Latest revision as of 09:33, 16 March 2026

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Baryon Asymmetry

Title text: Wait, what do you mean, 'dark matter'? It's not dark, it interacts with high-energy gamma rays ... right? Oh jeez, did I forget to make it interact?

Explanation[edit]

This is incomplete:
This page was created recently, but was recently annihilated by it's anti-matter counterpart, and needs recreating. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

In this comic, Cueball talks with the creator of the universe (possibly the one previously seen in another recent comic). Cueball wants to know why the universe has baryon asymmetry, which refers to the fact that the observable universe contains much more matter than antimatter. Current physical theories imply that matter and antimatter should have been created in roughly equal amounts. The fact that antimatter is extremely rare is very fortunate for humans and other objects made of matter, given that matter/antimatter reactions destroy both substances with a violent release of energy.

As it turns out, though, the creator of the universe, far from being wise and all-knowing, simply forgot to add a roughly equal amount of antimatter. Realizing their mistake, they proceed to add the antimatter that they originally forgot, only to create a massive explosion as large parts of the universe experience annihilation.

The creator seems to have been careless to the workings of their own created universe, only now adding in the forgotten antimatter without considering the widespread impact it would have on the current state of the universe. This is strange, given they created the universe, and they would surely not be oblivious to the fact that it either has not been working as intended (missing around half of its mass) or any realization that the forgotten feature was actually a bad idea after all. Although as he is conversing with Cueball, who has exhibited similar degrees of personal ineptitude, and as this might or might not be the same entity as seen getting things 'wrong' in 3222: Star Formation, this might just go to show that it is a shared trait to have so much ability but so little foresight and understanding.

An alternative explanation could be that the sphere is an equivalent to (or disguise of) Black Hat, who knows all about the impact and yet 'corrects' the situation anyway, simply not caring about destroying the universe they created, or even deliberately choosing to worsen the situation. This would not be the first time that Black Hat has apparently been willing to badly subvert such wish fulfillments, if he is involved.

The title text resolves another physics mystery in a similarly unexpected way. Dark matter, another substance that is thought to exist but is considerably less well understood than antimatter, mysteriously interacts via gravity but not, as far as we know, via electromagnetism. The creator seems to reveal that dark matter was supposed to interact with high-energy gamma rays, a form of electromagnetic radiation (which, at least as far as the creator is concerned, would not make it 'dark'), but they forgot to add that property to the substance that we had consequently called "dark matter". Exactly how this follow-up issue was posed is unknown, following the sudden annihilation of much (if not all) matter in Cueball's vicinity, and likely also his own body. However, there is a chance Cueball is safe from this, as the void shown is unknown, and the last panel could display events happening elsewhere in the universe, where the void is safe from such things.

It is uncertain if any more questions could be asked, after this other apparently-intended situation was properly implemented, but they might include something about the nature of dark energy, yet another mystery regarding the nature of the universe in which various after-market 'fixes' could also be particularly problematic.

The creator of the universe in this comic might be the same floating sphere featured in 3085: About 20 Pounds. Talking to a floating sphere/orb or some similarly non-corporeal entity is a recurring subject in xkcd.

Transcript[edit]

This is one of 29 incomplete transcripts:
Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

[Cueball is floating in a void. He is speaking with the creator of the universe, who appears as a black sun symbol.]
Cueball: So you're the creator of the universe?
Creator of the Universe: That's me! So, got any questions?

[Cueball puts his hand to his face as he floats upright.]
Cueball: Oh man, so many. What's the reason for baryon asymmetry? Why is most of the universe matter and not antimatter?

[Cueball's hand is back down he resumes his previous position.]
Creator of the Universe: Crap. Did I forget the antimatter? One sec, let me just…

[Many explosions fill the panel, including a large explosion in the centre.]
BOOM

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This is a test. PoolloverNathan^{[stalk the blue seas]} 20:48, 16 March 2021 (UTC)

A foreign student asked me to help fight against his math teacher. That was unusual. He was in that class for just a couple of weeks. The teacher's phone number was sent to me. The student asked me to spam-call the teacher. 172.71.155.55 22:58, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

here i'm just messing around in html, ignore this

^furhhfghure _{guyrburgryhuyvfr} "rvhru"

interesting way of writing quotations xd

hmmm this one of putting "<p>" in a line break will come in handy for when i want it to start at the same place than the first line

Please beware that <p> on mediawiki also disables automatic paragraph breaks, so you need a closing </p> or you'll break automatic paragraph formatting for the rest of the page. Zmatt (talk) 22:06, 31 July 2024 (UTC)

edit: da hek did that "</div>" come from An user who has no account yet (talk) 14:14, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

hi uh its hard to get here. is this a reference to undocumented feature??? hmm... this is interesting.
108.162.241.216 02:05, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

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yum yum ^{[citation needed]}

Hiuiedeixgeyceiyedhcdiedcve {{trout}}

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<a href=" [AT THE JULY 28TH MEETING][tab] "Cancel the meeting! Our cover is blown."> More testing: hello doesthiswork (yesitdoes) This isn't a good name (talk) 22:44, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

‮hi 164.58.172.158 14:21, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

What is this?????????????????????? King Pando (talk) 04:25, 10 March 2026 (UTC)‭

Hello 107.1.219.44 19:29, 29 April 2026 (UTC)

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25 June 2026

		N 20:02	Talk:3263: Baryon Asymmetry‎‎ (17 changes \| history) . . (+4,647)‎ . . [Logalex8369‎; Jarochar‎; Idanbhk‎; TheusafBOT‎; RG‎; GSLikesCats307‎; 82.132.239.58‎; 82.13.184.33‎; 64.201.132.210‎; 2a0d:6fc7:622:bb15:9189:b3e6:8c3:779e‎; 2a02:2455:1960:4000:e16d:ef33:cc13:79c9‎; 2a00:fbc:e87a:6682:fa9c:c595:1673:92db‎; 81.179.200.152‎ (2×); YZ100‎ (3×)]
			20:02 (cur \| prev) . . (+308)‎ . . Logalex8369 (talk \| contribs)
			19:39 (cur \| prev) . . (+369)‎ . . 81.179.200.152 (talk)
			19:22 (cur \| prev) . . (+156)‎ . . 81.179.200.152 (talk)
			18:08 (cur \| prev) . . (+529)‎ . . 64.201.132.210 (talk) (I exists therefore the universe is the way it is)
			17:49 (cur \| prev) . . (+280)‎ . . Jarochar (talk \| contribs)
			15:55 (cur \| prev) . . (+6)‎ . . YZ100 (talk \| contribs)
			15:55 (cur \| prev) . . (+103)‎ . . YZ100 (talk \| contribs)
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