explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2292: Thermometer

2020-04-10T23:20:11Z

Bigbillk: Subject-verb agreement

{{comic
| number = 2292
| date = April 10, 2020
| title = Thermometer
| image = thermometer.png
| titletext = I hate how many times you have to press it to get to the system normal people use, degrees Rømer.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ROGUE RADIAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic makes fun of people's use of different units of temperature. [[Randall]], as an engineer, would likely have strong opinions with units, as unit conversion is often a gripe for many engineers. [[Cueball]]'s thermometer has several settings, of which the four shown grow progressively and humorously less useful:
*{{w|Celsius}} units are used in most of the world. They set 0 degrees to water's freezing point and 100 degrees to water's boiling point.
*{{w|Fahrenheit}} is not shown, though Cueball wants to use it. It is primarily used in the United States and generally appreciated for 0 degrees being "really cold" and 100 degrees being "really hot".
*{{w|Kelvin}} is a unit often used in scientific fields. It is based on Celsius, where 0 K is absolute zero or -273 °C.
*Degrees {{w|Rankine scale|Rankine}} are similar to Kelvins, but far less well known. It is the Fahrenheit equivalent to Kelvin, starting at absolute zero with 0°R equal to -459 °F.
*In a scientific sense, temperature is the average kinetic energy of a group of particles. Using {{w|Boltzmann's Constant}}, one can convert between the temperature and kinetic energy.
The use of these last three units for home temperature gauging is ridiculous, as Kelvin and Rankine are far too large and uncommon to be practical for the average user, while the kinetic energy is scaled so wildly that no user would likely know it; this is why Boltzmann's Constant is printed on the thermometer.

The title text references an archaic temperature unit, {{w|Rømer scale|Rømer}}, which is a scale whose fixed points are 7.5 as water's freezing point and 60 as water's boiling point. A unit on the Rømer scale is about 41/20 of a unit on the Celsius scale.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands in the center of the panel holding a thermometer.]
:Cueball: This thermometer is in Celsius. How do you change it?
:Off-panel voice: Long press the button.

:[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Kelvin
:Cueball: No...

:[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Degrees Rankine
:Cueball: What.

:[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Average Translational Kinetic Energy
:Cueball: This is the worst thermometer.
:Off-panel voice: Boltzmann's constant is on the side if you need it.

{{comic discussion}}

2292: Thermometer

2020-04-10T23:19:17Z

Bigbillk: adding a bit of context to the Rømer description

{{comic
| number = 2292
| date = April 10, 2020
| title = Thermometer
| image = thermometer.png
| titletext = I hate how many times you have to press it to get to the system normal people use, degrees Rømer.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ROGUE RADIAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic makes fun of people's use of different units of temperature. [[Randall]], as an engineer, would likely have strong opinions with units, as unit conversion is often a gripe for many engineers. [[Cueball]]'s thermometer has several settings, of which the four shown grow progressively and humorously less useful:
*{{w|Celsius}} units are used in most of the world. They set 0 degrees to water's freezing point and 100 degrees to water's boiling point.
*{{w|Fahrenheit}} is not shown, though Cueball wants to use it. It is primarily used in the United States and generally appreciated for 0 degrees being "really cold" and 100 degrees being "really hot".
*{{w|Kelvin}} are a unit often used in scientific fields. It is based on Celsius, where 0 K is absolute zero or -273 °C.
*Degrees {{w|Rankine scale|Rankine}} are similar to Kelvins, but far less well known. It is the Fahrenheit equivalent to Kelvin, starting at absolute zero with 0°R equal to -459 °F.
*In a scientific sense, temperature is the average kinetic energy of a group of particles. Using {{w|Boltzmann's Constant}}, one can convert between the temperature and kinetic energy.
The use of these last three units for home temperature gauging is ridiculous, as Kelvin and Rankine are far too large and uncommon to be practical for the average user, while the kinetic energy is scaled so wildly that no user would likely know it; this is why Boltzmann's Constant is printed on the thermometer.

The title text references an archaic temperature unit, {{w|Rømer scale|Rømer}}, which is a scale whose fixed points are 7.5 as water's freezing point and 60 as water's boiling point. A unit on the Rømer scale is about 41/20 of a unit on the Celsius scale.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands in the center of the panel holding a thermometer.]
:Cueball: This thermometer is in Celsius. How do you change it?
:Off-panel voice: Long press the button.

:[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Kelvin
:Cueball: No...

:[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Degrees Rankine
:Cueball: What.

:[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Average Translational Kinetic Energy
:Cueball: This is the worst thermometer.
:Off-panel voice: Boltzmann's constant is on the side if you need it.

{{comic discussion}}

2292: Thermometer

2020-04-10T23:09:54Z

Bigbillk: Just fixing a minor spelling error

{{comic
| number = 2292
| date = April 10, 2020
| title = Thermometer
| image = thermometer.png
| titletext = I hate how many times you have to press it to get to the system normal people use, degrees Rømer.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ROGUE RADIAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic makes fun of people's use of different units of temperature. Randall, as he was an engineer, would likely have strong opinions with units, as unit conversion is often a gripe for many engineers. Celsius units are used in most of the world, while Fahrenheit is used in the United States. Kelvin are a unit often used in scientific fields. It is based on Celsius, where 0 K is absolute zero or -273 °C. Degrees Rankine are similar to Kelvins, but far less well known. It is the Fahrenheit equivalent to Kelvin, starting at absolute zero with 0°R (equal to -459 °F). The use of either of these units for home temperature gauging is ridiculous, as they are far too large and uncommon to be practical for the average user. While at any temperature, the kinetic energy of a particle will vary wildly, the Average Translational Kinetic Energy for a molecule at a given temperature can be calculated using Boltzmann's Constant, hence why it is on the side of the device for convenience.

The title text references another temperature unit, {{W|Rømer scale|Rømer}}, which is a scale whose fixed points are 7.5 as water's freezing point and 60 as water's boiling point. A unit on the Rømer scale is about 41/20 of a unit on the Celsius scale.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball stands in the center of the panel holding a thermometer.]
:Cueball: This thermometer is in Celsius. How do you change it?
:Off-panel voice: Long press the button.

:[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Kelvin
:Cueball: No...

:[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Degrees Rankine
:Cueball: What.

:[Cueball presses the button, and the thermometer beeps]
:Thermometer: Units: Average Translational Kinetic Energy
:Cueball: This is the worst thermometer.
:Off-panel voice: Boltzmann's constant is on the side if you need it.

{{comic discussion}}