Difference between revisions of "21: Kepler"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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(Updated template, added statement of Kepler's 2nd law that explains the joke.)
(Explanation)
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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
“Kepler” refers to {{w|Johannes_Kepler|Johannes Kepler}}, a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, best known for his laws of planetary motion. By observing our solar system each night at the same spot, Kepler was able to deduct that planets in the system do not move in a circular direction around the Sun, but rather in an oval way. As you can imagine, this observation was very monotone, and very time-consuming. Hence, if Kepler would have been a cleaner, he'd work consistent and “sweep” the same “area” every night.
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“Kepler” refers to {{w|Johannes_Kepler|Johannes Kepler}}, a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, best known for his laws of planetary motion. By observing our solar system each night at the same spot, Kepler was able to deduct that planets in the system do not move in a circular direction around the Sun, but rather in an elliptical way. According to {{w|Kepler's_laws_of_planetary_motion#Second_law|Kepler's Second Law}}, "A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time."
 
 
More specifically, a standard statement of {{w|Kepler's_laws_of_planetary_motion#Second_law|Kepler's Second Law}} is "A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time."
 
  
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In the comic, the janitor Kepler also sweeps the same area, although in this case "area" is used in the sense of "location" rather than its mathematical definition.
  
 
== Transcript ==
 
== Transcript ==

Revision as of 04:31, 17 August 2012

Kepler
Science joke. You should probably move along.
Title text: Science joke. You should probably move along.

Explanation

“Kepler” refers to Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, best known for his laws of planetary motion. By observing our solar system each night at the same spot, Kepler was able to deduct that planets in the system do not move in a circular direction around the Sun, but rather in an elliptical way. According to Kepler's Second Law, "A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time."

In the comic, the janitor Kepler also sweeps the same area, although in this case "area" is used in the sense of "location" rather than its mathematical definition.

Transcript

[ Two people stand in an aisle in a store ]

Person 1: Nice store. How do you keep the floors so clean?

Person 2: Oh, we hired this dude named Kepler, he's really good hard worker. Doesn't mind the monotony. Sweeps out the same area every night.

Trivia

  • [Original Randall quote]: "Another one which, if you don't get, you're probably better off."


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Discussion

Rikthoff (talk) The date of issue of this comic is off. Does anybody have the correct issue date?

It appears to be accurate; it's the date from Randall's xkcd LiveJournal entry. Blaisepascal (talk) 02:21, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, I fixed the date (to livejournal date) on August 8, 2012 but did not see/update talk page.--B. P. (talk) 18:39, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

I thought it was a reference to the Kepler telescope being pointed in the same direction for a long time, but I don't really know enough to be sure about that 198.41.230.81 02:14, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

It could be, Kepler was planned to be launched around the time this comic was originally published, but it was delayed due to budget cuts. While I think Kepler's Second Law explanation seems more relevant to the joke in the comic, I have updated the explanation and trivia sections to include Project Kepler. 172.68.78.70 18:40, 16 February 2017 (UTC)

There is a community portal discussion of what to call Cueball and what to do in case with more than one Cueball. I have added this comic to the new Category:Multiple Cueballs. Since the store manager Cueball has the interesting part of this comic, I have listed him as Cueball. Just made a note that the other guy also looks like Cueball.--Kynde (talk) 18:13, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

Need title text explanation.162.158.58.123 23:38, 21 October 2017 (UTC)