explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3086: Globe Safety

2025-05-08T08:26:47Z

141.101.98.55: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3086
| date = May 7, 2025
| title = Globe Safety
| image = globe_safety_2x.png
| imagesize = 255x448px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Frankly, given their extreme gravitational fields and general instability, even 12-inch globes should probably be banned.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The {{w|Schwarzschild radius}} of a given object is the radius of the {{w|event horizon}} of a {{w|black hole}} with the mass of that object. The Schwarzschild radius of the earth is about 0.35 inches (0.889 cm), meaning if you could hypothetically compress the Earth into a ball that small it would collapse into a black hole (among other effects).

{{w|Globes}}, in this context, are miniature recreations of planet Earth, in order to show the features of planet Earth on a map without any of the [[977: Map Projections|typical problems of a flat map]]. [[Randall]] claims that globes are manufactured at specific sizes above the Schwarzschild radius of the Earth, as if to suggest any globe of the Earth shares the same mass as the Earth and hence the same Schwarzschild radius. This would indicate that globes are made by creating a literal 1-1 model of Earth and then compressing it until it has a size that fits on a desktop. This would, of course, give the most perfect maps; however, for each globe like this put on Earth, the Earth's mass would increase by its original amount...

The title text suggests that globes down to 12-inches (30.48 cm) should be banned, due to their extreme density and gravitational field. Since they would have the same mass as the Earth, they would exert massive catastrophic gravitational forces on the Earth itself (as well as its satellites, other planets, etc.). However, this would be true for globes of any size, so the 12 inch cut-off would be no less arbitrary than the 4 inch one.

==Transcript==
:[A standard globe of the Earth is shown. It stands on a typical stand which holds it by two arms at the poles, so it can turn around like the Earth does. The Earth is turned so it shows Australia at the bottom and most of Asia, including the entire India to the left. Only the very tip of Alaska can bee seen of the Americas. Above the globe there is a double arrow that goes to two small lines that align with the edges of the globe (indicating the diameter). The arrow has been split in the middle and two lines of text is written in the gab. Above this text there is another line of text.]
:Remember:
:4 inches minimum

:[Beneath the globe there are two small drawings. The left shows the Earth and to the left of the Earth there is a double arrow ending at two lines that indicated the diameter of the Earth going from top to bottom. The distance of this is written in inches to the left. From the Earth an arrow points to another drawing, this time the typical depiction of a black hole, with the "hat" shape. A warning sign is shown a the top right of the black hole with an exclamation mark inside.]
:7/10"
[Caption Below the Panel:]
The Earth's Schwarzschild radius is about 0.35 inches, which is why safety regulations require desktop globes to be at least 4 inches in diameter.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Maps]]

3085: About 20 Pounds

2025-05-08T08:14:40Z

141.101.98.55: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3085
| date = May 5, 2025
| title = About 20 Pounds
| image = about_20_pounds_2x.png
| imagesize = 666x278px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In addition to gravity, burritos interact through the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces, which is believed to be a major contributor to their popularity.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a £20 20-LB PARTICLE. In ludicrous units. Are any categories missing? Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The nature of {{w|dark matter}} is a significant unsolved problem in physics. We observe that galaxies spin faster than we expect based on the nearby observable matter. Likewise galactic motions indicate additional mass that we have not observed in other ways. Dark matter is the name we give to this mass. In the comic, [[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] consult an {{w|oracle}} to learn about dark matter.

The pentacle and candles suggest that the oracle is supernatural, summoned by an occult ritual; something which would present its own challenges to our understanding of the physical world. There may be a pun here, in that they may be using 'dark magic' to communicate with something from the 'dark realm' on the assumption that it will know about dark matter. However, the word 'dark' in dark matter simply means that we do not know how to observe it; we have no evidence that dark matter is evil or satanic (though [[Randall]] may consider it [[:Category:Comics with cursed items|cursed]]). The oracle is used very similarly to how people have been using and customizing {{w|large language model|large language models}}.

In general, not all forces interact with all particles; indeed, {{w|gravity}} is believed to be the only force that interacts with everything we have observed. If a force doesn't interact with a particle, then the particle's existence cannot be directly observed via disturbances in that force. In particular, something that doesn't interact with electromagnetism cannot be 'seen', as photons will pass through it relatively unaffected, and likewise cannot be felt, because collision is a side effect of the {{w|Pauli exclusion principle}}.

Even {{w|neutrino}}s — famous for {{what if|73|interacting with ''almost'' nothing}} — still interact via the {{w|weak force}}, allowing them to be detected with sufficiently large tanks of dense material (as most atoms interact with the weak force, however weakly). This is the main reason neutrinos cannot be dark matter: they interact far too much to be a viable option. A particle that interacts with ''nothing'' except gravity could only be detected by a {{w|LIGO|gravitational telescope}}.

Dark matter is infered from its gravitational interaction with other matter (the evidence for it is in the relative rates of rotation of galaxies, for which no visible evidence of mass is in evidence). While no other form of interaction has yet been observed, terrestrial dark matter experiments are looking for all possible variations of the 'missing mass' that might be detectable by other means. For example, a popular dark matter candidate is a WIMP, or {{w|weakly interacting massive particle}}, which interacts via the {{w|weak nuclear force}}. Dark matter experiments such as XENON build large tanks of liquid xenon with a gaseous top, keep them extremely dark, and look for some way in which passing particles might interact and produce electroluminescent scintillations. There are good theoretical reasons to expect some interaction (i.e. to expect that the oracle in the comic is lying), but there are no sufficiently conclusive results as yet. The most important is the observational fact that dark matter exists (assuming it does) throughout the universe, and would be six times more abundant than baryons (which make up almost all the weight of known matter in the universe). 

There is one dark matter candidate where the only interaction is overwhelmingly gravitational: black holes formed through collapse in the early Universe. These primordial black holes may not be detectable through any terrestrial experiment. However, even these objects can be found through their lensing effects if they are sufficiently large and common to account for the 'missing mass' we are looking for. Black holes of around 10 kg would also (most likely) quickly evaporate through Hawking radiation, so are not a good dark matter candidate. Black holes of around asteroid mass would be extremely hard to detect and are a good dark matter candidate given current information.

The particle's mass is described vaguely as ''about twenty pounds'' (roughly 10 kilograms), in line with how apparently all-knowing oracles legendarily avoid unambiguous statements. This is an absolutely ludicrous amount of energy for particle physics. Any interaction would have to involve an equally ludicrous amount of other particle mass being in exactly the right place and time, a coincidence that might be so rare that one would not expect it to occur ever in the history of the universe. By comparison, the {{w|top quark}}, the heaviest single particle we have observed, with a mass over a hundred times that of the proton, is around a tenth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a pound.

Under more normal circumstances, we might still hope to observe the properties of the particle via creating it ourselves under controlled laboratory conditions. But again, there is no reasonable way to focus the energy required into a single particle interaction. The {{w|Large Hadron Collider|most powerful particle accelerator in the world}}, for example, peaks at about ten thousand times the mass of the proton — a solid billion times less energy than required — so it's out too.

Despite all this, twenty pounds is also much too ''small'' to be detectable via gravitational interaction — its {{w|Perturbation (astronomy)|influence on the orbits of planets}}, say, or the strength of its {{w|gravitational lensing}} effect, would be entirely negligible. In the scenario posed by the comic, then, there is no plausible way to observe more about dark matter while on Earth. Even if we did find some such particles naturally occurring, and had instruments that could measure such small gravitational forces, since it would interact only via gravity, the only properties it could have other than mass would be its decay rates from other particles — which, again, would all be essentially nil, due to its mass.

The oracle proceeds to break expectations by suggesting that Ponytail and Cueball go out for {{w|burrito}}s, something not considered scientific. When faced with the apparent futility of continuing to try to investigate dark matter, the oracle predicts that going out for burritos is precisely as productive as any other approach — i.e., not at all. It justifies the suggestion by burritos being "pretty" good, again neither exactly quantifying the oracularity, and likely not even giving the optimal idea (for choice of food, or of any other "what now?" diversion that it might give).

The title text observes that burritos interact through all four known {{w|fundamental interactions}}, making burritos popular. The electromagnetic force mediates the chemical reactions leading to a burrito's taste, the strong force keeps atomic nuclei together, and gravity gives burritos heft, all of which are helpful for enjoying them. It's hard to see how the weak force, which takes part in radioactive decay, helps with burrito enjoyment or popularity, but the weak force is responsible for the nuclear fusion that allowed the complex elements of the burrito to exist in the first place.

The previous comic [[3084: Unstoppable Force and Immovable Object]] dealt with particles which do not even interact with gravity.
In [[2035: Dark Matter Candidates]] these 20 lb dark matter particles fit between magic 8 balls and space cows. The squirrels that make up [[2186: Dark Matter]] near the earth must be pretty chunky.

Talking to a floating sphere is becoming a returning subject in xkcd. See more about other instances of this on the page for the [[:Category:Time traveling Sphere|Time traveling Sphere]] series.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Ponytail are standing in front of a pentacle with lit candles at the corners. A black sphere, the oracle, is floating above the middle of the pentacle.]
:Ponytail: Dear oracle,
:Ponytail: What is the nature of dark matter?
:Oracle: It's about 20 pounds.

:[Close up of oracle]
:Off-panel: What?
:Oracle: Dark matter is a particle. It weighs about 20 pounds.
:Oracle: It only interacts through gravity.

:[Same view as first panel]
:Cueball: Only gravity, huh?
:Cueball: So none of our experiments are really going to tell us any more about it, then.
:Oracle: Afraid not.

:[Same view as first and third panels, except Cueball lifted his forearm.]
:Cueball: So what do we do?
:Oracle: You should go out for burritos.
:Ponytail: How will that help?
:Oracle: Well
:Oracle: Burritos are pretty good.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Food]]

3080: Tennis Balls

2025-04-24T08:38:47Z

141.101.98.55: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3080
| date = April 23, 2025
| title = Tennis Balls
| image = tennis_balls_2x.png
| imagesize = 411x574px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = After initial tests created a series of large holes in the wall of the lab, the higher-power Scanning Tunneling Tennis Ball Microscope project was quickly shut down.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SCANNING WIKI BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A {{w|scanning electron microscope}} produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons, and interpreting the different signals that are generated in response. Since [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] find electrons too small to work with, they have created a macroscopic version using tennis balls instead. The tennis ball launcher uses a similar mechanism to a scanning electron microscope: it fires tennis balls, instead of electrons, over a wide range of heights, and detects objects obstructing the stream (in this case a person) by the noises generated on impact. However, this would only be 'useful' in scanning things at a macroscopic level, so is not really a microscope.

Megan and Cueball have detected a person using their device, by the fact that it generated two yells during the scan, presumably from impacting the person's face and, er, somewhere further down. They intend to repeat the experiment to determine the person's height, by working out the angle of the tennis balls that generate the yells. Combined with the velocity and time to impact, this should give them enough information to work out the height above ground at impact. The joke is that this height measurement could probably have been completed with a visual assessment, and with far more accuracy than using tennis balls to approximate their height. Most humans do not see using a microscope{{cn}}. This method is also likely to be problematic, as the person would likely duck or run away in response to being bombarded with tennis balls, affecting future measurements. This is known as the {{w|Observer_effect_(physics)|Observer Effect}}.

The title text is a reference to {{w|scanning tunneling microscope}}s, which take advantage of the {{w|quantum tunnelling}} effect. In this case, the tennis balls were actually tunneling through the wall, creating holes in the process, which is not what tunneling electrons would do.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball fires eight tennis ball at varying heights using a tennis ball machine, making four "thunk" noises. Megan is standing behind him.]

:[Ten noises come from the right side of the panel.]
:Bonk
:Bonk
:Bonk
:Bonk
:Bonk
:OW!
:Bonk
:OW!
:Bonk
:Bonk
:[Megan has her hand to her chin.]
:Megan: Ok, there's definitely a person over there. Let's do one more pass to try to measure their height.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Electrons are small and hard to work with, so some scientists have developed a scanning tennis ball microscope instead.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]

3041: Unit Circle

2025-01-26T08:06:27Z

141.101.98.55: /* Explanation */ Randall is probably *more* than aware. Maybe it's an intentional joke, but as "unit square" is never even mentined it probably isn't even that. Best just to explain to those who may have made their own link, unbidden.

{{comic
| number = 3041
| date = January 22, 2025
| title = Unit Circle
| image = unit_circle_2x.png
| imagesize = 325x259px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = They're continuing to search for a square with the same area as the circle, as efforts to construct one have run into difficulties.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Constructed by an IMAGINARY NUMBER OF COMPASSES AND CURVED EDGES. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|unit circle}} is a mathematical concept which is a circle whose radius is one (with no units). Or put another way, the unit circle's radius is itself a unit of measure, hence the name. Thus when doing math problems with a unit circle, all other distances are therefore in terms of the circle's radius: a line with length 3 is three times the radius, a line of length 1/2 is half the radius, and so on. This is very useful in many geometry problems.

This comic shows an expedition of some experts ([[White Hat]], [[Ponytail]], [[Miss Lenhart]] (the mathematician), [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]) having located a "real unit circle": a physical object which somehow is this mathematical idea. Cueball is holding a set of {{w|Calipers#Vernier caliper|vernier calipers}}, precise instruments used to provide an exact measurement of the unit circle. By measuring the "real unit circle", mathematicians could then provide its measurement in whatever ordinary unit they choose, such as centimeters or inches, to textbooks which describe the unit circle. The notion of defining a unit in terms of an actual physical object is actually quite reasonable, as the meter was {{w|Metre#Timeline|officially defined as a length of a specific platinum–iridium bar}} from 1889 to 1960 and the kilogram was defined by the mass of a {{w|International_Prototype_of_the_Kilogram|specific physical object}} until 2019. Doing so with the unit circle would be entirely pointless, however, as the entire purpose of the unit circle is to define mathematical relationships, which can be generalized to any unit, rather than being restricted to a given length.

The title text refers to the old geometry problem of {{w|squaring the circle}}, whereupon one starts with a circle with a known area - for a unit circle, π - and tries to create a square with the same area, traditionally using nothing more than an idealized compass and straightedge. Such a square would have edges measuring √π units in length, and once it was proven that π is a transcendental number, it was definitively known that squaring a circle is impossible. This causes problems for the comic's team of mathematicians, who wished to create such a square to go along with its unit circle but must instead rely upon finding one, presumably using the same approach they used to find this circle. (Note that a {{w|unit square}}, should one also exist, would have edges the same length as the unit circle's radius, and would not have the same area as either of the others.)

==Transcript==
:[White Hat, Ponytail, Miss Lenhart, Cueball, and Megan are standing in a field. White Hat stands behind Ponytail who is holding a notebook and taking notes while looking down at Miss Lenhart who is kneeling and holding her hands on a circular object with the radius marked on it. The radius is pointing away from her towards Cueball standing on the other side. He is holding a large vernier caliper-like measuring instrument with the two arms poised over the object ready to measure its diameter. Behind him Megan is taking a photo of the object with her phone turned sideways.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Math breakthrough: Dimensional analysts have discovered a real unit circle. Once they measure it, units can finally be added to all our geometry textbooks.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Geometry]]

3031: Time Capsule Instructions

2025-01-15T00:58:16Z

141.101.98.55:

{{comic
| number = 3031
| date = December 30, 2024
| title = Time Capsule Instructions
| image = time_capsule_instructions_2x.png
| imagesize = 692x235px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Inside is a third box, labeled DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU ARE IN THE TIME ZONE WHERE YOU OPENED BOTH PREVIOUS BOXES.
}}

==Explanation==

This [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]] sees a New Year party held at a location where a {{w|time capsule}} has clearly been buried, as evidenced by a sign marking the spot. It is likely that this was buried some years ago with the intention of being unearthed at the start of 2025, after some significant number of years have passed, rather than for an indeterminate amount of time (such as was the case in [[1617: Time Capsule]]), with the intent to allow people of a then-future time see what those of that era found interesting to preserve and "send" into the future.

Some form of New Year Celebration is happening near to the Time Capsule site, as indicated by the off-panel noises, probably especially convened at the capsule's site in eager anticipation. [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]], who have already said cheers with their wine glasses, look eagerly on when [[Ponytail]] opens the time capsule.

Not all such projects are kept conspicuously marked, or may lose their signage due to circumstances unanticipated at the time of the original installation, resulting in a surprise (or accidental) unearthing, while others may still be known for what they are (as with the intended time to stay closed) but need to be relocated/reconcealed due to later redevelopment of the location. (There is generally nothing to prevent premature unearthing and opening, perhaps especially to ensure that the contents are not damaged, but often {{w|Blue Peter#Time capsules|efforts are taken}} to best adhere to the original wishes.) To this end, as might be expected of such a time capsule, the box that Ponytail digs out is itself marked that it must not be opened until the year 2025 and it seems that (for the comic) this is the case, and at least part of the reason for the gathering.

Within the capsule, however, is a second container (a not atypical precaution), but this one has the instruction to not open after 2024, which is a far less obvious element for a time capsule (though various supplies, from [[2178: Expiration Date High Score|packaged food]] to [[2297: Use or Discard By|signal flares]], may have a similar requirement). Obeying the instruction for opening the first box has entirely precluded obeying that given as a prerequisite for opening the second... at least without using some form of time-travel. This could be either be a mundane twist of the circumstances (changing reference calendars or time-zones), or else require actual time-travel, but it is unlikely that they have [[1203: Time Machines|any practical solution]] prepared to use to overcome this twist.

The title text makes the situation more similar to {{w|Matryoshka dolls}}, where boxes are recursively stacked, with a third label having another restriction. This new label alludes to one of the ways one can open the first two boxes without ignoring the instructions: by crossing time zones. When more easterly-referenced locations have become the 1st of January 2025, it will (for a short while) still be the 31st of December 2024 in more westerly ones (the boundaries themselves might be any orientation, not just north-south; the whole concept inverts across the International Date Line, before even considering hour-shift differences), meaning that theoretically someone could open the first box in a time zone where it is 2025 and then quickly travel to one in which it is still 2024 to open the second box. Depending upon where the capsule was located, timely travel opportunities ''may'' be possible, but it seems unlikely to have been something anticipated by the recipients of the task.

However, the title text implies that if you take advantage of this loophole, you will not then be allowed to open a third box inside the second box, as the instructions for ''that'' box requires that you have opened the first two boxes in the same time zone. You must not open the third (and final?) container unless you opened both previous boxes in the same time zone as you are now, which is not compatible with having changed location to get to this point.

===Potential solutions===

Depending on interpretation, you could defeat the third box by placing it inside two time zones at once before opening it, as there is no time limit on the third box. This works if the instruction on the box is read as "unless you are in the time zone where you opened the first box, and you are in the time zone where you opened the second box". However, this new loophole could be patched by interpreting the third box as "unless you are in the ''one'' time zone where...".

How to be considered to be simultaneously covered by two time-zones (in a way that you can [[2846: Daylight Saving Choice|choose which to observe]]) is left up to the reader, although another variation of this solution would be to change the calendar used as point of reference, as {{w|Calendar era|many calendars}} use a lower year than the Gregorian calendar, or is [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crl3grgg9zeo offset by a few days], and you could justify changing the date (if not the hour) that you consider true. Or perhaps mix and match calendar traditions that consider a day (and therefore a calendar date) to start only at dawn, rather than at astronomical/geopolitical midnight.

Perhaps the solution would be for both the box and the person opening it to be on the boundary between two time zones, half in each. Or, depending on how one interprets the nature of Daylight Saving Time, there may be another solution. In Australia, {{w|Northern Territory}} and {{w|South Australia}} are in the same time zone (by the most common interpretation of the word) and border each other, but only the latter uses Daylight Saving Time; similarly, {{w|Queensland}} does not use Daylight Saving Time but is in the same time zone (by the most common interpretation of the word) as multiple Australian territories that do use Daylight Saving Time, including {{w|New South Wales}}, with which Queensland shares a border. This suggests the idea of opening the first box in South Australia or New South Wales then taking it north of the (latitudinal) DST boundary without crossing any (longitudinal) time zone boundaries; one will then have up to an hour to open the second box and then as long as one wants to open the third box. However, Randall [[:Category:Daylight saving time|has historically expressed opposition to Daylight Saving Time]], so he might not count the first opening as occurring in 2025 if that year has already started only by virtue of Daylight Saving Time.

Without any tricksy thinking and assuming we may not have the box nor the person opening the box in two time zones at the same time, a semantic loophole presents itself. The title text refers to "you" and not the box, while the instructions on the first and seconds boxes can be reasonably assumed to apply only to the time zone that the box itself is in. The box could be moved from one time zone to the other by the use of, as an example, a robotic arm, then opened, and then brought to the time zone that the person controlling the robotic arms is in. Alternatively, if two different people opened the first two boxes in the respective time zones, the "you" would then have to be reconsidered as plural, and, since both people could stay in their respective time zones, the third box could be opened.

Some of the above solutions might only be used if you already knew of the instructions on the boxes, unless it was previously dug into one of the relevant locations (and, depending upon the 'author' of the box-puzzle, this may have also been anticipated and be an intended part of the puzzle). Even getting the second box open following instructions would require it was possible to travel fast enough and far enough to reach a second New Year, which is not easily guaranteeable on the spur of the moment. This is definitely possible if you plan for it, but whether this disinterment party was prepared is unlikely.

Having made the initial two openings in different locations, another possibility is to choose either location (it being easiest to remain where you were allowed to open the second box) and having removed all boxes from any prior host containers, close the box that is now out-of-zone. You can now either take the box's mandate as dealt with, and expired, or avoid any quibbles by waiting just long enough for the now-closed 2025 box to once more experience 2025 in the second box's locale, permiting you to re-open it and fulfil the requirements of the third.

In any case it seems more likely that normal people, having taken the initial instruction at its word, would ignore any new [[2841: Sign Combo|contradictory rules]]. The original rule that the Time Capsule should remain closed until 2025 is the one that makes sense. So after opening the first at the right time, one could just disregard the words on the boxes (or at least Randall's interpretation of them); there is probably not some kind of [[242: The Difference|magical enforcement mechanism]]. Also it seems likely this was just a prank so there will be nothing interesting inside, but one might fear some kind of booby trap, or a [[325: A-Minus-Minus|bobcat]]. So there could be some kind of enforcement mechanism.

Considering when the comic was published, however, a full day prior to ''any'' territory having actually celebrated the arrival of 2025, one might imagine that this is ''not'' an upcoming scenario, but one that has happened/is happening already. In this case, it suggests that the party (both diggers-up and associated party-goers) were fully aware of some of the stipulations they were to be subject to and (impatiently, or at even just as cleverly as the initial burier of the boxes) arbitrarily marked the arrival of 2025 ''early'' to 'justify' the opening the outer box. They could then conveniently reconsider their schedule, continuing now on the basis of acting prior to the end of 2024, and have no further trouble with either of the inner instructions (opening the next box before the ''official'' arrival of 2025 would be simplicity, and any antecedent calendar reinterpretations could be considered logically separated from any prohibitive change in location and/or time-zone).

There is also the question of a hypothetical fourth box, which, given that there was a third box, there is no reason that there shouldn't be a fourth, probably with a label designed to better shut down some of these potential solutions. And maybe it's [[1557: Ozymandias|boxes all the way down]]!

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are clinking wine glasses while Ponytail is digging with a shovel under a sign standing on two legs next to Ponytail. From the off-panel to the left several voices are shouting. On the sign are two large words above two lines of unreadable lines of text.]
:Off-panel voices: <big>''Happy New Year!''</big>
:Sign: <big>Time</big> Capsule

:[A dirty box with a hasp closing it. There is a label on the lid:]
:Do not open until 2025

:[Cueball and Megan, holding their wine glasses, look over Ponytail's shoulder as she crouches down in front of the box and opens it with an audible sound. The shovel is standing behind the box, dug into the ground.]
:Click

:[The open box is shown revealing that it contains a second, pristine box with a similar label:]
:Do not open after 2024

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:New Year]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Time]]

2794: Alphabet Notes

2023-06-27T16:41:57Z

141.101.98.55: /* Transcript */ Transcript needs better organisation, too.

{{comic
| number = 2794
| date = June 26, 2023
| title = Alphabet Notes
| image = alphabet notes.png
| titletext = Listen, you're very cute, but if you rearrange the alphabet to put U and I together it will RUIN the spacing!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD U&I JOKE. Do NOT rearrange the alphabet too soon. Need more on MN!}}
This comic is a joke about the {{w|English alphabet}}, a {{w|Latin-script alphabet}} used to write modern English. It is organized around an A to Z alphabet, in black block letters, from left to right. Around it are many red annotations:

#At the top, the vowels are listed. Randall apparently likes how these are spaced. He places a question mark near Y, as it sometimes functions as a vowel but sometimes functions as a consonant as well. Plus he seems to think the last five letters (maybe even six) of the alphabet should have been left out, see below.
#"A" is described favorably as the start.
#Randall considers the early consonants other than "D" to be ok, but rather weak.
#The words "hi" and "no", which both appear uninterrupted when the letters of the English alphabet are listed from A-Z, are highlighted.
#That "ij" (in lowercase) may be considered friends because they both have dots in the lowercase version. No other characters are given lowercase treatment, however, to ''prove'' that these two are the only (common versions of) glyphs which cannot be written with a single press of the pen against the page. The separate dots and main strokes could also be interpreted as the heads and torsos of two reductionist character drawings. The symbols "i" and "j" are the respective mathematical and electrical-engineering notations of the {{w|Imaginary unit|square root of -1}}, and so may be considered both professionally and personally in a close relationship, as well as neighbours. There is also a {{w|Digraph (orthography)|digraph}}, or unconnected {{w|Ligature (writing)#Dutch IJ|ligature}}, of "ij" (or "IJ", as a leading capital) used as a letter in its own right (considered distinct from either "i" or "j") in the Netherlands.
#"Jk" ("just kidding") is an abbreviation originating from instant messaging, as is "LOL" (for "laughing out loud").
#In the standard "{{w|Alphabet song|alphabet song}}" for the US (sung to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"), most letters occur upon the beat of an easy and sedate tempo. But to scan ''and'' rhyme, the letters L-O are run through at double the tempo, with perhaps P best considered to cross two of the quick beats that end this musical phrase.
#MN is the middle of the alphabet an Randall muses on this and the words that contain MN together in that order ... More details needed!
#Randall considers the placement of "Q" strange. He may even consider the existence of "Q" strange, perhaps because the sound "Q" denotes in English could be replaced with the digraph "KW". "C" and "X" are also replaceable with single or multiple alternate characters in English. These include "S" or "K" for the former ("accent" could perhaps be re-written as "aksent") and "(C)KS" (e.g. "ax(e)" as "aks") or "Z" (regarding "xylophone" or any "xeno-" word). But these, and other orthographic inconsistencies, are not obviously called out by Randall.
#Randall considers "RST" a strong cluster of consonants. Both "strong" and "cluster" include the letters R, S and T.
#Randall seems to be confused about "VW", it could refer to {{w|Volkswagen}}, or he might wonder why "W" is called "double U" rather than "double V". Or why both are needed.
#Randall questions whether "X" is even a letter. It is the Roman numeral for 10, though he does not complain about C, D, I, L, M or V in the same way so he is most likely talking of ''x'' as used in algebraic contexts. Alternatively, he could simply be talking about the appearance of the letter "X".
#The comment that the alphabet may have been better if it had stopped at "T" is likely a reference to the fact that {{w|Phoenician alphabet|the original Phoenician script}}, which is the ancestor of many modern scripts including English, had as its last letter {{w|Taw}}, which the modern letter "T" is derived from. It is still the last letter of the modern Hebrew alphabet, although the Greek alphabet added several letters after it, some of which persist into modern English. Randall seems to believe that the Phoenician script was fine as-is and that the letters U-Z are weird and/or unnecessary.

The title text makes a joke about the pick-up line "If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put 'U' and 'I' together.", where the letters "U" and "I" are pronounced like the pronouns "you" and "I". It is such a corny act of flirtation that any recipient of it could easily have a rejection (''or'' a flirty acceptance, if they so wish) ready to respond with in an appropriate vein. As well as reflecting the diagram's noted preference for well-spaced vowels, it might be presumed that anyone (unironically) using the "U and I" line might be left dumbfounded at the rather technical nature of the riposte. This pickup line was also the subject of [[1069: Alphabet]]. The word "ruin" does indeed have 'u' and 'i' together.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[A list of the letters of the alphabet, from A to Z, in black]
:ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

:[A red line above the letters, with tick marks and their associated vowels at A, E, I, O, and U. Y has a question mark instead of a tick.]
:Love the spacing between the vowels!

:[Red annotations near various letters.]

:A: Strong start!
:BCD, FG: Decent consonants but no real heavy hitters here in the first third ("D" is solid, at least)
:HI: Hi!
::IJ: [additional lowercase "ij" given, in red]: The dotted letters are friends!
:JK: Jk (lol)
:LMNOP: Part that's fun to sing
::Weird how the line between "M" and "N" is the halfway mark.
::They're similar, but "MN" only shows up in fancy words like "mnemonic", "column", "amnesty", and "hymn", significance??
:NO: No
:Q: Why is this ''here?''
:RST: Strong cluster!
:U: Weirdest of the main 5 vowels by far
:VWXYZ: Haunted letters (keep out!!)
:VW: ??
:X: Not sure this is even a letter. Did you include a number by mistake?
::...Listen.
::Maybe we should've stopped at "T".

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Design notes on the alphabet

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

2504: Fissile Raspberry Isotopes

2021-08-19T21:10:55Z

141.101.98.55: /* Explanation */ Yes, I get the distinct tone that the pies aren't necessarily an epicurian fantasia. (Even without fissile threats!)

{{comic
| number = 2504
| date = August 18, 2021
| title = Fissile Raspberry Isotopes
| image = fissile_raspberry_isotopes.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Grandma's shelf-stable blackberry pie meson recipe was a huge seller until her farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NUCLEAR FARM INVESTIGATOR. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Ponytail]] is admiring her {{w|raspberry}} fields telling [[Cueball]] she expects a good harvest... That is if they do not get too many fissile raspberry isotopes! To which Cueball has to ask ''Too many '''whats?'''''

The comic is thus a joking analogy to {{w|nuclear chain reactions}}, in which the {{w|nuclear fission|fission}} (splitting in two) of one {{w|atomic nucleus}} releases {{w|neutrons}}, which then strike other nuclei and cause them in turn to fission, releasing more neutrons. This chain reaction releases a great deal of energy and is what makes possible both {{w|nuclear power}} and {{w|nuclear bombs}}.

A {{w|fissile isotope}}, such as {{w|uranium-235}}, is one that is sufficiently large and unstable to undergo such a chain reaction, as opposed to the more common and stable {{w|uranium-238}}. Ponytail fear that her raspberries have too many unstable isotopes so that her fields risk undergoing a similar fission-driven chain reaction. This chain reaction is depicted in the second panel, and she explains that if this happens the entire crop may be gone in seconds. It sounds like this is only dangerous for her economy, i.e. all the berries is destroyed, but not the entire field. So not an explosion that destroys her field or any living thing nearby, but the berries would be unsalable.

Of course, in real life raspberries don't do that.{{Citation needed}} As an {{w|aggregate fruit}}, raspberries resemble [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Nucleus_drawing.svg/1024px-Nucleus_drawing.svg.png|common depictions of atomic nuclei], with each ovary corresponding to a nucleon (proton or neutron), which is probably why they are the subject of the comic. (The actual "appearance" of atomic nuclei, in contrast to the common depictions, is complicated by Heisenbergian uncertainty, quantum effects, and strong nuclear force interactions.) Perhaps these raspberries are byproducts of the experiments depicted in [[1949: Fruit Collider]].

This comic is also a pun on "pi mesons" or {{w|pions}}, subatomic particles that transmit the {{w|strong nuclear force}}, and the similarity in name to a {{w|pie}}, the food type, as in a {{w|raspberry pie}}. The transmission of the strong nuclear force happens most importantly in the atomic nucleus and is responsible for keeping the nucleus intact, ''i.e.'', preventing it from undergoing fission despite the strong repulsive {{w|electromagnetic force}} present from all the positively-charged {{w|protons}}.

Ponytail claims that her berries are protected (bound) by fresh raspberry pie mesons. Cueball states he hopes they hold, but Ponytail is confident as these pies are made from her grandma's recipe, ''i.e.'', it is actually a fresh pie made from the berries. The faith in the pie recipe being able to impede the danger references the convention of "Just like Grandma used to make", nostalgia for an infallible cookery ancestor, in this case a hallowed family recipe that acts to {{w|Neutron moderator|mitigate}} any budding {{w|Aggregate fruit|'berry'}} chain-reaction. [[2366: Amelia's_Farm_Fresh_Cookies|Grandma's baking]] is not always so fondly remembered and, in this case, it could be some (in)famous inertness and solidity to the product that is reassuring, not any form of cullinary excellence.

The title text mentions that the grandma's recipe was a huge seller, but that then the farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation. This refers to the {{w|Food and Drug Administration}} (FDA) and the {{w|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} (NRC). The FDA is responsible for the regulation and inspection of food in the U.S., and the NRC for the regulation and inspection of nuclear facilities and materials. A hypothetical "blackberry pie meson" might well run afoul of both, being both nuclear and therefore subject to NRC regulations and permitting requirements, and unhealthy to eat and thus violating FDA rules. The FDA took a similarly incongruous interest in physics in the title text of [[2216: Percent Milkfat]].

It is mentioned that the pies were {{w|Shelf-stable food|shelf stable}}, which means it can last a long time without being in a refrigerator. This may be because of its innate radioactivity keeping it free from germs. This may also explain why they were shut down by both the above-mentioned agencies.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in a field, looking at rows of crops disappearing in the distance over rolling hills.]
:Ponytail: I reckon it'll be a good harvest.
:Ponytail: So long as we don't get too many fissile raspberry isotopes.
:Cueball: Too many ''whats''?

:[In a half height panel is shown a picture of a raspberry with an arrow to a situation where it is splitting in to two equal parts. From the split there also comes two small ovaries flying out as shown with arrows. Below these two situations is a smaller sketch of how one of these two ovaries will eventually hit another raspberry, which will send out three ovaries when splitting, two of those hitting other berries, that each send out two ovaries. The lower of these are not depicted hitting any, but the upper split hits two again, which each send out two, in an ongoing chain reaction. The depiction stops there. Above this panel is what Ponytail tells Cueball:]
:Ponytail (narrating): If a raspberry breaks in half, it releases fragments which can cause more splits. Within seconds you've lost the whole crop.

:[Ponytail and Cueball are standing in an empty panel talking.]
:Ponytail: Luckily the berries are bound by fresh raspberry pie mesons.
:Cueball: I hope they hold.
:Ponytail: It's my grandma's recipe. They'll hold.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]
[[Category:Puns]]

Talk:2503: Memo Spike Connector

2021-08-18T21:18:50Z

141.101.98.55:

Just made my first ever wiki edit! There was no text yet so I filled in some basic info. I guarantee what I wrote will be removed though :( . Oh well, I tried! [[User:Zman350x|Zman350x]] ([[User talk:Zman350x|talk]]) 15:20, 16 August 2021 (UTC)
:Your first edit inspired me to my own first edit. Maybe at the end there will be a good article made entirely by noobs. :) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.115|172.68.110.115]] 16:33, 16 August 2021 (UTC)
::Seems like some parts of your edits have survived, to what seems close to a final version now. Any start on an explanation is difficult so cool that you are now on the editing team ;-) I make a lot of edits, but is not typically the one that makes the actual explanation, more keeping the format and making small improvements --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:20, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
:: :o --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.229|172.69.22.229]] 10:55, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

In restaurants these are not used for orders for the kitchen. Those are usually put on an order wheel or ticket holder, which have clips that the order can easily pulled out of. The spike is at the checkout counter, and it's used after the bill is paid. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:57, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

Do we want to mention the vampire taps in both the article and trivia? Cause that's how it currently is. [[User:Zman350x|Zman350x]] ([[User talk:Zman350x|talk]]) 21:27, 16 August 2021 (UTC)
:No. Have removed trivia. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:20, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

My first comment too! Where it says... "The implication is that any cable can be connected to any other cable as a form of universal adapter/splitter/combiner"... That's not the title text joke. It's that a device like an iPad could also be impaled on the spike, making electrical connection to its innards. It says nothing about cable to cable connections. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.18|108.162.246.18]] 21:47, 16 August 2021 (UTC)
:Didn't see this comment until I intervened, under the same impression, but I totally agree. Looked like an orphan comment intended for the pre-titletext 'explanation'. Still valid, and rather than move it I expanded it to fit better where it is. Doubt it'll be the 'final' version, though. (Anecdotal explanation of my thinking: If I put my tablet down on my opened laptop, it'll sometimes 'agitate' the laptop trackpad. Technically I could probably get the tablet to control this inbuilt mouse deliberately through whatever ¿field-effect? is interacting with the ¿capacitative? finger-sensor. I am imagining something like this (only more puncturing!) is what is 'promised' if I impale two otherwise incompatible devices on the same spike. But also lets one connect otherwise incompatible cables to further cables/devices. Like I don't have an ethernet dongle that works with the tablet, but spike them both and I'd be laughing.... Right?) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.202|172.69.54.202]] 03:14, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
::The title text is also about old types of cables and not just smartphones and tablet. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:20, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

This explanation does not answer the one question I came here to find the answer to, namely why it is named “memo spike.” [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.79|108.162.219.79]] 03:19, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
:Some (not me, but that's because I've never used one in anger, maybe) seem to call the non-connector thing that the connector is based around a "memo spike". Apparently one can impale successive memos (in a memo-heavy administration job?) upon the spike and then later thread a chord (or treasury tag?) through the holes to perpetuate their 'spiked collection' status. It's possible there are other names (like: thumb-tack <=> drawing pin), but this is how Randall identifies it. Better than "that thing you spike paper onto - but now with ''power!!!111oneoneone''", etc... 'Though YMMV. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.253|141.101.76.253]] 03:56, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

The detail on the free cable end is more clearly visible in the [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/memo_spike_connector_2x.png double-sized image version], suggesting that it isn't just a coax. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 04:28, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
:It is actually the x2 version that is now showed per default on the xkcd page, and thus it is that one that should be used here on xkcd.. ie. the one you are presented with on xkcd. Have uploaded that version to explain now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:20, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
::"It is actually the x2 version that is now showed per default on the xkcd page" - you're wrong about that. The x2 is an optional image if the markup-linked code decides it wants to make it the embedded image. Maybe that becomes default in your case, but don't assume it's true for everyone, all the time. (You can break the explainxkcd page rendering for people, like me, if you force a typical x2 image into here, even when xkcs original is sane ''and'' allows deliberate zooming.)
::My suggestion in this case/similar is to clip the detail from the x2 to highlight the feature and embed this exact bit in the explanation, if you want to make sure everyone sees the high-res version of that bit in particular. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.137|141.101.105.137]] 13:41, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
::I have added an imagesize parameter, so it renders with the 'standard' size while keeping the detail from the 2x version when viewing the file's page. [[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 16:32, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

Possibly a reference to the 1987 movie RoboCop; the titular character had a similar looking data spike used to interface with OCP computers. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.225|172.70.130.225]] 19:16, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
:Similar looking? It's a spike, which is action-relevent at another point in the movie (or maybe franchise, if I'm thinking of some sequel/requel scene). But not (if I'm not missing anything by my dotty memory) a thing with a round base that acts to vampire-tap cables. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.170|162.158.111.170]] 02:23, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
:: [https://i.stack.imgur.com/KdpTF.png This here] looks pretty much like the comic to me and it is a data connector. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.150|162.158.74.150]] 18:54, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
:: I would concur in that "It's a spike". Yes used (there) for data, but [https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/x_men_funny.jpg it's just a sharp pointy thing], in the way that all rockets are phallic, and only looks like a ''bit'' of the connector. You could equally try [https://tron.fandom.com/wiki/Identity_Disc some other thing] to part-compare with on the same basis. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.55|141.101.98.55]] 21:18, 18 August 2021 (UTC)

It would be interesting to get a list of cable types for which this could actually work in some circumstances.
Also how would the device deal with multiple cables being impaled on it as in the picture? How would the information be separated? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.244|162.158.91.244]] 07:42, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
:Even with one cable, it would need to be a majority-insulating spike with a myriad of pin-prick conductive patches arrayed (like a ring-barelled audio+ connector, but radially distinct also) each ready to leach one and ony one bit of bare copper (though a wire may/should touch multiple spike-patches) without bridging to another.
:All these would need bundling into the base - or maybe with very clever in-spike isolation/relaying conductor paths - for any currents to be assessed and sorted and build up a logical picture of whhat the few contact-patches that are contacting wire are actually contacting (perhaps moment to moment, as movements of the impaled cable happen).
:For 'passive' wires in the bundle, maybe tentative pulses can detect the altered capacitance/impedance they give the patch-spots, then (from clues based upon any active signals) a complex and careful handshaking attempt would need to auto-negotiate which kind of auto-negotiating might be expected by the device(s) at the other end(s) of the cable.
:Hopefully enough connections exist to operate any particular carrier-cable correctly (single-pair +/-, or ground/pos/sig+/sig-, or DA+/DA-/DB+/DC-/DC+/DB-/DD+/DD-, or whatever), and with enough current capacity without cross-conductor signal-lraking (either physically or inductively). Adding a second cable (which may jostle the first, requiring hot/on-the-fly reinterpretation of its patch-mapping and capabilities therefrom) just repeats the process with previously untouched patch-contacts.
:...and if you can get that working. You're welcome to the patent. A similarly dynamic 'induction/inducer clamp' version might be my own prefered choice, but probably also difficult to get working well (for different reasons). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.253|141.101.98.253]] 12:30, 18 August 2021 (UTC)

511: Sleet

2014-08-17T18:07:14Z

141.101.98.55: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 511
| date = December 1, 2008
| title = Sleet
| image = sleet.png
| titletext = I mean, I can barely hear myself complaining about Battlestar Galactica.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Define sleet, I think it has different meanings in different dialects}}
[[Megan]] is seen leaving an apartment, trudging through {{w|Sleet|foul weather}}. The dialog is likely her thoughts, rather than speech. She is fed up with the second person's (hereafter [[Cueball]]) endless discussion of {{w|Digital rights management}} (DRM). She probably agrees with Cueball's position, but would rather face the weather than his endless rehashing of the issue. In the last panel, {{w|Free Culture (book)|Free Culture}} is a book by {{w|Lawrence Lessig}}, who advocates for fewer restrictions in many areas.

In the title text, the science-fiction TV series {{w|Battlestar Galactica}} produces strong reactions among {{w|Geek|geeks}}.

==Transcript==
:[Rainy, cold, windy street; Megan is walking along street; narration is from Megan's point-of-view.]
:The weather outside is frightful.
:I hate trudging through the icy slush and biting sleet.
:But it beats lying in our warm, cozy bed
:Listening to you talk about DRM for hours on end.
:Offscreen: Come back! Just listen to this one quote from ''Free Culture!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

Talk:511: Sleet

2014-08-17T18:05:26Z

141.101.98.55: Created page with "What is sleet in Randall's dialect? Ice pellets or a mixture of rain and snow? ~~~~"

What is sleet in Randall's dialect? Ice pellets or a mixture of rain and snow? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.55|141.101.98.55]] 18:05, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:399: Travelling Salesman Problem

2014-08-17T17:05:48Z

141.101.98.55:

Does anyone remember if the Brown Hat appears in any other comics?
: I'm not sure, so I created a category and page for him, let's see if that catches any others. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 22:04, 29 March 2013 (UTC)
::According to the transcript we have two different Brown Hat Guys here. I'm working on this.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:49, 5 October 2013 (UTC)
:::I'm inclined to think that Brown Hat is specific to this comic, the brown hat being the 50's style homburg or fedora common to salesmen trying to look respectable... Randall likely added the hats to depict folks from a bygone era, (one of whom has caught up with the trend.) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 01:49, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

It's probably not in the least important, but the network appears to be a collection of key cities in the US arranged by geographical location. [[Special:Contributions/130.160.145.185|130.160.145.185]] 23:07, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

added a better explanation of the title text. -- Nick,5 Oct 2013 {{unsigned ip|69.193.7.67}}

Has anyone answered the question in the title text? --[[User:Ricketybridge|Ricketybridge]] ([[User talk:Ricketybridge|talk]]) 23:55, 9 January 2014 (UTC)
:"it is bitter news that in the forty years since Held and Karp no better guarantee <nowiki>[than n^2.2^n]</nowiki> has been found for the problem" [http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/tsp/methods/progress/progress.htm]. So whereas linear programming techinques tend to be quicker than other algorithms, they have not been shown to be better than O(n^2.2^n).[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.55|141.101.98.55]] 17:05, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

Doesn't someone at ebay still have to solve the TSP? I guess that's the entire point though. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.85.223|141.101.85.223]] 08:48, 27 July 2014 (UTC)
:No because you can send your sales information to all customers at once because they come to you, electronically. It takes no longer for you to be viewed by 100 people than by one person. Thus O(1). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.55|141.101.98.55]] 17:05, 17 August 2014 (UTC)