https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Zaknealon 2026-04-18T21:20:07Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2350:_Deer_Turrets&diff=196387 2020-08-24T19:56:33Z

<p>Zaknealon: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2350<br /> | date = August 24, 2020<br /> | title = Deer Turrets<br /> | image = deer_turrets.png<br /> | titletext = When my great grandfather designed the Titanic and it hit an iceberg and sank, he didn't sit around moping. He took those lessons to his next job designing airships, and he made the Hindenburg completely iceberg-proof!<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a NEIGHBORHOOD DEER (PEW PEW). Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Black Hat]] has built laser turrets that automatically shoot at nearby wireless devices. This could potentially be useful in a military context, but for [[72|reasons unforeseeable]], he's went and strapped them to local deer. Deer are well-defined by their tendency to move around{{Citation needed}}, typically in areas close to civilization, so attaching wireless-seeking laser robots to them effectively makes them organic killbots. As the last panel reveals, this can be circumvented by disabling wireless access on your devices (airplane mode), though Black Hat doesn't seem particularly concerned with letting people know this.<br /> <br /> The auto-targeting laser turrets may be a reference to attempts by researchers at the University of Washington to create a laser-based battery charging device [https://www.wired.com/story/wireless-charging-with-lasers/]. The device in question is mounted on a turret that locates and aims the beam at a photovoltaic cell attached to the battery. The same technology could theoretically be used with a higher-powered laser, but for the application described in the comic, the targeting mechanism would need to be altered to sense any electronic rather than the accompanying photovoltaic cell.<br /> <br /> The title text is humorous because ships in the air do not have to deal with icebergs the way ships in the water would. It's unknown whether Black Hat's great grandfather was comically inept at his job and genuinely thought the Hindenburg should be made iceberg-resistant or whether he was intentionally sabotaging the Hindenburg by redirecting safety considerations from reducing fire hazards to reducing the possibility of being punctured by an iceberg.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Black Hat is at a podium, addressing a crowd]<br /> :Black Hat: Was it a mistake to build turrets that can track nearby wireless devices and fire powerful lasers in their general direction? Sure. I realize that now.<br /> <br /> :[Face-front view of Black Hat]<br /> :Black Hat: Was it a mistake to mount those turrets on neighborhood deer, release them, then lose interest in the project and move on? Yes. Hindsight is 20/20.<br /> <br /> :[Close-up]<br /> :Black Hat: But science is about learning from mistakes - and not being afraid to make new ones.<br /> <br /> :[Side view again]<br /> :Black Hat: Like inviting you here, but not warning you to put your phones in airplane mode. Another mistake, but that's okay.<br /> :Deer: ''Gallop gallop''<br /> :Audience member: ''Is it really?!''<br /> :Black Hat: I think it's fine.<br /> :Deer: ''Pew! Pew!''<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Zaknealon