https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.71.242.156&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T08:15:29ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2719:_Hydrogen_Isotopes&diff=304077Talk:2719: Hydrogen Isotopes2023-01-04T15:19:00Z<p>172.71.242.156: </p>
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This shows as a 404 on xkcd.com but in my RSS feed i can see the comic<br />
: Works for me. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.9|172.69.34.9]] 02:25, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
::works for me now too but it didnt before<br />
::: It works on m.xkcd.com and on the homepage of xckd, but the direct link gives me a 404. Various services such as the Wayback Machine show it as loading though. Could be a bad cache on some service. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.86|162.158.63.86]] 02:37, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
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Could someone add an explanation of Nydnonen? I don't get it and it's google proof [[Special:Contributions/172.71.210.209|172.71.210.209]] 05:04, 3 January 2023 (UTC)Benzodiakanine<br />
: Nothing. Was hopeful about {{w|List of Greek and Latin roots in English/N}} but nope. Tried stemming on all the Wiktionaries too. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.91|172.71.158.91]] 05:28, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
::Kudos to whomever figured it out, lol! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.231|172.71.158.231]] 08:02, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::Seems someone already did. There are four N's in that word replacing three of the consonant in Hydrogen so there are now four Ns one for each of the four neutrons in Nydnonen. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:10, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
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Are these to scale? I recently read that the Helium is smaller in terms of measured atomic radius than the Hydrogen. Possibly this is true of Deuterium as well? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.45|172.70.85.45]] 06:50, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
:They are almost the same size but it depends on temperature: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.200800063 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.153|162.158.90.153]] 08:00, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
::Is the reason Helium is smaller not that there are double the positive charge which the electrons thus orbit in a lower orbit (I know this is not the correct in reality with the orbit). But if true then Deuterium would not have this effect as it is not the weight but the charge that changes the orbit. And Deuterium has the same charge as Hydrogen as does Tritium. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:10, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
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::[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] is right, it is essentially the charge of the nucleus that determines orbital size, not its mass (which is always thousands of times larger than the mass of the electron). Nuclear mass has only very small effects on the electron orbitals. The most prominent effect probably would be that with a heavier nucleus, the center of mass of the atom would shift a little bit closer to the center of the nucleus (or, in other words, the reduced mass of the electron would increase a little bit), where the "little bit" is on the order of less than 10^-3. Other effects like nuclear size (distribution of the positive charge) or gravitation would be even much smaller.<br>Note that the paper [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.200800063 cited above] does not deal with the size of atoms. Instead, it describes the effect of temperature on the molecular volume of benzene (C6H6) versus deuterated benzene (C6D6). This makes sense, since the apparent volume of a molecule depends on, among others, the amplitudes of intramolecular vibrations, which in turn depend on bond strength, mean energy (temperature), and atomic mass (hence the isotope effect). However, temperature does not affect the size of an atom. In fact, for a single atom, "temperature" has no meaning at all. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.201|162.158.86.201]] 13:08, 4 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
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Is "oops all neutrons" distinct from Neutronium, which is also all neutrons? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.131|172.70.100.131]] 07:38, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Neutronium is ultra-dense and bound by gravity, with a minimum of about 1.2x10<sup>58</sup> neutrons in a 40 kilometer diameter sphere. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.153|162.158.90.153]] 08:00, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
::Well actually a {{w|neutron star}} is only 10 km in radius (20 km in diameter) according to Wikipedia. And it is 10<sup>57</sup> neutrons acording to this [https://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/ryden.1/ast162_5/notes21.html lecture on Neutron Stars]. {{w|Neutronium}} was actually used as a name for neutrons without protons and suggested to be placed as number 0 on the periodical table. But is has also been used as a name for the matter in the center of neutron stars, but usually not in scientific papers! There it is called degenerate matter. The wiki article mentions how a single neutron decays to proton/electron/neutrino in 15 minutes. It also mentions that two neutrons could form for very short periods in nuclear decay. An then mentions that more than two neutrons together is not likely to exist. Specifically mentioning the three from Randall's Oops particle as not being stable for even the shortest of times. Of course a neutron would also not be able to orbit a group of neutrons. But even the three at the center is impossible. More neutrons together would be isotopes of number 0 element... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:22, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
::: My bad memory; thanks. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.38|172.71.154.38]] 05:08, 4 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
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I think "Maximum Strength" is a reference to medicines marketed as such - in particular brands of Ibuprofen "Maximum Strength Tablets". --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.132|172.69.79.132]] 14:59, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
: Yes - typically meaning that it contains far more of whatever its active ingredient is than is necessary to be efficacious.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 15:54, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
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Considering that Deuterium is derived from Greek and Tritium works in both Greek and Latin, wouldn't the correct name for ⁴H be Tetartium?<br />
:Tetrium maybe? Tetraium? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.38|172.71.154.38]] 05:08, 4 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
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Is it just me or have the recaptchas gotten much more difficult over the past week, to the point of ambiguous or indiscernibly blurred images and frequently rejecting correct responses (i.e. "please try again" in red)? Granted, I'm not saying this behavior makes it any less valid as a captcha, but it's a little surprising to always get several-step challenges lately. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.38|172.71.154.38]] 05:08, 4 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
: Captchas are in a continual arms race with bot writers, and wax and wane in difficulty as new attacks and counter-measures are deployed. ReCAPTCHA occasionally becomes more lengthy when they refresh their image library; we may be experiencing that. It sure doesn't seem to be slowing down the creation of new phantom usernames -- does registration even have the captcha? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.159|172.71.154.159]] 07:43, 4 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Firstly yes, and that might be the problem, because ReCAPCHA is still quite mild on other sites. Whomever is automating username registration here (which has been going on at least five years) may have fallen prey to a new countermeasure increasing their failure rate and making our site's angry. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.150|172.70.206.150]] 12:21, 4 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
::: As a habitual IP of long-standing, I had not had a reCAPTCHA for ''soooo'' long, I realised, when I suddenly had one the other day.<br />
::: It didn't like my first and second answers (traffic lights and crosswalks? ...typical 'on this single image' ones with edge-conditions that I never know what it's fully asking for/used to getting as an answer, inclusive or not of the poles/backdrop surround to the actual lights, tiles with just a sliver of painted road shrface, etc) before passing me on an "of these images" (all with buses/tractors? ...better than the time when it had two tractors, but clearly had been trained by others that its traditional third item counted as a tractor even though I knew it was something like a road-building scraper/planer thing) which worked.<br />
::: But, so far at least, that was the only one (set) I got. And I had noted mysterious 2+hour gaps in silly-name new account creations, at times (notable due to the gap between the new account history and the midnight cutoff/restart in the Recent Changes compilation) - it would be nice to imagine that they were being blocked more. Though I think an immediate account-creation failure probably redoubles their next effort to create an account of some kind. (It's only the failure to ''use'' the account, subsequently, that throttles back the obvious presence of such scripted interventions. Perhaps actually by spending time hammering the server but without any visible results as far as reaches my own limited awareness of server activity via the changelog.)<br />
::: As described, it's an arms race. And while I know I don't hanker back to the days of ''every.'' ''single.'' ''post.'' requiring a reCAPTCHA (sequence) from me, that'd be much nicer than an unusable platform due to scriptspamming. Currently seems to be about right, IMO, especially with theusafBOT's handy high-speed autoreverts on those spams that are (somehow, by using a wetware processor?) momentarily getting through on Unreliable Connection and the others... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.156|172.71.242.156]] 15:19, 4 January 2023 (UTC) <br />
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Re "ium": Shouldn't we try to keep the explanation short and to the point? This comic is about "isotopes", i.e. about different options of how to construct a single atom (or atom-like entity). IMO, there is no need to include many-body effects in a set of multiple electrons ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2719%3A_Hydrogen_Isotopes&type=revision&diff=303973&oldid=303971 "Fermi velocity"] or [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2719:_Hydrogen_Isotopes&oldid=304060 "electron degeneracy pressure"]); just as there is no need to discuss, say, the kinetic theory of gases made up of these isotopes, or how they would be able to form fluids or solids. It is good to see that people who contribute here know about these effects, but I think that the explanation does not benefit from extending the discussion too far beyond the subject of a given comic. If anything, it might be worthwhile to include a reference to {{w|ion trap|ion traps}} - especially since in a Penning trap electrons actually go in circulating orbits (although not exactly circular). --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.210|172.70.246.210]] 11:56, 4 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
: Go for it. We all agree to have our "writing to be edited mercilessly" in the fine print just below the Summary. Editing on whims is good because if someone else liked something earlier they will just merge it back in somehow. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.150|172.70.206.150]] 12:21, 4 January 2023 (UTC)</div>172.71.242.156https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1063:_Kill_Hitler&diff=3022991063: Kill Hitler2022-12-22T05:25:03Z<p>172.71.242.156: Idiots will be idiots</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1063<br />
| date = June 1, 2012<br />
| title = Kill Hitler<br />
| image = kill_hitler.png<br />
| titletext = Revised directive: It is forbidden for you to interfere with human history until you've at least taken a class on it.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
After [[Black Hat]] announces his completion of a time machine which will only ever work once, [[Cueball]] gives a common suggestion for what to do when you have a time machine: killing {{w|Adolf Hitler}}, the Austrian-born dictator who famously led the {{w|Nazi Party}} to a hostile takeover of the German government, which eventually led to {{w|World War II}} where the Nazis conducted a military invasion of several other European countries and a genocidal campaign known as {{w|the Holocaust}}. Even though Black Hat has other (and probably better) ideas about how to use his time machine, he relents to Cueball's pleas and goes off to kill Hitler, comically using the casual phrase "BRB" which is an abbreviation for "be right back". He soon returns, commenting that he found Hitler in a very noisy bunker in the year 1945.<br />
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In the real world, Hitler and his wife Eva Braun {{w|Death of Adolf Hitler|committed suicide}} on April 30, 1945, in Hitler's personal office in the {{w|Führerbunker}}. Berlin was the last major stronghold of Nazi Germany at that point, and was under heavy military assault by the Soviet Union, making it fairly obvious to the Nazis that they wouldn't control the city for much longer. Germany surrendered to the Allied forces almost immediately after Hitler's death, bringing an end to the European side of the War (the Pacific side, mostly fought between the United States and the Nazi-allied Empire of Japan, would linger on for a few more months until Japan was driven to surrender by {{w|Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|two nuclear attacks}}). The fact that Black Hat killed Hitler in the Führerbunker in 1945 means that the War and the Holocaust had already resulted in the deaths of millions, and history would not be significantly changed by murdering Hitler at that point. Also, Black Hat's comment that "1945 was loud!" suggests that Berlin was already under attack when he emerged in the Führerbunker, implying that the killing took place around the time Hitler would have taken his own life anyway, possibly just a few moments before.<br />
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Cueball's intent was clearly for Black Hat to travel back to a time before Hitler's rise to power, in the hopes that killing him back then would prevent both the War and the Holocaust; he's therefore horrified by the realization that Black Hat had used his sole opportunity for time travel and probably made little difference at all. This is typical Black Hat behavior, going out of his way just to troll people like Cueball and cause horrible things to happen, in this case deliberately ''not'' changing any history or avoiding any of the atrocities carried out by Nazi Germany. That might be for the best, however, since killing Hitler early {{tvtropes|HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct|might cause more problems than it would solve}}.<br />
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Sure enough, there are some conspiracy theories claiming that Hitler had no intention of taking his own life and was actually shot dead by someone else, most of them relying on some kind of "evidence" that Hitler and Braun weren't alone in the room when they died. If this comic was meant to be taken as a serious theory on Hitler's death, it would suggest that Black Hat was directly responsible, but because he used a time machine to reach Hitler's office, historians would have no knowledge that he was ever there and therefore could only conclude that Hitler and Braun killed themselves instead. Also, if the {{w|Novikov self-consistency principle}} is true, it means that Hitler's suicide was interrupted by Black Hat in the first place, and Black Hat was merely going back in time to do the thing he already did.<br />
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The title text refers to the time travel theme from the {{w|Superman}} movie in which Jor-El states, "It is forbidden for you to interfere with human history." Here it is suggested that Black Hat needs to know some history before going back in time to interfere with it, perhaps so that he would do the right thing and kill Hitler ''before'' the Holocaust and World War II.<br />
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==Trivia==<br />
* Hitler was also the subject of Black Hat's [[29| third appearance]].<br />
* In [[1617: Time Capsule]], [[Beret Guy]] has the same mission, but has instead "traveled" forward in time, and when he arrives Hitler is long dead.<br />
* There is an episode of Love, Death and Robots that is entirely about going back in time to kill Hitler.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Black Hat and Cueball stand in front of a double door, which bears the label 'TIME door'. Black Hat has his hands on his hips.]<br />
:Black Hat: I finished my time machine, but it's one-use-only.<br />
:Cueball: You ''gotta'' kill Hitler.<br />
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:[Close-up of Black Hat, one hand palm upward.]<br />
:Black Hat: Why are you so obsessed with this Hitler guy? We have ''all'' of ''time'' we could explore!<br />
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:[Close-up of Cueball with both hands palm upward.]<br />
:Cueball: He's evil incarnate! He murdered millions and sparked global war! ''Everyone'' agrees—if you get a time machine, you kill Hitler.<br />
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:[Black Hat enters the now open Time door as the other man looks on..]<br />
:Black Hat: Fine, fine, I get it! Calm down. BRB, killing Hitler.<br />
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:[Black Hat returns, shutting the door with one hand. Cueball has outstretched arms.]<br />
:Black Hat: There. Done. Are you happy? <br />
:Cueball: ''Thank'' you.<br />
:Black Hat: He was in some kind of bunker. 1945 was ''loud!''<br />
:Cueball: '''''NO!'''''<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hitler]]<br />
[[Category:Time travel]]</div>172.71.242.156https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1474:_Screws&diff=3019051474: Screws2022-12-19T23:59:06Z<p>172.71.242.156: /* Explanation */ An attempt to summarise some facts for which I'm accutely aware.</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1474<br />
| date = January 16, 2015<br />
| title = Screws<br />
| image = screws.png<br />
| titletext = If you encounter a hex bolt, but you only brought screwdrivers, you can try sandwiching the head of the bolt between two parallel screwdriver shafts, squeezing the screwdrivers together with a hand at either end, then twisting. It doesn't work and it's a great way to hurt yourself, but you can try it!<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
This comic uses a similar structure and is based off of the same idea as [[1714: Volcano Types]] and [[1874: Geologic Faults]]. Appliance makers sometimes use {{w|List of screw drives|strange screw heads}} to hinder attempts from users to remove appliance covers. Users usually have handy {{w|screwdrivers}} for the first two screw types drawn, Phillips and Flat. More advanced users usually have some less standard drivers, such as {{w|Torx}} or {{w|Allen key|Allen}}, however appliance makers keep designing increasingly strange screw heads and users keep acquiring increasingly strange screwdrivers.<br />
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The comic is about the frustration a user may feel when faced with a screw for which they have no screwdriver. Usually the user will try to fit one of the drivers they have handy into the strange screw, leading to damaging the screw and/or the driver and/or the person wielding the tool.<br />
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The types of screws listed are the following:<br />
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{| class="wikitable"<br />
! style="width: 25%"|Screw type<br />
! Description<br />
|-<br />
| Phillips head<br />
| {{w|List of screw drives#Phillips|Phillips screw drive}} and its corresponding screw head is one of the most recognizable types of screw heads that is commonly used in construction. This type of screw head was named after its inventor, a US businessman {{w|Henry F. Phillips}}. Neither the inventor nor his invention have any relationship to the Dutch electronics manufacturing company with similar, but not exactly the same name {{w|Philips}}. Technically speaking, this is not a Phillips, as a Phillips screw head is rounded at the center.<br />
|-<br />
| Flat head<br />
| {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Slot|Slot head screws}} are frequently erroneously referred to as flat heads (a flat head screw refers, in fact, to the shape of the screw head, regardless of the shape of the drive socket). The slot head is also commonly used in construction. Although the diagram shows the slot truncated, the slot almost always runs across the entire head of the screw (as in the case of the "uranium screw" below).<br />
|-<br />
| Uh oh. Maybe it's on Amazon? (pentagram-shaped screw)<br />
| Manufacturers sometimes use screws that require special screwdrivers in order to prevent the customer from opening the product. The reference to Amazon is presumably a suggestion to search {{w|Amazon.com}} for the screwdriver. A number of star-shaped screw heads exist, notably the six-pointed {{w|Torx}}, and {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple}}'s rounded {{w|Pentalobe screw|pentalobe screw}}, although there is no popular design that uses the 5-pointed star shape depicted in the comic. Torx screws are common in automotive applications — Phillips heads are designed to "{{w|cam out}}" at high {{w|torque}} to protect the screw, whereas Torx do not — and on bicycles where a higher tightening torque is needed than hex screws can support. They are also commonly used on {{w|disk brake}} mounts and in {{w|smartphones}}.<br />
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|-<br />
| Cursed &minus;1 Phillips head<br />
| The head of a screw can be stripped by overuse, tightening the screw too much, using the wrong size screwdriver, or other misuse. As the driving surfaces wear away, removing the screw becomes more difficult, and the added pressure needed to drive the screw usually damages it further. <br />
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The addition of "cursed" and "&minus;1" in the titles is a reference to various role playing games (e.g. ''{{w|Dungeons and Dragons}}''), where magical "cursed" items appear frequently. This often makes the cursed equipment (in the case of armor or weapons) incredibly difficult to remove, as it will cling to the wielder. Similarly, the cursed Phillips Head screw becomes difficult to remove due to the stripped head. Alternatively, this may imply that the damage to the screw head was caused ''because'' the screw is "cursed" and therefore difficult to remove.<br />
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The "&minus;1" refers to the damage of the screw head. In role playing games, items such as weapons and armor may have an "enchantment", with a positive enchantment making the item more effective, and a negative enchantment making the item less effective. Negatively enchanted items are often also cursed, as is the case with this screw head. The "&minus;1" does not appear to be a reference to a {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Phillips|Phillips bit-size number}}, as those are always positive.<br />
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Notably, the stripped screw bears a resemblance to a {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Pozidriv|Pozidriv head}}, a modified version of the Phillips head designed to resist slipping and subsequent stripping. Using a Phillips head screwdriver in a Pozidriv screw is very likely to damage the screw head and cause a real Pozidriv screwdriver to no longer mate correctly.{{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Crap, it's a ''rivet''.<br />
| A {{w|rivet}} is not a screw — it is a permanent fastener which is secured by deforming the body of the fastener. Rivets cannot be removed with a screwdriver, they must be drilled out. Some bolts also have rounded rivet-style heads, though, which need a {{w|collet}}-style tool to grip and remove.<br />
|-<br />
| Phillips head ruiner ''(actually a hex screw)''<br />
| A reference to the fact that {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Hex_socket|hex socket}} screws can, in a pinch, be removed with a Phillips screwdriver (rather than the intended {{w|Allen wrench}}) but this will likely ruin the screwdriver (and damage the screw) in the process. <br />
|-<br />
| Uranium screw<br />
| Uranium screws were [http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2014/11/10/fat-mans-uranium/ used] in the [http://www.scintillators.ru/booc/criticality/reports/ref_050.pdf construction] of [http://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/769001 nuclear weapons] during the twentieth century. Multiple radially extending short wave-like lines around the screw head symbolize radiant energy output, although real uranium screws were most likely made of {{w|depleted uranium}}, which is [http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/du_ii/du_ii_tabc.htm 40 percent less radioactive] than naturally-occurring raw {{w|uranium}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Phillip's head<br />
| This is a morbidly literal interpretation of the misuse of an apostrophe in "Phillip's head". This "screw" is actually a bloody bag containing the severed head of someone named "Phillip" (an all too common modern respelling of the more classic "Philip", perhaps in part influenced by the more typical "Phillips" surname). Intentionally or otherwise, this last punchline could be described as a "{{tvtropes|MindScrew|mind screw}}".<br />
|-<br />
|Hex bolt (title text)<br />
|A {{w|List_of_screw_drives#Hex|hex bolt}} has six external sides, so it could in theory be held by squeezing two screwdriver shafts together with the bolt in between. The amount of force on the two screwdriver shafts needed to turn the hex bolt will probably exceed the strength of human hands — the attempt would most likely only result in causing your hands to cramp or causing the screwdrivers to slip and cause further injury. The title text is making a play on the phrase "you can try", which normally implies something with a reasonable chance of success, but here is only pointing out "just because you ''can'' doesn't mean you should".<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Eight drawings of different types of heads each with a caption:]<br />
:[Plus sign-shaped screw.]<br />
:Phillips head<br />
:[Minus sign-shaped screw.]<br />
:Flat head<br />
:[Star-shaped screw.]<br />
:Uh oh. Maybe it's on Amazon?<br />
:[Plus sign-shaped screw with worn edges.]<br />
:Cursed -1 Phillips head<br />
:[No screw, just a circle.]<br />
:Crap, it's a ''rivet''.<br />
:[Hexagon-shaped screw.]<br />
:Phillips-head ruiner<br />
:[Minus sign-shaped screw going through the whole circle. Also giving off radiation.]<br />
:Uranium screw (a real thing)<br />
:[A sack with blood oozing out of it.]<br />
:Phillip's head<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with blood]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring cursed items]] <!-- Worn screw-head --></div>172.71.242.156https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1121:_Identity&diff=301278Talk:1121: Identity2022-12-13T20:36:17Z<p>172.71.242.156: </p>
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<div>He could also be bothered by her willingness to give away the password so easily. Anyone who has spent a sufficient amount of time with the character would have an idea of the things he's interested in. The image text supports it a little by saying how anyone he knows would be aware that he acts like that. [[Special:Contributions/76.122.5.96|76.122.5.96]] 08:57, 15 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
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They could also be using a version of Google Wave or some such IM... It was possible to view realtime what the others were typing on the window. Then Megan would be able to interrupt Cueball easily.<br />
<br />
Notably, although the characters appear to be communicating by way of text (whether SMS, or some instant messaging protocol), Megan should not be able to interrupt Cueball. Text-based messages do not typically stream in realtime as they are typed. She wouldn't be able to read his message until he completed it and sent it. {{unsigned|TheHYPO}}<br />
<br />
:Unless they are using something like the unix talk command, which does stream characters as they are typed. This might make sense since they are conversing about a server password, but talk might also perform proper authentication, although it could likely be spoofed as most early unix programs were not very secure. The characters are not streamed in real time, by the way, because there is no deadline for transmission of the characters. Sending something "as soon as possible" is pretty much the opposite of "real-time" and I think this wiki should make great efforts to be extra geeky about the use of the phrase "real-time" treating it like "real-time operating system" rather than "I use the web so I think the word 'real-time' means that time itself is not fake." Has Randall written a comic about the misuse of the phrase "real-time"? He should. {{unsigned|Jsbqvb}}<br />
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::I'm going to quibble over your quibbling over semantics for a moment. "Real-time communication" is not simply saying something immediately after another person. Imagine you and I are sitting in plush armchairs in my front parlour, discussing philosophy. You ask me "What is real-time communication?" I look up to the ceiling, as I formulate my response. According to your definition, this conversation has now left real-time, and become a no-deadline-for-transmission delayed communication, because I've failed to respond immediately. Another example, we're sitting in a park outside at a marble chess table. You move your rook. I study the game board before making my own move. Are you going to argue that this is no longer a real-time game because of my delay?<br />
<br />
::A third example. I sit down in my writing room and write a lengthy letter addressed to you and put it into the mail. My postman picks up the mail later that day. It gets sorted and put onto a truck to your house. The truck drives across state lines to the distribution center near your house. The letter gets put in your postman's sack, and that day on his rounds he delivers it to your postbox. You read it and write your response. Your postman picks it up the next day, it's trucked back to my state and delivered to me 2 days after you wrote it. Is this real-time communication? I'll answer that one for you. No it isn't.<br />
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::What makes communication real-time, and what doesn't? I don't have a hard-and-fast definition for you. I consider, talking to a person whether face-to-face or over the phone real-time. I consider sending mail and email delayed communication. Instant Messages are real-time if I get an answer within five minutes of when I sent them, same with text messages. So is five minutes a good differentiating line? Here's another example.<br />
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::We're in grade school, and we're all sitting in a circle playing {{w|Telephone (game)|Telephone}}. I whisper the message to my neighbor, who whispers it on until it reaches you, at the other end of the circle. The whole game takes perhaps a minute. Is this real-time communication? No, because I'm passing the message to middle-men. But that's how messages travel the Internet, bouncing through routers until they reach you. So, it can't be that there are no middle-men involved.<br />
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::In conclusion. I think your argument that "somewhat delayed delivery of a response" would be a better phrase instead of "real-time" is fallacious, and pointless. That we need to be cautious of the usage of "real-time communication" is not one of the things I think we need to be worried about. I do think we need to be careful of how we rear the upcoming generations, pay attention to the difference between "loose" and "lose", how to spell "onomatopoeia" and "definitely" correctly, as well as using "literally" accurately, "who" vs. "whom", when to and more importantly when not to dangle prepositions, learning when to use which dashes, avoiding ''ad hominem'' arguments, trying to be a little less pedantic with others, and taking some time to slow down and smell the flowers and enjoy the scenery.<br />
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::--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:11, 16 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
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:::I agree with the action plan given in your final paragraph. However, while I don't disagree with your point, your example about the chess game might be a little confusing for some because in games there is a rather well established usage of "real time" games as being in direct opposition to "turn-based" games. Here "real time" usually means that the action all happens continuously and simultaneously, whereas "turn-based" means that everything proceeds by turns (i.e. I make a move, then you do, then me again, etc.), such as in chess. [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 15:51, 24 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
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:Moved here from the explanation. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:56, 15 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
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:::If you say something, the sound of your voice is spreading by speed of sound, which is relatively slow. What communication can actually be called real-time by the "no delay" definition? Telepathy? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:40, 17 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
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::::It's possible that by utilizing quantum entanglement we may be able to achieve communication of information without any delay. I may be wrong about this. Anyone with more knowledge about it care to correct me? [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 20:40, 23 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
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My understanding would be that instantaneous communication is impossible. Communication implies a transfer of information of some kind (regardless of how useful it is). Since in order to receive information into the human mind you atteh very least must wait the tiny amount of time for your nerves to transmit their signals from the sensory nerves to the brain. Add to that the assumption of travel via light waves which take time and or sound waves which take longer to arrive at the sensory organ. Even if a device could use a technology to have information come out as soon as it goes in somewhere else, you will have to wait again for the nerves if you surgically implant the the device. Why go through all that trouble and not go the next logical step. If time travel is incorporated you could include the lag so that the trip is finished at the same time it arrived. Of course you could also send yourself a message from the future to not waste Jorge time and to get a life. [[User:DruidDriver|DruidDriver]] ([[User talk:DruidDriver|talk]]) 22:13, 22 January 2013 (UTC)<br />
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It's possible that he was sending each sentence separately, and she's responding to one of the ones he already completed. [[Special:Contributions/76.122.5.96|76.122.5.96]] 18:33, 15 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
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The "NO!" may not be for security but the disappointment of missed opportunity to design a 'cool' identity proof protocol.<br />
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:While it's true he hasn't yet properly proved his identity, the "NO!" is DEFINITELY the disappointment of missed opportunity to design a 'cool' identity proof protocol. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:40, 17 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
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They could be using skype (mobile and on PC with mic) to communicate, not necessarily text.<br />
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:: Seriously, why would any of you NOT think that they were using a speakerphone to communicate? (be it through the phone, skype or gtalk or whatever service)? You even got the little "sound wave" lines coming from the devices as the character communicates. [[Special:Contributions/206.72.206.101|206.72.206.101]] 13:38, 23 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
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::: Cueball is holding his phone with two hands. He's clearly texting. The "sound wave" lines are clearly meant to indicate that it's what the character is typing/texting. Also, the transcript indicates that Megan's text in the third frame is a text message (the parenthetical is here only because it's the only place where text is present from a character not visible in the image). [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 00:00, 2 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
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:::: That's the dumbest thing I've ever read. And I've read a LOT. Who needs two hands to text, and why can't someone hold a phone with both hands when on speaker? Furthermore, the transcript has NO BEARING AT ALL on discussions of the comic, because it's subjective. [[Special:Contributions/174.142.37.82|174.142.37.82]] 04:54, 14 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
:::: Never mind, Erenan, I just saw your user-page and your pages. You've got enough issues. You're right, of course, there's no conceivable way Cueball could be doing anything but texting. It's "clear", and the sound wave lines "clearly" indicate that as well. I stand corrected. Enjoy life. You're "clearly" very smart and always right. [[Special:Contributions/174.142.37.82|174.142.37.82]] 04:58, 14 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
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:::::At no point is there a need to personally attack another commenter on this site like that. Also, '''do not''' edit other people's posts on a talk page, that is rude in the extreme. Come back in a week, maybe you can keep a civil tongue in your head. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:12, 14 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
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:::::Wiki etiquette states that you do not touch other people's comments - replacing his name with "dumbo" is childish. As for the transcript, it came from the div with id "transcript" in the source on the XKCD website. I believe Randall knows his own comics well enough [[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 05:16, 14 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
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::::::{{w|Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines#Editing comments|Link}} as source for Davidy's statement. Go forth and educate thineself. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:21, 14 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
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The reference to dinosaur fascination might be a last ditch attempt to try and fool people who MIT try and impersonate Randall. My understanding which may be flawed is that Randal has a fear around raptors, and close friends might hear praise for these and get suspicious if the leave out the fear part. [[User:DruidDriver|DruidDriver]] ([[User talk:DruidDriver|talk]]) 22:13, 22 January 2013 (UTC)<br />
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To support the feasibility of what happens in the last panel, it could be that Megan doesn't have the password in mind, and hit 'Enter' to go look for the password elsewhere. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.220|108.162.212.220]] 20:37, 9 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The paragraph about RSA encryption, though interesting, is irrelevant to the explanation of the comic, as there is nothing to indicate he intends to use it (Seriously, who can name random large primes off the top of their head?). As such, I'm going to delete it.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.30|108.162.215.30]] 02:29, 11 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The entire conversation is perfectly understandable if their voices were reversed, and Megan was saying Cueballs lines, while Cueball Megans lines. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 10:57, 21 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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They’re not chatting through text-based messaging. Notice how Megan immediately catches on that it’s Cueball: she interrupts him. Things like that wouldn’t normally occur in text-based messaging. [[User:SilverTheTerribleMathematician|SilverTheTerribleMathematician]] ([[User talk:SilverTheTerribleMathematician|talk]]) 07:00, 12 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
:They may not be using SMS-based messaging, but there are "send characters as they are typed" text-based messaging systems (awkward pauses whilst looking for the right word, sometimes even conveying backspaces across so that tyop^H^Hpo corrections are witnessed as they happen, how they happen).<br />
:It's perhaps a more deprecated method than the "… user is typing …" status that can appear and vanish again as, perhaps, the current sender puts something down but then retracts it all while they have another think (and the sendee is on tenterhooks and wondering whether to write that they can go away and ''think'' about the last issue they posed, if it has no easy/immediate/diplomatic answer), but all it needs is a low-volume (mostly-)synchronous bidirectional connection protocol that can bunch up changes if full real-time connectivity is a bit choppy.<br />
:And with so many chat-type protocols developed since {{w|talk (software)|the original one I used}}, it seems there's some that use (or ''can'' use) this character-by-character (or word-by-word?) mechanism, still. As noted in various spots further up this discussion page... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.156|172.71.242.156]] 20:36, 13 December 2022 (UTC)</div>172.71.242.156https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2707:_Astronomy_Numbers&diff=300582Talk:2707: Astronomy Numbers2022-12-05T21:53:18Z<p>172.71.242.156: </p>
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First time I've ever seen a completely blank page. [[User:IJustWantToEditStuff|IJustWantToEditStuff]] ([[User talk:IJustWantToEditStuff|talk]]) 20:27, 5 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
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It's also notable that something weighting 12 solar masses will collapse into black hole on it's own, unless it resist collapse through thermal pressure like stars. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 21:26, 5 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
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The Earth moves relative to the sun at 66,000 MPH. In what frame of reference is it 65 MPH? It isn't like Randall to get a number wrong. Maybe the magnitude of the distance from Earth to Sun changes at a closer rate, but even this is nearly 180 MPH if I'm calculating correctly. [[User:Mannerisky|Mannerisky]] ([[User talk:Mannerisky|talk]]) 21:37, 5 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
: You're thinking orbital speed, she's talking orbital oscillation. That is, the speed at which the distance between earth and sun changes. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.240|198.41.242.240]] 21:51, 5 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I get the sense that the thing that they're planning for January 1st is a precisely-timed new year's party and nothing to do with space exploration.</div>172.71.242.156