Liberia, the USA and its three associated free states in the Pacific), and unofficially in several countries across the globe, mostly those with ties to the UK or the US, alongside Celsius. It was originally defined with 0 degrees as the freezing point of a particular solution of brine (salt water) and 90 degrees being an (inaccurate) guess of standard human body temperature. Despite being in common use in Randall's home country, due to being defined by such arbitrary fixed points (and Randall's scientific education) it is ranked as slightly more cursed than Celsius.
|-
| {{w|Réaumur scale|Réaumur}} || 0 || 80 || Like Celsius, but with 80 instead of 100 || 3/8 || A historical French system used in some places until the early 20th century. In modern times mostly used in cheesemaking. The rating (3/8) is a joke on the boiling point of water in standard atmosphere being 80 instead of 100 as it is in Celsius.
|-
| {{w|Rømer scale|Rømer}} || 7.5 || 60 || Fahrenheit precursor with similarly random design || 4/10 || Created by the Danish astronomer Ole Christensen Rømer in around 1702, while the Fahrenheit scale was proposed in 1724.
|-
| {{w|Rankine scale|Rankine}} || 491.7 || 671.7 || Fahrenheit, but with 0°F set to absolute zero || 6/10 || Randall has shown disdain for this before, like in [[2292: Thermometer]].
|-
| {{w|Newton scale|Newton}} || 0 || 33-ish || Poorly defined, with reference points like "the hottest water you can hold your hand in" || 7-ish/10 || Created by Isaac Newton, measuring "degrees of heat". The rating (7-ish/10) is a joke about the vagueness of the scale's definition.
|-
| {{w|Wedgwood scale|Wedgwood}} || -8 || -6.7 || Intended for comparing the melting points of metals, all of which it was very wrong about || 9/10 || Created by potter Josiah Wedgwood in the 18th century. The measurement was based on the shrinking of clay when heated above red heat, but was found to be very inaccurate. Randall has a typo, as the scale is called Wedgwood (''without the e'').
|-
| Galen || -4? || 4?? || Runs from -4 (cold) to 4 (hot). 0 is "normal"(?) || 4/-4 || Galen, in his medical writings, is said to have proposed a standard "neutral" temperature made up of equal quantities of boiling water and ice; on either side of this temperature were four degrees of heat and four degrees of cold, respectively. The rating (4/-4) is a joke about the scale being defined between positive and negative 4, and could be interpretted as -100% cursedness.
|-
| {{w|Celsius#History|''Real'' Celsius}} || 100 || 0 || In Anders Celsius's original specification, bigger numbers are ''colder''; others later flipped it || 10/0 || As most scales' temperatures can be indefinitely large but there exists an absolute minimum temperature, defining the scale in this way (giving an absolute maximum but allowing indefinitely negative values) is indeed cursed, as nearly all possible temperatures will be negative. The rating (10/0) is a joke on the scale "flipping" the fixed points of modern Celsius. This might be interreted as "infinitely cursed", or else just {{w|NaN|Not a Number}}.
The original logic was that zero could be easily calibrated to the height of a column of mercury at the temperature of boiling water, and further measurements then made of the amount it ''reduced'' in height under cooler conditions. This direction 'survives' in the historic {{w|Delisle scale}}, which predates (and arguably helped greatly inspire, though with a different factor) the classic version of °C. The version originally used by Anders was only 'corrected' posthumously, but nobody seemed bothered enough to do the same with Delisle's scale.
|-
| [https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/459851/john-daltons-temperature-scale#459863 Dalton] || 0 || 100 || A nonlinear scale; 0°C and 100°C are 0 and 100 Dalton, but 50°C is 53.9 Dalton || 53.9/50 || A nonlinear scale of temperature (which is typically measured linearly) is indeed very cursed. The rating (53.9/50) is a joke about the unit, as 53.9 Dalton would be 50 degrees Celsius — i.e. the cursedness could be understood as 50/50 (or 10/10, entirely cursed), but perhaps instead as 107.8% (even more than entirely cursed).
|-
| °X ([[Randall]]'s new temperature scale as defined in the title text) || 42.8 °X || 152 °X || The title text states: "In my new scale, °X, 0 is Earths' record lowest surface temperature, 50 is the global average, and 100 is the record highest, with a linear scale between each point and adjustment every year as needed." || ∞ (estimated) || The record lowest surface temperature on Earth as of 2024 is -89.2°C (-128.6°F), recorded at the {{w|Vostok Station|Vostok Research Station}} in Antarctica on July 21, 1983. The average surface temperature is approximately 15°C (59°F.){{fact}} The record highest surface temperature is 56.7°C (134.1°F), recorded on July 10, 1913 at {{w|Furnace Creek, California|Furnace Creek Ranch}} in Death Valley, California, USA.

{{cot|Derivation}}
To break the scale into two linear parts (below and above 15°C), we define two separate equations for each range:

1. Below 15°C (from -89.2°C to 15°C):
* 0 °X corresponds to -89.2°C
* 50 °X corresponds to 15°C

We calculate the slope m₁:

m₁ = (50 - 0) / (15 - (-89.2)) = 50 / (15 + 89.2) = 50 / 104.2 ≈ 0.48

Now, using the point (15°C, 50 °X), we calculate the intercept b₁:

<center>50 = 0.48 × 15 + b₁</center>

<center>50 = 7.2 + b₁</center>

<center>b₁ = 50 - 7.2 = 42.8</center>

Thus, the equation for temperatures below 15°C is:

<center>'''X = 0.48 × C + 42.8'''</center>

2. Above 15°C (from 15°C to 56.7°C):
* 50 °X corresponds to 15°C
* 100 °X corresponds to 56.7°C

We calculate the slope m₂:

m₂ = (100 - 50) / (56.7 - 15) = 50 / 41.7 ≈ 1.2

Now, using the point (15°C, 50 °X), we calculate the intercept b₂:

<center>50 = 1.2 × 15 + b₂</center>

<center>50 = 18 + b₂</center>

<center>b₂ = 50 - 18 = 32</center>

Thus, the equation for temperatures above 15°C is:

<center>'''X = 1.2 × C + 32'''</center>

;Freezing and Boiling Points

Freezing point of water (0°C): Since 0°C is below 15°C, we use the equation X = 0.48 × C + 42.8:

<center>X = 0.48 × 0 + 42.8 = 42.8</center>

So, the freezing point is 42.8 °X.

Boiling point of water (100°C): Since 100°C is above 15°C, we use the equation X = 1.2 × C + 32:

<center>X = 1.2 × 100 + 32 = 120 + 32 = 152</center>

So, the boiling point is 152 °X.
{{cob}}
|}

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

:[Header:]
:Temperature Scales

:[A table with five columns. The columns are labelled: Unit, water freezing point, water boiling point, notes, cursedness. There are eleven rows below the labels.]
:[Row 1:] Celsius. 0. 100. Used in most of the world. 2/10.
:[Row 2:] Kelvin. 273.15. 373.15. 0K is absolute zero. 2/10.
:[Row 3:] Fahrenheit. 32. 212. Outdoors in most places is between 0-100. 3/10.
:[Row 4:] Réaumur. 0. 80. Like Celsius, but with 80 instead of 100. 3/8.
:[Row 5:] Rømer. 7.5. 60. Fahrenheit precursor with similarly random design. 4/10.
:[Row 6:] Rankine. 491.7. 671.7. Fahrenheit, but with 0°F set to absolute zero. 6/10.
:[Row 7:] Newton. 0. 33-ish. Poorly defined, with reference points like "the hottest water you can hold your hand in". 7-ish/10.
:[Row 8:] Wedgewood. -8. -6.7. Intended for comparing the melting points of metals, all of which it was very wrong about. 9/10.
:[Row 9:] Galen. -4?. 4??. runs from -4 (cold) to 4 (hot). 0 is "normal"(?). 4/-4.
:[Row 10:] ''Real'' Celsius. 100. 0. in Anders Celsius's original specification, bigger numbers are ''colder''; others later flipped it. 10/0.
:[Row 11:] Dalton. 0. 100. A nonlinear scale; 0°C and 100°C are 0 and 100 Dalton, but 50°C is 53.9 Dalton. 53.9/50.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Science]]

2967: Matter

2024-08-06T21:31:42Z

172.70.210.218: /* Explanation */ pedantic improvement

{{comic
| number = 2967
| date = August 2, 2024
| title = Matter
| image = matter_2x.png
| imagesize = 234x341px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = He was the first person to land a 900, which is especially impressive because pulling off a half-integer spin requires obeying Fermi-Dirac statistics.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GOOFY FRONTSIDE WIKI GRIND TO SECRET PHYSICS DEMO TAPE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In {{w|skateboarding}}, the term "goofy" means to push with the left foot, using the {{w|Footedness#Goofy_stance|opposite stance}} to the supposedly standard stance of pushing with one's right foot. The comic uses those stances as an analogy for {{w|antimatter}} in particle physics, which has the opposite electrical charge of corresponding matter particles that will annihilate each other upon collision, releasing energy proportional to their combined mass. In this comic, famed professional skateboarder {{w|Tony Hawk}} has obtained a professorship in physics and is teaching this very non-standard concept. As Tony Hawk does not have a degree in physics,{{Citation needed}} teaching inaccurate lessons could be a likely pitfall of his gaining a professorship in real life. Hawk is also the subject of [[296: Tony Hawk]].

Unlike other distributions of 'handedness' in the natural world (chemical {{w|chirality}}, or the {{w|skewness}} of {{w|Multimodal distribution|bimodal statistics}} describing asymmetries in nature called {{w|homochirality}}), 'goofy-footed' skateboarders are about as common as those using standard footing. Thus the analogy indirectly raises the issue of {{w|baryon asymmetry}}, the observation that ordinary matter is very much more common than antimatter because there is so little evidence of annihilation throughout the universe. Baryon asymmetry is often thought to have resulted from fluctuations during {{w|Inflation (cosmology)|cosmological inflation}} between 10−33 and 10−32 seconds [https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.251301 after the Big Bang], although there are several other candidate explanations of varying falsifiability.

The title text describes Hawk as the first person to "land a 900," meaning the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YYTNkAdDD8&t=1m30s successful completion] of {{w|900 (skateboarding)|a skateboarding trick}} that involves two and a half rotations (nine hundred degrees, as 2.5 × 360° = 900°). In physics, {{w|Spin (physics)|spin}} is a {{w|quantum number}} describing subatomic particles (see [[1862: Particle Properties]]), named in reference to the vaguely analogous ''but crucially distinct'' concept of {{w|angular momentum}} in classical physics. Obeying {{w|Fermi–Dirac statistics}} requires that the particles involved are {{w|fermion}}s, which include all of the electrons, protons and neutrons that compose the entirety of everyone's body and electrochemical state. Fermions all have {{w|half-integer}} (i.e., ...–1½, –½, ½, 1½...) {{w|spin quantum number}}s which do indeed include 2½, but only [https://physics.aps.org/articles/v7/s137 extremely rare particles] have a spin of 5/2. However, it's very important to remember that [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYeRS5a3HbE&ab_channel=ScienceClicEnglish quantum mechanical spin is ''not'' rotation, but instead how quickly the corresponding particle changes state when rotated.]

While everyone (and almost everything we ordinarily interact with except light and cosmic rays) is composed entirely of fermions, {{w|Boson#Composite bosons|any composite particle made of an even number of fermions, including entire atoms and their nuclei, are not fermions}} but {{w|boson}}s, which do ''not'' obey Fermi–Dirac statistics. Luckily, landing a 900 does not actually require obedience to Fermi–Dirac statistics because a skateboarder comprised entirely of bosonic atoms would still have fermionic electrons in the orbitals of those atoms and thus would still obey the far more macroscopically fundamental and consequential {{w|Pauli exclusion principle}}. That principle gives atoms and molecules (which are almost entirely empty space with any identifiable particles being the smallest of points distributed throughout the respective spaces) the properties of being physically substantive, allowing us to hold things, walk, make sound waves with our voices and everything else that we do corporeally. This may be considered a rather basic preequisite to land a 900, though it naturally also needs one to be a sufficiently skilled skateboarder.

==Transcript==
:[Tony Hawk (drawn with short hair) is gesturing at a narrow whiteboard on which illegible things are marked, what may be a Feynman diagram with one of the particle/antiparticle pair going into a circle (possibly representing a black hole, and thus depicting the popularized (incorrect) analogy for {{w|Hawking radiation}}), and at the bottom, a 2x3 table of illegible values.]
:Tony Hawk: In the standard model, regular matter will annihilate if it comes in contact with oppositely-charged ''goofy'' matter.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Tony Hawk becomes a physics professor

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Skateboard]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Statistics]]

Talk:2919: Sitting in a Tree

2024-04-14T05:52:25Z

172.70.210.218:

Meh, they're just dropping burning pine cones on the wargs. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 04:06, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

I hope I did this right, seeing as this was my first ever edit! [[User:Name of User|Name of User]] ([[User talk:Name of User|talk]]) 04:15, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

Did Randall mean e-filing as in submitting your tax return on the web, and how is that more alarming than ironing sitting on a branch? Or is there some other meaning to efiling? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.243.77|172.68.243.77]] 06:46, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
:Could be that they're sitting in a ''data tree'', selectively traversing it to find [[2918: Tick Marks|a fraudulent subset of transactional records]] to 'declare'... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.74|141.101.99.74]] 10:18, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
:To me it seems "efiling" could be supporting/enacting efilism? Definitely more disturbing. {{unsigned ip|172.70.42.235|12:38, 13 April 2024}}
:I assumed it was a reference to the tax filing deadline in the USA. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.207|162.158.154.207]] 14:15, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
::I don't think "efiling" (electronically filing tax returns) should be considered any more alarming than "banking". --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.87|172.70.131.87]] 20:55, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

So, "whaling" can mean hitting (usually in the form "whaling on"), but "whaling" also means spending a lot of money, such as when gambling or in a video game. {{unsigned ip|172.71.222.210|11:05, 13 April 2024}}
:Personally, I just automatically thought they would be ''actually'' hunting marine mammals![[[731: Desert Island|''cetacean]] [[1402: Harpoons|needed'']]] [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.204|172.69.194.204]] 11:30, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
::Absolutely - in the hierarchy "what words mean", I'd say "what the word literally means" has a good argument for being at the top. "Whaling" ''also'' means "hitting", and even then, only phrasally: it's surely only ever "whaling on + object". "Whaling", in isolation, is hunting whales.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 11:54, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
::I believe it only applies to Ishmael and Queequeg, I guess. They're quite homosexual. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.170|108.162.241.170]] 20:04, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

Do "perish/carriage" actually rhyme in (perhaps) the Bostonian accent? I'm drawn back to the state of the Edmund Fitzgerald lyrical rhyming scheme. It might work better using something like "pillage/carriage", with ''only'' the vowel-problem. At which point I could imagine it sort of working in a (bad) Kiwi or Africaans 'iccint'. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.121|172.69.195.121]] 11:42, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
:I think they come quite close in a "general" North American accent. The "pairish" and "cairidge" sounds, stretched out a little to fit the tune, sit well enough together.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 11:48, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

I came here looking for explanations of "efiling", and I have to say "efilism", which I'd never heard of before, certainly sounds more in keeping with that frame than "e-filing", which just sounds tedious, even if the first result DuckDuckGo offers me is for [https://secure.sarsefiling.co.za/landing something called SARS] which [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS seems an unfortunate name]. - [[User:IMSoP|IMSoP]] ([[User talk:IMSoP|talk]]) 13:31, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

How do Cueball and Megan iron without a power cord? --[[User:1234231587678|1234231587678]] ([[User talk:1234231587678|talk]]) 03:03, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
:Presumably they’re using Apple iPhones with handles attached so they can be safely handled even though they get hot enough to iron clothes. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.218|172.70.210.218]] 05:52, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

2704: Faucet

2022-12-01T03:20:21Z

172.70.210.218: engineer != designer

{{comic
| number = 2704
| date = November 28, 2022
| title = Faucet
| image = faucet_2x.png
| imagesize = 315x414px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's okay, they can figure out which control positions produce scalding water via a trial-and-error feedback loop with a barely-perceptible 10-second lag.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SCALDING AND CONFUSED FAUCET - Please change this comment when editing this page. You are encouraged to delete this tag too soon.}}

A variety of {{w|Tap (valve)#Nomenclature|faucet}} controls have been designed for the control of a shower or sink's water output; however, Randall seems to find all the existing options to be inadequate in some way and posits in this comic that designers share a desire to create a more ideal design. The comic shows one such designer, looking unkempt and rambling like a madman as he explains to an off-screen character how his new faucet design works. The off-screen character promptly tells him that he should get some sleep, a request which the designer ignores in favor of continuing the search for the "perfect" water faucet.

In general, a faucet's output has two independent parameters: flow velocity and temperature; some particularly frustrating faucet controls only offer one degree of freedom which simultaneously turns up the flow rate and the temperature, and thus cannot fully explore the shower-space (making it sometimes difficult to find a comfortable setting). Some faucets can adjust both parameters but only have a single lever which must be angled along degrees of freedom which are not always labeled clearly or intuitively, and this may also irk Randall. Other faucets have two independent controls for the flow of cold water and hot water; however, while these are highly granular, it can be difficult to adjust the parameters independently e.g. change the temperature without changing the flow, or changing the flow without changing the temperature.

While two-handle faucets may seem simple in the abstract, they are imperfect in practice. In older houses or those with hot water systems based on tankless or instant hot water heaters, the hot water pressure is rarely the same as the cold water pressure. This can cause problems with cold water flowing back into the hot line, creating temperature drifts, unexpected changes in temperature based on slight input changes, and non-reproducibility in shower settings.

Newer systems include {{w|thermostatic mixing valve}}s which are designed to alleviate these problems; ideally, they contain one control for temperature and one for flow, which would seem to fit the "non-confusing" brief and solve Randall's problems. However, designing a system technically functional and making it intuitive (and making it work in practice for all water supply systems) is non-trivial, so Randall may have had trouble with even these faucets in the past.

The experience of a shower being affected by a significant change in usage of water elsewhere in the building (a running washing machine clicking into or out of a rinse-cycle, or the sudden use of a flush-toilet) is a typical one in any place without deliberately over-engineered plumbing. Purpose built hotels ''may'' have an in-built degree of resilience of this kind, but over many temporary stay-overs by guests (each new set having to become familiar with the plumbing) will develop wear and tear that later guests will not be automatically aware of — including the gradual wearing off of the traditional red and blue arrows intended to show the polarity of hot-and-cold controls.

The title text is a hyperbolic and slightly sarcastic explanation of the merits of a faucet system, presumably from its designer. It describes that the user can identify an undesirable result, e.g. of scalding water, through a trial-and-error feedback loop. But, with a decidedly long delay in response time as the scalding (then non-scalding) mix works its way through the system, it means that they are left waiting for any adjustments made to prove themselves as useful (or not) whilst still experiencing the prior state of the water.

==Transcript==
:[A designer with short, messy hair and a scuffed face stands in front of a whiteboard. He is holding a pen and is sketching with it above his head. His other empty hand is also held up above his head, possibly touching part of the sketch. On the whiteboard are various scribbles, pieces of illegible text, drawings of waves, arrows, and side views and cross sections of a faucet. In the center of the whiteboard, drawn with soft, sketched lines is the faucet, the designers empty hand is touching it. It has a vertical wall-mounted square base with a semicircle above. Attached to the semicircle is a tightly curled helical tube that curls twice, this is the one the designer is drawing on at the moment. Below it is a drawing of a spout with a stream of water going almost to the bottom of the board. On the floor around the designers feet is an upright beverage can, a large piece of crumpled paper, and 6 smaller pieces of crumbles or ripped paper and one larger flat piece of paper. He talks to someone off-panel, who replies from a star burst on the right border of the panel.]
:Designer: ...So you tighten the spiral to make the water hotter, and to adjust the flow rate you just-
:Off panel voice: You need to sleep.
:Designer: '''''No! I can do this!'''''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Every designer's dream is to finally invent a non-confusing faucet control.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Dreams]]