explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1903: Bun Trend

2020-04-16T11:33:33Z

172.69.22.170: well it's true

{{comic
| number = 1903
| date = October 16, 2017
| title = Bun Trend
| image = bun_trend.png
| titletext = Our experts have characterized the ecological impact of this trend as "adorable."
}}

==Explanation==

In this comic, [[Beret Guy]] takes his bun shenanigans to the state government, reporting to the governor that the number of buns around the capitol has shown a rapid increase. The governor is confused, then finally comes to grasp that Beret Guy is talking about {{w|rabbit}}s, lots of which can be seen if he would just go outside (by the way, there is a ''small'' one '''RIGHT NOW'''!).

Elections in the United States often have a blank spot on the ballot for the voter to write the name of a {{w|write-in candidate}}. Beret Guy thinks he works for the governor because he wrote his name in on the ballot. This does not mean that he actually works for the governor. This is typical of his naive understanding of the world.

The governor finally takes appropriate action by calling security, and Beret Guy confronts his fate with poise and honor. Indeed, the readiness with which he accepts his removal almost seems to suggest that he doesn't belong, which would be an unusual level of awareness for his character. Alternatively, Beret Guy might have misinterpreted the governor's request for security as a question for whether he works in security, or simply ignorance. This also may be an ironic reference to the rapid turnover in the current President's staff.

"Buns" have been mentioned previously in [[1682: Bun]] and [[1871: Bun Alert]].

Beret Guy's uncertain position in the government is very similar to the way he treats and operates his business.

In the title text, experts characterize the ecological impact of the large amount of bunnies as "adorable" instead of giving information on how the rabbits are affecting the environment.

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy holds a stick and points at a board next to him. The board contains a picture of a rabbit, a data point graph and other notes.]
:Beret Guy: Good morning, Governor. Our tracking systems show a rapid increase in the number of buns around the Capitol.

:[Hairy is sitting at an office desk and facing Beret Guy in a frameless panel.]
:Hairy: Buns?
:Beret Guy: Yes; there's been a long-term upward trend, but it has accelerated recently.
:Hairy: The trend in... rabbits.
:Beret Guy: Yes.

:[Beret Guy takes out his phone.]
:Hairy: So... so what?
:Beret Guy: So if you want to see some buns, there are lots of them outside!
:[Beret Guy's phone vibrates]
:Phone: ''beep!''
:Beret Guy: Ooh!
:Beret Guy: There's a small one right now!

:[Zoom-in on Beret Guy.]
:Hairy (offscreen): Do you... actually ''work'' for me?
:Beret Guy: Almost certainly. We had an election, right? I wrote my name in on the thing.
:Hairy (offscreen): Security?
:Beret Guy: It's been an honor to serve.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Buns]]
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]

2294: Coronavirus Charts

2020-04-16T08:37:10Z

172.69.22.170: /* Explanation */ links

{{comic
| number = 2294
| date = April 15, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Charts
| image = coronavirus_charts.png
| titletext = Adding data for South Korea but with their cases scaled to match the population of Japan and the land area of Australia, and vice versa.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a poorly constructed graph. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
During the current outbreak of COVID-19, there have been many graphs used by health officials and others to show trends in infection and death rates.

This graph, however, while sharing similarities with actual data and graphs is completely useless. This is due to the bizarre data-points being used, as well as the unhelpful graph axes. The caption of the comic notes as much, perhaps indicating that this comic is intended to satirize the useful, but exceptionally detailed graphs that are currently in use. Some of these graphs have a semilog scale, like this graph - but generally the y-axis is the log scale and the x-axis is not. Sometimes the other graphs compare things of vastly different sizes - as demonstrated by showing both the USA and New York. Sometimes they scale the data to population, as referenced by the mouseover text.

'''Metrics used'''

X-axis:
*Negative test results: Negative [https://covidtracking.com/ test results] would refer to people who were tested for COVID-19, but who do not have the disease (or were not able to confirm having the disease). Larger values for this number indicate that more of the population has been tested.
* per Google search for "COVID": Meanwhile, [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%203-m&q=covid Google search results for "COVID"] are search hits for that word. There is no relation between these two, and furthermore, it does not make sense for this to be graphed in a {{w|logarithmic scale}}.
* It's not clear what data points would allow you to chart one country over several values of x. Cumulative results at different times?

Y-axis:
*[https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/#daily-deaths Coronavirus deaths today]: The 24/7 news media spend a lot of time talking about daily numbers and day-over-day trends.
*[https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/#total-cases Total cases] one week ago: This is a much larger number than deaths and will completely dominate the sum. Cases one week ago might have some predictive value for deaths today or in the near future, but adding them together double-counts many cases.
*{{w|Per capita}}: This is a measure of the amount per person, and is useful for averaging out numbers based on population size. For example, the United States has the most COVID-19 cases and deaths, but also one of the largest populations in the world, so using per capita numbers tells a different story.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A graph is drawn.]
:[A curve labeled "United States" starts about halfway up the vertical axis, rises almost to the top, and then levels off about a third of the way along the horizontal axis.]
:Y-axis label: Coronavirus deaths today plus total cases one week ago per capita
:X-axis label: Negative test results per Google search for "COVID" (log scale)
:Caption: I'm a huge fan of weird graphs, but even I admit some of these coronavirus charts are less than helpful.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]

2293: RIP John Conway

2020-04-14T07:38:39Z

172.69.22.170: rewrote summary of the rules. More specific. Too specific?

{{comic
| number = 2293
| date = April 13, 2020
| title = RIP John Conway
| image = rip_john_conway.gif
| titletext = 1937-2020
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GLIDER. Needs more in-depth explanation of how the Game Evolves, possibly with stills from the GIF. Should also expand more on why Conway is a person of note. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|John Horton Conway|John Conway}}, an English mathematician, passed away of {{w|COVID-19}}. Two days later, [[Randall]] created this memorial comic. One of Conway's most famous creations was {{w|Conway's Game of Life}}, which consists of a grid of square cells with rules for how they change over time.

In a given generation, each cell can either be ''alive'' or ''dead'' (empty). To compute the grid for the next generation, each cell is affected only by the eight cells adjacent to it, orthogonally and diagoonally. Those are its neighbors. The rules are:
*A live cell with no live neighbors, or only one neighbor, will die of isolation.
*A life cell with four or more live neighbors will die of overcrowding.
*Therefore, the only cells that survive have exactly two or three live neighbors.
*In addition, a new cell is "born" in each empty cell with exactly three live neighbors.

Although the rules are simple, enormously complex patterns can develop from them, such as "still lifes" (which do not change over generations), "oscillators" (which cycle repeatedly through a set of patterns over a specific period), and "spaceships" (which reproduce their own pattern at an offset from the original).

This comic begins with the shape of a stick figure as the starting configuration, which then evolves according to the rules of the Game of Life. The pattern breaks into three parts, two of which stay at the same level as the original figure's feet before rapidly melting away, and a third (called a "glider") that ascends up and to the right. Randall may be suggesting a soul breaking away from the rapidly disintegrating corporeal remains here.

The initial state of the game presented in the comic *does*, in fact, evolve as depicted, according to the rules above.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A pixelated image of a stick figure. The image is animated, with the pixels changing according to the rules of Conway's Game of Life. The figure splits into two groups, one of which dissipates. The other becomes a 'glider' and moves off to the top-right corner of the image and out of frame. The animation then repeats.]

{| class="wikitable"
!Generation
!Notes
|-
|[[File:Generation 0.jpg|thumb]]||Starting state (or "zeroth generation").
|-
|[[File:Generation 1.jpg|thumb]]||First generation. Note that this image is not aligned with the previous one: the position of all cells has shifted downward by one cell. All further generations are aligned the same as this one.
|-
|[[File:Generation 2.jpg|thumb]]||Second generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 3.jpg|thumb]]||Third generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 4.jpg|thumb]]||Fourth generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 5.jpg|thumb]]||Fifth generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 6.jpg|thumb]]||Sixth generation. The first appearance of the glider, a well-known formation in Conway's Game of Life.
|-
|[[File:Generation 7.jpg|thumb]]||Seventh generation. The glider takes on its other shape.
|-
|[[File:Generation 8.jpg|thumb]]||Eighth generation. The glider returns to its first shape, pointing right instead of up.
|-
|[[File:Generation 9.jpg|thumb]]||Ninth generation. The glider's second shape again, pointing right instead of up.
|-
|[[File:Generation 10.jpg|thumb]]||Tenth generation. The glider is now in its original form, but one cell higher and one cell to the right. It will continue to progress, cycling through these four states every four generations. The remains of the chaos down below will take two more generations to disappear completely.
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tribute]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2293: RIP John Conway

2020-04-14T07:31:38Z

172.69.22.170: removed unnecessary captions from images

{{comic
| number = 2293
| date = April 13, 2020
| title = RIP John Conway
| image = rip_john_conway.gif
| titletext = 1937-2020
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GLIDER. Needs more in-depth explanation of how the Game Evolves, possibly with stills from the GIF. Should also expand more on why Conway is a person of note. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|John Horton Conway|John Conway}}, an English mathematician, passed away of {{w|COVID-19}}. Two days later, [[Randall]] created this memorial comic. One of Conway's most famous creations was {{w|Conway's Game of Life}}, which consists of a grid of square cells with rules for how they change over time.

In a given generation, each cell can either be ''alive'' or ''dead'' (empty). To compute the grid for the next generation, these rules are used:
*Any live cell with two or three live neighbors survives to the next generation.
*Any dead cell with three live neighbors becomes a live cell in the next generation.
*All other live cells die in the next generation. Similarly, all other dead cells stay dead.

Although the rules are simple, enormously complex patterns can develop from them, such as "still lifes" (which do not change over generations), "oscillators" (which cycle repeatedly through a set of patterns over a specific period), and "spaceships" (which reproduce their own pattern at an offset from the original).

This comic begins with the shape of a stick figure as the starting configuration, which then evolves according to the rules of the Game of Life. The pattern breaks into three parts, two of which stay at the same level as the original figure's feet before rapidly melting away, and a third (called a "glider") that ascends up and to the right. Randall may be suggesting a soul breaking away from the rapidly disintegrating corporeal remains here.

The initial state of the game presented in the comic *does*, in fact, evolve as depicted, according to the rules above.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A pixelated image of a stick figure. The image is animated, with the pixels changing according to the rules of Conway's Game of Life. The figure splits into two groups, one of which dissipates. The other becomes a 'glider' and moves off to the top-right corner of the image and out of frame. The animation then repeats.]

{| class="wikitable"
!Generation
!Notes
|-
|[[File:Generation 0.jpg|thumb]]||Starting state (or "zeroth generation").
|-
|[[File:Generation 1.jpg|thumb]]||First generation. Note that this image is not aligned with the previous one: the position of all cells has shifted downward by one cell. All further generations are aligned the same as this one.
|-
|[[File:Generation 2.jpg|thumb]]||Second generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 3.jpg|thumb]]||Third generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 4.jpg|thumb]]||Fourth generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 5.jpg|thumb]]||Fifth generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 6.jpg|thumb]]||Sixth generation. The first appearance of the glider, a well-known formation in Conway's Game of Life.
|-
|[[File:Generation 7.jpg|thumb]]||Seventh generation. The glider takes on its other shape.
|-
|[[File:Generation 8.jpg|thumb]]||Eighth generation. The glider returns to its first shape, pointing right instead of up.
|-
|[[File:Generation 9.jpg|thumb]]||Ninth generation. The glider's second shape again, pointing right instead of up.
|-
|[[File:Generation 10.jpg|thumb]]||Tenth generation. The glider is now in its original form, but one cell higher and one cell to the right. It will continue to progress, cycling through these four states every four generations. The remains of the chaos down below will take two more generations to disappear completely.
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tribute]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

Talk:1081: Argument Victory

2020-04-13T15:21:36Z

172.69.22.170: comment about domain extensions

I also think it could be a joke on the "Guess some people prefer to stay asleep." line ? [[Special:Contributions/174.93.164.151|174.93.164.151]] 18:30, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

:Conspiracy theories are typically considered (especially by non-conspiracy-theorists) to make one sleepless/have nightmares, due to their often frightening nature.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 19:38, 6 September 2016 (UTC)

:What the conspiracy theorist is saying is an idiomatic expression. Being "asleep" here means that the theorist's opponent has not yet opened his mind to the truth, and is willing to accept propaganda full of lies. Kind of like in The Matrix or something. (Disclaimer, I've never watched it, just read about it.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.106|108.162.216.106]] 21:12, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

I still don't understand the title text. I would think that the side that thinks "anyone who's in power has any plan at all" would be the conspiracy theorists, but how is that comforting? [[Special:Contributions/98.66.41.122|98.66.41.122]] 14:25, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

:I think he wants to say that our political leaders don't really seem to overlook our world's machinery (as conspiracy theorists assume), and that he finds this rather frightening. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 16:57, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

:No, the opposite. The conspiracy theorists believe there is a plan. We suspect the opposite because we are rational and see no good evidence. [[User:Nonceexkcd|Nonceexkcd]] ([[User talk:Nonceexkcd|talk]]) 21:01, 28 January 2014 (UTC)

::That's what I tried to say. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 16:02, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

:I think of it as a joke, based around the stereotype of politicians having either terrible plans/policies or none at all. He finds it more comforting for them to have ''any'' plan, even if it is a conspiracy. It could be thought of as "at least they have a plan and control, instead of no plan and chaos". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.155|108.162.238.155]] 09:58, 30 August 2014 (UTC)

To clarify, he finds the fact that if conspiracy theorists are right, somebody is ruling the world and by extension, looking over it and making sure it doesn't fall apart on them, as opposed to it being a chaotic unsupervised mess. {{unsigned ip|71.230.192.134}}

Really? Combs Hair Down? Surely there's a better name for this person... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.222|141.101.98.222]] 07:13, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
:Conspiracy Theorist? -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 04:10, 9 July 2015 (UTC)
::Combspiracy Theorist? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:44, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

"It's unnerving to think there are gangs of giant lizards controlling the whole of mankind from the shadows, but is that less worrying than the possibility that we live in a random universe where unthinking forces could opt to snuff us out without cause or reason?" [https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/sep/05/conspiracy-theories-science-belief-secret-plots Conspiracy theories: the science behind belief in secret plots]

Also one of Alan Moore's most famous quotes: "The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory is that conspiracy theorists actually believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is chaotic. The truth is, that it is not the Jewish banking conspiracy or the grey aliens or the 12 foot reptiloids from another dimension that are in control. The truth is more frightening, nobody is in control. The world is rudderless." [https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alan_Moore Wikiquote:Alan Moore] [[User:AmbroseChapel|AmbroseChapel]] ([[User talk:AmbroseChapel|talk]]) 03:33, 7 September 2017 (UTC)

It's just as easy to get a .org or .com website as a .net or .xyz; the extension is irrelevant if it's not .gov or .edu or some other institution's official website. This is a common myth that just because a website ends in .org, people think it's a legitimate website. I've got several myself for only a few dollars a year.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.170|172.69.22.170]] 15:21, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

Talk:731: Desert Island

2018-05-23T05:58:45Z

172.69.22.170:

There's a shark, a manta ray, giant jellyfish, and a giant squid in the water. It's totally safe. And what the heck are those worms at the ocean bed? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:27, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

:Those worms are ''extremophiles'' feeding off of the nutrients emitted by the volcanic column... and from what I understand, they're completely harmless. Their entire ecology centers around the extreme heat and alternative chemical sources of energy provided by the center of the earth (vs sun-based photosynthetic life.) Oh, and I think Randall left off the "not to scale" attribute of the map, otherwise the ocean floor would only be a few hundred feet deep... -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:50, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
The title text seems to be alluding to a song. No idea what it could be. --[[User:Qwach|Qwach]] ([[User talk:Qwach|talk]]) 18:27, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

In my mind, I hear the alt-text as lyrics to the Can-Can song, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0WRJES4cyw "Infernal Gallop"]. See if you agree! {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.12}}

I'm pretty sure it's meant to go with the Major-General's song from the Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. The meter and rhyme works out, and Randall based comic 1052 (Every Major's Terrible) on it, showing that he knows and likes the song. {{unsigned ip |141.101.88.208}}

Also the title text is a poem since no one mentions it: 
''Telescopes and bathyscapes 
''and sonar probes of Scottish lakes, 
''Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse 
''explained with abstract phase-space maps, 
''some x-ray slides, a music score, 
''Minard's Napoleonic war: 
''the most exciting new frontier 
''is charting what's already here. 
--[[User:7buergen|7buergen]] ([[User talk:7buergen|talk]]) 09:32, 13 February 2014 (UTC)

I think the point of the commentary is "there's more than meets the eye". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.216|141.101.81.216]] 13:47, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

It's to the tune of "We Didn't Start the Fire"... {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.116}}
:I agree. It lines up perfectly, arguably better than Major General. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.57|108.162.221.57]] 05:34, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

If "We Didn't Start the Fire" had been the original intended tune, then the "some" and "a" in line 5 should not be there; they are superfluous and do not fit the rhythm of "We Didn't Start the Fire". The most plausible conclusion is that those words were added or retained to make the text fit the meter of a different song. To my ear, "Infernal Gallop", as noted above, seems quite plausible, although it doesn't exactly account for "some". Being (to my shame) unfamiliar with Gilbert and Sullivan, I can't comment on the Modern Major-General theory. --[[User:5parrowhawk|5parrowhawk]] ([[User talk:5parrowhawk|talk]]) 10:18, 8 March 2016 (UTC)
Feels like it has something to do with those I Spy books idk {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.116}}

Talk:1995: MC Hammer Age

2018-05-18T16:27:35Z

172.69.22.170:

Hitting next on this page brings you to comic #768 titled 1996. This comic is #1995. I thought that there was an extra comic today at first. [[User:MrNinja|MrNinja]] ([[User talk:MrNinja|talk]]) 14:58, 18 May 2018 (UTC)
:Yeah, I decided to let it stay there as it is but on Monday that redirect will AND must be overwritten in the meaning of a comic number. That will happen a few times more in the future. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:03, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

I suspect we’ll start needing Wikipedia-style disambiguation pages soon, given comic numbers that overlap other comic’s names. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 16:13, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

"Hammer Age" > "hemorrhage", coincidence? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.16|141.101.88.16]] 15:19, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

I came here from xkcd to find out who in the world MC Hammer was. (I guess I'm too old to really care, but I was curious.) At least there was a wiki link, but the explanation here could say something. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.170|172.69.22.170]] 16:27, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

162: Angular Momentum

2017-11-13T08:16:51Z

172.69.22.170:

{{comic
| number = 162
| date = September 25, 2006
| title = Angular Momentum
| image = angular_momentum.jpg
| titletext = With reasonable assumptions about latitude and body shape, how much time might she gain them? Note: whatever the answer, sunrise always comes too soon. (Also, is it worth it if she throws up?)
}}

==Explanation==

A '''moving object''' (like the Earth) has momentum. '''[https://www.quora.com/If-light-does-not-have-mass-then-how-does-it-have-momentum-1 Momentum]''' is the '''mass''' (size) of the object multiplied by the '''velocity''' (speed) of the moving object. So the Earth has a '''very high momentum''' because the Earth has a '''large mass''' (size) and is moving at a '''high velocity''' (speed) around the Sun. A moving object has to keep moving '''at the same velocity''' for its momentum to stay the same. The momentum of a moving object can increase, decrease, or stop via the force of another object. '''Force''' is the transfer of momentum from one object to another.

[[Megan]] attempts to slow down the Earth's momentum, and spins counter-clockwise to force her momentum onto the Earth, so that she can have more time with the one she loves.

The Earth has a massively high momentum, and the momentum that she produces is minuscule relative to the Earth's. And the few nanoseconds gained by spinning, while being with Cueball, is effectively offset by the seconds spent spinning.

Slowing down the rate of time in the universe directly slows down the velocity of life, so there would be no change in the total duration of life. And as the text implies, this isn't even possible: ''While not being able to reverse time, enjoy your night time. Sunrise always comes too early.''

Her attempt of surmounting the seemingly impossible is grand; and culturally, we value this kind of high romanticism.

Later in [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]], the same kind of spinning Megan is used in the first frame to tell that xkcd loves momentum.

Technical notes: Angular momentum [https://www.quora.com/What-is-angular-momentum-in-laymans-terms depends on the axis used for measuring angular momentum].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits sideways on a bed under an open window in the corner of a room. He is looking at Megan, who is spinning fast, indicated with two large circles indicating where her arms that a spread far out rotate, as well as two smaller circles around her knees and feet. The bed sheets are clearly messed up, as if someone has used it for activities other than sleeping. It is night and dark gray outside the window, and inside the room everything is also gray but lighter. Behind the spoken text, the background is white, but fades to the darker gray at the edges. There is also different gray shading in different parts of the room.]
:Cueball: What are you doing?
:Megan: Spinning counterclockwise
:Megan: Each turn robs the planet of angular momentum
:Megan: Slowing its spin the tiniest bit
:Megan: Lengthening the night, pushing back the dawn
:Megan: Giving me a little more time here
:Megan: With you

==Trivia==
*This is one of the [[:Category:Footer comics|five footer comics]] linked at the bottom part of the {{xkcd}} website.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Footer comics]]

162: Angular Momentum

2017-11-13T08:14:45Z

172.69.22.170:

{{comic
| number = 162
| date = September 25, 2006
| title = Angular Momentum
| image = angular_momentum.jpg
| titletext = With reasonable assumptions about latitude and body shape, how much time might she gain them? Note: whatever the answer, sunrise always comes too soon. (Also, is it worth it if she throws up?)
}}

==Explanation==

A '''moving object''' (like the Earth) has momentum. '''[https://www.quora.com/If-light-does-not-have-mass-then-how-does-it-have-momentum-1 Momentum]''' is the '''mass''' (size) of the object multiplied by the '''velocity''' (speed) of the moving object. So the Earth has a '''very high momentum''' because the Earth has a '''large mass''' (size) and is moving at a '''high velocity''' (speed) around the Sun. A moving object has to keep moving '''at the same velocity''' for its momentum to stay the same. The momentum of a moving object can increase, decrease, or stop via the force of another object. '''Force''' is the transfer of momentum from one object to another.

[[Megan]] attempts to slow down the Earth's momentum, and spins counter-clockwise to force her momentum onto the Earth, so that she can have more time with the one she loves.

The Earth has a massively high momentum, and the momentum that she produces is minuscule relative to the Earth's. And the few nanoseconds gained by spinning, while being with Cueball, is effectively offset by the seconds spent spinning.

Slowing down the rate of time in the universe directly slows down the velocity of life, leading to no change in the total duration of life. And as the text implies, this isn't even possible: ''While not being able to reverse time, enjoy your night time. Sunrise always comes too early.''

Her attempt of surmounting the seemingly impossible is grand; and culturally, we value this kind of high romanticism.

Later in [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]], the same kind of spinning Megan is used in the first frame to tell that xkcd loves momentum.

Technical notes: Angular momentum [https://www.quora.com/What-is-angular-momentum-in-laymans-terms depends on the axis used for measuring angular momentum].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits sideways on a bed under an open window in the corner of a room. He is looking at Megan, who is spinning fast, indicated with two large circles indicating where her arms that a spread far out rotate, as well as two smaller circles around her knees and feet. The bed sheets are clearly messed up, as if someone has used it for activities other than sleeping. It is night and dark gray outside the window, and inside the room everything is also gray but lighter. Behind the spoken text, the background is white, but fades to the darker gray at the edges. There is also different gray shading in different parts of the room.]
:Cueball: What are you doing?
:Megan: Spinning counterclockwise
:Megan: Each turn robs the planet of angular momentum
:Megan: Slowing its spin the tiniest bit
:Megan: Lengthening the night, pushing back the dawn
:Megan: Giving me a little more time here
:Megan: With you

==Trivia==
*This is one of the [[:Category:Footer comics|five footer comics]] linked at the bottom part of the {{xkcd}} website.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Footer comics]]

162: Angular Momentum

2017-11-13T08:11:02Z

172.69.22.170:

{{comic
| number = 162
| date = September 25, 2006
| title = Angular Momentum
| image = angular_momentum.jpg
| titletext = With reasonable assumptions about latitude and body shape, how much time might she gain them? Note: whatever the answer, sunrise always comes too soon. (Also, is it worth it if she throws up?)
}}

==Explanation==

A '''moving object''' (like the Earth) has momentum. '''[https://www.quora.com/If-light-does-not-have-mass-then-how-does-it-have-momentum-1 Momentum]''' is the '''mass''' (size) of the object multiplied by the '''velocity''' (speed) of the moving object. So the Earth has a '''very high momentum''' because the Earth has a '''large mass''' (size) and is moving at a '''high velocity''' (speed) around the Sun.

A moving object has to keep moving '''at the same velocity''' for its momentum to stay the same. The momentum of a moving object can increase, decrease, or stop via the force of another object. '''Force''' is the transfer of momentum from one object to another.

[[Megan]] attempts to slow down the Earth's momentum, and spins counter-clockwise to force her momentum onto the Earth, so that she can have more time with the one she loves.

The Earth has a massively high momentum, and the momentum that she produces is minuscule relative to the Earth's. And the few nanoseconds gained by spinning, while being with Cueball, is effectively offset by the seconds spent spinning.

Slowing down the rate of time in the universe directly slows down the velocity of life, leading to no change in the total duration of life. And as the text implies, this isn't even possible: ''While not being able to reverse time, enjoy your night time. Sunrise always comes too early.''

Her attempt of surmounting the seemingly impossible is grand; and culturally, we value this kind of high romanticism.

Later in [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]], the same kind of spinning Megan is used in the first frame to tell that xkcd loves momentum.

Technical notes: Angular momentum [https://www.quora.com/What-is-angular-momentum-in-laymans-terms depends on the axis used for measuring angular momentum].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits sideways on a bed under an open window in the corner of a room. He is looking at Megan, who is spinning fast, indicated with two large circles indicating where her arms that a spread far out rotate, as well as two smaller circles around her knees and feet. The bed sheets are clearly messed up, as if someone has used it for activities other than sleeping. It is night and dark gray outside the window, and inside the room everything is also gray but lighter. Behind the spoken text, the background is white, but fades to the darker gray at the edges. There is also different gray shading in different parts of the room.]
:Cueball: What are you doing?
:Megan: Spinning counterclockwise
:Megan: Each turn robs the planet of angular momentum
:Megan: Slowing its spin the tiniest bit
:Megan: Lengthening the night, pushing back the dawn
:Megan: Giving me a little more time here
:Megan: With you

==Trivia==
*This is one of the [[:Category:Footer comics|five footer comics]] linked at the bottom part of the {{xkcd}} website.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Footer comics]]

162: Angular Momentum

2017-11-13T07:56:17Z

172.69.22.170: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 162
| date = September 25, 2006
| title = Angular Momentum
| image = angular_momentum.jpg
| titletext = With reasonable assumptions about latitude and body shape, how much time might she gain them? Note: whatever the answer, sunrise always comes too soon. (Also, is it worth it if she throws up?)
}}

==Explanation==

A '''moving object''' (like the Earth) has momentum. '''[https://www.quora.com/If-light-does-not-have-mass-then-how-does-it-have-momentum-1 Momentum]''' is the '''mass''' (size) of the object multiplied by the '''velocity''' (speed) of the moving object. So the Earth has a '''very high momentum''' because the Earth has a '''large mass''' (size) and is moving at a '''high velocity''' (speed) around the Sun.

A moving object has to keep moving '''at the same velocity''' for its momentum to stay the same. The momentum of a moving object can increase, decrease, or stop via the force of another object. '''Force''' is the transfer of momentum from one object to another.

[[Megan]] attempts to slow down the Earth's momentum, and spins counter-clockwise to force her momentum onto the Earth, so that she can have more time with the one she loves. The Earth has a massively high momentum, and the momentum that she produces is minuscule relative to the Earth's. And the few nanoseconds gained by spinning, while being with Cueball, is effectively offset by the seconds spent spinning.

And as the title text implies, this isn't even possible: ''While not being able to reverse time, enjoy your night time. Sunrise always comes too early.'' Even if it was possible, slowing down the rate of time in the universe directly slows down the velocity of life. Her attempt of surmounting the seemingly impossible is grand; and culturally, we value this kind of high romanticism.

Later in [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]], the same kind of spinning Megan is used in the first frame to tell that xkcd loves momentum.

Technical notes: Angular momentum [https://www.quora.com/What-is-angular-momentum-in-laymans-terms depends on the axis used for measuring angular momentum].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits sideways on a bed under an open window in the corner of a room. He is looking at Megan, who is spinning fast, indicated with two large circles indicating where her arms that a spread far out rotate, as well as two smaller circles around her knees and feet. The bed sheets are clearly messed up, as if someone has used it for activities other than sleeping. It is night and dark gray outside the window, and inside the room everything is also gray but lighter. Behind the spoken text, the background is white, but fades to the darker gray at the edges. There is also different gray shading in different parts of the room.]
:Cueball: What are you doing?
:Megan: Spinning counterclockwise
:Megan: Each turn robs the planet of angular momentum
:Megan: Slowing its spin the tiniest bit
:Megan: Lengthening the night, pushing back the dawn
:Megan: Giving me a little more time here
:Megan: With you

==Trivia==
*This is one of the [[:Category:Footer comics|five footer comics]] linked at the bottom part of the {{xkcd}} website.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Footer comics]]