explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3208: SNEWS

2026-02-17T04:05:44Z

DoSnews: ooh, formatting, also minor wording tweak

The title text SNEWS is a reference to {{w|SuperNova_Early_Warning_System}}. {{unsigned ip|2a09:bac2:3656:ebe::178:123}} 21:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
: No, you're wrong. It stands for Southeast, North East West South, since those are the directions where it can detect them. - [[Special:Contributions/45.178.1.151|45.178.1.151]] 01:41, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

F1RST! also i posted this when there was no explanation. please fix this {{unsigned ip|2605:59c8:22e3:3e14:95a1:c5da:4c49:c384|22:55, 16 February 2026 (UTC)}}

Is this my mediocre non-native English, or should the title text read "setting off fireworks indoors"? (Trivia?) --[[Special:Contributions/2001:A62:5F7:FB01:538E:3F07:C9F0:F0C0|2001:A62:5F7:FB01:538E:3F07:C9F0:F0C0]] 23:06, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yeah, 'setting of fireworks indoors, ...' would mean setting them up (i.e., placing them) and not 'setting off', lighting or detonating the fireworks. [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 23:22, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:You can talk of setting explosives (the setting of them, as passively ready, to make them ready for later "setting them off"), so I expect the "setting of fireworks" is pretty much the same thing, much as with the setting of an alarm clock.
:Though also sounds like a possible americanism, like "lit it on fire" (c.f. my own prefered "set light to it"), if only because the former seem tautilogical; and/or strangely long-winded, such as with "to burglarize" vs. just "to burgle" (both being what a burglar does upon his burglary). But it's not one of those many funny transatlantic dialect things I've noticed previously, so I could be overexplaining what actually ''is'' merely a typo. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.3|82.132.239.3]] 01:33, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

It snew [[User:Yaokuan ITB|Yaokuan ITB]] ([[User talk:Yaokuan ITB|talk]]) 23:28, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Exactly my thoughts, Yaokuan [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 23:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Gesundheit! [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 01:35, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

Sorry, it somehow escaped me when editing the explanation that neutrinos have mass!! (even though we've known about this for decades). Does this mean that if the supernova is far away enough, the photons will arrive before the neutrinos? Or is that threshold too far to matter? [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 01:21, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

: Yes, but the threshold is too far away to have happened yet. Supernova neutrinos have [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_neutrinos 10^10 to 10^20 MeV]. Judging by the table at the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measurements_of_neutrino_speed Overview on neutrino speed], assuming we are about right about the mass of a neutrino, neutrinos that energetic would be traveling within a factor of 10-42 of ''c'', so they would need to have traveled for "a few"×1042 light hours, or a few 1038 years for the photons to catch up. Since the universe is less than 1.4×1010 years old, it'll be another few 1038 years until that happens. [[User:DoSnews|DoSnews]] ([[User talk:DoSnews|talk]]) 03:46, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

my first edit in almost 5 months i think lol [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 01:45, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

One of the firework launchers on the device is aimed directly at the bed. [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 03:06, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3208: SNEWS

2026-02-17T03:52:57Z

DoSnews: someday I will remember to show the preview first

The title text SNEWS is a reference to {{w|SuperNova_Early_Warning_System}}. {{unsigned ip|2a09:bac2:3656:ebe::178:123}} 21:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
: No, you're wrong. It stands for Southeast, North East West South, since those are the directions where it can detect them. - [[Special:Contributions/45.178.1.151|45.178.1.151]] 01:41, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

F1RST! also i posted this when there was no explanation. please fix this {{unsigned ip|2605:59c8:22e3:3e14:95a1:c5da:4c49:c384|22:55, 16 February 2026 (UTC)}}

Is this my mediocre non-native English, or should the title text read "setting off fireworks indoors"? (Trivia?) --[[Special:Contributions/2001:A62:5F7:FB01:538E:3F07:C9F0:F0C0|2001:A62:5F7:FB01:538E:3F07:C9F0:F0C0]] 23:06, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yeah, 'setting of fireworks indoors, ...' would mean setting them up (i.e., placing them) and not 'setting off', lighting or detonating the fireworks. [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 23:22, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:You can talk of setting explosives (the setting of them, as passively ready, to make them ready for later "setting them off"), so I expect the "setting of fireworks" is pretty much the same thing, much as with the setting of an alarm clock.
:Though also sounds like a possible americanism, like "lit it on fire" (c.f. my own prefered "set light to it"), if only because the former seem tautilogical; and/or strangely long-winded, such as with "to burglarize" vs. just "to burgle" (both being what a burglar does upon his burglary). But it's not one of those many funny transatlantic dialect things I've noticed previously, so I could be overexplaining what actually ''is'' merely a typo. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.3|82.132.239.3]] 01:33, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

It snew [[User:Yaokuan ITB|Yaokuan ITB]] ([[User talk:Yaokuan ITB|talk]]) 23:28, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Exactly my thoughts, Yaokuan [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 23:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Gesundheit! [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 01:35, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

Sorry, it somehow escaped me when editing the explanation that neutrinos have mass!! (even though we've known about this for decades). Does this mean that if the supernova is far away enough, the photons will arrive before the neutrinos? Or is that threshold too far to matter? [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 01:21, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

: Yes, but the threshold is too far away to have happened yet. Supernova neutrinos have [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_neutrinos 10^10 to 10^20 MeV]. Judging by the table at the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measurements_of_neutrino_speed Overview on neutrino speed], assuming we are about right about the mass of a neutrino, neutrinos that energetic would be traveling within 10^-42 of c, so they would need to have traveled for "a few" × 10^42 light hours, or a few 10^38 years for the photons to catch up. Since the universe is less than 1.4×10^10 years old, it'll be another 10^38 years until that happens. [[User:DoSnews|DoSnews]] ([[User talk:DoSnews|talk]]) 03:46, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

my first edit in almost 5 months i think lol [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 01:45, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

One of the firework launchers on the device is aimed directly at the bed. [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 03:06, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3208: SNEWS

2026-02-17T03:50:46Z

DoSnews: fix formatting; mediawiki is not md

The title text SNEWS is a reference to {{w|SuperNova_Early_Warning_System}}. {{unsigned ip|2a09:bac2:3656:ebe::178:123}} 21:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
: No, you're wrong. It stands for Southeast, North East West South, since those are the directions where it can detect them. - [[Special:Contributions/45.178.1.151|45.178.1.151]] 01:41, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

F1RST! also i posted this when there was no explanation. please fix this {{unsigned ip|2605:59c8:22e3:3e14:95a1:c5da:4c49:c384|22:55, 16 February 2026 (UTC)}}

Is this my mediocre non-native English, or should the title text read "setting off fireworks indoors"? (Trivia?) --[[Special:Contributions/2001:A62:5F7:FB01:538E:3F07:C9F0:F0C0|2001:A62:5F7:FB01:538E:3F07:C9F0:F0C0]] 23:06, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yeah, 'setting of fireworks indoors, ...' would mean setting them up (i.e., placing them) and not 'setting off', lighting or detonating the fireworks. [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 23:22, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:You can talk of setting explosives (the setting of them, as passively ready, to make them ready for later "setting them off"), so I expect the "setting of fireworks" is pretty much the same thing, much as with the setting of an alarm clock.
:Though also sounds like a possible americanism, like "lit it on fire" (c.f. my own prefered "set light to it"), if only because the former seem tautilogical; and/or strangely long-winded, such as with "to burglarize" vs. just "to burgle" (both being what a burglar does upon his burglary). But it's not one of those many funny transatlantic dialect things I've noticed previously, so I could be overexplaining what actually ''is'' merely a typo. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.3|82.132.239.3]] 01:33, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

It snew [[User:Yaokuan ITB|Yaokuan ITB]] ([[User talk:Yaokuan ITB|talk]]) 23:28, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Exactly my thoughts, Yaokuan [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 23:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Gesundheit! [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 01:35, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

Sorry, it somehow escaped me when editing the explanation that neutrinos have mass!! (even though we've known about this for decades). Does this mean that if the supernova is far away enough, the photons will arrive before the neutrinos? Or is that threshold too far to matter? [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 01:21, 17 February 2026 (UTC)
: Yes, but the threshold is too far away to have happened yet. Supernova neutrinos have [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_neutrinos 10^10 to 10^20 MeV]
. Judging by the table at the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measurements_of_neutrino_speed Overview on neutrino speed], assuming we are about right about the mass of a neutrino, neutrinos that energetic would be traveling within 10^-42 of c, so they would need to have traveled for "a few" × 10^42 light hours, or a few 10^38 years for the photons to catch up. Since the universe is less than 1.4×10^10 years old, it'll be a another 10^38 years until that happens. [[User:DoSnews|DoSnews]] ([[User talk:DoSnews|talk]]) 03:46, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

my first edit in almost 5 months i think lol [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 01:45, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

One of the firework launchers on the device is aimed directly at the bed. [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 03:06, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3208: SNEWS

2026-02-17T03:46:04Z

DoSnews: Answer question about supernova photons catching up to their precursor neutrinos

The title text SNEWS is a reference to {{w|SuperNova_Early_Warning_System}}. {{unsigned ip|2a09:bac2:3656:ebe::178:123}} 21:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
: No, you're wrong. It stands for Southeast, North East West South, since those are the directions where it can detect them. - [[Special:Contributions/45.178.1.151|45.178.1.151]] 01:41, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

F1RST! also i posted this when there was no explanation. please fix this {{unsigned ip|2605:59c8:22e3:3e14:95a1:c5da:4c49:c384|22:55, 16 February 2026 (UTC)}}

Is this my mediocre non-native English, or should the title text read "setting off fireworks indoors"? (Trivia?) --[[Special:Contributions/2001:A62:5F7:FB01:538E:3F07:C9F0:F0C0|2001:A62:5F7:FB01:538E:3F07:C9F0:F0C0]] 23:06, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yeah, 'setting of fireworks indoors, ...' would mean setting them up (i.e., placing them) and not 'setting off', lighting or detonating the fireworks. [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 23:22, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:You can talk of setting explosives (the setting of them, as passively ready, to make them ready for later "setting them off"), so I expect the "setting of fireworks" is pretty much the same thing, much as with the setting of an alarm clock.
:Though also sounds like a possible americanism, like "lit it on fire" (c.f. my own prefered "set light to it"), if only because the former seem tautilogical; and/or strangely long-winded, such as with "to burglarize" vs. just "to burgle" (both being what a burglar does upon his burglary). But it's not one of those many funny transatlantic dialect things I've noticed previously, so I could be overexplaining what actually ''is'' merely a typo. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.3|82.132.239.3]] 01:33, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

It snew [[User:Yaokuan ITB|Yaokuan ITB]] ([[User talk:Yaokuan ITB|talk]]) 23:28, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Exactly my thoughts, Yaokuan [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 23:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:Gesundheit! [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 01:35, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

Sorry, it somehow escaped me when editing the explanation that neutrinos have mass!! (even though we've known about this for decades). Does this mean that if the supernova is far away enough, the photons will arrive before the neutrinos? Or is that threshold too far to matter? [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 01:21, 17 February 2026 (UTC)
:Yes, but the threshold is too far away to have happened yet. Supernova neutrinos have
[10^10 to 10^20 MeV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_neutrinos)
. Judging by the table at the [Overview on neutrino speed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measurements_of_neutrino_speed), assuming we are about right about the mass of a neutrino, neutrinos that energetic would be traveling within 10^-42 of c, so they would need to have traveled for "a few" × 10^42 light hours, or a few 10^38 years for the photons to catch up. Since the universe is less than 1.4×10^10 years old, it'll be a another 10^38 years until that happens. [[User:DoSnews|DoSnews]] ([[User talk:DoSnews|talk]]) 03:46, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

my first edit in almost 5 months i think lol [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 01:45, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

One of the firework launchers on the device is aimed directly at the bed. [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 03:06, 17 February 2026 (UTC)