explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3001: Temperature Scales

2024-10-22T03:13:16Z

172.71.151.4: /* Explanation */ working text

{{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, Liberia, and Myanmar 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 'seperation' 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 3 countries use degrees Celsius as their default measurement of temperature. 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 3 countries in the world (Liberia, the USA, and Myanmar), and unofficially in several countries in the Pacific. 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).
|-
| [[Randall]]'s new scale || ? || ? || The record lowest surface temperature on Earth is -89.2°C (-128.6°F), recorded at the Vostok Research Station in Antarctica on July 21, 1983. The record highest surface temperature on Earth is 56.7°C (134.1°F), recorded on July 10, 1913 at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, California, USA. The average surface temperature of the Earth is approximately 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). || "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."
|}

==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]]

Talk:3000: Experimental Astrophysics

2024-10-20T01:51:14Z

172.71.151.4:

== i really thought he would do something special for the 3000th comic :( i was so hyped ==
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.64.207|172.68.64.207]] 03:48, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

:ugh me too! why didn't he do it it's so special!

:Saaame:( but maybe he will do something at 3072[[User:SomeRandomNerd|SomeRandomNerd]] ([[User talk:SomeRandomNerd|talk]]) 03:57, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:It's about blowing up the Sun and likely destroying the Solar System. That's not special enough for you? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:01, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
::It doesn't reference its three-thousandness, unlike comics [[1000]] and [[2000]]; it could've been released any other day. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.25|162.158.90.25]] 04:22, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:I was expecting xkcd 3000 for long but very busy today. I found this comic seemingly not too long after its publication, but not rather upset now [[User:物灵|物灵]] ([[User talk:物灵|talk]]) 06:40, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:SAME! :( [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 09:22, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
Randall really did fall off 😭 [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 10:23, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

xkcd 4000 is coming out on 10 march 2031 unless randall uploads inconsistently during those 1000 comics (very likely) unrelatedly i pronounce TŻO as /tiː ʐɛd oʊ/. is that normal? [[User:MinersHavenM43|MinersHavenM43]] ([[User talk:MinersHavenM43|talk]]) 04:10, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

4096 is the next big release by standard XKCD counting?

:You (as I) seem to be rightpondian (or have a smattering of ¿polish? culture still within your leftpondian upbringing). I suspect it would be more /ʐi/ for Randall and most of his countrypeople (or straight /zi/, if not a different attempt at the dot-diacritic). It might more correctly be pronounced as /ˈʐɛt/, however, if I have the correct origin. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.2|172.70.162.2]] 06:12, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
::actually i am brazillian, my english is a mix of primarily american and british english. my understanding of polish came from when i was really into linguistics a few years ago. [[User:MinersHavenM43|MinersHavenM43]] ([[User talk:MinersHavenM43|talk]]) 12:34, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

That’s it? That’s 3000? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.245|162.158.154.245]] 04:20, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

3000th comic! Yay? [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 10:29, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
sad[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.32|172.68.54.32]] 11:01, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

wow, that's it? c'mon Randall, you made all those neat April fools comics, and you cant make something special for this [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.130|172.69.71.130]] 16:18, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:Even worse. He did something special for comic #[[1000]] & #[[2000]]. I was '''''SO''''' hyped! [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 18:37, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

Damn. Ever since February of this year I've been waiting with bated breath for today to see what awesome and neat thing Randall will have cooked up for 3000. Talk about a disappointment. Hopefully this is just a mistake or a misdirection, and he'll either replace this comic with the real 3000 comic or maybe release the cool comic tomorrow for 3001. [[User:Pie Guy|Pie Guy]] ([[User talk:Pie Guy|talk]]) 17:25, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:{{w|3001: The Final Odyssey|3001}} is a much more geeky number than 3000, anyway... (or maybe 3072). I ''shall'' definitely be anticipating something good for 4096, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.178|172.68.205.178]] 19:13, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2890: Relationship Advice

2024-02-06T00:07:24Z

172.71.151.4:

Anybody else think that White Hat might be aromantic? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:47, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
:I see no reason to assume he is talking about romance at all. All relationships can be difficult, whether romantic, sexual, platonic, familiar or professional. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 19:07, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
::Yeah, I don't think the explanation (as of this reply) is really relevant, he just struggles to form any kind of meaningful relationship. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.156|172.70.100.156]] 19:18, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
:I would agree if he expressed disinterest or something, but I don't think negativity = aromantic.
:I’m on the original user’s side. The language expressed in the comic is negative, as White Hat thinks that relationships are gruelling and require a lot of resolve to engage in. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.151.4|172.71.151.4]] 00:07, 6 February 2024 (UTC)

Jeez. I can relate.... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.143|172.70.178.143]] 19:15, 5 February 2024 (UTC)

I think it's pretty clear that the "offscreen voice" is one of Cueball or Ponytail, the frame is just close up on White Hat so we can't see which of his companions is responding. And "wary and unsure news"? I think a better expression would be "unsure agreement". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:22, 5 February 2024 (UTC)