https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.68.226.52&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T08:28:21ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2222:_Terminator:_Dark_Fate&diff=182015Talk:2222: Terminator: Dark Fate2019-10-31T02:22:41Z<p>172.68.226.52: 2222</p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
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Has anyone read Branches on the Tree of Time? This reminded me of that story. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.86.100|172.68.86.100]] 22:12, 30 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Can someone add a category for ''The Terminator'' series? There is this comic along with [[1046: Skynet]], [[104: Find You]], [[652: More Accurate]], [[1978: Congressional Testimony]], [[534: Genetic Algorithms]], and probably others. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.125|172.68.46.125]] 22:25, 30 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Although not explicitlt mentioned, the idea of going back in time to warn yourself to do or not do something is also reminiscent of [[wikipedia:Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure]] [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:04, 31 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Could there be a meta-joke here with having the same cueballs in a bunch, this comic being number 2222 ?</div>172.68.226.52https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2198:_Throw&diff=1791312198: Throw2019-09-04T06:42:02Z<p>172.68.226.52: /* Table of distance units */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2198<br />
| date = September 3, 2019<br />
| title = Throw<br />
| image = throw.png<br />
| titletext = The keys to successfully throwing a party are location, planning, and one of those aircraft carrier steam catapults.<br />
}}<br />
*To experience the interactivity of this game, visit the {{xkcd|2198|original comic}}.<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by Thor, God of Thunder. Table for all combinations should be made, maybe with clear marking of those that cannot be thrown. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
The "comic" is an interactive comic made to celebrate the release of [[Randall|Randall's]] new book, ''[[How To]]''. The comic is based on a chapter in the book. <br />
<br />
As the comic celebrates the book, which was released on Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019, the comic was thus also released on a [[:Category:Tuesday comics|Tuesday]] to coincide with the release day and probably replacing that week's normal Wednesday release. This was the same timing used for another of Randall's book releases, when [[1608: Hoverboard]] came out on the Tuesday when [[Thing Explainer]] came out. Although the Hoverboard comic is much more complex than this one, they are both [[:Category:Dynamic comics|dynamic]] and [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive]], with [[:Category:Comics with animation|animations]] a part of them.<br />
<br />
In this comic the viewer can select a person/{{w|Pikachu}}/god/squirrel as the thrower and an object (including a person, Pikachu, or squirrel) to be thrown, and get an animation of how the selected throw would work out, along with an estimated distance of the throw (both in SI units and in other very arbitrary units; see [[#Table of distance units|table]] below) if the throw was possible. Impossible throws include ones in which the thrower is smaller than the thrown object. The formula/guideline is apparently based on a chapter from the book. One special case to the calculations is Thor's hammer, which is enchanted such that only those deemed "worthy" are able to lift it. As such, despite its mass being liftable by many of the characters, only Thor, God of Thunder (who is canonically worthy), and self-created characters who are well over the human records for height ({{w|List of tallest people|272 cm}}) and/or weight ({{w|List of heaviest people|635 kg}}) are shown to actually be able to throw it. Also Thor is the only one who uses {{w|furlongs}} to measure his distances.<br />
<br />
There are 7 throwers + 1 open option and 15 + 1 things to throw, giving a total of 105 different combinations for the static elements; see the [[#Table of throw distances|table]] below plus those for the open option. The open option can be defined by height, weight and a 1-4 scale of atleticism. But only Thor (or an unrealistically tall and heavy custom character) can throw all 15, with three of the objects (George Washington, hammer, and car) unthrowable by any of the other premade characters. The smaller critters can throw only a few things, so the total number of throws is much less than 100. Still there is an animation for all 105 combinations, but with no throw distance for some. An object with negative weight (you probably) flies backwards.<br />
<br />
The athleticism scale also defines the character used for the animation.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to throwing a party (a colloquial synonym of hosting a party) and first makes the assumption of actually giving hints for giving a party, and then switching to suggest a mechanism to literally throw a huge object, such as a house with a party going on inside. An {{w|Aircraft_catapult#Steam_catapult|aircraft steam catapult}} is a mechanism to launch aircraft from ships, typically used on aircraft carriers.<br />
<br />
==Throwers and throw items==<br />
George Washington, Pikachu, and a squirrel are both throwers and throw items.<br />
<br />
* '''An NFL {{w|quarterback}}''' is the average American's perception of a highly athletic individual; gridiron football is a full-contact sport that requires durability, speed, and precision.<br />
* '''{{w|George Washington}}''' was the first president of the United States of America. Although seen as a capable leader, there is nothing {{Citation needed}} to indicate that he was an exceptional thrower. He is also used as a throwing item to represent the likelihood of a thrower distance with an average human as the projectile.<br />
* '''{{w|Pikachu}}''' is a species of Pokémon, and the mascot of the Pokémon franchise as a whole. Although Pikachu are not normally shown to throw things, the ''Super Smash Bros'' series shows they are perfectly capable of picking things up that do not significantly out-size them. Its presence as a throwing item appears to reference the most recently released Pokémon games as of the comic's release, ''Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu'' and ''Pokémon Let's Go Eevee'', where the partner Pokémon of the respective title is not kept in a Poké Ball but thrown into battle when deployed. According to Pokédex entries throughout the series, the average Pikachu is 1'04" tall and weighs 13.2 lbs.<br />
* '''{{w|Carly Rae Jepsen}}''' is a Canadian music artist.<br />
* '''{{w|Thor}}''' is the god of thunder in Norse mythology, wielding a hammer that returns to its wielder when thrown. He is also {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|featured in Marvel comics}}, and is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth (listed below) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of films. Thor was previously referenced in [[2097: Thor Tools]].<br />
* '''{{w|Chris Hemsworth}}''' is an Australian film actor, best known for his role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.<br />
* '''A {{w|squirrel}}''' is a small mammal of the family ''Sciurade'', known for hoarding acorns. Squirrels have been a [[:Category:Squirrels|recurring topic]] on xkcd, and have been used in ''What if?'' in lieu of a subject that Randall really doesn't want to draw. Due to their small size, a squirrel is also selectable as a throwing item.<br />
* '''You''' (the viewer) may also choose to create a custom thrower, inputting name, height, weight, and general level of athleticism, as measured on a scale from "[[Black Hat]]" to "championship athlete" (a swimmer is pictured). The custom thrower is also selectable as a throwing item, presumably to provide more variety compared to the fixed values of George Washington.<br />
* '''A {{w|microwave oven}}''' is a common household appliance in most American homes, used to heat or reheat food for consumption.<br />
* '''A basketball''' is an inflated sphere used as a projectile in the sport of the same name.<br />
* '''A {{w|blender}}''' is a common household appliance in most American homes, used to shred food or ingredients into a slush for consumption or baking.<br />
* '''A {{w|gold bar}}''' is the form in which gold is cast for storage.<br />
* '''A {{w|wedding cake}}''' is traditionally a layer cake used for wedding receptions with copious amounts of frosting and figurines of the bride and groom standing upon the top layer. The figurines appear to have been removed before the cake is thrown, as they are before the cake is cut and served.<br />
* '''A {{w|ping pong ball}}''' is a small sphere designed to bounce, used as a projectile in the sport of table tennis or "ping pong".<br />
* '''An acorn''' is a small nut which serves as a squirrel's primary form of nourishment.<br />
* '''Thor's hammer''' refers to {{w|Mjolnir (comics)|Mjolnir}}, an enchanted hammer in Marvel comics which can only be lifted, much less thrown, by those deemed worthy.<br />
* '''A javelin''' is an aerodynamic polearm thrown in Olympic sport.<br />
* '''A {{w|Dollar coin (United States)|silver dollar}}''' is a silver coin representing one (1) US dollar in value. The coin is given two trajectories to choose from when thrown; '''spinning''', as one would properly throw a discus, and '''tumbling''', as might result from flipping a coin to make a decision.<br />
* '''A car''' is the most common form of long-distance transport in several well-developed countries.<br />
<br />
==Table of throw distances==<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Item&nbsp;/&nbsp;Thrower<br />
!NFL&nbsp;Quarterback<br />
!George&nbsp;Washington<br />
!Pikachu<br />
!Carly&nbsp;Rae&nbsp;Jepsen<br />
!Thor<br />
!Chris&nbsp;Hemsworth<br />
!Squirrel<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Microwave oven'''<br />
|10.32 m<br />
|7.76 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|3.67 m<br />
|181.57 m<br />
|6.15 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|33.85 feet<br />
|25.46 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|82.65 rack units<br />
|1.99 football fields<br />
|138.40 rack units<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Basketball'''<br />
|40.18 m<br />
|33.22 m<br />
|2.34 m<br />
|19.11 m<br />
|113.67 m<br />
|27.99 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|16.74 horses<br />
|19.54 smoots<br />
|75.90 attoparsecs<br />
|11.24 smoots<br />
|1.42 Manhattan blocks<br />
|16.46 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Blender'''<br />
|16.58 m<br />
|12.45 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|5.89 m<br />
|333.25 m<br />
|9.86 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|9.75 smoots<br />
|40.85 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|132.51 rack units<br />
|1.66 furlongs<br />
|32.34 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Gold bar'''<br />
|9.73 m<br />
|7.23 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|3.36 m<br />
|549.28 m<br />
|5.69 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|31.93 feet<br />
|23.73 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|75.65 rack units<br />
|2.73 furlongs<br />
|128.11 rack units<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Wedding cake'''<br />
|8.96 m<br />
|6.75 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|3.2 m<br />
|146.25 m<br />
|5.35 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|29.40 feet<br />
|22.14 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|72.00 rack units<br />
|1.60 football fields<br />
|120.45 rack units<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Ping-pong ball'''<br />
|11.8 m<br />
|11.63 m<br />
|9.28 m<br />
|11.25 m<br />
|12.53 m<br />
|11.41 m<br />
|4.95 m<br />
|-<br />
|38.72 feet<br />
|38.17 feet<br />
|30.46 feet<br />
|36.92 feet<br />
|41.10 feet<br />
|37.44 feet<br />
|111.37 rack units<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Acorn'''<br />
|83.00 m<br />
|75.84 m<br />
|28.16 m<br />
|62.85 m<br />
|135.98 m<br />
|67.91 m<br />
|6.53 m<br />
|-<br />
|1.04 Manhattan blocks<br />
|0.95 Manhattan blocks<br />
|16.57 smoots<br />
|26.19 horses<br />
|1.49 football fields<br />
|28.30 horses<br />
|146.85 rack units<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Thor's Hammer'''<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|19.32 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|11.36 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Javelin'''<br />
|56.10 m<br />
|42.04 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|20.12 m<br />
|3028.75 m<br />
|33.09 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|23.37 horses<br />
|17.51 horses<br />
|N/A<br />
|11.84 smoots<br />
|15.06 furlongs<br />
|19.46 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''George Washington'''<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|136.65 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|1.49 football fields<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Pikachu'''<br />
|15.22 m<br />
|11.41<br />
|N/A<br />
|5.39 m<br />
|332.52 m<br />
|9.03 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|49.94 feet<br />
|37.45 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|121.18 rack units<br />
|1.65 furlongs<br />
|29.63 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Car'''<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|27.22 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|16.01 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Spinning dollar'''<br />
|177.09 m<br />
|143.96 m<br />
|16.91<br />
|92.63 m<br />
|1331.21 m<br />
|115.89 m<br />
|2.20 m<br />
|-<br />
|1.94 football fields<br />
|1.57 football fields<br />
|9.95 smoots<br />
|1.16 Manhattan blocks<br />
|6.53 furlongs<br />
|1.45 Manhattan blocks<br />
|71.41 attoparsecs<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Tumbling dollar'''<br />
|58.17 m<br />
|53.77 m<br />
|13.92 m<br />
|44.08 m<br />
|84.82 m<br />
|49.03 m<br />
|2.14 m<br />
|-<br />
|24.24 horses<br />
|22.41 horses<br />
|45.67 feet<br />
|18.37 horses<br />
|1.06 Manhattan blocks<br />
|20.43 horses<br />
|69.42 attoparsecs<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Squirrel'''<br />
|58.64 m<br />
|46.92 m<br />
|2.92 m<br />
|25.44 m<br />
|256.54 m<br />
|38.50 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|24.43 horses<br />
|19.55 horses<br />
|65.71 rack units<br />
|14.97 smoots<br />
|1.28 furlongs<br />
|16.04 horses<br />
|N/A<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Table of distance units==<br />
*Table of other distance-units and their length in meters:<br />
**The meters in this comic is obtained by finding the distance used in the comic in three cases and then take the average.<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Unit name<br />
!Length in comic<br />
!Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Foot (unit)|Feet}}<br />
|0.30477 m<br />
|One foot is defined as 0.3048 meter. In customary and imperial units, the foot comprises 12 inches and three feet compose a yard. <br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Rack units}}<br />
|0.44444 m<br />
|A rack unit (abbreviated U or RU) is a unit of measure defined as 1 3⁄4 inches (44.45 mm). Mainly used to measure the overall height of the likes of {{w|19-inch rack}} frames or the equipment put in there.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|American football field|Football fields}}<br />
|91.406 m<br />
|An American Football field is 100 yards or 91.44 m long.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Horses}}<br />
|2.4005 m<br />
|The length of a horse varies a lot with the horse type, breed, age and genes. In the Wikipedia article on horses the length of a horse is not even mentioned, only the height and weight. But Randall has used horses for measurements before. A {{w|horse length}} is approximately 8 feet (2.4 m).<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Smoots}}<br />
|1.7000 m<br />
|The smoot is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. One smoot is equal to Oliver Smoot's height at the time of the prank, 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m). Mr. Smoot was used to measure the length of a bridge by being repeatedly laid down along the length of the bridge; the markings indicating distances in smoots along the bridge have been maintained by the fraternity.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Furlongs}}<br />
|201.02 m<br />
|A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one eighth of a mile. It should thus give that one furlong is 201.168 metres. However, the United States does not uniformly use this conversion ratio. Older ratios are in use for surveying purposes in some states. Only Thor's distances are given in furlongs.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Manhattan}}-{{w|City block|blocks}}<br />
|79.897 m<br />
|The numbered streets in Manhattan run east-west, and are generally 60 feet (18 m) wide, with about 200 feet (61 m) between each pair of streets. With each combined street and block adding up to about 260 feet (79 m), there are almost exactly 20 blocks per mile. The typical block in Manhattan is 250 by 600 feet (76 by 183 m). When driving in a grid like city the {{w|Manhattan distance}} between two points is a concept, although it is also called {{w|Taxicab geometry}}. It seems like it is indeed the combined street and block distance. Also there is an error. The number has been found by taking four numbers not three, but then leaving out George Washington's distance which would give a block length of only 72,05 m.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Atto-}}{{w|parsecs}}<br />
|0.03082 m<br />
|The parsec is a unit of length used to measure large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System. A parsec is defined as the distance at which one {{w|astronomical unit}} subtends an angle of one {{w|arcsecond}}. One parsec is equal to about 3.26 light-years or 31 trillion kilometers (31×10<sup>12</sup> km) or 19 trillion miles (19×10<sup>12</sup> mi). Atto- is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of 10<sup>−18</sup> or 0.000000000000000001. Together the two unit exponents will almost cancel out, as 31 trillion kilometers can be written as 3.1×10<sup>18</sup>cm, meaning that an attoparsec is 3.1 cm. The unit is only used three times: once for Pikachu and twice for the squirrel.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[As this is an interactive comic, not all possible text should be given in this transcript. Also it is not possible to see all the different throwers or objects in one image. This transcript here includes only the text that can be found when loading the page, without changing the thrower or object (the default), but also includes the text that can be found by scrolling in the two select "windows" as that would be similar to a long comic where you need to scroll. For further differences that occur by changing the objects refer to a table of all combinations.]<br />
<br />
:[A heading with a subheading is above a line, beneath which are a sentence, that is generated by the selections in the two windows beneath this sentence:]<br />
:<big>'''Throw Calculator'''</big><br />
:This calculator implements the approximate throwing distance estimation model from ''How To'' Chapter 10: ''How to throw things''.<br />
<br />
:How far could George Washington throw a Microwave oven?<br />
<br />
:[Beneath this sentence are two "windows" with a frame around them, one to the left and one to the right, each with a heading breaking the top frame. Each also has a scroll bar to the right, which allows one to scroll down through 7 different possible selections in the left window and 15 in the right window. There are two selections on each line, leaving one alone at the bottom left of each list as there are uneven numbers in both lists. Here below each windows' content is given under their respective headings. Each possible selection is a drawing with a caption beneath it.]<br />
:Select a thrower<br />
<br />
:*You<br />
:*An NFL Quarterback<br />
:*George Washington<br />
:*Pikachu<br />
:*Carly Rae Jepsen<br />
:*Thor, God of Thunder<br />
:*Chris Hemsworth<br />
:*A squirrel<br />
<br />
:Select an object to be thrown<br />
:*You<br />
:*A microwave oven<br />
:*A basketball<br />
:*A blender<br />
:*A gold bar<br />
:*A wedding cake<br />
:*A ping-pong ball<br />
:*An acorn<br />
:*Thor's Hammer<br />
:*A javelin<br />
:*George Washington<br />
:*Pikachu<br />
:*A car<br />
:*A silver dollar (spinning)<br />
:*A silver dollar (tumbling)<br />
:*A squirrel<br />
<br />
:[Below the two windows is the result of the animation that will happen when a selection has been made. An animation of the selected thrower throwing (or failing to throw) the selected object is shown, and the object's traveling distance is measured out both in meters (SI units) and in some other unit in brackets below. If the distance is not too long compared to the size of the object and thrower, then both can be seen, and in case the object is soft it may break from the throw.]<br />
<br />
:[In the pre-selected version George Washington throws a microwave oven, which ends up several meters from him lying on a corner broken with its wire lying beneath it. The distance is given under the ruler along which the throw has occurred, with markings for approximately every meter. In this case there are seven steps even though the distance is above 7 meters:]<br />
:7.76 meters<br />
:(25.46 feet)<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*The comic refers to Thor as the character from the Marvel comics and movies (and other media), who is himself a reference to the ancient Norse god. In Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth.<br />
*Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, bears an enchantment that prevents any living being from lifting it unless they are "worthy." This is reflected in the simulation by giving Mjölnir a mass of 2,000 kg.<br />
**Technically, Thor's hammer weighs [https://urbandud.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/detail-128-thors-hammer.jpg?w=550 42.3 pounds].<br />
*The option to customize your own character was added to the comic later.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with animation]] <!-- Different throws --><br />
[[Category:Dynamic comics]] <br />
[[Category:Interactive comics]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]] <!-- model of throw distance --><br />
[[Category:American football]] <!-- NFL quaterback --><br />
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]] <!-- George Washington --><br />
[[Category:Pokémon]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] <!-- Carly Rae Jepsen, George Washington and Chris Hemsworth--><br />
[[Category:Religion]] <!-- Thor, questionable though as it is obviously the Marvel character --><br />
[[Category:Squirrels]]<br />
[[Category:Food]] <!-- Microwave oven Blender, cake --><br />
[[Category:Basketball]]<br />
[[Category:Sport]] <!-- ping pong, javelin --><br />
[[Category:Book promotion]]</div>172.68.226.52https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2170:_Coordinate_Precision&diff=1761322170: Coordinate Precision2019-07-03T14:42:56Z<p>172.68.226.52: /* Explanation */ a couple of clarifications</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2170<br />
| date = July 1, 2019<br />
| title = Coordinate Precision<br />
| image = coordinate_precision.png<br />
| titletext = 40 digits: You are optimistic about our understanding of the nature of distance itself.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CARTOGRAPHER. Each table entry needs to be individually explained. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This cartoon gives increasingly precise latitude and longitude coordinates for a location on the planet Earth. However, a given coordinate covers a square region of land, and thus leaves some ambiguity; thus, greater precision requires an increasing count of decimal points in your coordinates. This comic uses this information to roughly identify how precise a given coordinate length might be.<br />
<br />
The increasing precision of coordinates in this cartoon are similar to the increasing magnification in the short documentary {{w|Powers of Ten (film)|"Powers of 10,"}} which can be found [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 here]. (Also parodied in [[271|#271:Powers of One]]).<br />
<br />
The coordinates at [https://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Cape_Canaveral&params=28.52345_N_80.68309_W_type:landmark_region:US-FL_scale:10000 28.52345°N, 80.68309°W] (in {{w|decimal degrees}} form; in {{w|geographic coordinate system}} form using degrees, minutes, and seconds, 28° 31′ 24.24.4″N, 80° 40′ 59.1″W) are pointing to the {{w|Rocket Garden}} at the {{w|Kennedy Space Center}} in {{w|Merritt Island, Florida}} —specifically, the tip of the [https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/-/media/DNC/KSCVC/Blog-Images/Rocket-Garden/rocket-garden-with-labels.ashx?h=860&w=1173&la=en&hash=7B9ADC7AFF5370E462AC98D9651945B806B77B2C Delta] rocket.<br />
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The sixth entry in the table, with seven digits of precision, includes the caveat that, while your coordinates map to areas small enough on the Earth's surface to indicate pointing to a specific person in a room, "since you didn't include datum information, we can't tell who". This is a reference to the various ''{{w|geodetic datum}}'' or ''geodetic systems'' — different ways of dealing with the fact that the earth is neither perfectly spherical nor perfectly an oblong ellipsoid. The various data do not make much difference at six digits of precision, but at seven, there is enough skew depending on which system is in use that the person in a room you are referring to with the coordinates is ambiguous. It is unstated, but the remaining lines in the table with ever-greater precision suffer from this same issue and are equally ambiguous without datum information.<br />
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The final entry, with seventeen digits of precision, suggests that either the user is referring to individual atoms in the much-larger-scale whole-Earth coordinate system, or (perhaps more likely) has not bothered to format the values from the GPS module for viewing in the software UI in any way whatsoever, resulting in a value that is {{w|False precision|meaninglessly precise}} because the measurement wasn't that {{w|Accuracy and precision|accurate}} to begin with. Even if the value is accurate, locating individual atoms by coordinates is not actually useful in most cases, and the motions of multiple systems within our physical world (continental drift, subtle vibrations, {{w|Brownian motion}}, etc.) would render the precise value obsolete rather quickly.<br />
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For the decimal places past the 5th on the latitude, the digits given are actually the decimal expansion of the constant ''e'' (2.7182818284), while for the decimal places past the 5th on the longitude, the digits given are the decimal expansion of the constant ''π'' (3.14159265358).<br />
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The title text references how at sufficiently small distances, our understanding of reality itself begins to break down. Smaller than the {{w|Planck length}}, which is more than a quintillion times smaller than the diameter of a proton, the ideals of Euclidean geometry no longer apply and space itself may be composed of a {{w|quantum foam}} where the very geometry of spacetime itself fluctuates, meaning coordinate systems based on an assumption that space doesn't change would no longer work. String theory, on the other hand, assumes that at a short enough distance the world is composed of ten space dimensions, which precludes the use of a two-dimensional coordinate system (not that our “normal” three dimensions don't do so in themselves).<br />
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The actual number of longitude digits needed to identify a point to a particular precision depends on its latitude. Near the poles, you need fewer longitude digits than at the equator – starting with one digit fewer at around lat. 85°, past all constantly inhabited human settlements, and with two digits fewer at lat. 89.5°, inaccessible to anyone but polar researchers and the occasional guided tour. The number of latitude digits for some particular accuracy stays essentially the same everywhere.<br />
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==Chart==<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Decimal places<br />
! Resolution*<br />
! In the comic<br />
! Location<br />
! Explanation/notes<br />
|-<br />
| 0<br />
| <span style="white-space: nowrap;">110 km (70 mi)</span><br />
| Something space-related<br />
| Somewhere near the east coast of Florida<br />
| This resolution is enough to point out a large-scale feature like a country, a mountain range, a large lake, or a significant island on a map of the world. It can also be used to tell if certain celestial phenomena are visible from a given location.<br />
|-<br />
| 1<br />
| 11 km (7&nbsp;mi)<br />
| A specific city<br />
| <span style="white-space: nowrap;">Cape Canaveral</span><br />
| Cities typically span a couple kilometers/miles in diameter and are far enough from each other to distinguish them at this resolution. There are exceptions though, and the veracity of this statement depends greatly on the definition of a “city”, which varies by location and history.<br />
|-<br />
| 2<br />
| 1.1 km (¾&nbsp;mi)<br />
| <span style="white-space: nowrap;">A neighborhood</span><br />
| <span style="white-space: nowrap;">Kennedy Space Center</span> Visitor Complex<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 3<br />
| 110 m (360&nbsp;ft)<br />
| <span style="white-space: nowrap;">A suburban cul-de-sac</span><br />
| The Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 4<br />
| 11 m (36&nbsp;ft)<br />
| A particular corner of a house<br />
| Somewhere near the center of the Rocket Garden<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 5<br />
| 1.1 m (3½&nbsp;ft)<br />
| A specific person in a room (given geodetic datum information)<br />
| The [https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/-/media/DNC/KSCVC/Blog-Images/Rocket-Garden/rocket-garden-with-labels.ashx?h=860&w=1173&la=en&hash=7B9ADC7AFF5370E462AC98D9651945B806B77B2C Thor-Delta] rocket in Rocket Garden<br />
| As the comic notes, the differences between {{w|geodetic datum}}s – different ways to map geodetic coordinates to specific points on the Earth's surface – become large enough that one needs to specify the one in use when supplying coordinates to this degree of precision (or greater, of course). Since the Earth is not a perfect ellipsoid, different parts of the planet conform best to ellipsoids of slightly different proportions, resulting in different coordinates for a specific location; not to mention that locally used datums have local reference points, which means that the local and global standards are slowly drifting away from each other with the tectonical plates.<br />
Note that the comment in the comic concerns only the {{w|North American Datum|NAD 1983}} datum which is fairly close to the international, “one size fits all” standard {{w|WGS-84}}. Other datums may be shifted by tens or even hundreds of meters (yards), making geodetic datum specification necessary for less precise coordinates as well.<br />
|-<br />
| 7<br />
| 1.1 cm (⁷⁄₁₆&nbsp;in)<br />
| Waldo on a page<br />
| Presumably the very tip of the rocket<br />
| This refers to ''{{w|Where's Wally?|Where's Waldo?}}'', a series of books and magazines containing various scenes (densely packed with people) where one must find Waldo, a character wearing a red and white striped shirt. In the puzzles, he usually stands less than 2 cm (1 in) tall.<br />
Finding Waldo on a page using satellites was also referenced in [[1358:_NRO|#1358]].<br />
|-<br />
| 9<br />
| 0.11 mm (4⅜&nbsp;thou)<br />
| A specific grain of sand<br />
| rowspan=3 | N/A<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 15<br />
| 110 pm (1.1&nbsp;Å)<br />
| Raw floating point precision or an individual atom<br />
| A double-precision (64-bit) floating point variable stores 52 significant bits (with an implicit 1 in front), so that 180.00000000000000 and 179.99999999999997 may be represented as distinct values. (This is only 14 decimals, however; the larger the integral part, the fewer bits remain to represent the fractional part.) This level of precision is useful for mitigating rounding errors in computations, but this advantage only shows if the last few digits are treated as non-significant and thus, ideally, hidden from view. To work with data that is actually this precise – like tracking individual atoms or representing continental drift up to the second –, one must make allowance for these additional non-significant digits and store the coordinates in ''quadruple'' precision.<br />
To track atoms, however, one needs very sensitive (and expensive) equipment with a severely limited range (according to our current understanding of science and technology). Using a global-scale coordinate system when a micrometer-scale would fit much better is either an abuse of the system and a great waste of memory and computing power, or it means that a significant portion of the Earth's surface has been blanketed by quantum microscopes, which would be an abuse and a waste of many other things as well.<br />
|-<br />
| 40<br />
| 1.1 × 10<sup>–11</sup>&nbsp;ym (1.1 × 10<sup>–35</sup>&nbsp;m)<br />
| Near (or past) our current understanding of the nature of distance<br />
| This is where the resolution reaches the Planck length (1.6 × 10<sup>–35</sup>&nbsp;m). At this scale, the very structure of spacetime (and thus, the notion of distance) may be different than what we know; measuring anything to Planck length precision would necessitate such tremendous amounts of energy in one place that would create minuscule black holes, warping spacetime further (in addition to wreaking havoc with whatever you were trying to pinpoint).<br />
|}<br />
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Since the Earth is not exactly spherical, the actual length of one degree of latitude varies between 110.574 km (68.707 mi) at the equator and 111.694 km (69.403 mi) at the poles, while one degree of longitude is 111.320 km (69.171 mi) at the equator, 55.800 km (34.673 mi) at lat. 60°, and 0 km (0 mi) at the poles.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Single panel containing a table with two columns for "Lat/Lon Precision" and "Meaning" and a caption above the table.]<br />
:Caption: What The Number of Digits in Your Coordinates Means<br />
<br />
:[Row 1]<br />
:Lat/Lon: 28&deg;N, 80&deg;W<br />
:Meaning: You're probably doing something space-related<br />
<br />
:[Row 2]<br />
:Lat/Lon: 28.5&deg;N, 80.6&deg;W<br />
:Meaning: You're pointing out a specific city<br />
<br />
:[Row 3]<br />
:Lat/Lon: 28.52&deg;N, 80.68&deg;W<br />
:Meaning: You're pointing out a neighborhood<br />
<br />
:[Row 4]<br />
:Lat/Lon: 28.523&deg;N, 80.683&deg;W<br />
:Meaning: You're pointing out a specific suburban cul-de-sac<br />
<br />
:[Row 5]<br />
:Lat/Lon: 28.5234&deg;N, 80.6830&deg;W<br />
:Meaning: You're pointing to a particular corner of a house<br />
<br />
:[Row 6]<br />
:Lat/Lon: 28.52345&deg;N, 80.68309&deg;W<br />
:Meaning: You're pointing to a specific person in a room, but since you didn't include datum information, we can't tell who<br />
<br />
:[Row 7]<br />
:Lat/Lon: 28.5234571&deg;N, 80.6830941&deg;W<br />
:Meaning: You're pointing to Waldo on a page<br />
<br />
:[Row 8]<br />
:Lat/Lon: 28.523457182&deg;N, 80.683094159&deg;W<br />
:Meaning: "Hey, check out this specific sand grain!"<br />
<br />
:[Row 9]<br />
:Lat/Lon: 28.523457182818284&deg;N, 80.683094159265358&deg;W<br />
:Meaning: Either you're handing out raw floating point variables, or you've built a database to track individual atoms. In either case, please stop.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}</div>172.68.226.52