https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=PrimmyRoseexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-05-22T13:55:53ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3025:_Phase_Change&diff=3596163025: Phase Change2024-12-16T20:19:09Z<p>PrimmyRose: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3025<br />
| date = December 16, 2024<br />
| title = Phase Change<br />
| image = phase_change_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 296x354px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Even when you try to make nice, smooth ice cubes in a freezer, sometimes one of them will shoot out a random ice spike, which physicists ascribe to kiki conservation.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOTBA - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is a reference to the {{w|bouba/kiki effect}} (the [[2611: Cutest-Sounding Scientific Effects|cutest-sounding scientific effect]]), where people associate different shapes with different nonsense words.<br />
Because the word bouba is pronounced with long and soft sounds, it is often associated with soft and round objects. Kiki, on the other hand, uses fast, higher pitched, and "cracking" sounds so it is associated with sharp and hard objects. Some real life examples are the antonyms rigid and flowing. This is partly due to humans' needs to {{w|Cognitive categorization|categorize things}}.<br />
<br />
The comic intentionally conflates this with the {{w|Phase transition|phase transition}} that water undergoes around 0 degrees Celsius. Water in its liquid state can be described as soft and round, as can the sound of the word "water" itself. In contrast, ice is hard and can form sharp objects like icicles, and the word "ice" also contains a sharp hissing sound.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to {{w|ice spike|ice spikes}}, which are caused by the uneven freezing of ice in a freezer. The title text expands on the joke by claiming that ice cubes wish to maintain the pointiness of objects characterized as "kiki."<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A vertical graph is shown, indicating temperature in degrees Celsius, with a horizontal dotted line at zero degrees. The area above the dotted line is filled with several illustrations of liquid water in various forms--dripping, splashing, pouring, etc. This area is labeled "Bouba". The area below the dotted line is filled with illustrations of ice in various forms--icicles, ice cubes, snowflakes, etc. This area is labeled "Kiki".]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:When water temperature falls below 0°C, it undergoes a phase transition from bouba to kiki.<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>PrimmyRose